Luke 7:1- 10 The Centurion’s Servant

Luke 7:1- 10 The Centurion’s Servant

When he had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

My first response to the Centurion is not entirely positive. Is he just out for the benefit (the cure), accepting Jesus’ authority as he is a figure of authority himself? Does he put his faith in Jesus or in authority? After all, he is not a follower of Jesus, he is a Roman Centurion. But wait, tucked away in the middle of the passage I spot a statement by Jesus’ Jewish followers about the Centurion. “He deserves this favor from you.” “He loves our people.” “He built our synagogue for us.” It appears that the centurion is a believer in deed if not in word – in my mind the best kind of believer. Following up on the previous scriptures, this story drives the point home – actions, not words, count. We will and ought to be judged by our fruit. The placement of the Centurion story cannot be coincidence. Jesus puts his stamp of approval on the man at the end of the passage – praising the man’s faith. A faith that demonstrates its strength, its commitment, in deeds not words. Do you remember that old Christian hymn that we learned way back in high school – They Will Know They Are Christians By Our Love? The Centurion met that standard even though it was not yet firmly established. Love (action) rooted in faith knows no boundaries – not of race, or religion, or class or culture or age. All are acceptable in Christ’s eyes.