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Matthew 8:5-15

We have begun to look at a series of miraculous works that were done by Jesus which were compiled by
Matthew in his gospel. These are intended to demonstrate the power of Jesus - power beyond what occurs
naturally, in our world. In this way, Matthew was continuing to bear witness to Jesus as being God the Son,
who is Israel’s Messiah - and the Savior of the world.

The first miracle that we encountered was Jesus healing a leper - cleansing him of his leprosy. Beyond the
physical healing, the ceremonial Law revealed that this cleansing is a picture of spiritual healing, from the
corruption of death - brought on by the defilement that sin causes.

This theme of healing continues with the next two miracles - the healing of the centurion’s servant, and of
Peter’s mother-in-law. First let’s read about the centurion’s servant, starting in verse 5.

[Matthew 8:5-13]

In the action of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus had completed His teaching in the hill country near the Sea of
Galilee, and was now returning to Capernaum, no doubt still with some people in tow, including His
disciples.

Remember that Jesus had made Capernaum the center of His ministry, in fulfillment of a prophecy of Isaiah
(Isa 9:1-2) - as Matthew has already pointed out (4:13-16). Capernaum was in the outermost reaches of
Galilee, bordering Gentile territory.

Matthew says that as Jesus came back into Capernaum, a centurion came to Him. A centurion was a
Roman military officer who typically commanded 100 or so men - we might think of him like an army
captain. Because Capernaum was not a large town, this centurion likely would have had a smaller number
of auxiliary troops under his command.

Do you think that there is anything peculiar in this centurion approaching Jesus? It’s very peculiar. First of
all, the man would have been a Gentile, most likely a Roman. You may recall that Gentiles and Jews
generally did not have dealings with one another, although this was less strictly observed in Galilee than in
Judea.

And this Gentile was a centurion in the Roman army, the power that had conquered the Jews some one
hundred years ago, and continued to occupy their land. A Roman officer would have considered himself to
be the superior of all of the subjugated people - the inferior races.

And Jesus would certainly not have appeared to be some distinguished member of this particular subject
people - just a poor Jewish rabbi; in fact, a purveyor of teaching about God which most Gentiles despised.

But perhaps not this Gentile. Luke also records an account of this healing by Jesus. Luke indicates that
this centurion loved Israel, and had built them a synagogue (Lk 7:5).

Why would this man have had such an affection for the nation, to spend his hard-earned wages and build
them a place of worship - unless he himself was drawn to their God? It is hard to think of another reason,
isn’t it? And now, as Jesus came back to Capernaum, the centurion drew even closer - to Jesus - for he had
a pressing need.
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How does the centurion address Jesus? As Lord (8:6). This is certainly not just conventional politeness,
since the centurion would have been considered the social superior of Jesus. This is an expression of
respect, even reverence - which tells us that the centurion had some knowledge of Jesus; he had heard of
Him, and had deliberately come to Him with his need.

The need was expressed in the form of a plea (v. 5); he pleaded and pleaded, with Jesus; he was crying out
for help. In so doing, the centurion was subjecting himself to Jesus, as to the One who had the power to
grant his plea.

Now, how would this centurion have known that Jesus could help him? Well, he was stationed in or near
Capernaum, and the report of Jesus had gone throughout the land - healing all kinds of sickness and disease
(Mt 4:23-24). And there was someone that the centurion wanted very much to be healed.

Soldiers in the Roman army enlisted for a period of twenty years. During that time, they were not
permitted to marry.

In some cases, Roman soldiers kept illegal concubines; but since centurions were career officers who
tended to be moved around with frequency, they did not usually have any such familial relations. Their
households in most cases consisted of trusted servants and soldiers, with whom they often formed a strong
bond.

Such was the case of the servant and this centurion. Luke comments that this servant was dear to the
centurion - and in addition to being paralyzed, as we read here, the servant was sick and ready to die (Lk
7:2). This may have been a case of something like polio, which left untreated, can cause paralysis and
death.

And the centurion indicated that his servant was dreadfully tormented; he was in terrible pain. This was
distressing to the centurion. Now, the centurion was undoubtedly a battle-hardened soldier - he would have
seen a lot of pain, and death. But when someone is dear to you, when you love them, watching them suffer
is unbearable. This is what drove the centurion upon his mission, to come to Jesus.

So he is pleading with Jesus. What does he ask Jesus to do? Nothing; the centurion just states the facts of
the case: his servant is lying at home paralyzed, and he’s dreadfully tormented. That he wishes Jesus to
heal his servant is merely implied.

Now, as we come to verse 7, it seems to us that Jesus volunteers to come and heal the servant, in a simple
statement. But remember that there is no punctuation in the Greek. Both the construction of the sentence
in the Greek as well as the flow of the dialogue require verse 7 to be, not a statement but a question, with
the emphasis on the “I”: “Am I to come and heal him?”

If it wasn’t for the emphasis on the “I”, we might think that Jesus was just inquiring if that is what the
centurion wanted; but with that emphasis, it’s as if Jesus was asking the centurion if he really meant to be
asking Jesus to do this: “You are asking Me - to come and heal him?” The idea is that Jesus was making a
dismissive reply, to the centurion.

Really? Why would Jesus do that? Well, any Jewish teacher at that time would respond in this way -
because to enter the home of a Gentile would be considered ceremonially defiling, for a Jew - it would
render him ritually impure. So Jesus was merely adhering to the convention of the day.
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Do you think that Jesus would have been concerned about ceremonial purity? No; he wasn’t with the leper,
was He? Nor was Jesus ever inclined to follow convention for the purpose of conforming to society. Jesus
said what He did for a different reason. He did it in order to give this Gentile centurion an opportunity to
take new ground, by faith.

And that’s exactly what this soldier did; let’s read his response again in verses 8-9.

v. 8-9 Notice how the centurion’s response indicates that Jesus did ask a question - the centurion was
answering Jesus, who had said, “Am I to come and heal him?” In a word, what was the centurion’s answer?
No; Jesus was not to come. Why not? The centurion says, because he was not worthy.

In what sense do you think the centurion meant that he was not worthy? Certainly not in terms of social
status - the centurion would be considered superior, to Jesus, in that respect.

Do you think the centurion meant he is not worthy in a spiritual sense? Perhaps to some extent; he
continues to address Jesus as “Lord”, denoting his respect for Jesus - at the very least, for His ability to
heal.

But the centurion’s sense of unworthiness would seem to be more earth-bound than that; notice how he
finished his statement - he is not worthy for Jesus to come under his roof.

The centurion was well aware of the way that religious Jews regarded Gentiles - as unclean sinners. He
knew that for a pious Jew to enter a Gentile home would render him ceremonially unclean. The centurion
assumed that as a religious teacher, Jesus would never be willing to do that. And he wanted Jesus to know
that he did not expect Jesus to do that.

But how could Jesus heal the centurion’s servant, unless He came to the house? Well, you can see that the
centurion already had that all worked out in his mind. Jesus didn’t need to come; Jesus could just speak a
word, and the centurion knew that his servant would be completely healed.

And the centurion then presented a very logical explanation, for how he knew this to be the case. He
recognized that Jesus was like him, in a certain respect - in respect to authority.

The centurion was just a man, but he was a military officer in the Roman army. And in occupying that
office, the centurion had the authority of the entire Roman Empire, behind him.

The centurion’s word was in essence the word of the emperor, because the centurion saw to it that the
emperor’s will was done. So when the centurion gave an order to the soldiers under him, those soldiers did
exactly what he said to do - for the centurion’s word was essentially the word of the emperor.

As the centurion acted for Rome and the emperor, his men acknowledged his authority as absolute. And the
centurion recognized that Jesus was like him, in terms of authority - that Jesus could just speak, and
whatever was subject to Him would do His will; it would absolutely obey Him.

His statement astonished Jesus.

v. 10 So Jesus said of the centurion that he had great faith. Let’s think for a moment what it is that the
centurion believed.
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The centurion believed that Jesus was capable of healing his servant, who was sick to the point of death.
The centurion would have sought a doctor if he thought his servant could be healed by natural means.

But instead, he sought out Jesus, having heard the report of miraculous healings that Jesus had done. So
the centurion believed Jesus had the power to heal, through supernatural means.

The centurion understood that the supernatural power that Jesus wielded - by which sicknesses and diseases
were completely cured - was a manifestation of the absolute authority by which Jesus carried out His work.

Since the centurion recognized this to be supernatural power - power over nature itself - it seems he
understood that Jesus operated under the authority of the creator of the natural world - Jesus healed by the
authority of God.

Perhaps since the centurion was familiar with Israel’s beliefs to some extent (Lk 7:3-5), the centurion may
even have recognized Jesus to be Israel’s Messiah.

And finally, the centurion surmised that Jesus did not even have to be present, to heal his servant; just to
speak a word, from a distance. This is power that no one would attribute to a mere man; only to God
Himself.

And that is why Jesus marveled so, at the centurion. Such great faith may have been anticipated from those
who were given the Word of God, from those who had the Law, so that they could know the LORD, and His
Anointed One, the Messiah of Israel.

But great faith from a lawless Gentile (meaning not in possession of the Law)? It’s interesting that Jesus is
only mentioned to marvel twice, in all the NT - here, at the centurion’s belief; and later, at Israel’s unbelief
(Mk 6:6).

One final consideration, somewhat off topic. There are some who think that God must give a person saving
faith, in order for the person to then exercise it; that faith is a gift from God. But if that is so, why would
Jesus marvel, and commend the centurion’s faith (Mt 8:10-12)? Why would Jesus reward it (Mt 8:13)?

Saving faith is not a gift of God, but the right response that a man makes in his will - to trust into Jesus.
God doesn’t give men faith; He gives men freedom of choice. A man then chooses whether or not he will
believe.

The centurion’s faith prompted Jesus to make a prophetic statement, concerning those who will be in the
kingdom of heaven.

v. 11-12 “I say to you” - who was Jesus speaking to? He was speaking to those who were following Him -
predominantly Jews, including His disciples.

In verse 11, the word for “sitting down” in the Greek actually means reclining. People used to recline at
banquet tables for a feast, with their heads toward the table, and feet extended toward the outside.

So Jesus was describing a banqueting table in heaven. This was a common motif among the Jews, speaking
of those who would be enjoying the ultimate blessedness of the true people of God, in heaven. It was
sometimes called the messianic banquet.
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The imagery is derived from some descriptions of Isaiah. Let’s turn to Isaiah chapter 25. We’re just
looking at verse 6, which follows Isaiah’s prophecy of the destruction of the world system. In this verse, a
mountain represents a kingdom - the kingdom of God.

[Isaiah 25:6] This describes the feast, of which Jesus is speaking. Who is the feast for? Look what Isaiah
said. “For all people”.

Now turn to Isaiah chapter 65. Isaiah has prophesied of the Gentiles responding to the LORD by faith, while
Israel rebels against Him; but in the end, a remnant of Israel will believe. All those who submit to the LORD
will have a place at His table, while those who rebel will be excluded.

[Isaiah 65:13-14] Only those who are the true servants of the LORD will partake of His feast.

[Return to Matthew 8]

In Jesus’ day, the Jews envisioned themselves as the sole participants in this banquet, while the godless
Gentiles would be left out in the cold.

The Jews recognized that Israel had been privileged by God - that they were His nation, and that He had
given them His Word, and the Law, and that Israel would bring forth His Savior from them. But Jesus
makes it clear that these privileges are being squandered by Israel - if they do not serve to bring Israel to
faith in her Messiah.

So Jesus reverses the common perception of the Jews, as to who will be at that banquet. Yes, Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob would be there - the forefathers of the nation Israel - because they believed in the LORD for
His Christ. But who will be at the table with them? Not the Jews, but those “from the east and west” - who
would they be? The Gentiles.

The Jews are represented here as “the sons of the kingdom” - meaning those for whom the kingdom
privileges were intended. Are they feasting at the table? No; they are seen as outside; in outer darkness.
They have forfeited their inheritance. And they are anguished - indignant - recognizing that they have been
excluded from the kingdom. Jesus uses this imagery elsewhere to describe hell (Mt 13:42, 50).

Jesus was making it clear that admission to the kingdom is not based on the privileges of birth - as a Jew.
Nor is one excluded because they are born without the Law - as a Gentile.

Entrance to the kingdom is gained only through believing into the One whom God sent, as the Savior of all
men. Jesus saw in this centurion the many Gentiles who would one day soon come to Him, through faith,
as the gospel was preached to them. And notice that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will not fear defilement
from being at the same table as them!

Jesus then dismissed this soldier.

v. 13 What had the centurion believed? That Jesus could and would heal his servant. And that’s exactly
what Jesus did.

Where would you expect the centurion to go, after that? Straight home, to check on his servant. And just
as the centurion expected, he found his servant completely healed.
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So Jesus worked through the faith of one person to heal another - and did so, long-distance. There is no
evidence that the servant had faith in Jesus, before this time; but after he heard the testimony of the
centurion, there’s every likelihood that he did.

We’re going directly on to the next miracle, because we will see these two are related, in their significance.

v. 14-15 That’s it; just two verses, describing Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in law of a fever. Mark and
Luke record this, as well, just as briefly (Mk 1:29-31, Lk 4:38-39).

After the healing of the leper and the centurion’s servant, this doesn’t seem like such a dramatic miracle,
does it? And it makes you wonder why Matthew would choose to record it. After all, Jesus healed so many
people; surely Matthew could have selected something more significant!

But Matthew was following the leading of the Holy Spirit; and the Spirit chose this miracle, following the
healing of the centurion’s servant, because together they reflect a significant spiritual dimension, to the
power of Jesus to heal.

In both cases, we have individuals who are lying at home sick. Would the centurion’s servant have been a
Jew, or a Gentile? A Gentile. And this Gentile is paralyzed, so that he is powerless to fulfill the purpose of
his existence; to serve.

Here we see a reflection of the Gentile nations, who rejected the LORD and His Christ at Babel. So God
gave them up to uncleanness; to vile passions; to a debased mind (Rm 1:24, 26, 28). In their
unrighteousness, and without the Law, they were powerless to do the will of God - paralyzed. The
unrighteous Gentiles were slaves of sin, incapable of serving the LORD.

So what about Peter’s mother-in-law? Would she have been a Jew or a Gentile? A Jew. Now, this woman
would have been able to serve, but she had a fever. A fever is an elevated temperature; some sickness has
caused the temperature in the body to abound. Fever had rendered this woman so weak that she, too, was
completely incapacitated.

In this woman, we see a reflection of the woman Israel. Israel had the potential to do the will of God,
because God’s righteous requirements had been revealed to Israel through the Law.

But the Law didn’t give Israel any power to keep it; what did the Law do, instead? It caused sin to abound
(Rm 5:20) - and like a fever, that’s incapacitating; the Jews with the Law are religiously self-righteous, but
they are just as incapable of doing the will of God as the Gentiles; their self-will keeps them from serving.

But in either case, there’s healing from sin-sickness to be had, from Jesus. He is right there in the midst of
His own people, the nation Israel, ready to touch them, and lift them up to new life - like the mother-in law.

And though the Gentiles had drawn away from God, so that they were afar off (Eph 2:17), Jesus is ready to
heal them long-distance, like the centurion’s servant - reaching out to them with the word of Life, found in
the gospel.

It was the apostle Paul who so clearly expressed the afflictions of sin-sickness, of both the Jew and the
Gentile, in his letter to the Roman assemblies. Turn to Romans chapter 6.
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Paul showed that both the unrighteous Gentiles and the self-righteous Jews were infected with sin-sickness,
and that the Jews were the more culpable, since they were given the understanding of God’s righteous
requirements, in the Law (Rm 2:12).

Paul indicated that both Jew and Gentile can only be justified through faith in Christ - works apart - by
which they are freed from the penalty of sin.

Then Paul went on to write of how the Jew and the Gentile are delivered from sin’s power, in this present
life. Paul shows that the believer is a new creation, in Christ Jesus; he has died out of that old creation, in
Adam, and so he has died to the sin; it no longer reigns over him. And as the believer counts on this, he
lives his new life, in Christ, and grace reigns, in righteousness.

Paul then used an illustration of slaves to show that the believer has a new master.

[Romans 6:16-23, 7:1, 5-6]

6:16-19 You were born in Adam, a slave of sin; why is that? Because of your self-will. By serving sin,
you served yourself; your own selfish interests and desires.

But when you believed into the doctrine of Jesus Christ - the gospel - you were delivered from sin. So that
means you’re free now, right? Paul says that actually, you became a slave of righteousness.

What does Paul mean? He is using a human invention - slavery - to explain about the flesh. The flesh
body is weak. It doesn’t have a will of its own; it always does the will of another - like a slave does.

When you were part of the creation in Adam, you were a slave of sin. You presented your body as a slave
of uncleanness, working out the lawlessness that you conceived of, in your heart. And because of your
strong desires, your body practiced more and more lawlessness.

But now as a new creation in Christ Jesus, you have a new way of thinking - and new desires. Instead of
desiring to serve yourself, you desire to serve God. Your body now obeys the will of God; it has become a
slave of righteousness, resulting in your sanctification. And what is the end of that; what is complete
sanctification? Holiness; holy as God is holy.

v. 20 Paul is saying that as a slave of sin, you couldn’t practice righteousness at all; you were powerless to
do it; paralyzed; unable to do the will of God.

v. 21-23 Having been set free from sin by Jesus - healed of your sin-sickness - you have now become a
bondslave of the Lord - you serve the Master, out of your love for Him.

As Paul continues, he now addresses the specific case of the Jew - Paul’s “brethren”.

7:1 The Jews were born as members of the nation Israel, born under the Law (Gal 4:4). The Law was to be
Israel’s tutor, to bring the Jews to Christ (Gal 3:24); instead, they tried to keep it as a means of justifying
themselves. But the Law provided no power to cure men of sin-sickness; instead, the Law aggravated sin.
Look down in verse 5.

7:5 The Law aroused sinful passions; how? Well, when the Law would say “don’t do this”; what is it that
the self-willed heart says, in response? “I will so do this; and do it and do it and do it!” So the Law
actually aggravated Israel’s sin - to a fever-pitch, we might say.
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And that was incapacitating for Israel; she couldn’t serve God when she was all bogged down with her own
selfish desires.

7:6 Jesus delivered the Jews who believed in Him - not just from sin, but from the Law - from trying to
keep it, in their own strength. Now Jewish believers could actually serve God - in the newness of the
Spirit. They simply follow the Holy Spirit’s leading within them, drawing on the righteous life that Jesus
has shared with them.

It is in this way that Jesus freed all who believe from sin’s power, to serve God. And in a sense, the healing
of men’s souls from sin-sickness was the greatest miracle of all (Mt 9:5).

Reading: Matthew 8:16-27; Isa 52:13-53:12; Job 38:1-11