In this narrative, a Roman centurion seeks out Jesus. The problem is so great that the senior military commander had abandoned all hope of help from doctors: his personal servant was very ill and might die. Having come to depend on this man, the soldier had personal compassion for him and wanted to find a way to make him better. Instead of being competent to do many things for his master, the servant was paralysed. Unable to do anything for anybody, the sick man was utterly helpless.
Listening to the centurion, Jesus asked if he would like a home visit: but the soldier declared that Jesus was so great and he was so unworthy; and it would also be against the Jewish ceremonial law for Jesus to enter the home of a Gentile. But there was no need for Jesus to go to the sick man. The centurion believed that Jesus had so much authority that just by commanding the sickness to go, the servant would be healed.
This pagan Roman was a practical leader who knew that military commands must be obeyed. He understood the nature of authority: it was absolute, and when a word was spoken - actions followed. His servant had always obeyed him, so surely the servant's illness would be healed at the command of Jesus. All the captain wanted was for Jesus to give the command, and then he believed that healing would be immediate. That was real faith. He believed that Jesus had the authority and that His Words would have a powerful effect.
If every believer in Jesus had faith like that, what a difference it would make. In times of desperation and crisis, Jesus still has the authority to act powerfully in response to real faith. Call on Him to speak authoritatively into the situation you are facing: He has said that if we ask, He will give; if we knock, He will open; and if we seek, He will reveal the answer (Matthew 7:7-8). That is His promise which gives us the confidence to lay our needs before Him and trust in His powerful answer. Do so today!
