Who Was the Greatest Jew in All Israel?

3/11/2025

Who was the greatest Jew “in all of Israel”—and he wasn’t even a Jew? And why? And what does that have to do with our children and our children’s children?

The Roman centurion understood that true Authority transcends earthly boundaries. If we don’t show our children that true Authority comes not from “mom says” or “dad says,” but from Heaven, it will be easy for them to dismiss us and then to dismiss God, throwing away their lives and the lives of anyone else they bring into the world. It’s not about “obedience” behavior though. Someone who understands and respects authority will surely obey, but true Godly obedience is a symptom of understanding authority and cannot be swayed or talked out of. When you drop a ball, it goes to the ground because of gravity. When God commands something, I do it because of God. Man-made behavior modification is a symptom of not wanting to get in trouble and crumbles when the wind rises and the earth shakes. “I did ___________, and the wind rose and the earth shook, I guess you were wrong, and me doing those things doesn’t work anyway!”

The centurion with Faith and an understanding of, and connectedness to authority. When a command comes, no “Yeah, buts.” no “What about..” “I don’t understand how that works for me.” But Obedient action because you See authority correctly. The children can understand authority when we approach and respond to God that way and lead them so they can have the chance to grow up with the understanding of “one under authority” and someday be one in authority over others themselves.

He said he didn’t deserve Jesus coming to his house. It seemed like the humility to know it wasn’t about him at all was mixed in there. “I don’t deserve your help” is a fact, but he knew Jesus was to be obeyed and had the authority to do as He willed.

What they said. :) And... the ability to See all this, and his Trust, wasn’t determined by his parents or lineage. It does not matter who your mother or father was. Jesus is accessible.

This isn’t directly about the centurion’s FAITH, but something that caught my attention in that interaction between the centurion and Jesus was how the centurion just simply stated the situation to Jesus.

He didn’t try to prove the worthiness of his cause, prove himself, or twist or manipulate.

He just said, “My servant is suffering terribly.” Even though he really cared about his servant, he didn’t manipulate. He laid it before Jesus and trusted Jesus’s Character to do what was Best. I bet Jesus liked (and likes) that : )

The centurion saw authority like the law of gravity. Just is.

•  Faith that Sees, Asks, and Articulates