Stress Test Devotional May 25
May 25, 2024
MATTHEW 8:5-13 | 5 When he entered Capernaum, a
centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible
distress.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also 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 slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” 10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
Some members of our society are defenders, who seek to protect the weak and threatened. They protect those who are victimized by others or by tragedy. They pursue and punish miscreants, and so, attach a cost and penalty to behavior that harms others.
The order established by police and courts is never perfect but it is a necessity. In Jesus’ day, order was established by soldiers who represented Roman law and power. The Roman order was unique in its suppression of conflict but imperfect because it relied on a virtual monopoly of power, a tyranny. Jesus does not appear, in any of His encounters with Roman soldiers or officials, to treat them as automatically illegitimate.
Pray for our soldiers, armed forces, police, and all who establish order and serve partial justice.
