A Man of Peace

Luke 7:1-10

Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus talks about finding a person of peace, someone who will assist in the work of the Good News, whether or not he or she actually is a believer. In the story that follows the conclusion of the “Sermon on the Level Place”, we find just such a person.

Jesus walks from the countryside into Capernaum, this city on the Lake of Galilee that is becoming his base. Capernaum is also a base for the Roman Army and a certain Centurion (a captain of one hundred Roman soldiers). Luke never gives us the name of this man and, regardless of the speculations of novelists and Hollywood filmmakers, we probably never meet up with him again in the New Testament.

The Centurion is a valued civic figure among the Jewish leaders in Capernaum, a surprising thing given the animosity between the Jews and their captors. This particular Roman official is unusual in that he has worked hard to bridge the divide between the Roman army and the restless natives.

The story is that the Centurion’s servant is sick, on the verge of death. Even what we think of today as simple fevers could turn deadly in that ancient world of proto-medical care. Sickness and death were far too common.

The Centurion was particularly fond of this servant. Sometimes we make too big a distinction between slavery in the ancient world and more modern slavery as found in the USA in earlier days. Fact is, the ancient world was no more humane than our modern, more enlightened world has been, and generally even less so. There may be forms of slavery in human history that can be considered more civilized than others, but human bondage, whatever form it takes, is a fruit of the Curse. Even so, the Centurion really did care for this servant and did not want to lose him.

What is even more striking in this unusual story is how warm the Jewish leaders were toward the Centurion. Roman soldiers were as despised in Galilee as any conquerors are anywhere and time in human history. Given the religious devotion of the Jews to Yahweh and the impersonal cruelty of the invading army, the normal tension between the two groups is not surprising.

But in this specific case, all that mutual hatred is far from evident. In fact, the Jewish leaders who come to Jesus speak ever so fondly of this Centurion. “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” Here was a man both magnanimous and kindhearted. There were some syncretistic tendencies among the Galilean Jewish leaders of the day (witness the Herodian family who ruled Galilee and the sect known as the Saducees). But these tendencies cannot account for the warm and strong relationship between this Centurion and these synagogue leaders.

Was the Centurion a God-fearer, as Luke speaks of his second book, The Acts of the Apostles? Not necessarily. While this Roman may not have come to believe in the God of Israel himself, he certainly had a respect for the people over whom he ruled as well as their faith. So much so that he was not afraid to come directly to Jesus, or at least send his Jewish friends to Jesus with a request for Jesus to heal this dying servant.

In this Centurion, we see two highly desirable qualities. He was both a man of peace and a man of faith. We’ll talk more of the faith aspect next time. For now, it is important to see the significance in this man of peace.

In our very religiously and politically polarized society, we should note how quickly Jesus recognizes something of value in those whom others around him deemed to be enemies. Jesus immediately notes that the Centurion, far from being the enemy, is a man of peace – a man who offers a bridge, a connection with those who follow Yahweh, and ultimately a bridge with Jesus, the Jews’ Messiah, himself.