a man very dear to him. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent some elders of the Jews to
persuade him to come and save his servant’s life. The elders came to Jesus and begged him
earnestly, saying, “He deserves this of you, for he loves our people and even built a synagogue
for us.” Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house, when the Roman officer sent
friends to give this message, “Sir, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to welcome
you under my roof. You see, I didn’t approach you myself. Just give the order, and my servant
will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers, and I say to this one,
‘Go!’ and he goes; and to the other, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and
he does it.” On hearing these words, Jesus was filled with admiration. He turned and said to
the people with him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” The people,
sent by the captain, went back to his house; there they found that the servant
was well.
Reflect
“The power of Jesus' word.” Jesus’ word is powerful. His word is very powerful to those who
have faith. However, we must admit that there are times when we could easily falter, especially
when we feel that our prayers seem unanswered. We can immediately cast doubt whether the
Lord would really come to our rescue. We fail to hold on to the power of his word. Today’s
Gospel narrates how Jesus healed the servant of a Roman military officer living near Capernaum.
Jesus responded to the request that he may come to heal the servant. But before he arrived at the
house where the servant was, the Roman military officer sent his friends to tell Jesus to just say
a word for the healing of the servant and because the officer also recognized that he was not
worthy to receive Jesus under his roof. Jesus commended the great faith demonstrated
by the said officer. The Roman military officer trusted the power of Jesus’ word. Like the
officer in the Gospel passage, do we believe in the power of the word of Jesus? In times
when we feel that our prayers are not being answered, how do we keep our faith?
© Copyright Bible Diary 2024
