Roads are blocked off. Men in dark suits with radios in their ears are standing in front of you, scanning the crowd. Before you hear the cheers, before you see the dark SUVs, you know the President is coming through. When the President arrives, how do we know it’s him? In our age, we have TV and other media to show us his face, so we recognize him and his authority. In ancient times, a king had a signet ring to prove his authority.
God doesn’t have a signet ring or a Secret Service posse. He often proves the authority of his message with a miracle. He did it with Moses, to show the people of Israel that Moses was his messenger. He did it with Elijah for the same reason. Jesus did the same, to prove that he is who he said he is: the Son of God.
The centurion understood this. A centurion was a leader of 100 Roman soldiers. He had men under him, and he was under the command of others. He expected that if he told one of his men to “stand over there,” that man would instantly move to that spot. He also knew that if his own commander ordered him to move his troops to another city, he would do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. The centurion understood how authority works.
When he asks Jesus to heal his servant, he understands that Jesus only needs to speak and what he commanded – a man to be healed – would be done. Jesus is pleased with the centurion’s faith. He tells the crowd that faith is what brings a person into the feast of heaven, not one’s background or family, as the Jews taught. And to prove this message is true, he spoke, and the servant was healed.
Prayer: God, increase my faith. Help me to believe you are who you say you are: faithful, loving, kind, and just. I believe Jesus died for my sins. Help me to live this message in my own life so that others will believe. A life changed by Christ is a miracle, too! Amen.