Centurion Watches Over His Sick Servantby CBPepper
7:2Luke 7:2
And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
This verse belongs to the account of the centurion at Capernaum in Luke 7:1-17, which is also told in Matthew 8:5-13. It presents the centurion's servant as dear to him, gravely ill, and ready to die. This desperate condition became the occasion for Jesus to show His power by healing the servant.
The servant's grave illness was palsy that left him stricken and near death. Though the servant was a slave, the centurion was tenderly attached to him and treated him with care and longing for his recovery, in contrast to Roman servants who were often enslaved and treated cruelly. Though he had never seen Jesus himself, the centurion had heard reports about Him that gave him faith that Jesus could heal, and he earnestly desired and greatly wanted the servant's recovery.
The centurion respected the Jews' worship of God, had treated them kindly, and had found in Jesus' reported teaching what his soul needed. Feeling unworthy to approach Jesus himself, he asked the Jewish elders to speak to Jesus for him. The servant's need led the centurion to seek Jesus' help, trusting Jesus could heal by command alone; he relied not on his own worth or good deeds but on Jesus' mercy, making his need his plea, and the servant was healed.
The healing displays Jesus' power and willingness to give relief, and is presented as an example of Christ's healing power and a lesson of encouragement. The episode is the centurion's conversion and the rewarding of his faith, an instance of Jesus working beyond the acknowledged people of Israel. It shows that Gentiles whom many considered unworthy of salvation could hunger for the light of truth and receive the gospel, teaching that salvation is for all mankind and that God's kingdom has no territorial or social divisions.
This verse belongs to the account of the centurion at Capernaum in Luke 7:1-17, which is also told in Matthew 8:5-13. It presents the centurion's servant as dear to him, gravely ill, and ready to die. This desperate condition became the occasion for Jesus to show His power by healing the servant.
The servant's grave illness was palsy that left him stricken and near death. Though the servant was a slave, the centurion was tenderly attached to him and treated him with care and longing for his recovery, in contrast to Roman servants who were often enslaved and treated cruelly. Though he had never seen Jesus himself, the centurion had heard reports about Him that gave him faith that Jesus could heal, and he earnestly desired and greatly wanted the servant's recovery.
The centurion respected the Jews' worship of God, had treated them kindly, and had found in Jesus' reported teaching what his soul needed. Feeling unworthy to approach Jesus himself, he asked the Jewish elders to speak to Jesus for him. The servant's need led the centurion to seek Jesus' help, trusting Jesus could heal by command alone; he relied not on his own worth or good deeds but on Jesus' mercy, making his need his plea, and the servant was healed.
The healing displays Jesus' power and willingness to give relief, and is presented as an example of Christ's healing power and a lesson of encouragement. The episode is the centurion's conversion and the rewarding of his faith, an instance of Jesus working beyond the acknowledged people of Israel. It shows that Gentiles whom many considered unworthy of salvation could hunger for the light of truth and receive the gospel, teaching that salvation is for all mankind and that God's kingdom has no territorial or social divisions.