Tag Archives: Centurion

Matthew 8- Faith of a Gentile

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And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. Matthew 8:5-9

Today we are going to see the fruition of the New Covenant of Christ. To understand this story in better detail, we first need to understand what a Centurion was. A Centurion was a Roman commander in the military responsible for 100 men, hence century where the name Centurion derived from. So this wasn’t just any ordinary Gentile (Non-Jew) this was a Roman soldier. 

And notice what the Centurion does, He goes and asks the Christ to heal his servant. Wow, talk about radical faith, this Roman soldier goes to the Jewish Messiah for healing, why? Because he has true faith and understanding who Jesus is, the Son of God. Next, notice the Centurion demonstrates and understands the authority Christ has. The Centurion says “Lord I am not worthy for you to come under my roof” Imagine this, a Roman Centurion, who has power and authority, is telling The Messiah he’s not worthy to be in his presence, this is true faith and repentance.

When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:10-13

Notice what Jesus says here “I haven’t found anyone in Israel with such great faith” think about that! This was a Roman soldier, and he had greater faith according to Christ, then all the religious leaders of Israel. Why? Because this Gentile recognized that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, while the religious leaders all rejected Jesus and had him crucified

Jesus said “ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for many sons of Abraham” why? Because salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6) no other way can you be saved. This Roman Centurion was going to see the Kingdom of Heaven and many religious leaders of Israel wont, why? Because of one simple denominator, the blood of Christ for forgiveness of sins.

This is the beginning of the New Covenant, the Gentiles are getting grafted into the Kingdom of God by faith in Jesus Christ, Amen

Luke 7- The Centurion

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And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. Luke 7:2-5

The story of the Centurion is very interesting, because first we need to understand a Centurion was a Roman military leader. This man was not just a Roman but he was in a leadership role that persecuted and killed Jews and eventually Christians. So this was probably the last man you would expect to come to Christ. However when this mans servant was ill, he commanded his people to find Jesus because he believed he could heal his servant

Secondly its interesting about Jesus response, Christ had every reason to reject or rebuke this Centurion. This man was responsible for persecuting his people. However this is a slight glimpse into the New Covenant. Jesus didn’t just come to save Israel, but to save the entire world including this Centurion!

Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. Luke 7:6-8

The Centurion, who was a military leader, showed great humility to Christ. He told Jesus he was not even worthy to be in his presence and notice he affirmed Jesus had the power and authority to heal the servant without even seeing him. The Centurion demonstrated great faith in Jesus, and appeared to understand he was a sinful man in the sight of a Holy God

When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. Luke 7:9-10

The statement Jesus makes here is amazing “Not even in Israel , did I find such great faith” Wow , think about this, this man was a Roman Military leader persecuting Israel and this man had greater faith than anyone in Israel. Talk about God turning everything upside down. This is the New Covenant, where anyone , Jew or Gentile, can come to Christ and be saved!

You might be an enemy of God right now, just like the Centurion was, just like Paul was, just like we all used to be. But Jesus can save you, he can cleanse your sin by his blood and be baptised by the Holy Spirit! Thanks be to God in Jesus name Amen!