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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_8:5-13
5And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." 7Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!'and he goes, and to another, 'Come!'and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!'and he does it." 10Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go, it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.
Mat_8:5 "Capernaum" This city became Jesus' Galilean headquarters after His rejection in Nazareth (cf. Mat_4:13). It was a central location. Peter and Andrew owned a home there.
▣ "a Centurion" There were no more ostracized people in Jewish society than lepers (Mat_8:2) and Roman military officers. This concept demonstrated Jesus' love for all mankind, as His dealings with the men of Gadara, Mat_8:28; Mat_8:34; and the Syro-Phoenician woman (Mat_15:21-28). This same account is paralleled in Luk_7:1-10, but in a different setting.
Mat_8:6 "my servant" The account in Luke records that this man had great love for the Jewish people (as did Cornelius of Acts 10). The account in Matthew shows that he had great love for his servant boy. Centurions throughout the NT are usually presented in a positive light.
Mat_8:7 "I will come and heal him" This is an emphatic use of "I," which is explained in Mat_8:8 by the unheard of action of Jesus being willing to enter a Gentile home, which was a major cultural/religious taboo.
Mat_8:8 "I am not worthy" this term is used in the statements of
1. John the Baptist - Mat_3:11; Mar_1:7; Luk_3:16
2. Roman Centurion - Mat_8:8; Luk_7:6
In a theological sense it expresses the sinfulness of all humans as well as God's amazing love and mercy. Humans must recognize their spiritual need (cf. Mat_5:3-6) before they can receive God's forgiveness and acceptance.
▣ "just say the word, and my servant will be healed" This man, being a military person, understood authority and did not demand a ritual, or magical formula, or even Jesus' physical presence for the healing. In Luke the centurion did not come to Jesus personally, but sent representatives: (1) Jewish elders (cf. Luk_7:3-5) and (2) his friends (cf. Luk_7:6). This is a good example of how the Gospels record the same event in different ways. The question is not which account is true but why the authors recorded it in the way they did. See Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp. 127-148.
Jewish and Greek healers healed by means of chants, magic, and special rituals, but Jesus healed by the spoken word. This was a way to show
1. His connection with creation (i.e., Genesis 1)
2. His personal authority (cf. Mat_8:16)
3. His difference from the other healers of His day
This is why the title logos (word) is so appropriate in Joh_1:1! Jesus could heal with a touch (cf. Mat_8:3) or speak a word (cf. Mat_8:8), as well as exorcize demons (cf. Mat_8:16). He spoke with authority (cf. Mat_7:28-29); He healed with authority!
It is also interesting in Matthew how he uses the formula "what was spoken. . .was fulfilled" (cf. Mat_1:22; Mat_2:15; Mat_2:17; Mat_2:23; Mat_4:14; Mat_8:17; Mat_12:17; Mat_13:35; Mat_21:4; Mat_22:31; Mat_24:15; Mat_27:9) as a way to assert the trustworthiness of Scripture and its fulfillment in Jesus and the new age He inaugurated.
Mat_8:10
NASB "Truly I say to you"
NKJV "Assuredly I say to you"
NRSV "Truly I tell you"
TEV "I tell you"
JB" I tell you solemnly"
NJB "In truth I tell you"
This was Jesus' distinctive way of showing emphasis. There are no other examples in Greek literature. The single or double use of "amen" to start a sentence accentuated the importance of the statement, as well as Jesus' personal authority. See Special Topic at Mat_5:18.
Mat_8:11 "many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" This was an allusion to the inclusion of Gentiles into the family of God (cf. Isa_25:6-9; Mal_1:11; Luk_13:22-30). The faith of this Roman military man was greater than any Jesus had encountered among the Jewish people. These kinds of encounters with Gentiles (i.e., Mat_15:28; Mat_21:32; Mar_7:24-30; Luk_10:30-37; Luk_17:11-19), combined with Jesus' strong statements concerning their faith is evidence of the universal nature and evangelistic goal of the gospel (cf. Mat_15:28; Mat_22:2-14; Mat_28:18-20; Luk_7:9; Luk_24:47; Act_1:8). The phraseology was taken from the concept of the Messianic banquet at the end of time (cf. Isa_25:6-9; Luk_14:15; Rev_19:9). Jesus speaks of these Patriarchs as alive in the kingdom of heaven (i.e., the new age). They will fully participate in the eschatological events, as well as other believers. This is surely a strong witness to the reality of life after death, as well as the promise of fellowship with God and other believers.
Mat_8:12 "but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out" Many Jews knew nothing of a personal relationship with God but only of a racial, legalistic, and ritualistic religion handed down to them (cf. Isa_6:9-10; Isa_29:13; Mat_15:14). They were prideful and self-righteous based on their race and performance of the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Mat_3:9). Jesus affirms in Mat_8:12 that many who were not historically part of the people of God will be included, and many who thought they were part of the people of God will be excluded (cf. Mat_21:43; Luk_13:28).
▣ "into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" These metaphors were also used in Mat_13:42; Mat_13:50; Mat_22:13; Mat_24:51; Mat_25:30 to describe the horrors of separation from God in hell (Gehenna, see Special Topic at Mat_5:22). What men and women do with Jesus Christ now will determine their ultimate destiny (cf. Mat_25:31-46). Jesus Himself is the One who shows us the grim alternative facing those who refuse to trust Him.
In the OT "gnashing of teeth" signified "rage" (cf. Job_16:9; Psa_35:16; Psa_37:12; Psa_112:10; Lam_2:16), as it does in Act_7:54, but here it denotes the sorrow and pain of eschatological judgment (i.e., separation from God in Gehenna).