Such Faith

Jesus’ Concern for the Servant

Servant’s Condition

Servant’s Condition

Verse 6 indicates that the servant is lying paralyzed at home and fearfully tormented.

In Luke’s account of this story he is nearing death.

This is not a chronic condition but instead an acute onset of debilitating illness.

Immediate Response

“I” will come and heal him.

To offer to enter a Gentile’s home was unthinkable for a Jew.

Israel never seemed to understand that as God’s chosen people they were to be a medium of ministry to all nations of the earth.

Verse 6 indicates that the servant is lying paralyzed at home and fearfully tormented.

In Luke’s account of this story he is nearing death.

This is not a chronic condition but instead an acute onset of debilitating illness.

The Centurion’s Response

Worthy or Unworthy?

Luke describes him as worthy In

He was responsible for building the synagogue in Capernaum

Every mention of Centurions casts them in a positive light.

The centurions great love for his servant

The centurions helplessness to address the need

The centurions statement “I am not worthy” is identical in the original language to John the Baptist’s statement in about being unfit to remove Jesus’ sandals.

Authority is Key

Authority is the key term in these verses.

The Centurion saw what the nation of Israel never did, Jesus was operating at the pleasure of the Father.

Whereas the centurion commanded men and they obeyed, Jesus commanded all of creation and it obeyed.

The Centurion understood it was about a Purpose not a Personality

Such Great Faith

Such Great Faith

Matthew rarely attributes emotion to Jesus, and elsewhere it is others who are amazed at Jesus. So the impression make here on Jesus stands out all the more.

Here, for the first time, Jesus commends someone’s faith.

Hebrews 11:1 NASB95

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Jesus elevates this man as a model for all. So what was it about His faith that was so amazing to Jesus?

It was not the faith of the centurion alone that healed the servant, but the fact that the centurions faith was placed in a worthy object - the Messiah-King Jesus.

With only the spoken word, Jesus healed the man from a distance.

The healing took place at that EXACT moment.

Inclusion of Gentiles

Inclusion of Gentiles

One would expect that among God’s people that faith should be most naturally found.

The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Matthew 2. Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant (8:5–13)

Faith … is attributed to those who act decisively on the basis of the conviction that God’s help is to be found with Jesus and gratefully receive God’s action through him

Many will come but most will reject.

For those who reject there will be more torment than the servant was enduring.

Hell was not used here to frighten the unbelieving but to warn those who wrongly think of themselves as believers.

Anticipation of the Great Commission to ALL NATIONS

Matthew 28:18–20 NASB95

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”