Background: Jesus has just recently delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), then healed the leper (Matt 8:1-4). Now He is approached by a Roman centurion (leader of 100 men) who asked Jesus for help. What would Jesus do, or say, in this situation?
The text comes from Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 8, verses 5-13. From the King James Version, the text reads as follows:
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this [man], Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth [it]. 10 When Jesus heard [it], he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, [so] be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Introduction: Centurions were commanders of 100 Roman soldiers. These men were assigned to various parts of the Roman Empire for peacekeeping duties and maybe other duties, as well. Certainly some of these men were employed in the execution of people condemned to death for any number of misdeeds—just like the “crimes” Jesus Christ was accused of.
This centurion had a problem. He had a servant (we’re not told how many) who was suffering from a serious disease. The King James Version calls it, “sick of the palsy”, and there was little if any hope, apparently, that this servant would ever get well again.
I The centurion made an appeal, vv. 5-6
We’re not told which mountain was the place where Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. It could have been one around Capernaum, which itself was near the Sea of Galilee. After all, this is where Jesus was going (see verse 5). Regardless, when He arrived in Capernaum, He met a centurion who made a personal appeal to Jesus.
This centurion first made a respectful greeting. He had the authority to demand to see Jesus, or anyone else for that matter, and could have said something like, “Hey, you, Teacher, heal my servant and I mean right now!” He could have employed threats, imprisonment, or any weapon in his arsenal, and he could have done it without any fear of reprisal. The Romans were the masters, politically speaking, and all others were under their rule (but Roman citizens had special privileges and protections). He could have issued an order for Jesus to appear.
In person. Right here. Right now.
But he didn’t do anything like that. He approached Jesus with respect, giving Him a great deal of dignity in the process. Notice that he called Jesus “Lord” or “Sir”, from the Greek word kurios (according to Strong’s Concordance). This is even more remarkable, as the centurion didn’t have to give any kind of respectful greeting to anyone except, perhaps, his superiors—and all the more remarkable, as Jesus, while on this earth, was a Jew and the Romans had no obligation to pay any kind of respect to their subjects.
Further, he didn’t even make a direct appeal for healing. He simply reported the servant’s condition: “my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.” Did he have faith? How did he come to understand that Jesus may (in his mind) or could perhaps heal someone as sick as his servant? Where did he come to learn anything at all about Jesus?
He may have had an opportunity to learn, as Jesus replied, “I’ll come and heal him”!
II Jesus gave him an answer, v 7.
“I will come and heal him.” Six words in the King James Version of the Bible, but they were some of the most profound things ever spoken. Why was this remarkable?
For one thing, the Jews were basically forbidden to enter the houses of anyone who was not Jewish. Simon Peter ran into that very problem some years later after he went to the house of Cornelius, even after he reported that Cornelius and his household became believers in Jesus! And did I mention that Cornelius was a Roman centurion, also? This story is told in Acts 10. So we can see that Jesus was willing to break Jewish traditions (if not commands) and visit the home of someone, not even Jewish, to perform an act of mercy.
Second, Jesus could have healed the centurion’s servant from a distance away. He did so for the son of a nobleman of Capernaum (see John 4, the last portion of the chapter), and even for the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (see Mark 7). It is never stated just why Jesus was willing to heal this servant in person—and there is no need to speculate or guess—but we can be grateful that He was willing to show this kindness and “personal touch” in this moment of need.
Third, and this is a bit ominous, this could have been one of the last miracles Capernaum ever saw. Just a few chapters later (Matt 11:23), Jesus condemned Capernaum, because, in so many words, they didn’t repent when Jesus preached. Incredible as it sounds, Capernaum was the sight of several miracles, and some of Jesus’ own preaching and teaching, and they didn’t repent. They didn’t accept God’s message so they endured God’s judgment. Was this healing of the centurion’s servant one of the “mighty works” Jesus spoke of in Matthew 11?
Finally, this willingness to go to the centurion’s home shows just how much Jesus loved ALL people. It’s no secret the Jews hated the Romans (why else would there have been the Zealots and other revolutionary groups, plus Judas and Theudas, mentioned by Gamaliel in Acts 5?) but Jesus put a stop to (at least some of) this thinking. If He, as the promised and expected King, was willing to love the enemies of His subjects, wouldn’t and shouldn’t they do the same thing?
III Note the centurion’s reply, vv. 8-9.
Imagine the centurion’s reaction to the words of Jesus in the previous verse! He had only made a polite request or inquiry, not even asking Jesus specifically for his servant to be healed—and Jesus broke at least two of the greatest social taboos of that time (giving respect to a Gentile and going into his house) by offering to go to his house and heal his servant there. We could say that this centurion was flabbergasted, to hear this offer of personal intervention.
Look at what he tells Jesus in reply. In so many words, he says, “You don’t have to do all that! I’m not worthy to have a visit from You—just say the word and my servant will be healed!” He then gave a statement of understanding, “I have authority and tell a soldier to go, and he does; I tell another to come, and he does; and I tell my servant to do something and he does it.” Many of us who have served in the military are quite aware of the “chain of command”, in that everyone has a superior and, perhaps, subordinates. This centurion had 100 soldiers under his supervision, but he also reported to higher ranking officers (for example, chiliarchs, commanders of 1000 men; sometimes called “chief captains” in Acts. Claudius Lysias was one of these.). I think he recognized something in Jesus that even many of the Jewish people never comprehended.
If the centurion had anything else to say, we’re not given the words or any more of the conversation. We can see that his words had an effect on Jesus, like few others:
IV Jesus was amazed, v 10
This is one of the few times in Scripture where Jesus was amazed, or , where He marveled, at something. This recognition of faith, that Jesus could heal the centurion’s servant, even from a distance (and we’re never told how far away the centurion’s house was), and the parallel, so to speak, of authority—and coming from a Gentile!—must have been amazing indeed for Jesus. One thing that we sometimes forget is Christ’s absolute humanity, and the ability to love, show anger, experience hunger and thirst, and to be amazed or to marvel at certain things.
Jesus expressed something that may be easy to miss, even after a casual reading or two. He mentioned that He hadn’t seen such great faith in all Israel. This is so true, in that the centurion didn’t specifically ask for healing, or for any other thing. Most if not all of the other miracles, where people came to Jesus, were based on someone making a request. Examples could include the son of the Capernaum noble and the Syrophoenician woman (already alluded to), and the catch of fist in Luke 5, the miraculous feeding of two different multitudes of people, even the healing of Lazarus in John chapter 11. This man, let it be repeated, made no demand of Jesus. All he did was express a concern—and then, what? Did he trust Jesus to do what was best? We may never know the extent of his faith, such as it was or might have been, but we will forever have the record that Jesus provided healing, and that Jesus was amazed at this Gentile’s faith!
V Jesus gave additional information, vv. 11-12
One of the things to remember, especially in the Old Testament and the Gospels, is that there was a distinction between the Jewish people, God’s chosen people, and the rest of the human race. Gentiles were not part of God’s dealings with Israel, for example, in regards to the Law of Moses, and the promises of Israel’s future—except for, perhaps, those who became converts or believers in the God of Israel. Some Gentiles did indeed become believers, like Rahab the (former) harlot and Ruth of Moab. The Book of Esther tells how many people in the Medo-Persian Empire became Jews (see Esther 8 for that story) and, later, Nicolas of Antioch, a Gentile proselyte or convert to Judaism, was one of the first seven deacons in the early Church.
Following this declaration, in verse 10, that Jesus hadn’t seen such faith in all Israel, He goes on to provide something that was perhaps startling to the audience. Isaiah and other prophets gave glowing promises of the glory to come in Messiah’s kingdom, but didn’t say very much about the role of the Gentiles in that kingdom. Jesus tells the listeners that many would come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven. To the east were mountains, and the land of Moab, Ammon, and Syria; farther away were Babylon and Assyria and other locations. We can read in 2 Kings 17 that the king of Assyria carried many captives from the 10 Northern tribes to these and other locations. To the west was the land of the Philistines, and the Mediterranean Sea. The Jews of Jesus’ day also knew about Cyprus, Crete, and other territory along the sea. Surely they knew of the Romans coming from the west, as they conquered the land of Israel and was governing that land under their own laws.
But for these people to actually have fellowship with the founders of the faith was something I don’t think they were expecting! Even more, I doubt they expected to hear these words of warning, as spoken by Jesus, namely, that the “children of the kingdom” would be cast into outer darkness, and would experience weeping and gnashing of teeth. Did anyone ask Jesus for any additional information, or to have Him explain this? I don’t read anywhere that they did. Certainly they would lose out on God’s blessings if they didn’t repent and believe the Gospel.
VI The conclusion, vv. 13
We have seen how the centurion, a Gentile, a member of literally the ruling powers came to Jesus but didn’t make any demands, requests, or anything else. He simply made an appeal, saying, “My servant is grievously tormented, sick of the palsy (or, paralyzed)”. Actually this isn’t so much an appeal as a statement, but underneath, as we will see, is the hope for healing.
Jesus didn’t turn the may away, but offered to come to the centurion’s house and heal the servant personally.
Even though this violated at least one or more social taboos, Jesus was and is Lord and had the authority to go anywhere His presence was requested.
The centurion simply replied that he was a man under authority and gave an example. This amazed Jesus, and led Him to declare that many (Gentiles) would sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. He also warned that the children of the kingdom would be cast into outer darkness, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What a solemn warning for them, and for all of us.
Jesus told the centurion, “go thy way, as you have believed, so it has been done (paraphrasing)”. This may seem like an anticlimax, or less than important part of the story, for some. Truth be told, this is the most important part. Matthew records that the servant was healed in the “selfsame” or very same hour! This is proof positive that Jesus met the servant’s needs and honored the centurion’s faith. The centurion came in faith, Jesus honored that faith, and the centurion “went his way” receiving the promise.
May we have the same kind of faith he had!
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
