Do you have somebody very special in your employ? An employee for which that you will go the second mile to assist? Then you will appreciate the following story recorded in the gospel of Luke
Luke 7:1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.
Luke 7:2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.
Luke 7:3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.
Luke 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,
Luke 7:5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
Luke 7:6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.
Luke 7:7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
Luke 7:8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”
Luke 7:10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
Can you imagine the joy Jesus experienced when He encountered this exceptionally heathen believer? And the joy in the Centurion’s heart when he say his trusted slave healed and healthy!
Luke 7:1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.
Let’s look at the contexts in which this healing of the amazing faith of a heathen Roman Centurion took place. It was right after the Sermon on the Mount.
A deputation of elders bearing the centurion’s request met Jesus as He returned to the city.
The unusual circumstance of the miracle is the fact that the one benefited by it was not in the immediate presence of Christ at the moment of healing.
Luke 7:2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.
Centurion’s. Gr. hekatontarchos, means “commander of a hundred [men]”; that is, a captain of a group in the Roman army called a century. This centurion was in charge of a company of Roman soldiers on police duty for Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee.
Luke 7:3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.
The centurion’s knowledge of Jesus was limited to the reports that had reached him of the Saviour’s great deeds. He had never seen Jesus before the present occasion (DA 315).
Owing to the friendly gestures of the centurion, he was on particularly good terms with the “elders” despite the fact that he was a Gentile and not a Jew.
Fully aware of the usual Jewish attitude toward Gentiles, the centurion may have been uncertain as to how Jesus would respond to a request coming directly from one not of His own race.
Luke 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,
In the centurion’s own eyes he was unworthy (vs. 6, 7). In the eyes of the “elders” he was “worthy” (v. 4).
A consciousness of one’s own unworthiness is a recommendation of the highest order. But with the centurion it seems that this appraisal of his status before Jesus was more than humility.
Though a believer in the true God, the centurion was not yet a full proselyte, and accordingly in Jewish eyes still a heathen and therefore not eligible to participate in religious services (see on vs. 2, 5).
Truly humble of heart before God, and probably conscious as well of his status in the eyes of the Jews, he sought to avoid embarrassing Jesus by obligating Him to enter a Gentile home.
This would at best be repulsive to a pious Jew and would doubtless render him ceremonially unclean (see John 18:28). A Jew summoned by a direct command of a Roman officer would be obligated to comply with the summons, for to refuse would be interpreted as resistance to lawfully constituted authority.
Evidently the truly devout and humble centurion sought to spare Jesus this and avoid embarrassing Him. The centurion’s humility was both real and practical (see on Luke 7:6).
Luke 7:5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
The centurion was, what was known as a “proselyte of the gate,” one who believed in the true God and in the beliefs of the Jewish faith but did not practice the ceremonial ritual of the Jewish religion.
During the first century a.d. there were unnumbered thousands of Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire who had become “proselytes of the gate.” They had learned to admire and respect the comparatively pure worship of the Jews and were convinced of its superiority to their own. Many such proselytes later became full-fledged Jews.
Luke 7:6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.
According to the Greek He did not accompany them all the way back to the centurion’s home.
Who were these friends? This second delegation have been composed of Romans, personal associates of the centurion. Jesus kept moving toward the centurion’s home despite the deputy protest of his unworthiness, for the centurion himself finally came out.
In view of the fact that the second delegation intercepted Jesus “not far from the house,” and that Jesus advanced yet closer after receiving the second delegation, the centurion met Jesus very near his home.
Though the centurion protested his own unworthiness, Jesus later said of him, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (v. 9).
The remarkable faith of this supposed heathen made him more worthy in the sight of Heaven than any of Jesus’ fellow countrymen.
Luke 7:7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
The centurion considered the command of Jesus regarding the healing of the slave sufficient to accomplish what he now requested. It was this that marked the extent of the centurion’s faith.
Luke 7:8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
The centurion had come to recognize from what he had heard that Jesus represented the authority and power of Heaven in the same way that he, as an army officer, represented the power and authority of Rome.
As the centurion was a representative of the Roman government, and yielded obedience to its commands, so the soldiers under him recognized his authority and obeyed him. He knew both how to receive and how to issue orders and see that they were carried out.
A word from his superiors secured his obedience, and a word from him secured the obedience of his subordinates. Having already learned to recognize the true God as ruler of heaven and earth, the centurion now recognized Jesus as the representative of God.
The centurion knew, no doubt, of the healing of the nobleman’s son a year earlier (see John 4:46–53), and must have heard of the many miracles Jesus had performed since making Capernaum the center of His ministry in Galilee.
As in the case of the nobleman (John 4:50), a word from Jesus would be sufficient, and healing could be accomplished at a distance. As in the case of the leper, however, the question in the mind of the centurion was whether Jesus would be willing to respond to the request (see on Mark 1:40).
The leper was an outcast from society because of his disease. Similarly, the centurion probably felt that he was not socially acceptable to the Jews because of his race.
Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”
The centurion’s faith that a word from Jesus would be sufficient was extraordinary. The fact that the centurion had never seen or talked with Jesus made that faith all the more remarkable, particularly in view of the slowness of the Jews and even of Christ’s own disciples to exercise faith.
The people that followed was the throng that had listened to the Sermon on the Mount. This miracle confirmed the words Jesus and left a vivid impression on the minds of the people.
The great faith of the centurion is the climax of the narrative. Christ’s commendation of the centurion may be taken as implying his complete conversion, either now or later.
Luke 7:10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
They included the “elders” and the “friends”. They could verify the miracle immediately.
Matthew 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
NEXT TIME
JESUS RESURRECTED THE ONLY SON OF A WIDOW THAT DIED