Mathew 8:5-6.
Men, Jesus entered a town called Capernum, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. There, a centurion came to Him saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” A centurion was an overseer of 100 soldiers but was not a commissioned officer. He may have some history in the Galilean region to get a post there. His servant was probably from the region but not necessarily a Jew. Somehow, he hears of Jesus and recognizes the need. There is no mention of seeking a Roman physician prior, here or in Luke’s account. This servant has gained empathy from the centurion, and he has a confidence in Jesus’s ability to meet an unusual need.
Here we are in America, a major trade route like Galilee. Like the centurion, we all have influence over a region. People from local regions serve us daily. Delivery people, food service providers, and so on. How many of the people we encounter daily are all but paralyzed by doubt, fear, anxiety, worry, stress and more?
The centurion was not a church member, but he recognized another person’s need for Jesus. Do we not more often recognize that a struggling person is in our way, hindering us? How is it that we can look at people, and have no empathy, not recognizing that only Jesus truly heals? Would someone’s need have to be so great that they became frozen in terror in our homes to seek Jesus on their behalf?
Move forward men, calling for Jesus, the One true Healer, to engage in other people’s horror stories. Stop and look around today. Where is the need? Make a request of heaven today on a someone’s behalf. Ask for healing to come to someone who can’t ask for it themselves, for whatever reason.
Vance Durrance
