”All these things happened to our ancestors so that we would learn from them. They are written in the Bible to teach us important lessons.” (1 Corinthians 10:11 EASY). The Bible wants us to learn from history and character’s behaviors.
Bible characters and their life situations have bountiful experiences from which we can draw lessons from. When you outline the principles, you can benefit from the richness of what they had to endure and experience. Those instructions are useful as they show the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between.
One character worth learning from is the centurion. There are a few of them mentioned in the New Testament. In Scripture, each of them is presented by their title, not their names. One notable exception is Cornelius in the book of Acts 10. All others are presented either by their role, actions, or sayings.
Mark 15 and Luke 23 present a centurion at the foot of the cross, saying ”Jesus is surely a righteous man, the Son of God”. It’s worth mentioning that an enemy of the Jewish people declaring the deity and flawless character of Christ is remarkable.
Probably the most renowned centurion is the one in Matthew 8, Luke 7, and John 4. He is nameless in the Gospels yet, he is remembered for his actions, words, and faith. Some scholars believe this man and Cornelius are one of the same. If you take time to read these three different accounts, you’ll discover seven very interesting lessons.
1. Act upon what you hear about Jesus
”Jesus came to Cana … There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.” (John 4:46-47 NLT)
Cana is a 20-mile uphill hike from Capernaum. This would be a long day’s walk. To this government official, however, that is next door, specifically in this situation. Just to hear that Jesus is so close after being hundreds of miles away in Judea, he is ready to go meet him. He had heard of all the miracles Jesus had performed there (John 4:45). He walked and took time off from his responsibilities just to be with Jesus. He reminds you that if Jesus is near, it is totally worth it to get close to him, whatever the cost of effort and time.
2. There is nothing to say against a good reputation
This centurion had a good reputation like Luke writes, ”(the) officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So, they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. ”If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said.” (7:3-4 NLT)
These leaders respected this centurion, which was probably unusual for the time and place. It was not about the fact that someone merited a miracle from Jesus that is important in this case as much as the officer’s reputation was blameless. Even his ”Jewish enemies” praised his character. Hopefully, people can say the same about you and your church.
This is a great reminder of what the Proverbs declare: ”Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.” (22:1 NLT)
3. Adding value to people and your community is always worth it
The centurion’s good reputation was built upon actions. He added value to the community he lived in and appreciated its people. The respected Jewish leaders said about him ”for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” (Luke 7:5 NLT)
We don’t know for a fact if he had converted to Judaism or not, and even if he had, it didn’t matter. He built a synagogue in the community, the symbol of religion and social gatherings of the time. The whole city benefited from his generosity, vision, and graciousness. When you get involved in your community, you add value to it.
When you do this, then ”you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.” (Proverbs 3:4 HCSB)
4. A favor begs for another favor
Along the same lines of the previous text, the people expected a favor (healing) to be returned for good deeds (synagogue). In this case, we’re not talking about gaining salvation through good works. You know salvation comes through faith in Christ alone. This is more like ”I scratch your back, you scratch mine” or in biblical terms, ”do to others what you would have them do to you.” (Matthew 7:12)
Jesus did not exchange a miracle for a synagogue. That is why he checked the centurion’s belief and faith!
5. Faith is not about seeing; it’s about trusting who Christ is
Jesus asked him, ”Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” (John 4:48 NLT) Yet, the centurion never ”saw” the miracle until later! His faith was not about seeing, it stood on His word ”Just say the word from where you are and my servant will be healed.”
His great faith, as Jesus puts it, was trusting in who Jesus actually was. He believed that if Jesus’ miracles could happen in Judea, they could happen in Galilea, as well. He did not believe because of a miracle. The miracle happened because he believed!
Miracles happen because you believe before you see, not the other way around. The man knew he was in front of the God-Man. He acknowledged Jesus’ unique character and supreme authority.
6. Submission is an acceptance of authority
Both Matthew and Mark mention this ”For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:9 NIV) or something very similar. The centurion would surely recognize the structure of organizational authority.
The Roman army was a highly hierarchical organization. From recruits to high-rank officers like generals, there was a title and responsibility attached to every role. The centurion role basically oversaw at least 100 soldiers, perhaps more. These officers were the bridge between the troops and the high-rank officers. Men of valor and character, bravery and loyalty to the Emperor, they were assigned to tasks and duties where they would lead and be led as well!
In this specific moment, the centurion accepts the higher authority of Jesus. Doing so, he proves the fact that submission is not a sign of weakness like many believe. Acceptance of higher authority in one’s life brings blessing.
7. Private and personal acknowledgment creates eternal recognition and public praise
The officer’s faith in private and personal conversation with Jesus, became very public when he declared Jesus’ authority and power. Matthew says that Jesus ”…was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, ”In all of Israel I’ve never found anyone with this much faith!” (8:10 CEV)
This declaration preceded this statement: ”Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32 NET) When you declare your faith publicly, all of heaven will know about it!
These are seven great lessons to learn from a Roman centurion.
