In the city of Capernaum in Israel, there lived a prominent officer of the Roman army, a centurion responsible for a garrison of a hundred soldiers. He and his men had kept watch on Jesus’ doings ever since He began His work there. It was their duty to make sure that this Galilean wasn’t doing or saying anything to incite a rebellion against Rome. But after hearing Jesus teach the people from time to time about God’s kingdom and love, the centurion had come to respect Jesus, realizing that the kingdom He talked about was hardly a threat to Rome.
One day when the centurion’s closest servant became deathly ill, he thought of all Jesus had done for the sick and the lame, and he wondered, “Could it be that He could heal my servant?” But how could he, a Roman, approach a Jew for help in a day when most Jews despised the armies of Caesar? Could it be that this Jesus, known for His love and care for all people, would be willing to help someone with whom the Jews were at odds?
“Surely I can call some of the Jewish elders,” he reasoned, “respected men with whom I’ve had dealings, and they can talk to Jesus for me.” The elders, who were greatly indebted to the centurion for the favor he had shown to their people, went and told Jesus of the centurion’s request, saying, “This man is truly worthy of Your help. He loves our nation and has helped finance the building of our synagogue” (Luke 7:3–5).
Jesus agreed to go, but as He was approaching, the centurion sent some of his friends with a message saying, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. Just say the word and my servant will be healed! For I am a man in authority with soldiers under my command, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes. And if I tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ then he does it” (Luke 7:6–8).
When Jesus heard these words, He marveled, and declared to those who followed Him, “I have not found such great faith, not in all Israel!” Here was a Roman soldier, a prominent officer, who believed that Jesus could heal his servant at a distance. And that is exactly what happened!
The Bible says that Jesus met the centurion outside his house, and at the same moment that Jesus commended him for his great faith, his servant was instantly healed. Jesus said, “Go. It will be done just as you believed it would,” and his servant was healed in that same hour (Matthew 8:13).
There is a wonderful message for us today contained in the true historic accounts of the Son of God in the Bible. The day of miracles is not past! God is still in the business of transforming the lives of people. Jesus is just as real as ever. God is alive and working just as powerfully as ever among those who trust in Him. He says, “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6 NKJV). And “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).