THE FAITH OF THE CENTURION

Passage: Matthew 8:5-13

Key verse: 8

NIV

The Faith of the Centurion(A)

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed,(B) suffering terribly.”

7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.(C) 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.(D) 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,(E) and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.(F) 12 But the subjects of the kingdom(G) will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”(H)

13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”(I) And his servant was healed at that moment.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Faith of a Centurion

5 (A)When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but (B)only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man 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,[a] ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, (C)he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with (D)no one in Israel[b] have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, (E)many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 (F)while the sons of the kingdom (G)will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place (H)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you (I)as you have believed.” (J)And the servant was healed at that very moment.

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 8:9 Or bondservant
  2. Matthew 8:10 Some manuscripts not even in Israel
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Just say the word (1-9)

The centurion was a Gentile, a soldier in the Roman army of occupation. But he had a compassionate shepherd's heart for his servant, and he believed that Jesus had authority to heal. He humbled himself and asked Jesus for help. He had a soldier's simple understanding of authority and obedience; he knew the power of the word. So he said, 'Just say the word and my servant will be healed.'

2. Such great faith (1

-13)

Jesus was astonished by this centurion's faith in the power of Jesus' word. This was the kind of faith the people of Israel should have had. Jesus looked at this man and saw the whole Gentile world. Someday Gentiles with faith like his would come from every part of the world to take their places at the great heavenly banquet. And those with human privilege, but with hard and unbelieving hearts, would be thrown into outer darkness. Jesus spoke a gracious and powerful word of command and blessing, and the servant was healed.

Prayer: Lord, help me to humbly accept the authority of your word and obey joyfully.

One Word: 'Just say the word'