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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 the 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 into the 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.
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. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
"He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses."
- Matthew 8:5-17
On Saturday, we read that when Jesus had ended His Sermon on the Mount (see readings beginning with The Beatitudes, and subsequent readings through Friday, May 6th, Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who has built his house on the rock), the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "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." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." A centurion commanded 100 men in a Roman legion. This man is therefore a Gentile, and one with authority. My study bible tells us that Jesus is the Savior of all, an din Him ethnic distinctions are void. Jesus' response to him, "I will come," has often been read by Greek scholars as a question: "Shall I come?" Whatever the true statement, Jesus is prepared to deal graciously with the centurion, even to enter his house -- which would make Him unclean in the eyes of the Jews. Like the healing of the leper in yesterday's reading, Jesus' actions show a breaking of barriers as part of the new Gospel. The servant who is paralyzed and dreadfully tormented gives us signs through his illness of being bound and oppressed, in need of liberation. Although his master, who loves and cares for him, is a centurion, there is nothing he can do. The Savior or Deliverer is Christ.
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." In yesterday's reading, we noted Jesus' great humility in the midst of power and authority. Here humility is a virtue that belongs to this centurion, a man who is also under authority, and perhaps partially because of it, understands Jesus' authority -- calling Him Lord, although He is a Jew, displaying a truly rare faith. My study bible reminds us that statement, "Lord I am not worthy that You should come under my roof," has been frequently quoted in liturgical texts as an ideal expression of humility.
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 the 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 into the 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. Only twice in the gospels is it said of Jesus that He marveled: once was in His hometown of Nazareth -- He marveled at their unbelief (Mark 6:6) The second is here: at the belief of this Gentile foreigner. My study bible tells us here that Jesus nullifies any ideas of ethnic superiority. The rejected sons of the kingdom who will be cast into the outer darkness are both Jews who deny Christ and also those raised in the Church who do not live their faith; outer darkness and weeping and gnashing are the descriptions from the Jewish tradition of the state of the unrighteous dead in Sheol (Hades) -- see Enoch 103. They occur several times in Matthew (13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30) and also in Luke 13:28. "As you have believed, so let it be done for you" teaches us about faith and prayer, communion with God.
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. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." This passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which Peter is called Cephas) tell us that Peter was married, a man with a household and responsibilities. Peter's home in Capernaum would become a center for veneration and pilgrimage from the 1st century, and later a church built by the Byzantines. My study bible points out that the Lord's healing miracles are diverse. In this case, He heals by touch. In verse 13 above, he healed the centurion's servant by a word. Here the healing is immediate and complete, but others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25) or require cooperation of the healed person or their loved ones (Luke 8:54-55). The quotation in verse 17 is from Isaiah 53:4, and indicates that Christ's miracles all manifest His redemption of ailing humanity. And once again, we have the emphasis on humility as the key everything He does and achieves, His miracles and His power -- even His authority.
The example of the centurion, coming so soon after the healing of the leper (yesterday's reading), really is a complete reiteration of the power of humility. Specifically, it is this striking combination of humility in connection with authority that we are no doubt given to understand here. The centurion is a kind of example of the power and authority of Christ, in which he has others under his authority -- but he also shows them great love, such as the servant he so obviously cares for. And his authority isn't merely his own but is used in service. But the startling image of this centurion is that although his power is worldly, he calls Jesus "Lord." That is, in him, his worldly position only helps him to know and to understand Christ, and he uses his knowledge to extend the expression of faith. He understands service, but he is a good man who loves the spirituality he has found, and the knowledge of God in Israel, which has led him to faith in Christ. Here is where we really start with an image of what faith is and does: it teaches right-relatedness, but that all begins in humility and a proper understanding of power. Christ serves the Father, and He "took on our infirmities and bore our sicknesses" -- His authority rests in service to the will of the Father; and this extends to all manner of self-emptying in so doing. This requires an extraordinary humility. Healing Peter's mother-in-law to her rightful place in her household is another example of that graciousness; his touch is an extension of intimacy and care, perhaps just as it was extended to the leper. What we have is a model: the Lord, as one under authority understood by another also under authority, both with the disciplined humility to understand power and service -- and with the gracious expression of love that is the hallmark of faith.
