Jesus heals a gentile

The Authority Over Paralysis

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! ¹¹ And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

—Matthew 8:5–13

The story of “The Unacceptable Gentile” becomes one of the greater illustrations of faith. Calvin said, “This officer had been healed by God before his servant was healed by Jesus.” The setting was in Capernaum, the unique city which Jesus had chosen for His base of operation, a city open to the trade movements of the world. Significantly, early in Jesus’ ministry, the Gentile is seen coming to Him, and the interchange sets forth the priority of faith over nationality. God’s compassion is for all men alike, based on faith in Him. In Luke’s account (7:1–10) the centurion sent emissaries from the Jewish elders to entreat Jesus to help him, for they said the centurion “was worthy.”

The centurion’s approach is striking, not only in his humility, but in that he attests Jesus’ authority by an illustration from his own command under the authority of Rome. He thereby recognized Jesus’ authority as under the command of God, with resources and power commensurate with the command! The centurion states that he is a man “under” authority, recognizing that the extent of one’s authority is determined by the authority over him. For the centurion, this meant that the authority of Rome, who was Caesar, was over him granting him authority. The meaning of his statement is, “I know how to obey, myself being under authority, and having others under me I know how servants obey.” By implication, seeing Jesus to be under God’s authority, he extends the perimeters of Jesus’ authority to all that God grants. There is in this a humble awareness that authority is given.

In this passage and in comparison with Luke 7:1–10 and John 4:46–54, recognition is given to the unique faith of the Gentile. Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ words that Gentiles will be seated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. The Old Testament prophets refer to a coming eschatological banquet, at which the Messiah will include the Gentiles (Is. 25:6; Mic. 4:2). Jesus affirms this anticipation in His comments regarding the faith of this Gentile centurion and adds His judgment on the unbelief of the children of Israel. Luke, in a different context, confirms Jesus’ statement (Luke 13:28–29).

Without going to the man’s home, Jesus simply said, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let if be done for you.” The fact that the servant was healed that very same hour verifies Jesus’ authority and also the centurion’s faith.

A suggestion for this passage would be an outline as follows: (1) the request that overrides barriers, vv. 5–6; (2) the response that overwhelms the seeker, v. 7; (3) the results that His “oversight” achieves, vv. 8–9 and (4) the reality that occurs in confirmation of faith, vv. 10–13.¹

The centurion’s servant healed (vv. 5–13). A centurion was an officer over 100 men in the Roman army. Every centurion mentioned in the Gospels and Acts was a gentleman of high character and sense of duty, and this man was no exception. The fact that he was concerned about a lowly servant-boy indicates this. The word “palsy” indicates a kind of paralysis.

It would seem that everything about this man would prevent him from coming to Jesus. He was a professional soldier, and Jesus was a Man of peace. He was a Gentile, and Jesus was a Jew. But this soldier had one thing working for him: he was a man of great faith. This centurion understood that Jesus, like himself, was under authority. All Christ had to do was speak the word and the disease would obey Him the way a soldier obeyed his officer. It is worth noting that only those who are under authority have the right to exercise authority.

Twice in the Gospels it is recorded that Jesus marveled: here, at the great faith of the Gentile centurion; and in Mark 6:6, at the great unbelief of the Jews. Matthew recorded two “Gentile” miracles: this one, and the healing of the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:21–28). In both cases, the Lord was impressed with their great faith. This is an early indication that the Jews would not believe, but the Gentiles would. Also, in both of these miracles, our Lord healed from a distance. This was a reminder of the spiritual position of the Gentiles “afar off” (Eph. 2:12).²

8:12, 13 Sons of the kingdom refers to the Jews who had the covenants and the promises, and who should have been heirs of the kingdom. The idea that Gentiles would take their place in the coming kingdom was unthinkable to the Jews. Outer darkness, meaning “the darkness outside,” speaks of the experience of those who do not endure and so will not reign in the kingdom (Matt. 22:13; Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12, 13; 2 John 8; Rev. 3:11). Living with Christ in heaven is a gift (John 3:16; Rom. 4:1–8; 6:23) to be received without cost. But the reign with Christ is a prize to be won with great effort (compare 1 Cor. 9:24–27; Rev. 22:12).³

10–13. The words from the east and west, are taken from Psalm 107 (with allusions also to Isa 49:12; 59:19; Mal 1:11). Here Christ is referring to the gathering in of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel, culminating in their final gathering at the time of His second coming. Sit down, i.e., recline (Gr anaklinō) to eat. It was customary in those days to recline at meals, resting on one’s left elbow. There are also references to this ancient custom in the great banquet parables of the wedding feast of our Lord (see 22:1–14). The children of the kingdom, refers to those to whom the kingdom really belongs. The natural claim to that kingdom had been given to the Jews. Their reception of Christ as Messiah could potentially have brought in the kingdom, that had been promised by the Old Testament prophets. However, their eventual rejection of the Messiah caused the postponement of a literal kingdom on earth. Outer darkness refers to the condemnation of the second death. There shall be … gnashing of teeth. There is used emphatically to draw attention to the fact that such severe punishment is in fact a reality. Even though he was a Gentile, the servant was healed because of the faith of the centurion. The contrast to this incident drawn by Jesus emphasizes the foolishness of Israel’s rejection of Him as Messiah.⁴

That is, in short, many of those who are now heathens shall be saved; and many of the Jews shall be damned. Many, not all, shall come from the east and west, from all parts, from the remotest parts in the world. Luke saith, east, west, north, and south, Luke 13:29: so Isa. 11:12; 43:5, 6. And sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God; in heaven, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the heads of the Jewish nation, are, to whom the promises were made; or, in the church of God, for the church triumphant and militant are both but one church. They shall sit down with them, as men sit down at a banquet, an expression oft used to signify the rest and pleasure the saints shall have in heaven, Isa. 25:6–8; Luke 22:29, 30. But the children of the kingdom, the Jews, who boast much that they are the children of Abraham, and think themselves the only church, and the only heirs of glory, and who are indeed the only church of God as yet, shall be cast out into outer darkness: either the darkness of errors, ignorance, and superstition, the gospel light shall not shine upon them, they shall be no more the church of God; or, the darkness of hell, where shall be nothing but pain and misery, and lamentations for the gospel, and the grace thereof, first offered to them, but unthankfully rejected by them, by which they judge themselves unworthy of the grace of God and of eternal life, Acts 13:46.⁵

In his Gospel, Matthew often arranges his material topically rather than chronologically. We see this in the sections immediately following the Sermon on the Mount, where he gathers together a series of miracle stories. We looked at the first of these miracles, the healing of a leper, in the previous chapter, and we will examine two more in this chapter. The first of these two healings, that of the centurion’s servant, is very important for us because it speaks volumes to me about what it means to be a Christian. As we will see, there is an element of application here that touches the very heart of Christianity.

Matthew begins, Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him (v. 5). Capernaum, the city where Jesus lived and made His headquarters during his Galilean ministry, was one of many towns and villages along the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a bustling fishing industry, as well as numerous merchants, artisans, and scribes. Although it was not a strong Roman outpost, there were some soldiers stationed there. A centurion was one who had command of a hundred soldiers. It is very possible that, as small as the garrison at Capernaum was, the man who came to Jesus in this story was the top Roman officer in the city. But he came in abject humility, not asking Jesus for help but begging for it.

What was the centurion’s request? Matthew tells us that he said, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented” (v. 6). The centurion did not explain why the servant was paralyzed. It could have been the result of an injury, a stroke, or some other malady. Sadly, in that day, when someone suffered paralysis, it was considered to be a permanent condition. But not only was the servant paralyzed, he was “dreadfully tormented.” Here we are even more in the dark; it is unclear whether the servant was tormented by pain or some other factor.

When we looked at Jesus’ healing of the leper in the previous chapter, we saw that the leper said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” There was no question in the leper’s mind about Jesus’ ability or power to cure leprosy; his only question had to do with Jesus’ willingness. Jesus assured him, “I am willing,” and cleansed him. The willingness of Jesus to enter into the torment of those around Him was made manifest once again in His ready response to the centurion’s plea for his servant: “I will come and heal him” (v. 7).

The Faith of a Gentile

Now, I would expect the centurion to have been delighted by Jesus’ answer and to have said: “Great, let’s go. Let’s hurry. Let’s not waste a moment, because as we speak my servant is in agony.” But that is not what he said. Instead, 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” (v. 8). The centurion replied: “No, Jesus, You don’t need to come with me. In fact, it wouldn’t be appropriate for You to come to my home. I am not worthy to have You in my home.”

As we have already seen in Jesus’ willingness to touch a leper, societal conventions meant nothing to Him when it came to redeeming people who were suffering. Jesus had no hesitation about going to the home of a Roman centurion. Yet, the centurion was hesitant about Jesus’ coming under his roof. Perhaps this centurion was aware that the Jewish rules and regulations barred Jews from entering the private residences of Gentiles, because the Gentiles were considered to be ceremonially unclean. Perhaps he knew that the Jews hated the Romans as much as any conquered people hate their conquerors. In any case, he was reluctant for Jesus to go so far as to come to his house.

The centurion continued, “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” (v. 9). The centurion was saying that he was thoroughly familiar with authority, being one who was under the authority of superior officers and one who exercised authority over soldiers. However, I think there is a subtle hint here of recognition that Jesus spoke under authority, the authority of God. He communicated the authority of God whenever He spoke, as we saw in Matthew 7:29. Furthermore, the centurion clearly recognized that Jesus had authority to heal. So, he simply acknowledged Jesus’ authority and ability to heal the servant with a word from a distance.

Matthew then writes, When Jesus heard it, He marveled (v. 10a). This is one of only two times in all of the New Testament that the Greek verb thaumazō is used with respect to Jesus. It means “to wonder at” or “to marvel.” This word is used frequently in accounts of Jesus’ miracles, but there it describes the reaction of those who witnessed His signs. Their normal response was astonishment or amazement. Here, however, Jesus is astonished. That which astonished Him was the faith of this Gentile. He said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (v. 10b).

But Jesus did not stop there; He went on to remark about the larger implications of the presence of such faith in a Gentile rather than an Israelite: “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (vv. 11–12). This is incredible. Jesus said people from all over the earth would be part of the kingdom of heaven, while many Israelites would be cast out, to their everlasting grief. Jesus was prophesying the opening of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles, which began to happen in the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts.

The Promise of God

A friend of mine who lives in the western United States wrote to me recently and told me that he was planning a surprise fiftieth birthday party for his wife. He was going to have a “Scripture party.” I had never heard of a Scripture party, but he explained it in the letter. During the party, all the guests would quote their favorite Bible verses and say why those verses meant so much to them. My friend knew that Vesta and I would not be able to attend the party because we live so far away, so he asked us to record our favorite verses on video to be played at the party. We thought that was a wonderful idea, so we recorded a short video clip in which I shared my favorite verse and told why I like it, and then I recorded one for Vesta, because she could not talk about her favorite verse without tearing up.

Now, my favorite verse of Scripture is Genesis 15:17: “And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.” Sometimes at conferences people ask me to sign books or even their Bibles, and sometimes they ask me to add my “life verse.” I’m not sure what a life verse is, but at some point I began writing down Genesis 15:17. Almost invariably, when I write that verse with my signature, the person will come back ten or fifteen minutes later to ask, “Did you mean to write this verse?” When I assure the person that I did, he will ask, “That’s your favorite verse?” When I say yes, he will always ask why, so I have to explain.

Genesis 15 recounts the occasion when God renewed His promise to give Abraham the land of Canaan, and Abraham said to God, ‘How shall I know that I will inherit it?” (v. 8). God condescended to Abraham’s weakness, which was really unbelief. He commanded Abraham to get a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon, then to cut them in pieces, and to arrange the pieces in two rows, forming a path. After Abraham obeyed, God made him fall into a deep sleep, and during that sleep, “a smoking oven and a burning torch … passed between those pieces.”

The book of Hebrews unwraps this strange event for us: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you’ ” (6:13–14). The author of Hebrews understood that this was a theophany, that God was manifesting Himself in the smoking oven and the burning torch, and that He was forging a covenant with Abraham and symbolically saying to him: “If I do not keep My word, may I be torn asunder, just as you have cut these animals in two. I am swearing by Myself, by My holy character.” That was how God reassured Abraham. And God’s reassurance to Abraham reassures me. It reminds me that God cannot break His word.

Vesta’s favorite verses are 1 John 3:1–2: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” This passage reminds us that someday we will have the beatific vision. We will see God face-to-face, and the light of His countenance will flood us with glory.

Experience versus Scripture

Back in the early 1960s, the charismatic movement began to make inroads in Lutheran circles, Episcopalian circles, and even Presbyterian circles. The first year I taught college, it seemed to me that all the students in my theology class had been turned onto the Pentecostal faith. They were speaking in tongues, having exotic experiences, and asking me all kinds of questions that I couldn’t answer. These students became very interested in and excited about the power of God, and they started to live by believing in this power. For instance, if they were in a car that ran out of gas, they would lay hands on the gas tank, believing that God would cause the car to operate without gasoline. I became swept up in their enthusiasm, but as I went through this stage, I kept being disappointed by unfulfilled expectations. Thankfully, God helped me see that I could not live my Christian life by my feelings and experiences. I realized I needed the Word of God, for that is where I find my stability, my confidence, my ability to persevere, and my hope. Whether this experience or that experience is of the Holy Spirit, I never know for sure. But I know this—the Bible is God’s Word.

In my life, I have had some ineffable experiences of being overwhelmed and enveloped by the presence of God. Those experiences were so profound, so acute, that I was content to die on the spot. I said: “This is enough. I don’t need anything else.” I’m sure that many of you reading this book know what I’m talking about, having had similar experiences of the sweetness of the presence of Jesus. There is nothing like it. But in fifty years of being a Christian, those experiences have been very rare, and they cannot be conjured up. There is no formula to create a sovereign manifestation of the presence of God.

However, I can always rely on God’s Word. I do not have to have a mystical experience in order to hear the Word. It is available to me every day. All I have to do is open the book, and when I open the book, I behold the Word of God. Every time I’m tempted to pursue the ecstasies of experience, I think back to the time of Jesus’ great temptation and testing in the wilderness, when Satan unleashed all of the horrors of hell against Him. But Jesus responded to the devil by saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). We will enjoy God’s immediate presence for eternity, but for now, we are to live by His Word.

That’s the lesson of the centurion. He was saying to Jesus: “You don’t have to come. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. I know the power of Your word. I know that the universe is here because You spoke it into being. You said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. I believe all authority in heaven and on earth is given to You.”

Jesus marveled at the faith of this Roman. Then He said, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour (v. 13). Jesus never touched the paralyzed man like He touched the leper. He simply commanded His healing, and it happened.

This is what the Christian faith is all about: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears” (1 Sam. 3:9). The Word of God has the power to change our lives. We can depend on it and live by it.

Matthew tells us: Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them (vv. 14–15). Jesus parted from the centurion and went to Peter’s house, but there He found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed. Jesus healed her also, and as a measure of how thorough was her healing, she got out of her bed and served Jesus and those with Him. The Greek word that is used here is diakoneō, from which we get the word deacon. This is appropriate, for the only legitimate response to the healing power of Jesus is to serve Him.⁶

8:5–7 centurion. A Roman officer in charge of a hundred men. In Luke’s account (Luke 7:1–5), others came to Jesus on his behalf, but Matthew does not mention them. The accounts are not contradictory; Matthew, as is often the case, simply abbreviates the story. He actually reports what the centurion said through his messengers, based on the idea that what a person does through an agent is what the person himself does (cf. note on John 3:17).

8:8 Addressing Jesus as Lord (cf. v. 2), the Roman centurion reveals a remarkable sensitivity for Jewish traditions, saying that he is unworthy of receiving Jesus into his Gentile home. A Jew who entered the home of a Gentile became ceremonially unclean (see Acts 10:28).

8:10 The centurion seems to understand what no one in Israel understands: Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus marveled, commending the centurion for his exemplary faith and censuring Israel for lack of faith.

8:11–12 recline at table. The peoples of the earth who respond to Jesus’ ministry will join the patriarchs at the end-time messianic banquet in the kingdom of heaven (Rev. 19:9), fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3). But the sons of the kingdom (a Semitic term for national Israel) will lose their claim to the kingdom unless they follow the centurion’s example of faith. weeping and gnashing of teeth. This description of terrible suffering in hell appears several times in Matthew (cf. Matt. 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30) and in Luke 13:28.⁷

1 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 33). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

3 Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Mt 8:12–13). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

4 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1905). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

5 Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 3, p. 34). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.

6 Sproul, R. C. (2013). Matthew (pp. 228–231). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

7 Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 1835–1836). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Authority Over Paralysis

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! ¹¹ And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

—Matthew 8:5–13

The story of “The Unacceptable Gentile” becomes one of the greater illustrations of faith. Calvin said, “This officer had been healed by God before his servant was healed by Jesus.” The setting was in Capernaum, the unique city which Jesus had chosen for His base of operation, a city open to the trade movements of the world. Significantly, early in Jesus’ ministry, the Gentile is seen coming to Him, and the interchange sets forth the priority of faith over nationality. God’s compassion is for all men alike, based on faith in Him. In Luke’s account (7:1–10) the centurion sent emissaries from the Jewish elders to entreat Jesus to help him, for they said the centurion “was worthy.”

The centurion’s approach is striking, not only in his humility, but in that he attests Jesus’ authority by an illustration from his own command under the authority of Rome. He thereby recognized Jesus’ authority as under the command of God, with resources and power commensurate with the command! The centurion states that he is a man “under” authority, recognizing that the extent of one’s authority is determined by the authority over him. For the centurion, this meant that the authority of Rome, who was Caesar, was over him granting him authority. The meaning of his statement is, “I know how to obey, myself being under authority, and having others under me I know how servants obey.” By implication, seeing Jesus to be under God’s authority, he extends the perimeters of Jesus’ authority to all that God grants. There is in this a humble awareness that authority is given.

In this passage and in comparison with Luke 7:1–10 and John 4:46–54, recognition is given to the unique faith of the Gentile. Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ words that Gentiles will be seated with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. The Old Testament prophets refer to a coming eschatological banquet, at which the Messiah will include the Gentiles (Is. 25:6; Mic. 4:2). Jesus affirms this anticipation in His comments regarding the faith of this Gentile centurion and adds His judgment on the unbelief of the children of Israel. Luke, in a different context, confirms Jesus’ statement (Luke 13:28–29).

Without going to the man’s home, Jesus simply said, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let if be done for you.” The fact that the servant was healed that very same hour verifies Jesus’ authority and also the centurion’s faith.

A suggestion for this passage would be an outline as follows: (1) the request that overrides barriers, vv. 5–6; (2) the response that overwhelms the seeker, v. 7; (3) the results that His “oversight” achieves, vv. 8–9 and (4) the reality that occurs in confirmation of faith, vv. 10–13.¹

The centurion’s servant healed (vv. 5–13). A centurion was an officer over 100 men in the Roman army. Every centurion mentioned in the Gospels and Acts was a gentleman of high character and sense of duty, and this man was no exception. The fact that he was concerned about a lowly servant-boy indicates this. The word “palsy” indicates a kind of paralysis.

It would seem that everything about this man would prevent him from coming to Jesus. He was a professional soldier, and Jesus was a Man of peace. He was a Gentile, and Jesus was a Jew. But this soldier had one thing working for him: he was a man of great faith. This centurion understood that Jesus, like himself, was under authority. All Christ had to do was speak the word and the disease would obey Him the way a soldier obeyed his officer. It is worth noting that only those who are under authority have the right to exercise authority.

Twice in the Gospels it is recorded that Jesus marveled: here, at the great faith of the Gentile centurion; and in Mark 6:6, at the great unbelief of the Jews. Matthew recorded two “Gentile” miracles: this one, and the healing of the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:21–28). In both cases, the Lord was impressed with their great faith. This is an early indication that the Jews would not believe, but the Gentiles would. Also, in both of these miracles, our Lord healed from a distance. This was a reminder of the spiritual position of the Gentiles “afar off” (Eph. 2:12).²

8:12, 13 Sons of the kingdom refers to the Jews who had the covenants and the promises, and who should have been heirs of the kingdom. The idea that Gentiles would take their place in the coming kingdom was unthinkable to the Jews. Outer darkness, meaning “the darkness outside,” speaks of the experience of those who do not endure and so will not reign in the kingdom (Matt. 22:13; Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12, 13; 2 John 8; Rev. 3:11). Living with Christ in heaven is a gift (John 3:16; Rom. 4:1–8; 6:23) to be received without cost. But the reign with Christ is a prize to be won with great effort (compare 1 Cor. 9:24–27; Rev. 22:12).³

10–13. The words from the east and west, are taken from Psalm 107 (with allusions also to Isa 49:12; 59:19; Mal 1:11). Here Christ is referring to the gathering in of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel, culminating in their final gathering at the time of His second coming. Sit down, i.e., recline (Gr anaklinō) to eat. It was customary in those days to recline at meals, resting on one’s left elbow. There are also references to this ancient custom in the great banquet parables of the wedding feast of our Lord (see 22:1–14). The children of the kingdom, refers to those to whom the kingdom really belongs. The natural claim to that kingdom had been given to the Jews. Their reception of Christ as Messiah could potentially have brought in the kingdom, that had been promised by the Old Testament prophets. However, their eventual rejection of the Messiah caused the postponement of a literal kingdom on earth. Outer darkness refers to the condemnation of the second death. There shall be … gnashing of teeth. There is used emphatically to draw attention to the fact that such severe punishment is in fact a reality. Even though he was a Gentile, the servant was healed because of the faith of the centurion. The contrast to this incident drawn by Jesus emphasizes the foolishness of Israel’s rejection of Him as Messiah.⁴

That is, in short, many of those who are now heathens shall be saved; and many of the Jews shall be damned. Many, not all, shall come from the east and west, from all parts, from the remotest parts in the world. Luke saith, east, west, north, and south, Luke 13:29: so Isa. 11:12; 43:5, 6. And sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God; in heaven, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the heads of the Jewish nation, are, to whom the promises were made; or, in the church of God, for the church triumphant and militant are both but one church. They shall sit down with them, as men sit down at a banquet, an expression oft used to signify the rest and pleasure the saints shall have in heaven, Isa. 25:6–8; Luke 22:29, 30. But the children of the kingdom, the Jews, who boast much that they are the children of Abraham, and think themselves the only church, and the only heirs of glory, and who are indeed the only church of God as yet, shall be cast out into outer darkness: either the darkness of errors, ignorance, and superstition, the gospel light shall not shine upon them, they shall be no more the church of God; or, the darkness of hell, where shall be nothing but pain and misery, and lamentations for the gospel, and the grace thereof, first offered to them, but unthankfully rejected by them, by which they judge themselves unworthy of the grace of God and of eternal life, Acts 13:46.⁵

In his Gospel, Matthew often arranges his material topically rather than chronologically. We see this in the sections immediately following the Sermon on the Mount, where he gathers together a series of miracle stories. We looked at the first of these miracles, the healing of a leper, in the previous chapter, and we will examine two more in this chapter. The first of these two healings, that of the centurion’s servant, is very important for us because it speaks volumes to me about what it means to be a Christian. As we will see, there is an element of application here that touches the very heart of Christianity.

Matthew begins, Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him (v. 5). Capernaum, the city where Jesus lived and made His headquarters during his Galilean ministry, was one of many towns and villages along the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a bustling fishing industry, as well as numerous merchants, artisans, and scribes. Although it was not a strong Roman outpost, there were some soldiers stationed there. A centurion was one who had command of a hundred soldiers. It is very possible that, as small as the garrison at Capernaum was, the man who came to Jesus in this story was the top Roman officer in the city. But he came in abject humility, not asking Jesus for help but begging for it.

What was the centurion’s request? Matthew tells us that he said, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented” (v. 6). The centurion did not explain why the servant was paralyzed. It could have been the result of an injury, a stroke, or some other malady. Sadly, in that day, when someone suffered paralysis, it was considered to be a permanent condition. But not only was the servant paralyzed, he was “dreadfully tormented.” Here we are even more in the dark; it is unclear whether the servant was tormented by pain or some other factor.

When we looked at Jesus’ healing of the leper in the previous chapter, we saw that the leper said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” There was no question in the leper’s mind about Jesus’ ability or power to cure leprosy; his only question had to do with Jesus’ willingness. Jesus assured him, “I am willing,” and cleansed him. The willingness of Jesus to enter into the torment of those around Him was made manifest once again in His ready response to the centurion’s plea for his servant: “I will come and heal him” (v. 7).

The Faith of a Gentile

Now, I would expect the centurion to have been delighted by Jesus’ answer and to have said: “Great, let’s go. Let’s hurry. Let’s not waste a moment, because as we speak my servant is in agony.” But that is not what he said. Instead, 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” (v. 8). The centurion replied: “No, Jesus, You don’t need to come with me. In fact, it wouldn’t be appropriate for You to come to my home. I am not worthy to have You in my home.”

As we have already seen in Jesus’ willingness to touch a leper, societal conventions meant nothing to Him when it came to redeeming people who were suffering. Jesus had no hesitation about going to the home of a Roman centurion. Yet, the centurion was hesitant about Jesus’ coming under his roof. Perhaps this centurion was aware that the Jewish rules and regulations barred Jews from entering the private residences of Gentiles, because the Gentiles were considered to be ceremonially unclean. Perhaps he knew that the Jews hated the Romans as much as any conquered people hate their conquerors. In any case, he was reluctant for Jesus to go so far as to come to his house.

The centurion continued, “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” (v. 9). The centurion was saying that he was thoroughly familiar with authority, being one who was under the authority of superior officers and one who exercised authority over soldiers. However, I think there is a subtle hint here of recognition that Jesus spoke under authority, the authority of God. He communicated the authority of God whenever He spoke, as we saw in Matthew 7:29. Furthermore, the centurion clearly recognized that Jesus had authority to heal. So, he simply acknowledged Jesus’ authority and ability to heal the servant with a word from a distance.

Matthew then writes, When Jesus heard it, He marveled (v. 10a). This is one of only two times in all of the New Testament that the Greek verb thaumazō is used with respect to Jesus. It means “to wonder at” or “to marvel.” This word is used frequently in accounts of Jesus’ miracles, but there it describes the reaction of those who witnessed His signs. Their normal response was astonishment or amazement. Here, however, Jesus is astonished. That which astonished Him was the faith of this Gentile. He said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (v. 10b).

But Jesus did not stop there; He went on to remark about the larger implications of the presence of such faith in a Gentile rather than an Israelite: “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (vv. 11–12). This is incredible. Jesus said people from all over the earth would be part of the kingdom of heaven, while many Israelites would be cast out, to their everlasting grief. Jesus was prophesying the opening of the kingdom of God to the Gentiles, which began to happen in the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts.

The Promise of God

A friend of mine who lives in the western United States wrote to me recently and told me that he was planning a surprise fiftieth birthday party for his wife. He was going to have a “Scripture party.” I had never heard of a Scripture party, but he explained it in the letter. During the party, all the guests would quote their favorite Bible verses and say why those verses meant so much to them. My friend knew that Vesta and I would not be able to attend the party because we live so far away, so he asked us to record our favorite verses on video to be played at the party. We thought that was a wonderful idea, so we recorded a short video clip in which I shared my favorite verse and told why I like it, and then I recorded one for Vesta, because she could not talk about her favorite verse without tearing up.

Now, my favorite verse of Scripture is Genesis 15:17: “And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.” Sometimes at conferences people ask me to sign books or even their Bibles, and sometimes they ask me to add my “life verse.” I’m not sure what a life verse is, but at some point I began writing down Genesis 15:17. Almost invariably, when I write that verse with my signature, the person will come back ten or fifteen minutes later to ask, “Did you mean to write this verse?” When I assure the person that I did, he will ask, “That’s your favorite verse?” When I say yes, he will always ask why, so I have to explain.

Genesis 15 recounts the occasion when God renewed His promise to give Abraham the land of Canaan, and Abraham said to God, ‘How shall I know that I will inherit it?” (v. 8). God condescended to Abraham’s weakness, which was really unbelief. He commanded Abraham to get a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon, then to cut them in pieces, and to arrange the pieces in two rows, forming a path. After Abraham obeyed, God made him fall into a deep sleep, and during that sleep, “a smoking oven and a burning torch … passed between those pieces.”

The book of Hebrews unwraps this strange event for us: “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you’ ” (6:13–14). The author of Hebrews understood that this was a theophany, that God was manifesting Himself in the smoking oven and the burning torch, and that He was forging a covenant with Abraham and symbolically saying to him: “If I do not keep My word, may I be torn asunder, just as you have cut these animals in two. I am swearing by Myself, by My holy character.” That was how God reassured Abraham. And God’s reassurance to Abraham reassures me. It reminds me that God cannot break His word.

Vesta’s favorite verses are 1 John 3:1–2: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” This passage reminds us that someday we will have the beatific vision. We will see God face-to-face, and the light of His countenance will flood us with glory.

Experience versus Scripture

Back in the early 1960s, the charismatic movement began to make inroads in Lutheran circles, Episcopalian circles, and even Presbyterian circles. The first year I taught college, it seemed to me that all the students in my theology class had been turned onto the Pentecostal faith. They were speaking in tongues, having exotic experiences, and asking me all kinds of questions that I couldn’t answer. These students became very interested in and excited about the power of God, and they started to live by believing in this power. For instance, if they were in a car that ran out of gas, they would lay hands on the gas tank, believing that God would cause the car to operate without gasoline. I became swept up in their enthusiasm, but as I went through this stage, I kept being disappointed by unfulfilled expectations. Thankfully, God helped me see that I could not live my Christian life by my feelings and experiences. I realized I needed the Word of God, for that is where I find my stability, my confidence, my ability to persevere, and my hope. Whether this experience or that experience is of the Holy Spirit, I never know for sure. But I know this—the Bible is God’s Word.

In my life, I have had some ineffable experiences of being overwhelmed and enveloped by the presence of God. Those experiences were so profound, so acute, that I was content to die on the spot. I said: “This is enough. I don’t need anything else.” I’m sure that many of you reading this book know what I’m talking about, having had similar experiences of the sweetness of the presence of Jesus. There is nothing like it. But in fifty years of being a Christian, those experiences have been very rare, and they cannot be conjured up. There is no formula to create a sovereign manifestation of the presence of God.

However, I can always rely on God’s Word. I do not have to have a mystical experience in order to hear the Word. It is available to me every day. All I have to do is open the book, and when I open the book, I behold the Word of God. Every time I’m tempted to pursue the ecstasies of experience, I think back to the time of Jesus’ great temptation and testing in the wilderness, when Satan unleashed all of the horrors of hell against Him. But Jesus responded to the devil by saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). We will enjoy God’s immediate presence for eternity, but for now, we are to live by His Word.

That’s the lesson of the centurion. He was saying to Jesus: “You don’t have to come. Just say the word and my servant will be healed. I know the power of Your word. I know that the universe is here because You spoke it into being. You said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. I believe all authority in heaven and on earth is given to You.”

Jesus marveled at the faith of this Roman. Then He said, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour (v. 13). Jesus never touched the paralyzed man like He touched the leper. He simply commanded His healing, and it happened.

This is what the Christian faith is all about: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears” (1 Sam. 3:9). The Word of God has the power to change our lives. We can depend on it and live by it.

Matthew tells us: Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them (vv. 14–15). Jesus parted from the centurion and went to Peter’s house, but there He found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed. Jesus healed her also, and as a measure of how thorough was her healing, she got out of her bed and served Jesus and those with Him. The Greek word that is used here is diakoneō, from which we get the word deacon. This is appropriate, for the only legitimate response to the healing power of Jesus is to serve Him.⁶

8:5–7 centurion. A Roman officer in charge of a hundred men. In Luke’s account (Luke 7:1–5), others came to Jesus on his behalf, but Matthew does not mention them. The accounts are not contradictory; Matthew, as is often the case, simply abbreviates the story. He actually reports what the centurion said through his messengers, based on the idea that what a person does through an agent is what the person himself does (cf. note on John 3:17).

8:8 Addressing Jesus as Lord (cf. v. 2), the Roman centurion reveals a remarkable sensitivity for Jewish traditions, saying that he is unworthy of receiving Jesus into his Gentile home. A Jew who entered the home of a Gentile became ceremonially unclean (see Acts 10:28).

8:10 The centurion seems to understand what no one in Israel understands: Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus marveled, commending the centurion for his exemplary faith and censuring Israel for lack of faith.

8:11–12 recline at table. The peoples of the earth who respond to Jesus’ ministry will join the patriarchs at the end-time messianic banquet in the kingdom of heaven (Rev. 19:9), fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3). But the sons of the kingdom (a Semitic term for national Israel) will lose their claim to the kingdom unless they follow the centurion’s example of faith. weeping and gnashing of teeth. This description of terrible suffering in hell appears several times in Matthew (cf. Matt. 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30) and in Luke 13:28.⁷

1 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 33). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

3 Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (Mt 8:12–13). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

4 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1905). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

5 Poole, M. (1853). Annotations upon the Holy Bible (Vol. 3, p. 34). New York: Robert Carter and Brothers.

6 Sproul, R. C. (2013). Matthew (pp. 228–231). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

7 Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 1835–1836). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.