In the Gospels and the Book of Acts, Roman centurions are presented as quality men of character, and the one found in our text is a prime example of that. The Jewish people in that time had little or really no love for the Romans soldiers. However these Jewish elders commended this officer to Jesus. This Roman centurion loved his servant and did not want him to die. I'm really impressed by this Centurions love but also his humility. Imagine a Roman officer telling a poor Jewish rabbi that he was unworthy to have Him enter his house! (Talk about counter cultural) this Centurion is definitely going against the grain. The Romans were not known for displaying humility especially to Jewish people. But the characteristic that most impressed Jesus was the man's faith. Twice in the Gospel record we are told that Jesus marveled. Here in Capernaum, He marveled at the faith of a Gentile; and in Nazareth, He marveled at the unbelief of the Jews (Mark 6:6). The only other person Jesus commended for having "great faith" was a Gentile woman whose daughter He delivered from a demon.
The centurion's faith certainly was remarkable. After all, he was a Gentile whose background was pagan. He was a Roman soldier, trained to be self sufficient, and we have no evidence that he had ever heard Jesus preach. What Jesus and this Centurion had in common was they where both under authority, and because they were under authority, they had the right to exercise authority. All they had to do is say the word and things happened. This centurion displayed amazing faith no wonder Jesus marveled!!
Application:
If this Roman, with very little spiritual instruction, had that kind of faith in Jesus how much greater our faith ought to be! We have the Word of God to encourage us, and yet we are guilty of no faith MArk 4:40 or little faith Matt. 14:31. Our prayer needs to be Lord increase my faith Luke 17:5
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