JESUS AND THE CENTURION

"And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a Centurion."

Could anything be more dramatic than this drama which is about to be unrolled? The Centurion, - glorious in his crimson and gold, his shining helmet and breastplate, his glittering sword and his entourage of picked soldiers, - the epitome of temporal power and authority, - meeting the most Majestic Person ever to trod the globe, - the embodiment of Spiritual Power, - the Radiance and Light of His Presence outshining the highly polished metal of the Centurion.

And there they stand, - the Centurion beseeching Jesus. He who never asked favors of any man but ruthlessly possessed himself of any and all things he desired, speaks: "My servant lieth at home, sick of the palsy". A Centurion, pleading the cause of a common servant ! Servants were cheap in those days, - they could be had for nothing and disposed of by a word from their lord and master.

And then our Precious One answers, as He always answers every sincere request made of Him: "I will come and heal him".

But no, - the Centurion, standing in all his majesty, again speaks: "I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof, - but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed".

Humility and absolute faith flooded through his words, "Speak the word only, and my servant SHALL be healed, - for I also (note the self-recognition) am a man of authority, and I say unto this man 'Go', and he goeth, - and to another, 'Come', and he cometh". This was the kind of language Jesus could understand, - and the servant was healed in the self-same hour.

Jesus did not resent the gentle rebuke given Him by the Centurion, who called to His attention that He did not have to go anywhere physically to accomplish the blessings of the Omnipresent God. He stood there before this magnificent creature and said of him, - "I have not seen so great a faith, - no, not in all Israel". This takes in rather a large territory, - including all of His followers and even His disciples.

But reaching far beyond this is the motive back of it all. Why was the servant healed? What was the connecting link between this ruthless warrior, this proud aristocrat of Imperial Rome, and a servant? The gulf in position and place is almost unbridgeable. Think it over. The Centurion had come a long way in his chariot, - putting himself out a great deal for a mere servant. And then it dawns upon us that the Centurion was possessed of something mightier than the sword or his legions of soldiers. He was possessed of LOVE. Yes, the Centurion came in LOVE, - the only thing which "never faileth". What else could have happened but that the servant who was thus loved, be healed. "The measure ye mete", - the measure, - the motive back of the contact, - determines the results.

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