Matthew 8: 5 – 13
Who’s Giving The Order?
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” 7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
Now, as you know there were two other documents in circulation and they were the Gospels of Mark and Luke. As you know, Matthew was an apostle who was with our Lord Jesus Christ for over three years and was an eye witness to all that our Lord said and did. Mark, on the other hand, was probably the young man whom we read about in his gospel who ran away naked during our Lord’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. He heard all the information that he recorded from the apostle Peter. I find it interesting that Mark does not comment on this miracle. Luke was the friend and disciple of the apostle Paul. He wrote his Gospel about 15 years after Matthew’s was penned.
So, to get a full picture let us take a quick look at Lukes Gospel and see if there is any other information that would bless us.
Luke 7: 1 – 10, “1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”6 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. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 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.” 9 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!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.
Whoa! - major discrepancy. Did you catch the difference? In the Gospel of Matthew the Centurion came up to our Lord Jesus and besought Him to heal his servant. Now here in the Gospel of Luke we read that Jewish elders came up to our Lord beseeching Him to heal the Centurion’s servant. So what is it? Could the bible be wrong? It appears so here. Well, for all those skeptics I will say this, ‘both versions are correct.’ WHAT? Yes, that is what I said, so calm down and we will come up with the answer in a moment.
5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him
We read in Luke’s versions this, “1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.”
What sayings? - the teachings that He just did on His way back to his home base in the town of Capernaum..
We read these important facts relative to the works of Adoni Yahweh’s Messiah. He would do some of these things;
Psalm 117: 1, “Let All Peoples Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! “
Isaiah 11: 10,” And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
Isaiah 42: 1, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.”
Isaiah 42: 6, ““ I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles.”
I could go on and on with Scripture references in regards to how our Great God planned out that His Messiah would graft into His flock us Gentiles. Thank You, Holy Father.
To drive this point home our Precious Holy Spirit arranged for our Lord Jesus Christ, The Messiah, to teach the Jews this important action of our Creator. He has set up this condition for our Lord Jesus and for our learning..
Our Wonderful Holy Spirit points out to us the reasons for the Centurions great faith. First of all please note the Centurion’s special concern for this servant.
6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
Please notice the comment given by Luke ‘who was dear to him.’ This is not the normal way things happened back then folks. This Centurion was different than all the rest. Something happened in his life that he had recognized that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the only real God. As a result of seeking Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High - he was transformed. Love was evident in his life.
A Centurion was a career soldier than arose from the ground up. He wasn’t one of the 90 day wonders who just come into the service and becomes an officer. Because of his bravery this man arose in the ranks to the position over around 100 soldiers. 4 out of 5 who lived during this time were slaves. They were a dime a dozen. If this slave died- so what - just get another to take his place. No, something changed this soldier from the inside out. The request he makes to our Lord Jesus then is highly unusual. He has deep concern for this servant which will cause him to plead earnestly to our Holy Master and King – our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now dear friends we will discuss the issues of the two Gospels.
7 And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
The Gospel of Luke says that the elders of the Jews came and presented his request to our Lord while we see here listed that the Roman Centurion visited our Lord Jesus himself.
Now I want us all to slow down and think. In both Gospels we see that the Centurion had sensitivity to not dishonoring the Lord by being an unclean Gentile. Would you agree with me on this point? Confused?
8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
In the Gospel of Luke we read in verse 6, ‘6 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. In the Gospel of Matthew we read the same point, “8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.”
The Centurion knew that Jewish laws forbid a Israelite from entering the home of a Gentile. That would make the Jewish man unclean based on Jewish laws. The Centurion knew this law and did not want to dishonor the Lord.
Now, with a man who knew that his very presence not only to a Jewish man might be an offense, but how much greater did this Centurion understand that The Lord Jesus is God in the flesh. The answer is that he would also not even feel that he was worthy to be in the Lord’s very presence. Stop and think about that for a moment and it will also touch your heart as to how our Precious Master and King the Lord Jesus Christ is going to ‘marvel’ about this man’s faith in Him.
Now you might be thinking then how do both of these Scripture passages be the same? - ‘Elementary, my dear Watson.’
As an army captain the Centurion delegated work daily to subordinates. If he sent for example a message to his commanding officer, in effect, this messenger was a go between the Centurion and the Commanding officer. In effect the Centurion was dealing directly with the Commander. Do you understand this important fact? So, when the Centurion asked the elders of the Jews to speak on his behalf to the Lord Jesus Christ, in effect, he was talking directly to the Lord, just as Matthew lists. The Centurion was not physically there.
9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
The Roman Centurion didn’t come to the Lord Jesus and he didn’t expect One more Superior to him to come to visit him. Just as the Centurion didn’t have to be physically present for his orders to be carried out, neither did the Holy One of God Who Is the Creator and Sustainer of all life have to physically be present in order for a command to be fulfilled.
So, let us put both versions of this event together to see how it reads out. Please note that this is not my new version of the Lord’s word. It is just a way for us to derive the beauty and wonder of this situation.
1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 5 Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion who had heard about Jesus, came to Him, pleading with Him by sending elders of the Jews to Him, to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying the man intently asked us to inform You that his servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” We also want You to know that the one for whom You should do this is deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue. 7 And Jesus said to them to let the Centurion know, “I will come and heal the servant. 6 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. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. [This is why he wasn’t there physically but had sent the Jewish leaders to speak on his behalf]. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 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.” 9 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!” 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion messengers, “Go your way and tell you master; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.”
Now before I leave this portion I want us all to stop and think that this affects us also. How so, you may ask. Well, I think that we all are aware that we are the Lord’s ambassador to people. We are to take this responsibility seriously because we are representing Him in all that we say and do. Do you get the picture here?
I would like to mention the Centurion’s proper attitude. In the book of Proverbs chapter 27 we read this interesting statement, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” What did the Jews say about the Centurion? – ‘He is worthy’. Now how did the Centurion feel about himself, ‘Lord, I am not worthy’ Now that is the way to behave.
10 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
As I mentioned our Lord Jesus was quite affected by this soldier’s affection and respect for Him. It says that He ‘marveled’. There is only one other time in all of Scripture that the word ‘marvel’ is used and when you see it you are impacted. In the Gospel of Mark chapter 6 verse 6 we find it, “6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.”
This isn’t a good ‘marvel’. Here our Lord ‘marvels’ about His children’s ‘unbelief’. This is what we need to take away with us this day. Which ‘marvel’ do you want our Lord to see in your life? Is it one of great joy that He sees your love and respect for Him or is He shocked at how you are acting as though you are an unbeliever even when He has done such great and wondrous things for you?
When we were kids we use to like ‘Marvel’ comics. May our lives not be lived out in some dream world but in full assurance with The One Who can say the Word and we will be healed of all our physical and spiritual ailments.
