Military Devotion – Under Authority: The Word That Saves – February 6, 2026

Watch the Devotion

Based on Luke 7:1-10

A Soldier needed a chaplain, so he sent for a Jewish rabbi. This might have made sense if the Soldier was Jewish, but he was not. When the officer’s messengers reached the rabbi they pleaded with him, “This man deserves to have you come immediately. One of his subordinates is very sick and about to die. You need to come with us now!”

The Jewish rabbi went with them.

While he was on his way the rabbi was met by friends of the Soldier. They said, “Rabbi, the captain wanted us to share this message, ‘I am not worthy to have you set foot in my home. But I am a man of authority, and I understand the chain of command. I give a Soldier an order and he gets after it. I know who you are. I know your authority supersedes my authority. All you need to do is say a word and my subordinate will be saved.”

The rabbi was speechless. He said to those around him, “I have not found faith like this in all of the places I have traveled.” The friends rushed back to the home of the Roman centurion and found his servant completely restored to full strength.

A Soldier needed a chaplain and he sent for a Jewish rabbi. This Roman centurion knew and believed that this rabbi was not just a rabbi, but the Son of God, Jesus, who came to save him. Jesus came not just to restore the servant’s health, but to save his life for eternity. This is what Jesus does. He saves through his words.

This week we observe Four Chaplains Day, to honor the service and sacrifice of four US Army chaplains who gave up their own lifejackets to fellow Soldiers as the Dorchester sank into the icy waters of the Atlantic on February 3rd, 1943. In a similar way, Jesus saves. He still carries out his work of saving. He does this by wearing the mask of chaplains. When chaplains open their mouths to speak a word from Jesus to you, Jesus saves through that word.

When water was poured and Jesus words were spoken over your head, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, Jesus saved you with those words and that water. In baptism he put his name on you, adopted you into his family, saved you from sin, guilt, and the grave. He saved you for a life eternal in heaven after a resurrection from the dead.

Jesus opens his mouth to speak:

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Jesus saves you from fear and anxiety and despair with those words.

Jesus opens his mouth to speak through his Apostle John and says to you, “. . . If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). You are part of the world. You are someone for whom Jesus sacrificed himself to save.

Take a moment today to pause and thank God for chaplains – those who serve in our nation’s military, but also those who serve first responders, EMS, firefighters, police, in hospice care facilities, in hospitals, in schools and corporations, and those who serve the incarcerated. Chaplains serves as faithful masks of God. When they open their mouths to speak the words of Jesus, Jesus saves through his words. His words save you.

Prayer:

All-holy, all-loving God, provide workers for your harvest field, both inside and outside the walls of the church, so that more may hear the story of your everlasting love and your desire that all sinners be saved; through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Written and recorded by Rev. Paul Horn, WELS National Civilian Chaplain to the Military, San Diego, California.

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