Jesus wasn't impressed with the good works or status of the centurion.
2 A centurion’s slave, who was highly valued by him, was sick and about to die.
3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.
4 When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.”
6 Jesus went with them, and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell Him, “Lord, don’t trouble Yourself, since I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. 7 That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be cured. 8 For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. 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 Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel!” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
There was a slave that was about to die, this slave was loved by his master, very unusual considering the fact that his master is a Roman military officer. The centurion was desperately wanting to help when news about Jesus came to him, he heard that Jesus had the power and that his slave could be healed.
This particular centurion was not your normal centurion, first the scripture tells us that he loves his slave and then we learn that he had been very generous to the Jews. He asked for a favor from the religious leaders, the same leaders that didn't like Jesus, I wonder how they felt about that.
The Jews considered the centurion to be a good guy, good enough that Jesus should go and help him, Jesus didn't agree or disagree about the centurion's morality, he just went. The centurion on the other hand didn't feel like he was as worthy as the Jewish elders thought that he was, he was humble, he didn't even want to go to Jesus directly much less have him come to his home. Jesus wasn't impressed with the good works or status of the centurion, he was impressed with his faith.
I need to have an amazing faith, wouldn't it be great to be known for your faith instead of the outward things that the world looks at.
Lord help me to grow in faith, trusting in your power over every circumstance.
You might like to read:
It's God's Decision To Heal // Believing The Impossible // Easy Faith And Great Faith
This particular centurion was not your normal centurion, first the scripture tells us that he loves his slave and then we learn that he had been very generous to the Jews. He asked for a favor from the religious leaders, the same leaders that didn't like Jesus, I wonder how they felt about that.
The Jews considered the centurion to be a good guy, good enough that Jesus should go and help him, Jesus didn't agree or disagree about the centurion's morality, he just went. The centurion on the other hand didn't feel like he was as worthy as the Jewish elders thought that he was, he was humble, he didn't even want to go to Jesus directly much less have him come to his home. Jesus wasn't impressed with the good works or status of the centurion, he was impressed with his faith.
I need to have an amazing faith, wouldn't it be great to be known for your faith instead of the outward things that the world looks at.
Lord help me to grow in faith, trusting in your power over every circumstance.
You might like to read:
It's God's Decision To Heal // Believing The Impossible // Easy Faith And Great Faith
