When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony.”
Matthew 8:5-6 (CSB)
A centurion was an army officer in charge of about a hundred soldiers. This one was not Jewish, and in that world many people treated servants like property. But this officer valued his servant highly (Luke 7:2). The servant was paralyzed and in terrible pain (Matthew 8:6).
The officer came to Jesus “pleading,” which means begging earnestly. He was used to giving orders, and here he was asking humbly for someone who could not come to Jesus himself.
Asking God on behalf of someone else is called intercession. Some people we love cannot or will not come to Jesus on their own, because they are too sick, too discouraged, or do not believe. We ought to bring them to Jesus by name in prayer.
Jesus does the same thing for His people. The Bible says that Jesus “always lives to intercede” for those who come to God through Him (Hebrews 7:25). Because He died for our sins and rose again, everyone who trusts Him has Someone praying for them at God’s right hand.