|
Join our e-mail list! |
|
Just type your e-mail address below and
press submit.
|
|
|
| |
 |
| |
Intercessory Faith: The Roman
Centurion - An Appreciation
By Stuart D. Kent
February 5, 2001
When
Captain Will Cletos barks out a command, he expects it to be followed.
A Roman centurion (commander of 100 soldiers) earns the respect of his
company one man at a time. He is in
tune with the simple needs of his men, as if they were his own.
If they are hungry, tired, or sick, he takes care of the problem with
concern and promptness. In return, his men jump to obey his orders with loyalty.
If the captain gives the command to march, arrest, or kill, the order is
carried out swiftly and without hesitation.
At
present, the only job of these soldiers is to keep the peace in Capernaum, a
town northeast of Jerusalem and part of the greater Roman Empire.
It is where a young Jewish teacher is living, along with His handful of
followers. Though a Gentile,
Captain Will is a friend to the Jews and helps them build a home missions
synagogue, committing his time and money to the effort.
He also wins the hearts of his household servants, who lovingly serve the
master who shows them kindness. He
is indeed a true gentleman.
Then,
one of his house servants, a young man named Ketes, becomes extremely sick,
crying out in pain. When the news
comes that the teacher Jesus is returning to Capernaum, Will rushes out of the
house to meet Him as he enters the city. He
approaches Jesus and explains, “Sir, my servant is sick in bed at home, unable
to move and suffering terribly.” Not
a son, or daughter, but a mere servant. Jesus
tells him, “I will go and make him well.”
The
Captain’s mind races, thinking desperately for an answer. He is familiar with
the Jewish laws and customs that prohibit certain contact between Jew and
Gentile. He doesn’t want the Jewish teacher to have to break any
religious laws. He protests, “Oh,
no sir! I do not deserve to have
you come into my house!”
Then,
unthinkable in the minds of the disciples of Jesus, Captain Will gives what is
nearly a command to Jesus. “Just
give the order, and my servant will get well.”
The disciples’ faces flush red, each glancing at the others, not
believing the boldness and rudeness of this Roman. It is a moment frozen in
time, and even Jesus seems to hesitate, his eyes full of wonderment. Sort
of like lifting up your backpack full of CD’s at the Airport security check-in
point with the metal detectors and announcing, “Hello.
I have a large bomb in my suitcase.”
The
captain then explains, “I, too, am a man under the authority of superior
officers, and I have soldiers under me. I
order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he
comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
Silence
again. Jesus lets the moment sink
in. This time the captain
hesitates. He straightens his back, stiffens his arms by his sides in military
fashion and stares directly ahead, ready for an order from the teacher.
Then
Jesus reacts. He marvels, filled with wonder and surprise—not because this
response is a new and innovative concept—but because of the captain’s
attitude of excellence. This is
truly a rare breed of man, a man who understands that Jesus does indeed possess
the authority of God above and is there to carry out His will on Earth.
Likewise, this centurion receives his orders from Rome, with the
authority as the designated official to command 100 soldiers to do the will of
the government.
“I
tell you, I have never found anyone in
Israel with faith like this,” Jesus tells the crowd of disciples and
followers. He has taught them that
many non-Jewish men will join ranks with great men like Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob one day. He has taught that
Jewish race and heritage do not automatically produce a free membership into the
promises of God: “But those who should
be in the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness.”
Some will suffer for their lackluster life.
Suddenly,
Jesus spins around on one heel, facing Captain Will again and commands, “Go
home, and what you believe will be done for you.”
At the captain’s house, someone notes the hour of the day, because that
is when the servant Ketes sits up in bed. He
couldn’t lift his head off the pillow before, but now he swings his feet to
the floor, stands and stretches his arms high as if shaking off a long night’s
sleep. “And
the officer’s servant was healed that very moment.”
(Matthew 8:13 TEV)
A
party quickly begins, with the other servants gasping in amazement at the sight
of Ketes skipping around the house, laughing and leaping with joy.
The house of Captain Will is lit up with joy, and when he opens the front
door and sees the action, he pulls off his helmet and smiles, the warm feeling
of appreciation washing over him.
There’s
so much to admire about this centurion. Mostly,
it is how he makes an unselfish request for a servant as boldly as he would have
for his own child. As becoming an
officer of the military of any country, he is a man of order, discipline, and
efficiency. His action that day is
a monument to the Apostolic men and women of intercessory prayer who talk boldly
with the Lord.
Intercessors
are transported to foreign countries by the simple act of the closing of the
eyelids, believing with great faith that their prayer and the touch of Jesus can
reach across the span of lands and oceans.
Their prayers reach into the simplest heart, in the tiniest home, of the
most underdeveloped nation to bring healing, blessing, and salvation.
The
disciples witness the different ways that people approach Jesus, some begging,
some climbing trees, some asking tricky questions.
Yet the centurion walks right up to Him with respect and a
straightforward request in faith. He
is a model of modern day prayer.
I
am inspired by this gentleman to straighten up my own act, and instead of the
miserable worrying about problems and people, to approach the Lord with
obedience and discipline, making requests with the expectancy that He is
listening, and He will respond. I
need great faith. Captain Will
shows me how to utilize it.
ninetyandnine.com
©
2000, Stuard D. Kent
-------
Stuart
D. Kent lives in Georgia, where he was born.
He majored in English at Mercer University, the alma mater of his parents
and great-grandfather. Most days
involve driving his two sons around in the “Dadmobile,” though mere mortals
only see it as a ’93 Ford Aerostar,
|
