Luke 7:1-10 (Daily Bread of 8/6/2018)

NEVER BEFORE HAVE I SEEN SUCH GREAT FAITH Key verse 7: 9b The episode of the centurion's servant or rather of the centurion tells us much about what faith is and what true love is. May God give you faith and love so that you may be good shepherds of our deviated times. 1. The centurion (1-4)

Firstly, a centurion appeared before Jesus. This passage took place et the headquarters of Jesus' work in Capernaum. This was also a regional headquarters of the Roman army. Jesus based his Ministry around this city, so that after a long journey of evangelization, he used to go down there to rest a little. One day a Roman centurion came. He was a good man, so much so that his fame was great among the people of Israel. He was a man of respect and a wisdom, so at he first sent a delegation of Jews to Jesus to beg Jesus to heal his sick servant. The servant, being considered at the time as possession, was not worth more than a piece of scum to be thrown away. However, this centurion was full of humanity, so he did all in his power to heal him. Even if we have faith that moves mountains and allows us to speak the language of angels, what good is it if we do not have love?. Though pagan, the love that this centurion showed towards his servant touched the hearts of the colonized people. 2. I have never seen so much faith in my life (6-10) After this event Jesus made an acclamation of his faith. Jesus was simply amazed by the faith of this pagan. First of all, his salutation was humble enough to touch Jesus' heart (6b). Jesus said that no one in Israel, until that day, had such faith. According to his experience in his military career, the centurion knew the power of authority. He thought that order in hierarchy would make the military affair work, however inextricable it might be. In the same way he believed that for spiritual matters this could also apply. From what he had heard he believed that Jesus was God himself. Thanks to his faith, his servant was healed in the end.