After teaching the Beatitudes, the Gospel of Luke recounts that Jesus entered in the town of Capernaum, and there a special miracle occurred that the divine master highlighted as an example of faith and fear of God (constancy, firmness, devotion).
The Gospel of Luke relates that in this town there was a Roman centurion, and that he had a servant who was very sick and whom he greatly appreciated. And when the centurion heard that Jesus had come to the town, he sent for him, because he knew that Jesus performed miracles and was a person of great wisdom. The Gospel of Luke recounts that the people the centurion sent were elders, but it is more likely that the Gospel meant they were the wisest people in the village, and so when they approached Jesus, they said: "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue" Luke 7:4.
So Jesus decided to meet and get to know this renowned centurion, and when he was near his house, he was approached by some friends of the centurion who sent them to say the following words to Jesus: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed" Luke 7:6-7. Jesus, amazed by this man's faith, held him up as an example to follow, and thus the divine teacher exclaimed: "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel" Luke 7:9. With this answer, Jesus was anticipating that the pagans would be the final recipients of his spiritual message and not the children of Israel according to the flesh.
In a certain sense, Jesus put the centurion as a clear example of what a son of Israel according to the spirit should be, that is, a devotee of the Kingdom of God, the empire or domain of divine perfections. The promise of eternal life ultimately belongs to those who are like this Roman centurion, and this is what Jesus wanted to teach with this example. The story of this Roman centurion with Jesus ends by saying that when the Roman official's friends arrived at the house where the servant was, he was already healed.
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