The Miracles of Jesus
Lent – February 23, 2024
Jesus heals a Centurion’s servant
Luke 7:1-10; Matthew 7:7-8
I was a grocery manager for Albertson’s supermarkets a little over forty years ago. Albertson’s management philosophy was aggressive. The style came out of WWII. You gave orders, and you expected them to be followed to the letter. This management style was embedded in my values in just a few years. If I said, “Jump” to an employee, all I wanted to hear as a reply was, “How high?”
It’s sad because I also utilized that management style at home with my wife. It took me several years to realize something after I left Albertson’s. I was not loving and caring for my family; instead, I was managing them.
Early on, I discovered that this working style with people didn’t work at all in the church. As a church worker, you cannot boss people around and tell volunteers what to do as if they were soldiers. Instead, church ministry takes teamwork, love, and empathy between staff and congregation.
*******************The Point******************
In Matthew and Luke’s Gospels, we find the story of Jesus’ healing of the Centurion’s servant.
“When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time, the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So, they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”
So, Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said,
“I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!”
And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.”
Luke 7:1-10
The Centurion was a captain in the Roman army. As his title depicts, he was in charge of 100 soldiers. This story is indeed about remote healing by Jesus, but it is even more important as a story of faith.
Not unlike my experience as a manager at Albertson’s supermarkets, the Centurion tells people what to do.
“I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
The passage above tells us that the Centurion understood that Jesus was a man of authority. He had either heard about Christ’s healing powers or had seen them himself.
The Centurion felt that he, as a gentile, was unworthy of having Jesus step into his home. Yet, he believed that Jesus could heal his servant even from afar. So first, the Centurion sent Jewish leaders who respected him to ask Jesus to heal his servant. Later, he sent friends to avoid the embarrassment of Jesus coming into his home and any for Jesus by entering a gentile’s home.
Jesus felt the Centurion’s faith was stronger than any He had ever seen. So, He healed his servant as asked.
Matthew 7:7-8 says:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For, everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
The Centurion ‘asked,’ which Jesus tells us to do. Through the church elders, he sought after Jesus, and he knocked by sending his friends to Jesus.
Think about what happened for a moment. Jesus was not in the presence of the servant when He healed him. Why? Because of his master’s (the Centurions) faith. (The door was opened because of his faith)
We do the same thing every time we pray. Yes, Jesus is with us always. Through our prayers, we ask Jesus to heal, bless, and provide for us from afar.
We do so because we believe that Jesus can heal, provide for us, and bless us because we have faith in Him. So, we pray because we have faith like the Centurion did.
Dear Jesus. Please help us to have faith every day, like the Centurion. We will always ask, seek, and knock at your door with our petitions. We do this because we believe in you as our Savior, who loves and provides for us. Amen
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