7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with 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 turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Section Overview
After the sermon on the plain, which emphasizes that the poor, the hungry, the mourning, and the persecuted are blessed, we read of another instance in which things are turned upside down. The greatest faith Jesus sees is not in Israel but comes from a centurion, a Gentile. The story features Jesus’ authority: he can heal at a word and from a distance. Matthew tells the same story, though he abbreviates it and leaves out details (Matt. 8:5–13). We know only from Luke’s account that the centurion never talks to Jesus directly. He sends Jewish elders as intermediaries, who request Jesus to come and heal the centurion’s slave. The Jewish elders promote the cause of the centurion, saying that he is worthy since he loves the Jewish nation and has provided funds for the synagogue. The centurion, by contrast, sends messengers to Jesus and protests that he is not worthy to have Jesus in his house. As a man with authority, he knows that Jesus could heal with just a word, without entering the house. Jesus is astonished at his faith, remarking that it exceeds what he has seen in Israel, and he heals the servant per the centurion’s request.
Section Outline
Response
The Jewish elders state that the centurion is worthy of Jesus’ doing something good for him, but the centurion is far more perceptive and spiritually sensitive than they. He knows he is unworthy of having Jesus enter his house, or even of speaking to Jesus. If we know ourselves, if we know our sin, we know that we are not worthy of being in Jesus’ presence. At the same time, we put our faith in Jesus, trusting that his word has power, that it is effective and transforming. We are to put all our trust in the word of our Christ, believing that he can grant life where there is death, that his words can create a new reality.