Daily Devotional For Sunday, September 28, 2025
Good day Southside! Look at Matthew 8:5-13:
“When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, (6) ‘Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.’ (7) Jesus said, ‘I will come and heal him.’ (8) But the officer said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have You come into my home. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed. (9) I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” (10) When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. Turning to those who were following Him, He said, “‘ tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! (11) And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. (12) But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (13) Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, ‘Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.’ And the young servant was healed that same hour” (NLT).
From the beginning of Matthew 8, the scenery changes. Jesus and His disciples walk about an hour down to Capernaum towards the Sea of Galilee. We know from history that Rome had a Roman fort and garrison in Capernaum. As with most cities with military bases, a certain amount of immorality, sin and decadence is there also. From prostitution, to gambling, to bar brawls, these are common. So, this Roman soldier lives in this type of a city but he has come to the only sinless man there – Jesus.
As they entered the village, a Roman Centurion approached Jesus. If the leper in the previous verses was a crowd splitter, the Roman Centurion and commander was a crowd stopper. This Roman Centurion would have been fully dressed in all his Roman fatigues and armor. He would have certainly stood out and those Jews standing around would have been offended. They hated Rome and anyone who was a part of Rome. They probably stared in hatred and content for this Roman soldier. New Testament scholar William Barclay explains the rank and the power this Roman Centurion had:
“The centurions were the backbone of the Roman army. In a Roman legion there were 6,000 men; the legion was divided into 60 centuries, each containing 100 men, and in command of each century there was a centurion. These centurions were the long-service, regular soldiers of the Roman army. They were responsible for the discipline of the regiment, and they were the cement which held the army together.… The centurions were the finest men in the Roman army” (Source: William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series, “Matthew,” Vol. 1 p. 347).
What is amazing here is that Jesus’ reputation, ability to do miracles had reached all the way up to this Roman Centurion. Did you notice that the Roman Centurion never asked Jesus to heal his servant? He talked about the authority his rank gave Him and the authority and rank Jesus had. He addressed Jesus as “Lord,” which is an affirmation of the deity of Jesus as the Messiah. In his humility, he simply hinted to Jesus when he informed Jesus of his servant’s physical and medical condition. Luke’s Gospel adds something that Matthew’s does not. Look at Luke 7:6-7 at what this Romans Centurion said to Jesus, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. (7) I am not even worthy to come and meet You. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed” (NLT).
Do you hear the humility in this man’s words? He knows he is not even worthy to be in the same room with Jesus. He knew his morality was nothing compared to Jesus’ morality. He knew looking at his worth compared to Jesus, he was unworthy. He knew that Jesus’ authority was greater than his own authority. Jesus did not need anything to make this miracle happen. This Centurion knew all he needed was Jesus and that was enough.
Thus, in absolute faith this Gentile, this Roman Centurion expresses his belief that Jesus can heal his servant. A second amazing thing to me in this story is that to Rome, servants or slaves were a “dime a dozen.” Roman soldiers as a rule did not develop any kind of emotional or relational bond to a servant or slave. If that servant or slave died, they could get another servant or slave immediately. Whoever this slave or servant was, meant something to this Roman Centurion. This says a lot about this Gentile Roman Centurion.
His attitude and approach and Jesus’ response shows that Jesus and the Gospel was not limited to the Jews, but would also be for the Gentiles. This centurion asked for help, not for himself, but for another. And in doing so, he crossed racial, social, political and religious barriers to do this. It is amazing that this Centurion asked for help, but not for himself. He allowed Jesus to decide the how, the when and even the if He would heal this servant.
We can learn a thing or two from this Centurion. First, he teaches us that it is a privilege to pray and when we do, we should not make demands of God, but simply express our needs, gratitude and praise to Him. Second, the centurion teaches us how we should be prayer warriors for others to the Father. This will bring the resources of the Father to respond and it will show our compassion for others rather than selfishness for what we want personally.
Mathew shows us that Jesus came for anyone and everyone. So great was the faith of this Roman Centurion, that Jesus commented that He had not heard or met one person of the people of God with this kind of faith. There are times we all are going to feel helpless. But when we call out to Jesus like this Roman Centurion, Jesus comes to our aid.
Assignment: When you have a need, how would you measure your faith? Do you believe Jesus can help you or do you doubt? This Centurion took the risk to reach out to Jesus. He did not care who knew. He just did it. How visible to others is your reaching out to the Lord? What are you willing to bridge or what barriers are you willing to overcome to get to Jesus? Are you more self-reliant or God-reliant?
Scripture To Meditate On: John 14:13-14, Jesus said, “You can ask for anything in My name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. (14) Yes, ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it!” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I really do not depend on You as I should. I live my self-reliant life and when bad things come, I tend to try to manipulate them to get my way or will. Help me to just come to You. Help me to be a prayer warrior for others. Help me to step out in faith trusting You with the when, the how, and the what. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly