Prayer:
I have faith in you God, because you are Jehovah-Shammah, the present Lord. I am confident that You are here with me, speaking to me through Your Word. Deepen my faith today as I grow closer to You.
Take a few minutes of silence. In your own words, ask God to meet you here.
Reading:
When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time, the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask Him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”
So Jesus went with them, but just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble Yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet You. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. If I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.'”
When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following Him, He said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed” (
Response:
After reading those verses, what are your first impressions? Why do you think the officer trusted that Jesus could heal his servant, even if He didn’t go to the house? Write down anything that comes to your mind about this passage.
Insight:
The officer we find in this story is unique in many ways. It was not normal for a Roman officer to love the nation of Israel or help build synagogues, and an officer typically was not so caring for his servants (who were considered slaves). He stood out to the Jewish elders as someone Jesus should help.
The officer also addresses Jesus as Lord. This is a term of royalty, as in King or master. The Roman citizens of his day would have reserved that title for Caesar only. In fact, on some of the Roman coins of this time, Caesar is called the son of god; but this officer addressed Jesus as Lord, not Caesar. He recognized that all things are under Jesus’ authority in the same way his soldiers are under his authority. This Roman officer honored Jesus more than some of God’s own people.
Reflection:
Re-read Luke 7:1-10 and compare it with the account in
Why do you think the officer had such a strong faith in Jesus?
In what ways is it obvious to others that you have faith?
How can you demonstrate your faith to those around you? Make a list, and choose one of those things to do this week.
