When Jesus entered Capernaum, a city of Israel, there was a centurion, a Roman soldier responsible for another 100 soldiers. He was an important person in the Roman Army and was not a Jew. There was a servant highly esteemed by him who was sick. When he heard about Jesus, the centurion asked the Jewish elders to call him to heal the servant.
Rome was taking over Israel, which was a colony of the Roman Empire. The soldiers were there to watch over, to collect the taxes and fees from the Jews, but the centurion loved the nation of Israel. “Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Luke 7.6-8).
The centurion knew the power of authority and was therefore placing himself under the authority of the Lord Jesus. He said: I don't need the Lord to come to my house. I just need you to give the order. Look at the centurion's faith! It is what we call Intelligent Faith. There was no prayer or religious ritual. There was only the manifestation of the Faith. “When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and 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” (Luke 7.9). The centurion was a good man, this caught God’s attention and set him apart from the other centurions, but was his faith that caused his servant to be healed. What does that mean nowadays? It is important to have right attitudes, even when everyone does wrong things. This has value before God, but don't forget that you need to act your Faith. Don't be basing your Faith on religiosity. The centurion showed fear for the Word of the Lord Jesus. He became a servant and made Jesus his Lord and Commander. Have you done this or has God spoken and you have shrugged?
Bishop Renato Cardoso
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