Luke Chapter 7

• The account of the centurion in Luke 7:1-10 spoke to me in the way that it illustrated the faith and commitment of the centurion. Some of the elements of this account that stood out and struck me were as follows:

• Despite not being Jewish (an Israelite), the centurion was somehow able to boldly acknowledge Jesus as his Lord (v6).

• Going further, the centurion also acknowledged the power of Jesus in 7:7 where he stated, “just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
  

• The centurion must have been a fairly compassionate master as we know he regarded at least some of his slaves in a high manner (v2).
  

• I liked the way the centurion explains his thought process in verse 8 and the reasoning behind his decision to not go to Jesus directly with his request. The description in verse 8 really conveys the centurion’s total comprehension of Jesus’ unquestioned authority.

In other words, the centurion appears to be saying that subordinates, whether soldiers or slaves, do not ask or tell their superior what they will do. To the contrary, a subordinate is told what to do and does as ordered. In this manner, the centurion, better than most, understands the utmost importance of this type of complete submission to authority.

What comes to mind is the zealous marine officer played by Jack Nicholson in the movie, “A Few Good Men”. In the movie, Jack’s character is the commanding officer of the US military base in Guantanamo Bay. The most notable aspect of the character is his inflexible belief in the importance of the chain of command. Something about this centurion seems to indicate that he lived according to a code of hierarchical relationships and took those codes seriously.

As noted, adding to the impact of the centurion’s deference is the fact that he seems to be a ranking officer and a person of standing. This was most likely a man that had devoted his life and career to the Roman Empire and must therefore have been indoctrinated with concepts of allegiance to Rome. Thus, the manner in which the centurion so overtly submits to the authority of Jesus is nothing short of amazing.