Luke 7:1-10
1 When He had completed all His teaching in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.
2 Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.
3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.
4 When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;
5 for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.”
6 Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof;
7 for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just say the word, and my servant shall be healed.
8 For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
9 Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”
10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
Faith that Amazed Jesus
A centurion who was blessed
In the New Testament, two noteworthy centurions appear. One is the centurion in today’s passage, and the other is Cornelius, who became the first Gentile Christian (Acts 10). Regarding the former, the Jewish elders testified, “He loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.” As for the latter, it is written, “A devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually” (Acts 10:2). In other words, both men (1) loved the Jewish people and (2) provided them with tangible support. Because of this, blessings from God came upon them. Genesis 12:1-3 is known as the Abrahamic Covenant. Within it is the promise: “And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse” (Gen. 12:3). This means that God gives blessing or brings a curse to Gentiles based on how they treat the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people. This principle has been fulfilled countless times throughout history. (Pharaoh in Exodus, Haman in the book of Esther, and 20th-century Nazi Germany are clear examples.) Our God is the God of covenant. Have you felt as if you were abandoned by God? Let us be reminded that the certainty of our salvation is grounded in the certainty of God’s covenant and receive peace from that truth.
The centurion’s faith
That this centurion was a man of noble character can be seen from Luke’s account. He was a person who possessed both humility and faith. From his own experience, he believed that Jesus’ word carried authority and that if he could receive just that word, his servant would be healed. This was a confession of faith that Jesus is the Lord who holds authority over life and death. Jesus was amazed at the centurion’s faith. There is one other place in the New Testament where Jesus is described as being amazed. Upon seeing the people of Nazareth, it says, “And He was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6:6). Because of the people’s unbelief, Jesus was not able to perform mighty works in Nazareth. But the centurion’s servant was healed just as he had asked. Let us now allow the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts and see whether we, too, have been limiting the power of Jesus through our unbelief.
Today's prayer
Holy God of Israel, please forgive me for the times I have limited Your work in unbelief. Let me not live in unbelief like the people of Nazareth, but rather, let me walk by faith in a way that amazes You, like the centurion. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.