Luke 7:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

This point is again reflected by the divine psalmist, who states at one moment, "Thou hast inclined Thy ear to prepare their heart," and at another, "Their infirmities were many, and after that they went quickly." Indeed, many offenses were attributed to them, which he tenderly refers to as infirmities: they strayed in confusion and committed grievous sins, not just one, but many. However, they quickly came to faith; they were prompt to accept Christ's commands and willingly embraced the belief. He signifies that they were to be caught in the net of Christ, as expressed through one of the holy prophets, "For this cause wait for Me, saith the Lord, until the day of My resurrection, to testify, because My judgement shall be upon the congregations of the Gentiles." When Christ rose from the dead, He provided those who were lost with a judgement intended for their joy and salvation. He also instructed His holy disciples, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Thus, by the sacred decree and righteous judgement of our shared Savior Christ, the Gentiles have been exalted, while Israel, as we see, has turned away from His love and grace. For what does the chief Shepherd of all say to them through one of the holy prophets? "And I have declared, saith He, that I will not nourish you, and he that dies shall die, and he that faints shall faint, and those that remain shall devour every flesh of his neighbor." And again, "God rejected them because they would not listen to Him; and they shall be wanderers among the Gentiles." Furthermore, through the voice of the prophet Hezekiah, it is spoken, "Thus saith my Lord, the Lord, that I will drive them out among the Gentiles, and scatter them abroad in all the earth." Take this factual evidence to strengthen your conviction and faith in what is articulated here. For they are wanderers in all lands and cities, failing to maintain the pure worship mandated by the law, nor agreeing to receive the glory of the superior life of the gospel. Yet we, who have embraced the faith, are fellow citizens with the saints and are called children of the heavenly Jerusalem above, by God's grace highlighting our existence. We affirm Him as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets; we acknowledge His glory; we marvel at His miracles; to Him, and through Him, may there be praise and authority to God the Father, with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

However, he felt unworthy to request the Lord’s presence in person, considering himself a Gentile unfit to invite Him into his home. Misjudging the Lord by the actions of other Jews, who often avoided contact with Gentiles, he ultimately resolved to seek assistance through the Jewish elders. Although the Lord was already on His way to help, the centurion, acknowledging his unworthiness yet firmly believing in the Lord’s ability, sent word through his friends, asking the Divine Healer not to trouble Himself further, for he understood that a mere command from Him would suffice to heal the afflicted, just as he could command his own subordinates. No one before the Lord had demonstrated such profound faith in His divine authority—especially not a Gentile. The Lord graciously responded to the believer’s request and, in the presence of the apostles, proclaimed, ‘I have not found such great faith even in Israel,’ revealing that many would come from the East and West to join Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom, the Jews by birth, would be cast into outer darkness.

The centurion then demonstrated extraordinary faith and humility, uncommon for a Gentile. Learning that Jesus was approaching his home, he sent friends to convey a message, saying, “Do not trouble Yourself, Lord, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof... Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. The all-powerful word of Your authority will surely accomplish its purpose: just as the soldiers under my command carry out my orders without question, so will the oppressive force of evil depart from my servant at the command of the Sovereign of life and death.”

The display of such faith from a Gentile astonished Jesus, who remarked that He had not encountered such faith even among the people of Israel. Furthermore, according to St. Matthew, He prophesied that many Gentiles would display greater faith and would enter the kingdom of God, while those who were considered the sons of the kingdom, from the Old Testament, would be cast out. Subsequently, the Lord honored the centurion’s request, and his servant was healed at that very hour, so when the messengers returned, they discovered the servant was already well.

He recognized within the wild olive tree an understanding that was absent in the cultivated olive tree; from this observation, He imparted a lesson that deeply unsettled His listeners: many of the current heirs of the kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness, while many will come from the east and west to sit alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. This announcement contradicted the cherished aspirations of the self-denying Jews. One rabbinic teaching suggests that God tells the Jews, “In the world to come, I will prepare a grand feast for you Jews, which the Gentiles will observe and be ashamed," while this teacher from Galilee proclaimed a message of rejection for the Jews and the inclusion of the Gentiles! The distinction between Christ and the traditional rabbinic teachings became increasingly apparent, as Christ boldly dismantled the narrow nationalism of the rabbis, declaring that the kingdom of the Messiah would not be limited to the Jewish people, but would encompass all nations and all humanity. “Go,” Christ instructed the centurion who had approached Him directly, “and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” Upon returning home, the centurion discovered that the healing word had taken effect, and his ill servant had recovered.

By entrusting his servant's healing solely to the command of the Lord, the centurion demonstrated profound faith in God’s ability. This faith, paired with genuine humility before the heavenly Physician and the unique compassion of a Gentile for his servant, revealed the centurion as someone whose moral standing exceeded that of the Jews, who relied solely on the law. Jesus Christ marveled at the faith displayed by this Gentile, declaring to the crowd that He had seen no such faith in Israel. This was the first articulation of a significant truth that the holy Apostles would later affirm in their letters—the notion that salvation comes through faith and not through the works of the law, and that this grace would be extended to both Jews and Gentiles, and in fact, the latter more abundantly. Among the throng gathered around the Lord were both Jews and Gentiles from Galilee and adjacent regions. To avoid offending the Jewish listeners, who viewed themselves as the exclusive heirs to the Messiah's kingdom, Christ privately spoke of the Gentiles, stating that many from east and west would come and share in fellowship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, while the sons of the kingdom would be cast into outer darkness, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The imagery of the Heavenly Kingdom often included a banquet scene, where the guests recline at tables according to Eastern tradition. The outer darkness, along with the sorrow and despair of those excluded from the joyful feast within the radiant and inviting temple, symbolizes eternal suffering in hell. The centurion, who sought healing for his servant, received—according to St. John Chrysostom—"more than he had requested." Not only did he gain reassurance of his entrance into Christ’s Kingdom, but he also received the healing itself. Through the centurion's delegates, Christ the Savior told him, "Go, as you have believed, so let it be done for you." Upon their return, the emissaries discovered the ailing servant had been restored to health at the very moment the Lord spoke His omnipotent word.