When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
The centurions were the backbone of the Roman army. In a Roman legion there were 6,000 men. The legion was divided into sixty centuries, each containing 100 men, and in command of each century there was a centurion. Easton’s Bible Dictionary says, “The centurions were chosen by merit, and so were men remarkable not so much for their daring courage as for their deliberation, constancy, and strength of mind.” I need to pause for a moment and point out that, like the centurion, Jesus wants us to be constant and unwavering in our faith.
The help that the centurion requested was for his servant to be healed of paralysis. “The centurion in this passage did not act as many masters do when their servants are afflicted. Many would have had them immediately removed to an infirmary, or to a workhouse; or sent home to friends or relatives, who probably either care nothing for them, or were unable to afford them any of the comforts of life.”
This centurion fought for the health and life of his servant! What we observe here is that this centurion, or the master, had great love for his servant. Commentator William Barclay states, “It is quite clear that this centurion was an extraordinary man, for he loved his servant. It may well be that it was this totally unusual gentleness and love which moved Jesus so much when this centurion first came to Him.”
When we pray for someone’s healing, do we believe that Jesus can completely restore that person’s health, or do we feel that He will only aid in their recovery; that He is just one component in addition to modern medical treatment? When we get to verse 13, we discover that the healing Jesus provided was indeed complete and total restoration type healing. In verse 8, notice how the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.”
This centurion was a Gentile officer in the Roman army. It went against Jewish regulations for a Jew to enter a Gentile home. Yet, Jesus immediately offered to go to the centurion’s home and heal his servant. Knowing about the Jewish law, the centurion declared that he was unworthy to have Jesus under his roof.
Application: When we approach the Lord with any request, like the centurion, we need to acknowledge that we do not deserve the grace of our Lord. He is not some genie in a bottle whom we can command at will. We must humbly come before Him, acknowledging Him as Lord; the one who is righteous and holy and as Lord, The One who is able to act.
Prayer: Lord, You are able to accomplish what concerns me today. As I pray for healing for myself and others, I pray seeking Your will.
