“Go; let it be done be done for you as you have believed.” Matthew 8:13 ESV1
Read Matthew 8:5-13 & Luke 7:2-10
Before Jesus left Capernaum, He performed one more healing. The account of this healing stands out from some previous healings in the fact that the focus is not on the one being healed but the one asking for the healing. The one asking for the healing here was a Roman centurion, and he was asking for the healing of his young servant who was “sick of the palsy, grievously tormented” (Matthew 8:6 KJV2). From this account, what can we discover about this Roman centurion and surprisingly virtuous person?
He was a warrior with the faith of a child.
Roman centurions were exceptional soldiers.
“Soldiers were appointed as centurions by virtue of their bravery, loyalty, character, and prowess in battle. Centurions were held to high standards of conduct and were expected to fight on the front lines with their men. In fact, the centurion’s designated place in formation was at the end of the very front row. As a result, Roman centurions were well paid and held in high esteem, and they experienced high rates of injury and death during war.”3
Impressive, but what made this man stand out to Jesus was his faith. Of him, Jesus said, “‘Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith’” (Matthew 8:10). That is quite a compliment, especially since child-like faith is a requirement for being part of His Kingdom. Jesus told His followers, “‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven’” (Matthew 18:3). Childlike faith is not naivete or weakness. It takes confidence and fortitude to believe. This man was no wimp. He was a warrior, he was a leader, he was a Roman centurion.
He was a man of God who was separated from God’s chosen people.
He was a Gentile, yet it is evident that this centurion cared about the things and the people of the true God. The elders of the Jews “pleaded with [Jesus] earnestly [on behalf of the centurion] saying, ‘He is worthy to have You [heal his servant] for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue’” (Luke 7:4-5).
“A synagogue is a Jewish building designed for worship … History notes that the practice of meeting in synagogues emerged during the period of Israel’s Babylonian captivity. During this time, the Jewish temple was unavailable for worship, requiring an alternative gathering place for dispersed Jews who desired to gather for prayer and communal worship.”4
A synagogue is not a temple but an alternate place to worship. There were definite rules associated with Gentiles entering the Temple. The Court of the Gentiles was the outermost court in the Jerusalem Temple. “No Gentile or non-Jew could proceed any further into the inner temple areas, and even Roman citizenship did not protect a Gentile who intruded into prohibited areas.”5
I am not aware if there were similar rules prohibiting Gentiles from entering synagogues. I do know, by the time the Apostle Paul began teaching, believing Gentiles attended synagogues (see Acts 14:1, 17:4 &12, 18:4). But the mere fact that the centurion was a Gentile, an officer in the army of the despised Romans, would have caused considerable distance between him and some Jews. Yet, he still used much of his hard-earned wealth to benefit all in Capernaum who wanted to worship the LORD, even those who may have been prejudiced toward him.
Those Jews who thought they were better than this Gentile were undoubtedly shocked at Jesus’ words to the centurion in response to his faith, “‘I tell you, many [Gentiles] 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 [(some Jews)] will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:11-12). The Kingdom of Heaven is open to all who believe in Jesus as Savior, regardless of their national heritage.
He was a commander of many, but he was concerned about individuals.
“During the New Testament era, a Roman centurion was a professional military officer commanding a platoon of troops called a “century.” This could be anywhere from nearly one hundred to several hundred men.”3
Not only was this centurion in charge of many at work, he undoubtedly had several servants in his employ at home, yet he went out of his way to get help for a single servant boy. To him, the needs of the many did not outweigh the needs of the few (or in this case, the one). This centurion was concerned for all under his care.
The King James Version of the Bible says the boy had palsy.
“Sir R. Bennet, M.D., speaks thus: ‘In this instance, we have probably a case of progressive paralysis, attended by muscular spasms, and involving the respiratory movements, where death is manifestly imminent and inevitable. In such a case there would be symptoms indicative of great distress, as well as immediate danger to life.’”6
Clearly, the servant boy was suffering greatly. The centurion had undoubtedly seen much suffering and death in his career, yet his heart was troubled over the unnecessary suffering of his servant. The centurion did what he could to alleviate the suffering, he called for the help of the One who had authority over sickness.
Though he was a man highly honored, he was a man of humility.
A centurion’s “importance was based on seniority, with the senior centurion in a legion being in a position of great prestige.”3 I do not know if this man was a senior centurion, but the fact that he was a centurion meant he was honored. He was probably used to accolades, yet as Jesus was coming to his house, “the centurion sent friends to Him saying, ’Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am unworthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore, I did not presume to come to You’” (Luke 7:6-7).
This centurion understood and respected authority, yet he didn’t use his authority to elevate himself. He told Jesus, “I … am a man set 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” (Luke 7:8).
“Each Roman legion was composed of nearly 5,000 men, divided into multiple cohorts, each cohort composed of multiple centuries. As a result, a legion could contain as many as sixty centurions … Roman centurions represented the bridge between enlisted troops and commissioned officers, in much the same way as warrant officers do in the modern U.S. military.”3
Because he understood the power of the word of someone in authority, the centurion believed that the word of Jesus could heal his servant. “And to the centurion, Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment” (Matthew 8:13).
He was essentially obeying the Jewish Law, without being under the Law.
By his faith, his sacrifice, his care for others, and his humility, the centurion was obeying the first and greatest commandment, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind … And a second … like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37 & 39). “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when … God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:13-16).
The centurion’s character and faith were equivalent to great and godly men such as Job, Abraham, and others from the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, yet we don’t even know his name. But we can be sure, Jesus knows way more than his name; He knows everything about him, as he is most likely with Him “in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
History may never record your name either, but nothing can keep you, like this centurion, from having incredible faith and loving God and others with all you have. If you live your life full accordingly, I am confident that any effort in the areas of faith and love will not go unnoticed by God Himself. And when you reach Heaven’s gate, you will hear, “‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master’ (Matthew 25:21).
1 Scripture quotations marked with ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All Scriptures are taken from the ESV unless otherwise noted. To aid in understanding, I have capitalized references to God.
2 Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version.
3 https://www.gotquestions.org/Roman-centurion.html
4https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-synagogue.html