Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

 

 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."  The centurion answered and sad, "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 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.

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 8:1-17 

 

 

We have been reading through the Sermon on the Mount.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught,  "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'  Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that 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."  My study Bible comments that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13; 14.  Deuteronomy 24:8 describes the purification of lepers and leprous houses, a duty which was entrusted to the priests.  Leprosy was considered to be a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they were not permitted to live in the community or to worship in synagogues or the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden (Leviticus 7:21), but Jesus touched this leper, showing His compassion, and He also shows that He is not subject to the Law but rather over it.  To the clean, my study Bible tells us, nothing is unclean.  

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."  I will come has traditionally been read as a question by many Greek scholars:  "Shall I come?"  At any rate, it teaches us that Jesus is ready to deal graciously with this Gentile and even to enter into his house, which would make Jesus unclean in the eyes of the Jews.

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 sad, "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."   This centurion expresses an unusual faith in calling Jesus, who is a Jew, Lord.  The statement, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof," is a frequent quotation in liturgical texts, as it is 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!"   Only twice in the Gospels is it said that Jesus marveled.  He marveled at the unbelief in His hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:6), and also at the belief of this foreigner. 

 

 "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 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.  Jesus' statement nullifies any ideas of ethnic superiority.  The rejects son of the kingdom are both the Jews who deny Christ also also those raised in the Church who do not live their faith.  My study Bible points out that outer darkness and weeping and gnashing are descriptions of the state of the unrighteous dead in Sheol (Hades) in the Jewish tradition (Enoch 103:8).   They are common expressions in Matthew (Matthew 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30), and they also occur in Luke's Gospel (Luke 13:28). 

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 also 1 Corinthians 9:5 (in which Peter is called Cephas) give us indications that Peter was married.  My study Bible comments that Christ's healing miracles are diverse.  In this case, He heals by touch; in verse 13, He healed by a word.  This healing is immediate and complete, but others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25) or they require the cooperation of the person healed or of his loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).  As this quotation in today's final verse indicates, all of Jesus' miracles are manifestations of His redemption of ailing humanity.  

Jesus has just finished preaching the Sermon on the Mount, and now, going out into the world again, He puts into action the things which He has preached.  It is what we call love in action.  Note how faith determines everything.  The Roman centurion, a hated symbol of the Roman occupation is a noble person, and full of faith, such that Christ has not found such faith in the whole of Israel, and Jesus marvels.  It is poignant to us how it is faith that determines everything.  There is a kind of thread that runs through Christ's ministry, one that works behind the scenes, so to speak, as people respond with faith to Jesus.  And this is the key to His preaching.  It is the key to His gospel.  Note how the centurion begins with love:  he loves the man who is his servant.  There is nothing maudlin here, nothing untoward.  This centurion, a soldier in command and one of the great Roman occupying army, is a man of compassion and justice, and this is a lesson for us all.  Note how Jesus' love and compassion transcend everything else; the question of His authority will keep coming up.  This centurion, a man with many under his command, can recognize Jesus' authority, but there are so many who do not.  Let us ponder the transcendent realities given to us in the Gospels, the saving faith that speaks louder than words.