Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed.

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 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. 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." 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! 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." 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

On Saturday, we read about Jesus' cleansing of a leper. It is just after Jesus has given the Sermon on the Mount. Great multitudes are following Him. A leper came to Him and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus told him, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." I'm always touched, personally, by the care of this centurion for his servant. It gives us a picture of his character: not only compassionate, but also concerned from a sense of relationship and value, even of his servants. In this case, the word in Greek would also indicate a very young person, perhaps a slave. But the centurion seems to think of him as his child.

And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." Something else that is striking in this story: Jesus doesn't ask any questions of this centurion, a Gentile. He just immediately replies that He will come and heal the boy.

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. 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." Here we have a display of great humility. The centurion is a Roman officer, one with many men under him, someone who wields power and authority. (A centurion commanded 100 men in the Roman Legion.) The very fact that he is in such a position gives him a great capacity for exploiting his authority, should he choose to do so. And yet, he calls Jesus Lord, and apparently recognizes Him as a holy man. There is also a sense of deference here to the holy things of Israel. Another thing that is apparent here is the centurion's honesty. His "yes" is "yes" and his "no" is "no." He presents himself just as he is, just the way he sees things, as a man of authority and command.

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!" My study bible interestingly points out that there are only two events in the whole of the Gospels in which we are told that Jesus marveled. The first is when the people of His hometown, Nazareth, reject Him. And the second is this one, in which Jesus marvels at the faith of the centurion -- greater than in Israel! The centurion's recognition of Jesus' authority here is on parallel with what we were told after the Sermon on the Mount -- that the people marveled because He taught as one having authority, not as the scribes.

"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." Here is the great and powerful expression of the meaning of Jesus' ministry: that it is for all people, Jew and Gentile. Through Jesus, Israel is the light of the nations, and all people may become a part of the people of God: "many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." "The sons of the kingdom," here, refers to those who feel that strictly because of their racial heritage they are the saved, the chosen. "Weeping and gnashing of teeth," my study bible says, "are descriptions of the state of the unrighteous dead in Sheol recorded in Jewish tradition (Enoch). They are common expressions in Matthew." The emphasis here is on the great faith of the centurion. In some sense, his own authority seems to give him the capacity for recognizing the authority in Jesus, a true faith.

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. "As you have believed" tells us something, not about some idea of positive thinking we may invent for ourselves, but rather a sense of true faith. The centurion was able to perceive the truth about Jesus. Just as he had a relationship with the child servant -- one of great love and compassion -- so he was also able to have a kind of relationship to Jesus: one of faith, recognition, trust. In this his prayer or plea was answered, "as you have believed, so let it be done for you."

In the centurion, we see many examples of the character Jesus looks for in those of faith -- the qualities that seem to go along with great faith. He first displays humility, in his expression to Jesus, calling Him "Lord." This is despite the fact that the centurion himself is a soldier in a great position of authority in the Roman legion, the colonial power. He's also clearly a man of compassion, of deep love even for this child servant. We note also how he's empathic -- his compassion extends to a description of a painful and awful ailment. Finally, he's also immediately capable of understanding Jesus as a man of authority. He's discerning clearly, he knows what's what -- He recognizes the reality of Christ, and this despite the difference in their culture and official religion. There is a great respect for truth in this centurion, the truth behind all social appearances. So we have the combined qualities of humility, compassion and reverence for truth in this man of faith. These are all qualities we should aspire to. They give us a firm footing in life, they help us to discern what is what. Most importantly, they are qualities that accompany faith. They also mold to a person of great courage -- someone who is not afraid to express who they are. Perhaps it is in that very courage that we find most of all the expression of what it is to be someone who can sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- or who can make a request of Christ in all humility. In the centurion, we see a picture of the words St. Paul will write in his letter to the Philippians (Philippi being the site of a Roman garrison): that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Let us embody the ideal of this centurion: courage, humility, love, compassion, a reverence for truth, and the quality and immediacy of faith. These are the virtues we need for fighting the good fight of faith.