5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one,'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 but the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
1 When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some of the elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
First let me define some things. Centurions were Roman military leaders, who commanded 100 soldiers. Centurions rose through the ranks of the Roman army by skill and ability, and are usually noted as men of exceptional character even in the Bible. Capernaum is a city on the northern end of the sea of Galilee. Capernaum served as Jesus' base of operation for much of His ministry.
Clearly there are some similarities and differences in the reading of the passage. Three questions jump to my mind when I read these passages and it is these which I will study. Who came to Jesus, the centurion or representatives? What does Matthew want to communicate given the extra comments of Jesus at the end of the passage? What does Luke want to communicate by focusing on the dialog of the centurion?
Matthew claims that the centurion did, Luke says it was Jewish elders and friends of the centurion. Is this a bona fide contradiction? No, this underscores an important area of culture. To the Jewish people of Bible times, to initiate or cause an act was the same as doing it! In Matthew 27:26 we read in the KJV:
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Did Pilate scourge Jesus personally? No! He had his soldiers do it, and this meaning is conveyed in the NIV, which is a thought for thought translation (as opposed to a word for word translation). Matthew was writing to a Jewish audience so he covered details the Jewish people would care about, and used a style that was appropriate for his audience. The Jewish readers of Matthew's gospel could not care less if a gentile came personally or sent someone to speak for him, what mattered was what he sought to convey to Jesus. Luke was writing to gentiles (Specifically Theophilus) and thus the specific way the centurion communicated to the Lord mattered.
We know that Matthew was writing to the Jewish people to show that Jesus was the Messiah. Lets note a few things first about the passage. First only two participants are specifically identified, Jesus and the Centurion. Centurions are generally noted in the Bible as men of upstanding character, but why would the Jewish people care about even a notable gentile? The key is found in verses 11 and 12, where Matthew tells us some information not in Luke's account. Jesus warns the Jewish people that they don't have a guaranteed ticket to heaven. There is no family plan. Following the covenant customs, and having Godly heritage, and even attendance at religious ceremonies was not enough. What was demanded was faith in Jesus and his authority as God and savior. Non-Jewish people who believed would make it to heaven and Jewish people who trusted on their position and not Jesus would not make it. This was meant as a splash of cold water on their faces and ours.
We in the church are in the same position as the Jewish people of Jesus's day were. We have the new covenant. We have baptism. We have churches. We have Christmas and Resurrection Sunday. Just as these same types of things did not save the Jewish people, they will not save us. Paul tells us in Romans 3:20-24(Darby),
20 Wherefore by works of law no flesh shall be justified before him; for by law is knowledge of sin. 21 But now without law righteousness of God is manifested, borne witness to by the law and the prophets; 22 righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ towards all, and upon all those who believe: for there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
Then he finishes and clarifies this in Romans 3:28-30(Darby),
28 for we reckon that a man is justified by faith, without works of law. 29 Is God the God of Jews only? is he not of the nations also? Yea, of nations also: 30 since indeed it is one God who shall justify the circumcision on the principle of faith, and uncircumcision by faith.
Thus we should all heed Matthew's warning that our salvation is only dependant on where our faith is placed. Matthew sought to shock the Jewish people into recognizing the necessity of faith by showing that the birthright of the sons will go to others since they have scorned their birthright as Esau did, and lost to Jacob. Paul summed this up nicely in Romans 11:11-12(Darby),
11 I say then, Have they stumbled in order that they might fall? Far be the thought: but by their fall there is salvation to the nations to provoke them to jealousy. 12 But if their fall be the world's wealth, and their loss the wealth of the nations, how much rather their fullness?
Luke was writting to the gentiles, and specifically the Greeks. The Greeks would not understand the Jewish customs so he avoids confusion. Luke clarifies that the servant was dying. Luke also gives us some keen insight into the centurion. The centurion loves Israel, and actually built the local synagog! He is not just a man who has heard of a great healer and wants to save his good servant, he is a man who has seen the truth that the God of Israel is God. He believes in Jesus's authority in the heavenlies, and trusts that should Jesus say it, it will be done. This centurion has put his trust in Jesus, and his faith is secure. He is on the right path and as we have seen from Matthew he represents the gentile converts. Luke teaches us about the faith we are to have as Christians and the deeds that we are to delight in doing. How does he treat his position? How does he act?
The centurion's perspective is exactly what Paul seeks for us as Christians to have, as he stated in Ephesians 2:8-10 (Darby),
8 For ye are saved by grace, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is God's gift: 9 not on the principle of works, that no one might boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has before prepared that we should walk in them.
He is telling us to live our lives according to what we believe. We are not to be arrogant, for we have to boast of. We are to live our lives to God's glory, as He has taught us. Not out of compulsion, but out ouf love and gratitude for the free gifts God has bestowed on us.
Do we live like this? Do we scorn those who don't believe? Do we belittle the Jewish people? Do we belittle other believers? Do we take God for granted? Do we love others more than ourselves? Do we use all God has entrusted unto us for His kingdom? Are we centurion's in God's army?