Scripture:  Matthew 8:5-17

5 Jesus came to the city of Capernaum. A captain of the army came to Him. He asked for help, 6 saying, "Lord, my servant is sick in bed. He is not able to move his body. He is in much pain." 7 Jesus said to the captain, "I will come and heal him." 8 The captain said, "Lord, I am not good enough for You to come to my house. Only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 I am a man who works for someone else and I have men working under me. I say to this man, 'Go!' and he goes. I say to another, 'Come!' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this!' and he does it."

 10 When Jesus heard this, He was surprised and wondered about it. He said to those who followed Him, "For sure, I tell you, I have not found so much faith in the Jewish nation. 11 I say to you, many people will come from the east and from the west. They will sit down with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob in the holy nation of heaven. 12 But those who should have belonged to the holy nation of heaven will be thrown out into outer darkness, where there will be crying and grinding of teeth." 13 Jesus said to the captain, "Go your way. It is done for you even as you had faith to believe." The servant was healed at that time.

14 Jesus came to Peter's house. He saw Peter's wife's mother in bed. She was very sick. 15 He touched her hand and the sickness left her. She got up and cared for Jesus. 16 That evening they brought to Jesus many people who had demons in them. The demons were put out when Jesus spoke to them. All the sick people were healed. 17 It happened as the early preacher Isaiah said it would happen. He said, "He took on Himself our sickness and carried away our diseases." (Isaiah 53:4)

Meditation: In Jesus’ time the Jews hated the Romans because they represented everything the Jews stood against – including pagan beliefs and idol worship, immoral practices such as abortion and infanticide, and the suppression of the Israelites' claim to be a holy nation governed solely by God's law. It must have been a remarkable sight for the Jewish residents of Caernaum to see Jesus conversing with an officer of the Roman army. Why did Jesus not only warmly receive a Roman centurion but praise him as a model of faith and confidence in God? In the Roman world the position of centurion was very important. He was an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. In a certain sense, he was the backbone of the Roman army, the cement which held the army together. Polybius, an ancient write, describes what a centurion should be: "They must not be so much venturesome seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable; they ought not to be over-anxious to rush into the fight, but when hard pressed, they must be ready to hold their ground, and die at their posts."

The centurion who approached Jesus was not only courageous, but faith-filled as well. He risked the ridicule of his cronies by seeking help from an itinerant preacher from Galilee, and well as mockery from the Jews. Nonetheless, he approached Jesus with confidence and humility. He was an extraordinary man because he loved his slave. In the Roman world slaves were treated like animals rather than people. The centurion was also an extraordinary man of faith. He wanted Jesus to heal his beloved slave. Jesus commends him for his faith and immediately grants him his request. Are you willing to suffer ridicule in the practice of your faith? And when you need help, do you approach the Lord Jesus with expectant faith?

Prayer: “Heavenly Father, you sent us your Son Jesus that we might be freed from the tyranny of sin and death. Increase my faith in the power of your saving word and give me freedom to love and serve others with generosity and mercy as you have loved me.”

Psalm 74:1-6,20-21

1 O God, why have You turned away from us forever? Why does Your anger burn against the sheep in Your fields?
 2 Remember Your people that You bought a long time ago. You made them free to be the family of Your promise, and Mount Zion, where You have lived.
 3 Turn Your steps toward this place that has been destroyed forever. Those who hate You have destroyed all that is in the holy place.
 4 Those who hate You have called out in the center of Your meeting place. They have set up their flags to show that they have won.
 5 They acted like men taking up axes against a group of trees.
 6 All of its fine work has been broken with axes and sticks.