-
A centurion13...of Capernaum [Matt 8:5-13, Lk 7:1-10] / Paul's Bible CharactersG'PEOPLE 2023. 12. 2. 23:43
New Zealand / West Side Priscilla
A centurion 13...
of Capernaum
[Matt 8:5-13, Lk 7:1-10]
/ Paul's Bible Characters
/ By Paul
In the world, people are
evaluated based on their
appearance and abilities.
However,
from the perspective
of faith, only faith is
evaluated.
That's because the world is
the foundation of physical life,
and faith is the foundation
of spiritual life.
Jesus came to this earth
to give us a life in heaven.
However, in reality,
the Lord tells us that while
there are believers who
live worldly lives,
there are also worldly people
who live lives of true faith.
[Matt 8: 11-12].
Through the Gentile centurion,
God tells us that the hope for
heaven is not based on lineage
or status, but on faith.
1. Centurions of faith in the Bible
Centurion is the title of an
officer in the Roman legion
and is a company commander
-level position in which he directly
commands about 100 soldiers.
They were mainly responsible
for maintaining security
in the occupied territories,
suppressing rebellion,
and ruling the colonial
people.
Therefore, the relationship
with the Israelites was always hostile,
and most Roman soldiers were
cruel and violent people.
However, the Bible records
a special mention of five
centurions.
1) Cornelius, a centurion in Italy,
was a man who prayed and
gave to the needy a lot and
what he did went up to God.
[Acts 10:22]
2) When Apostle Paul was
in danger from a mob in Jerusalem
and the commander tried
to whip him,
the centurion in Jerusalem
prevented the crisis by informing
the commander that he was a
Roman citizen. [Acts 22:26)
3) Julius, the centurion
of the Augustus Apostles,
was the centurion who provided
all conveniences to the Apostle
Paul when he was sent to Rome.
[Acts 27:1]
4) The centurion who led t
he crucifixion of Jesus at the
command of Balado was
a man who, upon seeing
the Lord's death, confessed
that Jesus was "the Son of God."
(Mark 15:39)
5) The centurion of Capernaum
is a man whom the Lord praised
for his great faith. [Matt 8:10]
2. What kind of person was
the centurion of Capernaum?
He was a soldier who
risked his life to fight wherever
he was during wartime,
following orders from
his superiors, and lived in a rough,
trampling, and violent atmosphere
like his fellow soldiers.
However,
the fact that he was stationed
in the Galilee region of Israel,
a very small conquered area,
must have meant that he was
placed in a dark reality, like a
retired soldier far from success.
His life was completely
indifferent to religion,
but when he found himself
in an environment
with no expectations,
he may have escaped from
his busy life and had time
to look around.
Faith is ignored when life
is running, but it seeps
in when life stops.
In this situation,
the centurion began to hear
about Jesus' actions.
[Luke 7:3]
Healing a man with leprosy,
(Matthew 8: 2-3) making
wine from water,
(John 2: 1-11)
and healing
the king’s servant.
(John 4:46)
Moreover, since the healing
of the paralytic (Luke 5:18)
and other events occurred
in the area where he lived,
he became interested
in Jewish religion,
and the words and miracles
of the Lord were enough to
make him believe in
the Lord as Christ.
When people open
their eyes of faith, they can
see many things they
could not see before.
They can
see pain and suffering,
vanity and truth, and
heaven and eternal life.
So he began to feel
compassion for the
conquered people,
and he broke away from
oppressing them and became
a person who helped them
with love and understanding.
And he converted to Judaism.
At that time, there were two types
of converts: the rudimentary
"Proselyte of the Gate"
and the circumcised "Proselyte
of the Righteousness."
It is unknown which group
he belonged to, but judging
from the fact that he built
a synagogue, he appears
to have been a convert
to righteousness.
His life of faith changed him,
who was respected by the
people and elders around him.
He was changed into a
humble person who himself
went to the Lord with
a heart of love and
- To Be Continue -
2023/12/02
/ By Paul
'G'PEOPLE' 카테고리의 다른 글