Scripture Daily

Context No. 4075 of 4322 · Matthew

Context · Reflection

Matthew 8:7-13: in context

7Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel. 11I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, 12but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.

A Roman centurion comes to Jesus on behalf of his sick servant, and when Jesus offers to come and heal him, the centurion says something remarkable: Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. As a military man, he understood authority: he gave orders and they were obeyed, and he recognized that Jesus had authority over sickness such that a mere word from him would be enough.

He did not need Jesus to come in person; he trusted the sheer power of Jesus' word. And Jesus marvels, saying he had not found such faith even in Israel. Two things stand out. The centurion grasped who Jesus was, one whose word carries the authority of God, able to accomplish by a command what no one else could do. His faith rested not on seeing but on trusting Jesus' authority. And Jesus honored this faith, healing the servant at a distance by his word alone. We are invited to the same faith: to trust the power and authority of Christ's word, believing that what he says, he is able to do, even when we cannot see how.

Do I trust the authority of Christ's word as the centurion did, believing that what Jesus says he is able to do, even at a distance and even when I cannot see how, or does my faith demand signs and visible proof?

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