The first word in our collection of critical words for centurions is: centurion. We take the term from the New Testament book of Matthew. And in the case of our business, we believe our role is to help centurions respond to the calling of Jesus on their lives.
When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man 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 this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matthew 8:5-13 (ESV)
The centurion had an authority position over the paralyzed servant. Another paralyzed person had friends who lowered the paralyzed person through the roof to Jesus. Another man spent decades beside the pool of Bethesda, and was healed when Jesus came directly. And a fourth parallel could be drawn when King David came to bless Mephibosheth in honor of David's deceased friend, and Mephibosheth's relative.
There are different dynamics at play in these stories of honor, mercy, friendship, and an intercessory sort of leadership.
Our focus is on the last one, the intercessory leadership of the centurion. Our customers and the leaders we're honored to serve.
