Daily Bible Reading 11th June 2026 // Luke 7:1-10
1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set 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.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
It was the centurion's faith, not his good works, that Jesus was impressed with. The truth is, his faith was proved real by his works. There is a very positive note in the testimony borne by him. Those who knew him and rubbed shoulders with him day by day were able to form definite impressions about him. And they certainly did not receive the impression that his was a negative life: 'He loveth our nation, and hath built us a synagogue'. It is a great triumph when 'faith worketh through love'! This is the point at which a testimony really tells for God, when those to whom we bear testimony realise that we care for them and love them! The other thing we need to note about him is that his was a faith that moved the hand of God. He asked and he received; he sought and he found; he knocked and it was opened unto him. What was his secret? This brings us to the second point in the story - this is really the central issue - his estimate of Christ. It is certainly true that the central question in Scripture for faith is 'What think ye of Christ?'; 'Whom do ye say that I am?' Two things emerge in the centurion's estimate of Christ: one is that he perceived that Christ was One whose word was with power - 'Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed'; the other is that he perceived that Christ was, like himself, a man under authority, and that this is what gave His word that power. When we understand these two things, we shall have penetrated into the deepest mysteries of the Christian faith.