The Healing of the Centurion's Servant

Back in Capernaum. Jesus had just finished a long time of teaching (Luke 6:20-49). “Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum” (7:1). Capernaum was a town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus often stayed there. A centurion. A centurion was an officer in the Roman army. He was in charge of about a hundred soldiers. Rome ruled the land of Israel, and many Jewish people were afraid of soldiers or angry that they were there. A servant he loved. The centurion had a servant “who was dear to him” (7:2). The servant “was sick and ready to die.” This strong soldier could give orders to a hundred men, but he could not order a sickness to leave. He heard about Jesus. “So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him” (7:3). Elders were older leaders of the Jewish town. He asked them to plead with Jesus to come and heal his servant. Asking for someone else. The centurion was not asking for himself. He went to a lot of trouble for a man who worked in his house. What we learn. God cares about people the world forgets, like a sick servant. When someone you love is hurting, you can ask Jesus to help them, just as the centurion did.

After the sermon (7:1). Jesus had just finished teaching the crowds on a level place (Luke 6:17-49). He ended with a man who “dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock” (6:48), a picture of the person who hears His sayings and does them. Then He entered Capernaum. A Gentile officer. A centurion led a unit of about a hundred soldiers. This one was a Gentile, which means he was not Jewish, and he stood for the power that ruled over Israel. Many in Capernaum would have kept their distance from him. Entimos (7:2). The servant was “dear to him.” The Greek word entimos (say: EN-tee-mos) means precious or highly valued. In that world a servant could be treated like property. This officer treated his servant as someone precious. Ready to die. Matthew adds that the servant was “paralyzed, dreadfully tormented” (Matthew 8:6). A centurion's orders could move soldiers, but they could not move a disease. Love that asks (7:3). He did not pray for himself. He used his friendship with the Jewish elders to bring another person's need to Jesus. That is what praying for others looks like. Why it matters. Jesus' care is not limited by rank, nation or usefulness. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). When we bring someone else's trouble to Jesus, we are doing what this soldier did.

The officer in this story was a centurion. That means he led about one hundred Roman soldiers. He was not Jewish, but he loved God's people. He was strong and important. But he still cared about his servant. The servant worked in his house. His servant was dear to him. The officer could give orders to soldiers. But he could not make a sickness go away. So he turned to Jesus for help. Jesus cares about people that others forget. He cares about you too.

The officer was a strong soldier. But he loved his sick servant. He asked Jesus for help. Jesus cares for everyone.

The elders speak up. The elders “begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving” (7:4). They thought Jesus should help because of the good things the centurion had done. His good deeds. “For he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue” (7:5). A synagogue was a meeting place where Jewish people prayed and heard God's Word read. A Roman soldier had given them one! Jesus went. “Then Jesus went with them” (7:6). Jesus did not stop to check whether the man was good enough. He simply went. A different message. Before Jesus reached the house, the centurion sent friends: “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof” (7:6). Not even worthy to come. “Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You” (7:7). The elders said he deserved help. He said he did not. Humble and honest. He did not trust in his good deeds. He knew who Jesus is, and he knew who he was. Being humble means seeing yourself truthfully before God. What we learn. We do not come to Jesus by listing our good deeds. We come the way this soldier came, humbly asking for help we do not deserve. Jesus welcomes people who come like that.

Two opinions (7:4-7). The elders said the centurion “was deserving.” The centurion said, “I am not worthy.” Both were speaking about the same man. The elders' reasons (7:5). “For he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” His kindness was real. He had given the town a place to pray and to hear the law and the prophets read. The elders were grateful and spoke well of him. His own view (7:6-7). He did not argue about his good record. He said Jesus should not even enter his house, and he did not count himself worthy to come to Jesus in person. A Jewish teacher in a Gentile home. Many Jews of that day would not go into the house of a Gentile, as Peter later said in Cornelius' house (Acts 10:28). The centurion most likely knew this and wanted to spare Jesus the trouble. Still, the reason he gave was his own unworthiness. Jesus did not wait for a verdict. “Then Jesus went with them” (7:6). Jesus was already walking toward a Gentile's house before anyone settled whether the man deserved it. Empty hands. In the sermon He had just preached, Jesus said, “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God” (6:20). The centurion was rich in rank and in good works, but he came to Jesus as a man with empty hands. Why it matters. Pride thinks Jesus owes us help. Despair thinks Jesus would never come near us. The centurion did neither. He knew he was unworthy, and he still asked.

The elders thought the officer deserved Jesus' help. They talked about all his good deeds. But the officer did not think that way. He knew he was not good enough for Jesus. That is called being humble. A humble person does not brag about his good deeds. Humble people know they need God. Nobody can earn God's help by being good. God helps us because He loves us. Jesus did not stop to check if the officer was good enough. He started walking toward the house right away. Jesus comes to people who know they need Him.

The leaders said the officer was good. The officer said he was not good enough. Jesus helps people who need Him.

Say the word. “But say the word, and my servant will be healed” (7:7). The centurion did not ask Jesus to come, touch the servant or pray beside the bed. One word was enough. Under authority. “For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me” (7:8). Authority is the right to give orders. The centurion had leaders above him and soldiers below him. Orders obeyed. “And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes” (7:8). When a centurion gave an order, it was done. His soldiers did not argue. What he saw in Jesus. The centurion understood that Jesus has authority too, far greater than his. Sickness had to obey Jesus the way soldiers obeyed their officer. Lord. He called Jesus “Lord” (7:6). He was a powerful man, but he put himself under Jesus. All authority. After He rose from the dead, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Sickness, storms and even death must obey Him. What we learn. Jesus is not only a helper we call when we are in trouble. He is the Lord who is in charge of everything. You can trust Him with your biggest problems and obey Him in your everyday choices.

“Say the word” (7:7). The centurion asked for a spoken command and nothing more. He did not need Jesus in the room, a touch or a ceremony. Exousia (7:8). The Greek word for authority is exousia (say: ex-oo-SEE-ah), the right and power to command. The centurion lived inside a chain of command: “a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me.” Borrowed authority. His orders carried weight because Rome stood behind them. He saw that Jesus' words carried the authority of God Himself, and that a disease had to answer to Jesus the way a soldier answered to him. Go, come, do this. He gave three short commands, and each one was obeyed at once. In the same way, a sickness would leave at a single command from Jesus. Calling Him Lord. Jesus had just asked, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). The centurion called Him “Lord” (7:6) and fully expected His word to be done. On the lake. Later the disciples watched Jesus calm a storm and asked, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” (Mark 4:41). The centurion already knew part of the answer. All authority. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Every power in the universe answers to Jesus, and so do we. Faith that calls Him Lord also obeys Him.

The officer knew all about orders. Leaders above him told him what to do. Then he told his soldiers what to do. When he gave an order, it was done. The officer saw that Jesus is in charge too. Jesus is in charge of much more than soldiers. Sickness has to obey Jesus. That is why one word from Jesus was enough. Jesus did not even need to be there. The wind, the sea and sickness all obey Him. Jesus is the Lord over everything. We can trust Him with big problems. We can obey Him in little things too.

The officer said Jesus could just say a word. The officer gave orders to his soldiers. Jesus has power over sickness.

Jesus marveled. “When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him” (7:9). To marvel is to be amazed. The Son of God was amazed by a soldier's trust. He turned to the crowd. Jesus “turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’” (7:9). Not even in Israel. Israel had the Scriptures, the temple and God's promises. Yet a Gentile soldier trusted Jesus more than the people who should have known Him best. What great faith is. His faith was great because he saw how great Jesus is. He was humble about himself and sure about Jesus. Healed. “And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick” (7:10). Jesus never went inside. His word was enough. Praying today. Jesus really healed this servant. He still hears every prayer, and sometimes He heals. If He does not take a sickness away yet, it does not mean He is angry with you. He is with you, and one day there will be “no more pain” (Revelation 21:4). What we learn. You do not need big feelings to have great faith. You need to trust a great Savior. Bring your own needs and the needs of others to Him.

Thaumazō (7:9). “He marveled at him.” The Greek word thaumazō (say: thow-MAD-zoh) means to be amazed. The Gospels tell of Jesus marveling at two things: this Gentile's faith, and the unbelief of His hometown, Nazareth (Mark 6:6). Faith outside Israel. Israel had the covenants, the prophets and the promises. The strongest faith Jesus had met so far came from a Roman officer who had none of those by birth. East and west. Matthew gives more of what Jesus said: “many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11). The centurion was an early sign of the Gentiles coming to God, as Simeon had sung over the baby Jesus: “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32). What made it great. His faith was humble (“I am not worthy”) and confident (“say the word”). He measured Jesus, not himself. Great faith is not a strong feeling. It is a true view of a great Lord. Healed (7:10). The messengers returned and “found the servant well who had been sick.” Matthew adds that “his servant was healed that same hour” (Matthew 8:13). Healing and prayer today. Jesus still hears prayer and still heals, but He does not promise to remove every sickness in this life. Being sick does not mean God is angry with you; Jesus once said a man's blindness was not punishment for anyone's sin (John 9:3). Paul learned, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). For us. The centurion prayed for someone else. Bring the people you love to Jesus, humbly and confidently, and leave the answer with Him.

Jesus heard the officer's message. He was amazed! Jesus turned to the crowd behind Him. He said He had not found faith this great in Israel. Israel was God's own people. They knew God's Word and His promises. But a soldier from another nation trusted Jesus more. Great faith does not come from being strong or important. It comes from knowing how great Jesus is. The friends went back to the house. They found the servant healed! Jesus still hears us when we pray. He may not take every sickness away right now. But He always listens, and He always cares.

Jesus was amazed at the officer's faith. The servant got well. Jesus still hears us when we pray. He loves it when we trust Him.