“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to 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 this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go, let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.”

Matthew 8:5-13 ESV

As I sat down with God this morning, a hot cup of coffee in hand, I decided to dig deeper into Matthew 8:5-13. As I read, the Holy Spirit stopped me at the word “centurion.” Despite having read this verse countless times, for some reason, I couldn’t go on until I explored its meaning further. So here we go, let’s dive into a little explanation of what a centurion was so we can get an idea of his role in society back in the day.

Not every version of the Bible uses the word “centurion.” The versions that do include it are the NKJV, KJV, ESV, NIV, AMP, and NASB. Some scholars believe these versions are closest to the original Hebrew and Greek texts. In contrast, other versions like the NLT use “officer,” and the MSG uses “captain.” Centurions were officers in the Roman army, around 63 BC through the first century AD. The Romans were the occupying force over the Jewish people at the time. The word “centurion” originates from the word “century,” which explains why they typically commanded an army of about 100 men. This glimpse into the role of a centurion helps us understand that these were men of power. Surprisingly, there are about 20 different references to centurions in the Bible. Some of the most notable centurions include:

- The Centurion with Great Faith in Matthew 8:5-13 (the verse we are discussing) and Luke 1:1-10

- The Centurion at the cross in Mark 15:39 and Luke 23:47.

- Cornelius, who became one of the first Gentile converts to Christianity in Acts 10:1.

- Julius, who escorted Paul to Rome and treated him kindly in Acts 27:1-3.

From my research, centurions are generally portrayed as soldiers who understood both command and surrender.

Now that we have a better idea of what a centurion was, and what they did, let’s talk about our verse and some of the qualities the man in Matthew 8:3-13 possessed.

He Understood Authority

As a Roman soldier, he took a chance and approached Jesus, which showed a little bit about him right away. He explained his authority: “For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” I get disciplined vibes from this guy. I imagined these soldiers as angry, ruthless, disciplinarians, which potentially, many of them undoubtedly were. However, there was something different about this man. He must have genuinely cared for his servant deeply, and compassion was clearly a part of his nature. He clearly recognized the immense power Jesus possessed and was willing to approach a Jewish man, whom the Pharisees wanted to stone, and ask for his servant’s healing. This demonstrates his confidence that Jesus could heal him.

He Was Humble

He was a gentile who approached Jesus with humility. He humbly acknowledged his inadequacy, saying, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But simply say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Leadership can be abused, and some individuals wait their entire lives to gain authority. Once they do, they often become cold-hearted and indifferent to others. This man was different; he understood Jesus’ Holiness and who he was in Gods presence —he truly got that Jesus was the Son of God. He realized that he did not have authority over Him & could not demand his healing in an arrogant way.

He Had Real Faith

Jesus recognized something remarkable in this man—a rare and precious quality. He expressed his astonishment, saying, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. Many will come from east and west and will be seated at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This is the kind of faith that Jesus desires. Hebrews 11:1-25 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen." He had not seen his servant be healed yet but he believed that Jesus could heal him. He trusted without seeing the miracle yet. Jesus has the ability to heal, deliver, and restore anyone He chooses. And He chose this centurions servant. Jesus said, “Go, let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed right there and then. This illustrates the significance of strong faith.

He Didn’t Worry About What Other People Thought of Him

Where it says, “the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness,” Jesus was primarily referring to many of the Jewish people—especially those who assumed they would automatically inherit God’s kingdom because they were descendants of Abraham. Jesus blessed this gentile man because of his faith, not because he was born into a certain religious sect or denomination. Jesus is about unity as believers in Christ; He’s inclusive of all people who believe He is the Risen King—He accepted both Jews and Gentiles, but that’s a conversation for another time. This centurion was fearless because he knew what Jesus could do it & he did anything he could to get to him.

Throughout the Bible, I found that most of the centurions I researched possessed some form of discipline, integrity, understanding of authority, humility, faith, leadership, obedience, and confidence without arrogance (God confidence). This centurion genuinely believed in Jesus’ authority and His power. The centurion didn’t follow the crowd— he had compassion— he did everything he could to get to Jesus for his servant’s healing.

Lord, thank you for Your Word. Help us have the kind of faith this centurion had. Help us be confident in what You can do—Your power has no limits. If we or someone else we know needs healing, help us boldly seek You for it today!

In Jesus’ Name.

I pray this inspires you today to be a little more like this centurion— to God be the glory!