XLIII.
HEALING THE CENTURION'S SERVANT.
(At Capernaum.)
aMATT. VIII. 1, 5-13; cLUKE
VII. 1-10.
c1 After he had ended all
his sayings in the ears of the people, a1 And when he was come
down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. che entered
into Capernaum. [Jesus proceeded from the mountain to Capernaum, which
was now his home, or headquarters. The multitudes which are now mentioned
for the third time were not wearied by his sermon, and so continued to
follow him. Their presence showed the popularity of Jesus, and also emphasized
the fact that the miracles which followed the sermon were wrought in the
presence of the vast throngs of people.]
a5 And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him
a centurion [The context shows that this centurion or captain of a
hundred men was a Gentile, but whether he was in the employ of Herod Antipas,
tetrarch of Galilee, or an officer in the Roman army, is [270] not
clear, neither is very important. The army of Antipas, like that of other
petty kings, was modeled after that of Rome],
c2 And a certain centurion's servant [slave boy],
who was dear unto him, was sick, and at the point of death.
3 And when he heard concerning Jesus [The sequel shows that the centurion
had probably heard how Jesus had healed the son of his fellow-townsman--John
iv. 46-54], he sent unto him elders of the Jews [To reconcile
Matthew and Luke, we have only to conceive of the centurion as coming to
the edge of the crowd about Jesus, but modestly refraining from coming
into the Lord's immediate presence.] asking him that he would come and
save his servant. abeseeching him,
6 and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously
tormented. [Because palsy is not usually accompanied with suffering,
some think that in this case it was combined with tetanus or lockjaw, a
combination not infrequent in hot climates. But 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." As to palsy generally, see pp.
175, 183.]
c4 And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly,
saying, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him;
5 for he loveth our nation, and himself built us our synagogue. [The
centurion evidently believed in and worshiped God, but, influenced probably
by his profession, did not become a proselyte by being circumcised and
conforming entirely to the Mosaic law. He was what later Jews would have
termed a Proselyte at the Gate, and not a full-fledged Proselyte of Righteousness.
The ruins of Capernaum show the ruins of a synagogue. It was a beautiful
structure, built of white limestone, shows by its architectural features
that it was built in the time of the Herods, and there is little doubt
that it is the one which this pious Gentile erected, and in which Jesus
taught [271] and healed.]
a7 And he saith to him [i. e., answering him as represented
by his friends], I will come and heal him.
c6 And Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from
the house, the centurion sent friends to him,
a8 And the centurion answered and said, {csaying
unto him,} Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest
come under my roof [not because his house was a poor one, for he was
evidently well to do]: 7 wherefore neither
thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: abut only say the
word, and my servant shall be healed. [The centurion, well knowing
that it was unlawful for Jews to go into the houses of the Gentiles, lest
they should sully the sanctity which they desired to maintain, wished to
spare Jesus any embarrassment. Whatever he may have thought of this custom
with regard to the Pharisees, he attributed to Jesus so high a degree of
sanctity that he accepted the doctrine as true in reference to him. The
centurion showed his great faith partly by believing that Jesus could heal
by a word, but chiefly in his lofty conception of Jesus as compared with
himself. The less faith we have, the less we esteem Jesus, and the more
faith we have, the less we esteem ourselves. As Jesus rises, we sink in
the scale of our estimation. The centurion's faith would have been wonderful
enough in an Israelite, but it was all the more wonderful when found in
the bosom of a Gentile. The word "found" suggests that Jesus came seeking
faith: he will come seeking it again (Luke xviii. 8). The elders, little
knowing the wideness of our Lord's vision and sympathy, supposed that Jesus
would look upon the splendid synagogue erected for the Jewish people as
a sufficient motive for granting their request. Even the apostles were
slow to learn that at heart Jesus knew neither Jew nor Gentile.] c8
For I also am a man set under authority, having under myself soldiers,
and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh;
and to my servant [not a soldier, but a household slave], Do
this, and he doeth it. [Having those over him, he knew how to obey,
and [272] having those under him, he knew how
to be obeyed. He was familiar, therefore, with all the principles of obedience.
Knowing from the healing of the nobleman's son, or from other reports concerning
Jesus, that the realm of nature obeyed Jesus, he judged from his knowledge
of earthly obedience that Jesus had those who could come and go for him,
and who could carry his messages and enforce obedience to them. He felt
that the presence of Jesus was not at all necessary to the healing.] a10
And when Jesus heard it, {cthese things,} he marvelled at him,
and turned and said unto athem cthe multitude that
followed him, aVerily I say unto you, I have not found so great
faith, no, not in Israel. [To some it seems strange that Jesus could
marvel, but he had all the actual feelings of a man. However, we should
note that Jesus is never said to have marveled but twice. In this case
it was because of belief, and in the other (Mark vi. 6), it was because
of unbelief. Those who think that Jesus gave or gives faith should note
this fact. If Jesus had given the centurion faith, he could not have been
surprised to find that he had it; and, if he failed to bestow it upon the
people of Nazareth, it would have been inconsistent in him to express surprise
at their lack of it. It would seem, however, irreconcilable with the character
and affectionate nature of Christ, to bestow faith in such profusion upon
this Gentile stranger, and withhold every spark of it from his near kinsmen
and fellow-townsmen. Faith is no miraculous gift. Faith means no more nor
less than belief; and a man believes the Scripture facts in the same manner
and by the same processes that he believes any other facts.]
11 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west,
and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of
heaven [Jesus here predicts the conversion of the Gentiles, since that
fact is suggested to him by the faith of this centurion. The east and the
west represent the extreme points of the compass in the directions in which
the world was most thickly inhabited. But Jesus refers rather to spiritual
separation than to [273] geographical distances--Mal.
i. 11; Isa. xlix. 19; Jer. xvi. 19; Zech. viii. 22.]
12 but the sons of the kingdom [The child of anything in Hebrew phraseology
expressed the idea of special property which one has in the thing specified,
as, for instance, children of disobedience (Eph. ii. 2). Jesus here means,
then, the Jews, to whom the kingdom belonged by hereditary descent--Rom.
ix. 4] shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the
weeping and the gnashing of teeth. [In this paragraph Christ's kingdom
is set forth under the simile of a great feast, a familiar simile with
Jesus (Matt. xxvi. 29; Luke xxii. 30). The Jews were accustomed to speak
of the delights of the Messianic kingdom as a feast with the patriarchs
(Luke xiv. 15), but lost sight of the fact that Gentiles should share in
its cheer and fellowship (Isa. xxv. 6). Marriage feasts and other great
feasts of the Jews were usually held in the evening. Inside, therefore,
there would be joy and light and gladness, but outside there would be darkness
and disappointment, tears and bitter self-reproach (Matt. xxv. 10-13).
The despised outcasts should be brought in and placed at the festal board,
while the long-invited guests--the natural and fleshly heirs of Abraham's
invitation--would be excluded (Matt. xxi. 43). Hell is absence from spiritual
light, separation from the company of the saved, lamentation and impotent
rage.] 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion,
Go thy way; as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And
the servant was healed in that hour. [In the moment when Jesus spoke,
the servant was healed--not relieved, but healed.]
c10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the
servant whole. [The centurion, long before this when he was building
the synagogue, had doubtless heard with delight concerning the wonderful
works wrought by the mighty prophets in the olden time; he little dreamed
that his own eyes should see them all surpassed.] [274]
[FFG 270-274]
