Great intercession in Capernaum

Greetings to all my friends in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ!All the glory to my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ!

Lk.7:9,’  When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”’

 Most of us are familiar with this great faith shown by the centurion of Capernaum. Jesus had entered into this city of Capernaum after teaching the people about the Kingdom of God. And as soon as He entered this city, the news spread all around. Further as we read this chapter, we see Jesus healing innumerable lives from various sicknesses, infirmities and plagues. Though we do not know the details of each healing, the Word of God highlights certain healings, which teach us a lot about God’s ways.

Though the word ‘faith’ has been focused in this episode, we are also able to witness a great intercession behind the scene.

Lk.7:3, ‘  And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.’ As soon as the centurion heard about Jesus being in Capernaum, he sent elders to plead with Jesus about healing his servant. The word ‘plead’ is not just a simple request. It shows asking earnestly i.e from the depth of a pained and eager heart. Pained to see the servant dying, but eager to see God is healing upon him. It’s a combination of pain and faith. Pain expresses the situation as it is and the faith and eagerness invites a great work of God upon that situation. This is what intercession is…..a unique mix of helplessness of man and the great ability of God to help.

The centurion was a compassionate and loving man. He loved his servant dearly and hence could not bear to see him dying. Love is the root that triggers great intercession. This man had a hundred soldiers under him, and was a person of high status in the society, with many servants in his house. If he would lose one of them, many others were still there who were ready to carry out his orders. But the centurion was a man full of love and compassion. Each servant was a human being created in God’s image and was so important for him. Just as the shepherd left the 99 sheep to look for the one lost sheep, this centurion sent people to plead for this one sick and dying servant. Status and society cannot influence the heart of an intercessor.

Lk.7:4-5, ‘And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, ⁵ “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”’ The centurion sent the elders to plead for healing the sick servant. But here we see them pleading for the centurion himself. They told Jesus about how good and deserving the centurion was. Intercession is an ongoing process. The more we intercede, the more others intercede for us. It’s a divine chain that connects and touches lives as per His heart’s desire.

Lk.7:6-8, ‘Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself; for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, having 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.”’ In these subsequent verses, we read the words spoken by the centurion to Jesus Himself through his friends.  And here, we see no words being spoken about the servant. The entire speech here focuses on who Jesus is & who he himself was. Intercession directly depends upon the relation between the Lord and the intercessor, more than the relation between the Lord and the person for whom intercession is made. Israelites were stiff necked and stubborn, yet the intimate relation between the Lord and Moses, who interceded for them, was considered to deliver the congregation often from the destructive wrath of God.

A little while before, the elders of Jews had spoken to Jesus about how ‘worthy and deserving’ the centurion was. But here he himself says about how unworthy he was. Dear friends, someone has well said that we lose humbleness the moment we think that we are ‘worthy’. Our worthiness or testimonies about us should be heard from mouths and lives all around us and never by our own mouths. Humbleness is the only successful launching pad of great intercessions. Moses was called as the meekest of all by God himself and he was one of the greatest intercessor of Old Testament.

The centurion here talks about the power of words of Jesus, expressing who Jesus is. The servant was near to death, but the centurion put his faith in The Lord. Great intercessions stand on pillars of great faith. They see beyond the situation, to God’s ability and power to do anything anytime for His glory.

The centurion put his complete trust in ‘the Word’ of Christ. The ‘Word’ that could revive a dying person & resurrect a dead person. The ‘Word’ that could travel to miles away in an instant, with unchanging power. The ‘Word’ that does not return till it establishes the purpose for which it has been sent. This ‘Word’ when used by the intercessor while interceding, becomes the sharp double-edged sword, which cuts away all the obstacles and oppositions in the spiritual realm.

Lk.7:10, ‘Those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.^’ At the end of this passage, we see the servant completely healed, just as the centurion believed. Just before that, Jesus testified about the marvelous faith of the centurion. The elders had testified about the centurion a few things, but let us be reminded that the testimony about us from Christ is only that finally matters.  Indeed the faith expressed was marvelous, and so was the intercession that was manifested. When both goes hand in hand, let’s be assured of innumerable testimonies that will glorify His name and build His Kingdom. May we all learn to intercede more and more with increasing faith and thus be a part taker of His Kingdom. God bless us all together.

God bless us all!

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