Luke 7:1-6a (NIV) When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them.
Centurions were men of great trust in Roman society. Each one was the commander of a hundred Roman soldiers, and were generally considered men of great character.
This particular centurion was an amazing man. He was a God-fearer, one who worshipped the true God but had not yet undergone circumcision, so was not yet considered a convert to Judaism. That one step of faith could easily have cost him his position, and couldn’t be denied, as it was a mark that would be clearly visible every time he used the public bathes.
But the man was devoted to the Jewish people, and had even built a synagogue in his neighborhood – not a small or inexpensive undertaking. That step and his good relationship with the Jewish community had earned him the willingness of these Jewish elders to go to Jesus and to plead with Him on his behalf. Their message was that if any gentile deserved to have a healing done for him, this was the man.
It is also significant that the healing requested was not for the centurion himself, or even for a family member. It was for a servant who was highly valued by the centurion, and who was sick to the point of death. Medical help had been sought, but the doctors were unable to help the man. But then someone, likely one of these Jewish elders, told him about Jesus, and the wonders that He was able to perform, healing all manner of diseases with a touch, or even a word.
That was all that it took. The testimony of these men about Jesus bloomed in his heart into faith. So he sent the elders to Jesus to petition Him to come and heal his servant.
Father, it’s amazing to me how quickly a word of testimony can grow into full-fledged faith in the soil of a prepared heart. We sometimes think that, in order to persuade someone to believe in Jesus, we have to know a lot of theology, or have a bunch of Bible verses memorized. But all it really takes is a clear testimony of what Jesus has done in my own life to show someone Your love and Your power to change hearts. Open my lips, Lord, to speak Your word clearly and boldly everywhere I go. Amen.