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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! ~ Matthew 8:5-10
Today, we continue our study of the gospel according to Matthew where we are presented 10 miracles performed by the Lord Jesus. These 10 miracles were included at this point in this gospel in order to authenticate His teaching. In effect, His miracles identified the Lord Jesus as God. In today's passage, Matthew very carefully continued his presentation of the kingship of the Lord Jesus. Having considered the first miracle, today we consider the second.
In v.5-6 of today's passage we read, "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.'"
Centurion is a title given to what was essentially a captain in the Roman army. They were Caesar's highest ranking officers. They received their rank by moving up through the ranks of being made battle tested. This man was a soldier's soldier. He knew how to lead, he knew how to fight, and he knew how to command. Due to this, he knew what it meant to be submissive to the one that was over him. He was among the best of the best in the pagan Roman world at that time.
Strangely, this rugged man had a heart. This rugged Roman Centurion, according to Luke's gospel, sent some of his men to the Lord Jesus with a request for the healing of his paralyzed slave whom he valued highly. Exhibiting great faith, the Centurion sought out the Lord Jesus on the behalf of his friend. This story reveals this Centurion was a man of faith, humility, and love for his friend. It also reveals the popularity the Lord Jesus had gained at that point in His ministry.
In v.7 of today's passage we read, "And Jesus said to him, 'I will come and heal him.'"
Drawn by the faith of the Centurion, the Lord agreed to go to his home. As He started to move in that direction the Centurion told Him that he was not worthy to be in His presence. It is our pride that makes us phony while it is our humility that makes us real. Also, this Centurion didn't want the Lord Jesus to be defiled because he knew that according to Jewish religious tradition, the Lord Jesus would be defiled if He were to enter a Gentiles home. The Centurion knew that the Lord Jesus could just speak a word of healing and his servant would be healed. This Centurion bore all the marks of the Beatitudes previously taught by the Lord Jesus. Interestingly, every time in the New Testament a Centurion is mentioned, they are mentioned with respect. In fact, there are seven Centurions mentioned in the Bible and three of them were believers in the Lord Jesus. This Centurion remains to this day unnamed. Fitting because biblical faith sees God as the supreme being not oneself.
In v.8-9 of today's passage we read, "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.'"
Arguing from the lesser to the greater, the Centurion sent his request to the Lord. His appeal to the Lord Jesus included the fact that he was a man who was under authority himself. Due to this, He saw the Lord Jesus as the supreme authority. Even though he was a man with his own authority given by Caesar himself, according to Luke's gospel, he appealed to the Lord Jesus.
The Centurion revealed his humility through his words, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof." Here was a Roman Centurion soldier who called the Lord Jesus, "Lord." Many of the principles taught by the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount was manifested in that moment in that Centurion. He also didn't need for the Lord Jesus to come into his house, because he understood His authority and power, that He could just speak healing and his servant would be healed.
In v.10 of today's passage we read, "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!'"
This Centurion revealed that he understood that the Lord Jesus was under the authority of His Father in heaven. He also understood that the Lord Jesus operated according to His Father's will. As he presented his words, he understood that the words of the Lord Jesus were God's words. In that Centurion that day, the Lord Jesus saw faith, humility and insightfulness and He was astonished at his faith. Biblical faith is a faith that is grounded in truth and Jesus Christ is the truth. It was Thomas Aquinas who once said, "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible."
According to Luke's gospel, this man was loved by the Jews because he had been very generous to them. He was obviously a man of wealth and had spent his money to build a synagogue for the Jewish people in Capernaum. So, the Jews came to the Lord Jesus and said, “Help this man, because he is worthy.” The word "marveled" highlights the fact that the Lord Jesus had not seen this kind of desperate faith even among the Jewish people. In fact, this is one of two times the Lord Jesus was astonished in the Gospels. The other time He was astonished by the lack of faith from the Jews.
You will remember that in the first miracle the Lord Jesus healed a leper who had been cast out of the city. Here we have a gentile slave of a gentile Centurion who was also an outcast. So much for earning God's favor. It was the faith of the Centurion that caught the attention of the Lord Jesus. The Centurion believed the Lord Jesus to be God. His faith showed up as a prayer that was a presented to the Lord on the behalf of his paralyzed servant. Before the Lord even responded, the Centurion accepted the Lord's sovereign response. This unnamed Centurion modeled for us the prayer of faith made through the Lord Jesus Christ. He had embraced the very important principle of "not my will but thy will be done."
