September 5, 2023
When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”
Matthew 8:5-10 (ESV)
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Notice how many graces the centurian displays in this story. He shows conscientious care for his servant, as though he were his own child. He displays impressive humility in saying, “I am not worthy,” even though he’s a Roman centurion accustomed to commanding men. However, Jesus doesn’t commend him on any of these, but only on his faith.
In Ephesians 6, Paul places the shield of faith above all other pieces of armour:
Above all, taking the shield of faith, (Ephesians 6:16)
In the story of the centurian, we can see one of the reasons why faith is placed above all other graces, and that is because it is what Jesus commends above all others.