A Soldier's Servant
Luke 7:1-1
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.2A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death.3When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.4When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him,5for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.”6And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof;7therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.
A CENTURION WAS A ROMAN soldier, an officer who commanded 60 to 100 soldiers. As for the particular centurion in today’s Scripture, some have suggested that he was retired. He seems to have been a man of some means, having built the synagogue in Capernaum for the Jewish people. (He may have donated the funds or procured them from Rome.) In the DVD that is available for The Way, I show you the ruins of a later synagogue built atop the synagogue this centurion had constructed.
The centurion’s highly valued servant was near death, so the centurion asked the town elders to seek Jesus’ help. Jesus showed no hesitancy about going to heal the servant of a centurion in the Roman occupying army. Nor did he appear hesitant to enter the home of the centurion.
As Jesus was on his way, the soldier sent his friends to say, “Lord, do not trouble yourself to come to my house. I’m not worthy for you to enter my home. Just say the word and my servant will be healed.” Jesus found this remarkable. While many Jews did not yet understand or believe that Jesus was the Messiah, this man recognized Jesus’ ability to heal and his authority over illness, even at some distance. Jesus noted, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith” (Luke 7: 9 NRSV.) Jesus gave the word, and the man’s servant was healed.
Just a few verses earlier, in Luke 6, Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies and do good to those who mistreated them (Luke 6: 28-38). In the story of the centurion, Jesus demonstrated what he had just taught and what he would teach again and again: that his was a call not to take up arms against Romans, but to win them over by acts of kindness and mercy.
We’re not in a land under occupation, so who today is the equivalent of the Roman soldier needing our help? Could it be someone of the opposing political party, a Republican or Democrat? Could it be a person of an entirely different faith from our own? Walking in the footsteps of Jesus means ministering to those who need us, even if they appear to be an outsider or an enemy.
Lord, you dropped what you were doing to heal the servant of your people’s enemy. You did not see him as your enemy but as someone who needed you. Help me to demonstrate love and care for those who are outside my social group, particularly for those who might naturally be considered my enemies. Amen.
Adam Hamilton, The Way: 40 Days of Reflection: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus
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