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Gospel: Luke 7: 1-10
When Jesus 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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This centurion receives the highest praise ever uttered by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel – yet the two of them never meet.
Luke gives us three reasons why this man merits such praise.
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First, the centurion communicates with Jesus through the Jewish religious authorities. Being a Gentile, not a Jew, he might have been concerned that the Lord would not enter into his home, because it would’ve rendered Jesus ritually impure.
So, the authorities vouch on his behalf, telling Jesus that he built a synagogue in their town, which was not only a gesture of good will and a sign of respect for the Jews; it also helped to preserve the peace.
This man was a wise leader, who demonstrated care for all under his authority, even those different from himself.
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As Jesus nears his home, the centurion’s friends become a vessel for his faith.
“Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof,” they say on his behalf. “Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed.”
These words reveal more about the centurion’s heart: he’s a man of faith and compassion, who even cares about the lowest person in society, his slave.
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Most importantly, the centurion recognizes the source of Christ’s power. This is what provokes such praise.
Just as the centurion derives his authority from a higher power – the Roman emperor Antipas, so he recognizes that Jesus derives his authority from the highest power of all, God.
“I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith,” Jesus says.
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What might this Gospel passage say to us?
The centurion reminds us that what the Lord delights in is life lived with character and faith, a faith that recognizes who Jesus is and his power to save, even today.
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Image credits: (1) Church Leaders (2) JW.org (3) Give Me Faith, First Pres Joliet