Three centurions in the Bible have made strong impressions on our walk of faith. You may know of Cornelius, the first gentile Peter was sent to (Acts 10) and there’s another who acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God (Matthew 27:54).
But this particular one shocked Jesus with an A++ faith-o-meter 💯 and we want to share a few lessons from this encounter with you.
"Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” ~ Matthew 8:5-7
"There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die." ~ Luke 7:2
He cared deeply for his servant (v5-7):
You may not understand what it means, but Roman soldiers had slaves at their disposal; easily replaceable. But this one cared for his servant.
He valued this servant highly. He wanted him healed: he wanted him relieved from torment, and he begged (pleaded) that Jesus would heal him. Who wouldn’t like such a boss!?
- Many would go to great lengths to get help for their children and love interests, but not their servants. Yet this centurion considered his servant as family and didn’t want to lose him.
- Now could this be due to the kind of service the boy rendered? Probably diligent/hardworking, humble, submissive, honouring and loving his master.
- Well, if you are serving someone, do so wholeheartedly and with great love. If you have people who serve you, care deeply about them and go all out to help them.
Jesus responded to this man’s plea to heal his servant. Jesus will respond to your plea for those people you care about and are desperate to get help for.
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
He humbled himself before God (v8-9):
Woow…!! This centurion is just something else. The boldness of his request above is what got Jesus to marvel. But first examine his words: “I am not worthy that You should come under my roof”.
- He noticed the greatness of Jesus, recognised his own standing and frailty, and humbled himself.
- He was a centurion, a person in governmental power or a politician (the Romans ruled Israel in those days), but he realised that he was not worth much in relation to Jesus.
- This is the first step to salvation for any man – a recognition of our sinful state and humbly asking for God’s mercies. Big-Shots can’t be saved and cannot receive from God!
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
He understood submission, order and authority
He believed in the power of Jesus’s words! “Only speak a word!” And then he explained the reason for his belief. Dear friend, do you have a reason for the things you believe in or are you a meatloaf Christian?
- He also showed us the principle of authority: If you want to have authority, be submitted under authority. “I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me…”
- Your power in leadership comes from your submission to or followership of another higher than you.
- If you cannot follow effectively, you cannot lead effectively. Every great leader is a great student and a great follower!
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!"
He shocked Jesus with his great faith
Jesus was shocked at a man’s level of faith! Now, Jesus’s statement here also reveal an interesting concept. It seems Jesus was looking out for or measuring faith levels in the people He met.
Jesus was walking around with His “faith-o-meter” and someone’s faith levels caused the meter to skyrocket! Now even if it didn’t get to 100%, we can all tell it was pretty pretty high!! (A++).
- Faith is believing and believing is faith! You see, we are called believers for a reason. We are people who must believe things!
- Believe in God’s Word, believe in heaven, believe in God’s promises for your life, believe in miracles and the supernatural, believe in prayer, believe in giving, believe!!
- Your faith will cause Jesus to be moved and shocked (v10); you will be commended (Hebrews 11); it will be accounted to you as righteousness (Romans 4:3); and your answer will be instant! (v13)
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. ~ Hebrews 11:1
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. ~ Romans 4:3-5
How do we build faith? By hearing and hearing the Word of God.
- Get into the Word of God dear friend! Get sermons to soak in! Get audio Bibles to listen to!
- Watch sermon videos! Watch Christian-based movies and animations (eg. Superbook; Torchlighters on YouTube).
- Listen to spiritual songs and hymns! Combine all these and let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly!
May your faith be built up in God! May you be commended! May you cause the heavens to stand in shock and may you reap great blessings from it! You’re blessed!
Join us grow in faith by reading the Gospels (a chapter a day). Do share your wisdom lessons from Matthew 8. Remember to tag us on 📲:
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