13 The Man Who Amazed Jesus (Luke 7:1–10)

When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 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.” 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.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. (7:1–10)

There is no doubt that Jesus Christ is the most amazing person who ever lived. The gospels repeatedly record that people were astounded, astonished, even traumatized by the words He spoke and the miracles He performed. His divine knowledge and supernatural power exceed all comprehension.

After hearing the Sermon on the Mount, “the crowds were amazed at His teaching” (Matt. 7:28). In the next chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus calmed a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee that was so intense that the disciples feared for their lives (Matt. 8:25). But afterward the realization that God incarnate was in the boat with them terrified them even more than the storm outside the boat had. Verse 27 records that they “were amazed, and said, ‘What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” After He cast a demon out of a mute man “the crowds were amazed, and were saying, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’“ (Matt. 9:33; cf. Mark 7:37).When Jesus taught in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth, “they were astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’” (Matt. 13:54; cf. Luke 4:22).Those who heard Him teach in the synagogue in Capernaum (Mark 1:22) and in the temple (John 7:14–15) had similar reactions.

The huge crowds that flocked to Jesus along the shore of the Sea of Galilee “marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matt. 15:31). After the rich young ruler rejected Him, the Lord told His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:23). Since in Jewish culture the wealthy were thought to have the inside track to heaven, “when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’” (v. 25). “Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, [Jesus] came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, ‘No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.’ And at once the fig tree withered” (Matt. 21:19).Despite all the miracles they had witnessed during their time with Jesus, “the disciples were amazed and asked, ‘How did the fig tree wither all at once?’” (v.20).

The Jewish religious leaders’ futile attempts to trap Jesus failed, leaving both them (Matt. 22:22) and the crowds (v 33; cf. Mark 11:18) stunned by His answers. Unlike those who were astonished by what Jesus said, Pilate was astonished by what He did not say The governor was accustomed to hearing the accused prisoners brought before him either vehemently protest their innocence or desperately plead for clemency. Therefore he was “quite amazed” when Jesus maintained a majestic calm and remained silent (Matt. 27:14). The disciples understandably were amazed when they saw the resurrected Christ (Luke 24:12, 41).

But while Jesus frequently amazed people, there are only two times in the gospels when He is said to have been amazed. As noted above, the people in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth were first astonished, then angered by Jesus’ teaching. In response, as Mark records, Jesus “wondered at their unbelief” (Mark 6:6).The other time Jesus was amazed was because of the faith of a Roman soldier. This passage is the story of Jesus’ encounter with that man, who was not a Jew, but a Gentile centurion. Luke’s account presents first the context, and then the content of his faith that amazed Jesus.

THE CONTEXT OF THE CENTURION’S AMAZING FAITH

When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion’s slave (7:1–2a)

Luke’s chronological note that this incident took place when Jesus had completed all His discourse (the Sermon on the Mount in 6:20–49) in the hearing of the people is of great significance. The theme of the Lord’s sermon was true discipleship, and this Roman soldier was a living model of the genuine faith of a disciple of Jesus Christ. Everything that Jesus said was characteristic of a true disciple marked this man.

After preaching the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus went to Capernaum, and that city provides the geographical setting for this story. Capernaum, Jesus’ adopted hometown (Matt. 4:13) and headquarters for His Galilean ministry, was located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee within walking distance of the hillside where the Lord delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Its name means, “city of Nahum,” but whether it was named for the Old Testament prophet Nahum is not known. Capernaum was the main city on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and was a significant enough town to have had this centurion with his detachment of soldiers stationed there. A royal official (most likely in the service of Herod Antipas) also lived there (John 4:46). In Luke 10:15 Jesus rebuked its people for their exalted view of their city’s importance: “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!” In fulfillment of the Lord’s words, Capernaum was eventually destroyed so completely that its precise location is unknown.

Luke’s reference to the centurion provides the biographical setting for this story Centurions, so named because they were in charge of approximately one hundred soldiers, were the backbone of the Roman army. A Roman legion at full strength consisted of 6, 000 men, and wasdivided into ten cohorts of 600 men each. A centurion commanded 100 of these men, and a legion therefore had 60 centurions, each of whom reported to one of the legion’s six tribunes (cf. Acts 22:25–26). The Roman historian Polybius described centurions as “not so much venturesome daredevils as natural leaders of a steady and sedate spirit, not so much men who will initiate attacks and open the battle as men who will hold their ground when worsted and hard pressed and be ready to die at their posts” (Histories vi. xix-xlii, cited in Naphtali Lewis and Meyer Reinhold, eds. Roman Civilization: Sourcebook 1: The Republic [New York: Harper & Row, 1966], 435).

Since Galilee was under the rule of Herod Antipas during the life of Christ, Roman troops were not normally stationed there. This centurion may have been overseeing some of Herod’s soldiers, or a small detachment of Roman troops may have been assigned to Capernaum (Leon Morris, The Gospel According to St. Luke, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975], 136). He most likely was not an Italian, but a native of one of the nearby territories, such as Syria. That he was a Gentile is clear from verses 4 and 5. He was a career soldier, having risen from the ranks by proving to be a strong, responsible, reliable man and a brave, loyal, and skilled fighter. His responsibilities included keeping order, enforcing the law, and overseeing the collection of taxes.

Like all the other centurions mentioned in the New Testament (Mark 15:39; Acts 10:1–2; 22:25–26; 23:17–18; 27:1, 42–43), this one is portrayed favorably. Along with the centurion in charge of Jesus’ crucifixion, and Cornelius (Acts 10:44–48), he became a believer in Jesus Christ.

THE CONTENT OF THE CENTURION’S AMAZING FAITH

a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 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 hecomes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 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.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. (7:2a-10)

Four aspects of the centurion’s exemplary faith stand out in the narrative: his great love, his great generosity, his great humility, and his great trust.

HIS GREAT LOVE

The centurion’s love can be seen first in his attitude toward his slave. Doulos (slave) is a specific term describing a person purchased, owned, and completely subject to the will and control of his master. The centurion also referred to his slave using the term pais (v. 7) which, though often used of slaves (cf. 1:54, 69; 15:26; Matt. 14:2), literally means, “child,” or “son.” In the context of this story the term suggests the great affection the centurion had for his slave. The use of pais may also mean that the slave was a young boy Entimos (highly regarded), is also used to refer to a distinguished guest at a banquet (Luke 14:8). In Philippians 2:29 Paul used it to described Epaphroditus and other men who were to be honored in the church, while Peter used it to describe the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4, 6). It signifies that the centurion had an extraordinary level of affection for his slave.

The centurion’s love for his slave was in marked contrast to the typical view of slaves in the Greco-Roman world. Aristotle described a slave as a living tool (Ethics, 1161b).The legal scholar Gaius noted that it was universally accepted that masters possessed the power of life and death over their slaves (Institutes, 1.52). The Roman writer Varro insisted that the only difference between a slave, an animal, and a cart was that the slave talked (Agriculture, 1.17). Slaves were often abused, young boys in particular, since pedophilia was not uncommon.

Because of his affection for his slave, the centurion was deeply concerned about him when he was sick and about to die. Luke did not describe his disease or symptoms, but Matthew noted that the young man was paralyzed and in severe pain (Matt.8:6).

The centurion’s compassion drove him in desperation to seek the Lord’s help. He had heard much about Jesus, who had moved from Nazareth to Capernaum (Matt. 4:13) and was very well-known in that region (Luke 4:14, 37; Matt. 4:23–25). Somewhere along the way he had heard more than the usual superficial talk about Jesus’ miracles. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that he knew enough about Jesus to recognize who He really was.

Believing that he was not worthy to go to Jesus personally (see the discussion of his humility below), the centurion sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. That these leaders in the Jewish community would consent to do so for a Gentile soldier is amazing, and demonstrates the high regard they had for him. In contrast to the centurion’s humble sense of unworthiness they in keeping with their works-righteous religious system, touted his worthiness. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him.” His personal merit, they argued, obligated Jesus to help him—just as in their religious system their self-righteousness obligated God to save them.

The reason the centurion was worthy, they told Jesus, was that he loves our nation. Though not meritorious in the sense of obligating God to do anything for him, the centurion’s love for God’s people was both surprising and commendable. Jews and Gentiles usually hated and despised each other. “Anti-semitism is not a new thing, “writes William Barclay “The Romans called the Jews a filthy race; they spoke of Judaism as a barbarous superstition; they spoke of the Jewish hatred of humankind; they accused the Jews of worshipping an ass’s head and annually sacrificing a Gentile stranger to their God” (The Gospel of Luke, The New Daily Study Bible [Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001], 101). For their part, the Jews refused to associate with Gentiles (cf. Acts 10:25–28; 11:2–3; Gal. 2:11–13). But this centurion overcame those prejudices, recognized the Jews as God’s chosen people, and loved them.

HIS GREAT GENEROSITY

and it was he who built us our synagogue. (7:5b)

The centurion’s love was not mere abstract sentimentality; he expressed it practically by building the Jews of Capernaum a synagogue. The use of the pronoun autos, in addition to the third person singular verb translated built, emphasizes the centurion’s personal role. The Jewish elders gave him sole credit for building their synagogue.

Centurions were well paid, earning between 3, 750 and 7, 500 denarii, in contrast to the lowest paid soldiers, who earned a mere 75 denarii (Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994], 635), so he was able to finance the construction.

The primary function of the synagogue was to teach the word of God, and his building of the synagogue reflected the centurion’s love for the truth. Like Cornelius (Acts 10:1–2), he was a true God-fearer. Somehow, despite the generally apostate condition of the Judaism of his day (cf.Matt. 23:13, 15; Rom. 2:24), the centurion had heard and believed the truth that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, Savior, and Lord.

HIS GREAT HUMILITY

Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, (7:6–7a)

One of the marks of a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ is the acknowledgment of spiritual bankruptcy (6:20) and accompanying humility that the centurion displayed. His view of himself was radically different from that of the Jewish elders. After agreeing to heal the centurion’s servant (Matt. 8:7), Jesus started on His way with the elders and a large crowd of curious onlookers, eager to see yet another miracle (Luke 7:9). When they were not far from the house, the centurion sent word for the Lord to come no nearer.

His desperation had prompted his emotional request for Jesus to come and heal his slave. But he had become increasingly convicted of his utter sinfulness and felt unworthy to have Jesus enter his house. Unlike the proud, self-righteous Jewish elders, he was too ashamed of himself and his sinfulness to be in Jesus’ presence. His attitude is reminiscent of Peter, who exclaimed, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8), and the tax collector, who “was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’“ (Luke 18:13).

Accordingly, the centurion sent a second delegation to Jesus, this one consisting of his friends, saying to Him through them, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further. Skullō (trouble) means, “to be bothered,” “annoyed,” or “agitated.” He understood that his sin was an affront to Jesus’ holiness, but did not yet fully understand His provision of grace and mercy. All he knew was that he was not worthy for the Lord to come under his roof. In fact, it was because of his sense of sinfulness and unworthiness that he did not even consider himself worthy to come to Jesus in the first place. He was a true penitent, with a broken and contrite heart that the Lord would not despise (Ps.51:17).

HIS GREAT TRUST

but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 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.” 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.” When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. (7:76–10)

Instead of having Jesus enter his house, the centurion proposed that He just say the word, and his servant would be healed.

He was absolutely confident that the Lord spoke with divine power and authority, as the illustration he gave reveals: 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.” As a military commander, the centurion was under the authority of his superior officers and used to obeying their orders. He also knew what it meant to give orders to the soldiers serving under him, as well as his slave, and have them obeyed. He understood that Jesus had that same authority over life and death.

When Jesus heard this remarkable expression of the centurion’s humble faith, He marveled at him. Here is a glimpse of Jesus’ true humanity, since as God He is omniscient and cannot be surprised by anything. But just as in His humanity He became tired (John 4:6), hungry (Matt. 4:2), and thirsty (John 19:28; cf. 4:7), so also could He be astonished at the faith displayed by this Roman soldier.

Hearing the centurion’s words, Jesus turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” On the one hand, the Lord’s statement affirmed the centurion’s great faith. But on the other hand, the sad reality that not even in Israel could the Messiah find that kind of faith was an indictment of God’s chosen people. Matthew records that the Lord added the sobering warning, “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 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” (Matt. 8:11–12). Trusting in their self-righteousness and external ceremonialism, the Jewish people lacked genuine, saving faith. Even Christ’s disciples possessed only weak, “little” faith (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8).That a Gentile set the example for genuine faith was a rebuke of the Jewish people, who had missed the truth in spite of all their privileges (Rom. 9:4–5). As the apostle Paul would later write, “For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God” (Rom. 10:2–3).

The epilogue to the story provides a fitting tribute to the centurion’s remarkable faith. Matthew noted that, compelled by his desperate, loving concern for his slave, he eventually could not stand to wait any longer. His great love overcame his sense of unworthiness, and he went out to meet Jesus. He reaffirmed in person the message he had sent through his friends that he was unworthy to have Jesus enter his house, and his belief that the Lord could heal his servant by merely speaking a word. Whether he returned with those who had been sent or remained with Jesus is not stated. But when his friends returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. The Lord had honored the unusual faith of the man by granting his request.