1-5 When he finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. A Roman captain there had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn’t want to lose him. When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, “He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built our meeting place.”
6-8 Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9-10 Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works.” When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well.
This is a story primarily about faith, not faith healing. It is an example of someone from the outside whose faith put to shame those on the inside. He was a Roman, a centurion, yet a sensitive man who was open to the mystery and miracles of life. He cares about his slave enough to send friends to Jesus to see if something might happen which could be called nothing short of a miracle. Such faith IS a miracle!
This story is a miracle of healing which points to the miracle of faith which is to be remembered and duplicated. A faith which is open to miracles and leaves room in life for the mysterious presence of a loving God.
"Miracles take place not
because they are preformed,
but because they are believed,"
Martin Luther
Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, I believe in miracles even when I can’t grasp the thought that they do happen. Help me to believe in miracles, and be a miracle.”
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