Musings from Palm Desert
(N.B.: End of an Era: Musings no longer from Malibu)
ireallymissreagan.com
May 16, April 8, 2020
ISSUE 75 BIBLICAL FIGURES: THE KING AND THE SOLDIER
There are a multitude of kings in the Bible, but the one which is the subject here is King David.
There are also a multitude of soldiers mentioned in the Bible. The one that most people remember from the Bible is the “Centurion”. (The equivalent of a Captain in the American army.)
The King, David, cowardly used his power to send a man under his command to a battle that meant certain death. David did it so he could satisfy his lust for the man’s wife. God forgave David. And David is generally praised for his other deeds.
The Captain, (whose name is not given in the Biblical account,) unlike others in the Roman Army of occupation, was a friend to the Jews, even to the point of building them a synagogue.
He demonstrated humility and faith when he, a Gentile, took his plea to a Jewish prophet, Jesus of Nazareth.
And he did so to help a dying servant. Luke’s account follows.
Luke 7:1-10 English Standard Version (ESV)
After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 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, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”
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. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.”
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.”
When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Each year, at this time, the Jewish and Christian religions commemorate historical life- changing events. For the Jews, it is Passover; for the Christians, it is Easter.
Passover is an eight-day celebration of God’s forcing the Egyptians to let the Jews, whom they had enslaved, leave Egypt.
Easter is a week-long remembrance of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, leading to his Crucifixion on Good Friday and His triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday.
We are worried and frightened about the current conivirus crisis. Yet, shocking as it might be to say, it is minor, compared to other horrific events of our lifetime and of history.
“God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.”
The Centurion provides an example of courage and faith for us to emulate.
rmc
President Ronald Reagan
Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.
Ronald Reagan
Richard M. Coleman served as National Co-Chair, Lawyers for Reagan-Bush ’84 and really does miss Ronald Reagan. A graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, Dick was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a past president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and of the National Caucus of Metropolitan Bar Leaders. A professor on the faculty of Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution for 17 years, he received Pepperdine’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He has hosted TV forums on legal and financial topics and written and spoken extensively on political issues.
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