Matthew 8:5-11
When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, a
Roman army captain came and pled with him to come to his home and heal his
servant boy who was in bed paralyzed and racked with pain. “Yes,” Jesus said,
“I will come and heal him.” Then the officer said, “Sir, I am not worthy to
have you in my home; and it isn’t necessary for you to come. If you will only
stand here and say, ‘Be healed,’ my servant will get well! I know, because I am
under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my
soldiers, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he
comes, and to my slave boy, ‘Do this or that,’ and he does it. And I know you
have authority to tell his sickness to go—and it will go!” Jesus stood there
amazed! Turning to the crowd he said, “I haven’t seen faith like this in all
the land of Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles like this Roman
officer, shall come from all over the world and sit down in the Kingdom of
Heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Food for thought!
We have to acknowledge something very special about this centurion at Capernaum, and that was his attitude to his servant. This servant would be the equivalent of our house boy, our driver, our gardener, but the centurion was grieved that his servant was ill and was determined to do everything in his power to save him. He came and pleaded with Jesus "to come to his home and heal his servant boy who was in bed paralyzed and racked with pain."
It is quite clear that this centurion was an extraordinary man, for he loved his servant boy. It is easy to love your spouse, your children, your parents or even your colleagues at work. But to to love your maid, your house girl, your gardener, your house servant, your driver is uncommon. And this is what makes this centurion stand out. When did you last do something similar to your servant or maid?
It may well be that it was his totally unusual and unexpected gentleness and love which so moved Jesus when the centurion first came to him. The Bible says “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love makes up for many of your faults. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay for the night.” (1 Peter 4:8-11).
For the centurion to care that much for his servant, this servant must have been loyal to him. Loyalty begets loyalty; goodness begets goodness. We must be good to those who are good to us, because the person who cares for other persons is always near to Jesus Christ.
The way to get on in this world is to do whatever work you are doing well, then you will be picked to do some other job that is not being done well. God does not want us to do extraordinary things; He wants us to do ordinary things extraordinarily well. God is good to those who are good!
Food for thought!
We have to acknowledge something very special about this centurion at Capernaum, and that was his attitude to his servant. This servant would be the equivalent of our house boy, our driver, our gardener, but the centurion was grieved that his servant was ill and was determined to do everything in his power to save him. He came and pleaded with Jesus "to come to his home and heal his servant boy who was in bed paralyzed and racked with pain."
It is quite clear that this centurion was an extraordinary man, for he loved his servant boy. It is easy to love your spouse, your children, your parents or even your colleagues at work. But to to love your maid, your house girl, your gardener, your house servant, your driver is uncommon. And this is what makes this centurion stand out. When did you last do something similar to your servant or maid?
It may well be that it was his totally unusual and unexpected gentleness and love which so moved Jesus when the centurion first came to him. The Bible says “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love makes up for many of your faults. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay for the night.” (1 Peter 4:8-11).
For the centurion to care that much for his servant, this servant must have been loyal to him. Loyalty begets loyalty; goodness begets goodness. We must be good to those who are good to us, because the person who cares for other persons is always near to Jesus Christ.
The way to get on in this world is to do whatever work you are doing well, then you will be picked to do some other job that is not being done well. God does not want us to do extraordinary things; He wants us to do ordinary things extraordinarily well. God is good to those who are good!
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