Scripture Reading(s)
Luke 7:1-10
7:1 After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
7:2 A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death.
7:3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.
7:4 When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him,
7:5 for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.”
7:6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof;
7:7 therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.
7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.”
7:9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
7:10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
Reflections
Having strong solid faith can sometimes be a challenge in the Christian life. When we go through seasons of peace and quiet we often find it easy to say that we trust in Gods faithfulness. It is when we are faced with life’s trials that our faith is tested. We can fall into the trap of forgetting that our God is faithful and loving in complete control of our lives. Sometimes we allow for our stubborn pride to blind us from believing that God is working for us.
Here we see the Centurion displaying an amazing picture of faith. He recognizes Jesus’s ultimate authority and power. Furthermore, He believes that Christ can exercise that power through any means. He has accepted in his heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and can merely speak the words and his servant would be healed.
The key ingredient is the centurions faith is ultimately fueled by humility. He knows that he is not worthy of Christs love yet still believes in His love and faithfulness. This is the attitude that we ought to adopt as Christians through the good and the bad. Despite life’s circumstances, Gods faithfulness never changes. He remains constant, loving and sovereign over every season that we face. Let us approach God with a humble fueled faith, trusting that He will always work for our good.