matthew 8: 5-13

ever since I was a kid, matthew 8: 5-13 has been one of my favorite bible stories.

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”

He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”

The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.

I'm no longer a child. I'm 75 years old and I still love this story. when I was in the army, it was said that company commander (typically a captain) was the best job in the army. a company commander commands about 100 men. as an enlisted man, I could easily see why company commander is the best job in the army. "... For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

after the army, I spent 40+ years in the business world as a civil engineer. during my later years, I managed relatively small groups of engineers and technicians (much less than 100). I knew full well what it meant to be "a person subject to authority, with others subject to me". 

Today I think the things that I most love about this story is the centurion's faith and his begging Jesus to heal his servant. when I think about it, that's the posture with which we should all approach Jesus--as beggars with faith. we are sinners. Jesus is our Savior. why wouldn't we have faith? why wouldn't we beg for His mercy and forgiveness? why wouldn't our faith in Jesus be as strong as the centurion's?  

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