Centurion's Faith Bible lesson
- Eljoh Hartzer, MTh
- Jan 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 20
The Centurion's Faith makes a great Bible lesson for kids. This story from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, talks about a Roman officer - a Centurion - who had such great faith that Jesus could HEAL his servant, he didn't even need Jesus to enter his house. He said: "Just say the word and my servant will be healed there where he is!"
In this free Sunday School lesson, we will discover what made the Centurion's faith so great and how we can also practice to have faith like that!
Free printable for Centurion's faith Bible Lesson
Here's a free printable coloring picture that I drew about this Bible story:
If you like this style of coloring pictures, you might be interested in my printable coloring book:
The Centurion's Faith Bible Passage
5 Jesus went to the city of Capernaum. When he entered the city, an army officer came to him and begged for help. 6 The officer said, “Lord, my servant is very sick at home in bed. He can’t move his body and has much pain.”
7 Jesus said to the officer, “I will go and heal him.”
8 The officer answered, “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. You need only to give the order, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this, because I understand authority. There are people who have authority over me, and I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those who were with him, “The truth is, this man has more faith than anyone I have found, even in Israel."
OR
7 Jesus finished saying all these things to the people. Then he went into Capernaum. 2 In Capernaum there was an army officer. He had a servant who was very sick; he was near death. The officer loved the servant very much. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some older Jewish leaders to him. He wanted the men to ask Jesus to come and save the life of his servant. 4 The men went to Jesus. They begged Jesus to help the officer. They said, “This officer is worthy to have your help. 5 He loves our people and he built the synagogue for us.”
6 So Jesus went with them. He was coming near the officer’s house when the officer sent friends to say, “Lord, you don’t need to do anything special for me. I am not good enough for you to come into my house. 7 That is why I did not come to you myself. You need only to give the order, and my servant will be healed. 8 I know this because I am a man under the authority of other men. And I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. And I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. And I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He turned to the people following him and said, “I tell you, this is the most faith I have seen anywhere, even in Israel.”
10 The group that was sent to Jesus went back to the house. There they found that the servant was healed.
Act out the Centurion's Faith Story with a Skit
Have a Kids Min Volunteer choose a Cast: Jesus, Army officer, Crowd
Jesus: (Walks across stage) "Ah Capernaum, the wonderful city. What will I find here?"
Centurion: (Runs to Jesus, falls down at His feet) “Lord, my servant is very sick at home in bed. He can’t move his body and has much pain.”
Jesus: “Where do you live? Take me there. I will go and heal him.”
Centurion: “Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. You need only to give the order, and my servant will be healed."
Jesus: "You're right but how did you know this?"
Centurion: "I know this, because I understand authority. There are people who have authority over me, and I have soldiers under my authority."
Jesus: "I have my disciples and the angels under my authority. Even the darkness flees at the sound of my name."
Centurion: "Yes, I understand. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”"
Jesus: "Wow, may your servant be healed right now!" (turns to crowd)
“The truth is, this man has more faith than anyone I have found."
Sensory elements to teach this lesson
I've recently been playing with the idea of making Kids Church lessons sensory activities. You can read more about the role of the 5 senses in Sunday School here, or continue with the current lesson below:
SEE | Put some distance between the kids and have them pray for each other without touching. Talk about how Jesus was able to heal from a distance. |
HEAR | Listen to another translation of this Bible passage using the Audio Bible on an app. Ask the kids if they noticed something different. |
TASTE | Bring something that's "medicinal" like honey or tea or mint. Let them taste the healing medicine that God made. |
FEEL | Take a scarf or some toilet paper and wrap it around somebody who is acting like the "Servant" in the story - bandage their wounds. |
SMELL | Use an essential oil that has healing properties like Eucalyptus or Ylang Ylang in the room to create an atmosphere of wellness and vitality. |
*For even more content on teaching kids the true meaning of faith, read my other blog posts. They are filled with free goodness and helpful resources and tips!
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