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He did not ask the Roman centurion to forget his ‘craft’

And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having 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 turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

Luke 7:2-10

To begin with, in addition to the centurion and his servants, there is also mention of masters and slaves in the Gospel. For example, in the parable of ‘the master and slave who received five talents.’ Will we assume that through this He approved of slavery and servitude?

As a matter of fact, it is actually quite appropriate to quote the answer to the previous question: He gave the highest spiritual and moral law that contains all the others: "Love one another." People themselves must apply this law, therefore He does not explicitly prohibit any occupation or ‘profession’ be it warrior, tax collector, or prostitute. But there is also no approval of them. On the contrary, He always went to those people first as they were most in need of God’s word: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” — Matthew 9:12. These words were spoken by Him at a banquet for tax collectors. And He always strongly condemned the fears, weaknesses, and passions that lead to these ‘crafts’ such as the military, tax, and prostitution.

 

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