I can’t help but imagine that the soldier was curious in the same way, but he denied himself the pleasure of even Christ’s visit. Every time you read your Bible you see new things…and today the new thing I see is the humility of this Centurion. He was willing to forego his meeting with Jesus because he realized how unworthy he truly was.
Would I be disappointed if a very famous or powerful person were on their way to see me, and then had to cancel? Sure, I’d probably be frustrated by that. It would be a real let down to think you were going to see someone really special and then at the last minute miss seeing them. Think of this: the Centurion willingly set aside the opportunity to see Jesus. That’s true humility and self denial. And combine that with the faith he has already shown…no wonder Jesus was impressed with him.
Jesus did so many miracles that we couldn’t possibly have a record of them all. This miracle with the Centurion was even more special. Here’s another thought: The Centurion willingly made himself “invisible” to Jesus in humility; and Jesus in return made him famous for all time by inspiring the writers of the Gospel to include his story. In being humble, he became more famous than he ever would have had he indulged himself. (There’s a powerful life lesson in there).
John the Baptist’s encounter will come up again tomorrow, and the interaction with the sinful woman will be mentioned again later, so I’ll reserve comment on them until later.
The other thing mentioned in this chapter is the raising of the widows son. The message is clear: Jesus has power over life and death. Only God has power over life and death. Jesus is God.
Jesus certainly must have seen funerals before this. Why bring back this young man? I guess it was compassion for his mother that motivated Jesus to action. We forget sometimes that when we lose a loved one, Jesus is sad too. He isn’t grieving because he has lost something…Jesus never loses anything. He knows where our loved ones are, and can be in contact with them any time He wants. No, he grieves because He feels compassion for us, and we are grieving.
I’m glad to be serving a God who not only is powerful, but who cares for me, and is capable of feeling the same way that I feel.
On the narrow path,
PR