The Centurion’s Faith (Luke 7:1-10)

Luke now begins to share some stories that clarify the nature of faith. In the first of these, a gentile centurion who has a sick servant sends people to Jesus to ask Him to heal the servant. Jesus prepares to come heal the servant and the centurion sends word for Him to not come. The centurion is not worthy of such honor. However, he asks Jesus to merely order his servant healed. The centurion understands authority and knows how Jesus can merely declare his servant healed.

Jesus is amazed at the man’s faith. This shows us that there is an aspect of faith that is more than merely “believing” an idea. The centurion understood that the world worked under authority. Jesus has the ultimate authority and that means He has power over things like sickness, oppression, life and death. Jesus does not need to go see or touch the servant in order to heal him. He can merely say the word and the servant will be healed. The powers and circumstances in the world are under Jesus’s control.

When we have faith in Jesus, this is how we see the world. He is in charge. The world is no longer a scary place where things are out of control or controlled by evil forces out to get us. It is also not under our control either. We do not get to decide how things happen, or what happens around us or to us. However, we know that everything is under the authority of our God who loves us and wants the best for us. Even when the ultimate best is temporary difficulty.