57 – A Centurion’s Faith; Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10

Matthew 8:5 And when [a]Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6 and saying, “[b]Lord, my [c]servant is [d]lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion said, “[e]Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just [f]say the word, and my [g]servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith [h]with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and [i]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; [j]it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the [k]servant was healed that very [l]moment.

Luke 7:1 When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. 2 And a centurion’s slave, [a]who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some [b]Jewish elders asking Him to come and [c]save the life of his slave. 4 When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6 Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “[d]Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; 7 for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just [e]say the word, and my [f]servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Footnotes (Matthew)

a. Matthew 8:5 Lit He

b. Matthew 8:6 Or Sir

c. Matthew 8:6 Lit boy

d. Matthew 8:6 Lit thrown down

e. Matthew 8:8 Or Sir

f. Matthew 8:8 Lit say with a word

g. Matthew 8:8 Lit boy

h. Matthew 8:10 One early ms reads not even in Israel

i. Matthew 8:11 Or dine

k. Matthew 8:13 Or let it be done; i.e. a command

l. Matthew 8:13 Lit boy

m. Matthew 8:13 Lit hour

Footnotes (Luke)

a. Luke 7:2 Lit to whom he was honorable

b. Luke 7:3 Lit elders of the Jews

c. Luke 7:3 Lit bring safely through, rescue

d. Luke 7:6 Or Sir

e. Luke 7:7 Lit say with a word

f. Luke 7:7 Or boy

Commentary

Capernaum means “village of Nahum” (a reference, possibly, to the prophet Nahum from the Old Testament). Jesus spent so much time in Capernaum throughout His ministry that Matthew called it His own city (Matthew 9:1). This has added significance when coupled with Matthew 4:15-16, where Matthew quotes Isaiah, putting Capernaum into ancient prophecy about where Jesus would teach. Since Jesus did not own land or a house, He likely stayed with one of His disciples or their families who lived there (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1274). As we know from other passages, Peter and Andrew lived there because Jesus healed Peter’s mother in law.

The Jewish elders who were sent to Jesus would have been part of the governing body for the Hebrews in Capernaum. They would have had considerable influence among the Jews, and they shared with Jesus that a Centurion who needed His help had helped build the very synagogue where Jesus had spent time teaching. In fact, synagogue ruins were recently discovered on the site that is believed to be Capernaum, and though historians debate about whether the ruins are from the first or second century, if they were from the first century, we have seen the actual site being referred to in this conversation between the elders and Jesus. The ruins, like all synagogues of the day, have an inscription forbidding gentiles from entering. Ironically, this law would have prevented the Centurion from entering, even though he had sponsored the building. Similarly to the way Gentiles were not allowed in synagogues, Jews also considered themselves to be defiled by entering the home of a Gentile. The Centurion understood this, which may be part of the reason he did not ask Jesus to enter his home.

A centurion was a Roman soldier in charge of at least 100 men (hence the root “cent”). “A centurion was a rank between that of an officer and a noncommissioned officer (somewhat equivalent to that of a modern sergeant-major). It was a position of great responsibility in the Roman occupation force” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1191). Centurions at the time were being picked from among the ranks and were voted into their position by the very men who would report to them. Commonly, perhaps because of their election by popular vote, centurions were men of uncommon intelligence, valor, and ethics. It is interesting to note that there “are approximately ten centurions mentioned in the New Testament, and each is presented in a good light. This centurion had numerous noble qualities” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1274). His love for the Jews and his assistance in building the synagogue in Capernaum gave him a position of importance and influence among the Jewish community there. Although in his position, he could have ordered Jesus to perform healing, or offered payment, he humbly entreated Him, instead, recognizing and mirroring the nature of Jesus (The Word in Life Study Bible 1639).

The two accounts seem to differ on the interaction between Jesus and the centurion: whether it took place in person or through the centurion’s agent. KJV Bible Commentary says the word “said” in Matthew 8:8 implies this response was delivered via the centurion’s messenger, so this brings the story into alignment with the account in Luke. Another theory is laid out in the sermon here, from which I also drew several of the other facts I referenced in this article https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATCuXBKGDuo.

After the Centurion’s expression of faith and understanding, Jesus takes the opportunity to emphasize the contrast between the Jews, who had been taught Messianic prophecies for centuries, and a Gentile whose faith outshone theirs. This should and would have been a great shame to the Jews, and Jesus condemns them to eternal separation from God if they do not come to truly believe. This assault would have been very obvious to the Jews present because they took great personal pride in their faith and righteousness, as compared with Gentiles. For Jesus to elevate a Gentile’s faith over theirs would have been an outrage (The Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1789).

In Matthew 8:11, “The words from the east and west, are taken from Psalm 107 (with allusions also to Isa 49:12; 59:19; Mal 1:11). Here Christ is referring to the gathering in of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel, culminating in their final gathering at the time of His second coming” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1191).

However, the centurion wasn’t just any Gentile; he was a Roman soldier. As we have discussed in previous passages, Roman soldiers were mean and violent toward the Jews. John the Baptist instructed soldiers to stop being violent, as their form of repentance. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, tells His audience to accept Roman persecution by going the extra mile and turning the other cheek. The Roman soldiers were clearly enemies of the Jews, and marveling at a Roman’s faith was really a shocking for Jesus to have done.

See the next post here https://onthepath.online/2020/05/08/raising-a-widows-son/

Scripture References

Matthew 8:5

Acts 9:38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to urge him, “Come to us without delay.”

Matthew 8:6

Matthew 4:24 News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed–and He healed them.

Matthew 8:8

Psalm 107:20 He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the Pit.

Matthew 8:9

Mark 1:27 All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”

Luke 9:1 Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.

Matthew 8:10

Genesis 43:33 They were seated before him in order by age, from the firstborn to the youngest, and the men looked at each other in astonishment.

Acts 2:7 Astounded and amazed, they asked, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?

Matthew 8:11

Isaiah 49:12 Behold, they will come from far away, from the north and from the west, and from the land of Aswan.”

Isaiah 59:19 So will they fear the name of the LORD from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun; for He will come like a raging flood, driven by the breath of the LORD.

Malachi 1:11 “For My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.

Matthew 21:41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they declared, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”

Luke 13:29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

Matthew 8:12

1 Samuel 2:9 He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.

Psalm 112:10 The wicked man will see and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked will perish.

Isaiah 65:14 My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart, but you will cry out with a heavy heart and wail with a broken spirit.

Matthew 13:38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

Matthew 13:42 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 22:13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him outside into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 24:51 Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 25:30 And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Luke 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.

Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Matthew 8:13

Matthew 9:22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour.

Matthew 9:29 Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.”

John 4:50 “Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed.

Luke 7:1

Matthew 7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,

Luke 6:49 But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell–and great was its destruction.”

Luke 7:4

Acts 10:2 He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.

Luke 7:9

Luke 7:50 And Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Commentary

Matthew 4:15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”