Matthew 8:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

There are those who suggest that one centurion is different from the one noted in Luke, for this centurion had a son who was healed, while that one had a servant; this centurion approached Christ, while that one first sent Jewish elders and then his friends. Furthermore, this centurion did not invite Christ into his dwelling but rather restrained Him even when He intended to come, while the other reached out first to the elders and ultimately declined through his friends. Despite these notable differences, they share many similarities: both were centurions residing in Capernaum, distressed over the paralyzed one, exhibiting their faith with identical words, and both receiving similar favor.

Chrysostom asserts that this centurion is indeed the same referred to in both Matthew and Luke. Luke, for the sake of precision, included various details absent the centurion's immediate presence. Conversely, Matthew, prioritizing brevity, omitted the delegation of elders and friends viewing it as extraneous while clearly highlighting the centurion's faith, the ensuing commendation, and the miracle involving the paralyzed man.

To clarify apparent inconsistencies, we note that the term youth (παις) can refer not only to a son but also to a servant. He possessed both servants (παιδας) and maidservants (παιδισκας). Regarding Matthew's indication that the centurion himself approached Christ while Luke mentions that he dispatched elders followed by friends, we can deduce that both occurrences transpired. Initially, he sent the elders to invite Christ to come; upon realizing that Christ was on His way and feeling unworthy of His presence, he then sent friends to turn Him away and relay what Luke has detailed. Eventually, as the pain intensified for the paralyzed man—having reached a point of near death, as noted by Luke—the centurion could no longer endure his distress. He hurried to Jesus himself, pursuing his friends, with a sincere desire to plead directly.

When the friends conveyed their message and Christ responded to what Luke described, the centurion arrived just then, and before confronting the friends, he saw Christ and, filled with urgency, begged Him again, saying, “Lord, my lad lies loosed in the house.” In response, Christ expressed His willingness, stating, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion then added, “Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof,” as recorded by Matthew. It is clear then that Luke captured the events preceding the centurion’s arrival, while Matthew chronicled what unfolded thereafter, with both illustrating the centurion's faith and the miracle wrought by Jesus. Since Luke indicated that upon the messengers' return they discovered the servant in good health, we can infer that the centurion, fully assured of his servant's recovery, returned at a more deliberate pace, while the messengers, uncertain of the outcome, hastened ahead to learn whether he had indeed recovered.

‘Let it be as you desire,’ He said to the Canaanite woman, and her children were cured from that moment (Matthew 15:28). By saying ‘be,’ He established the firmament: ‘Let there be a firmament, and it was so’ (Genesis 1:6). Through the command ‘be,’ He healed the paralytic: ‘As you have believed, so let it be done for you.’ He spoke to the centurion, and ‘his child was healed at that hour.’ The word ‘be’ is both creative and miraculous: for this same God is both the Creator and the Miracle Worker. ‘He spoke, and they came into being; He commanded, and they were created’ (Psalm 148:5). ‘All that the Lord desires, He created in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths’ (Psalm 134:6).

John Chrysostom states, "Christ revealed His might not only through healing but also by doing so effortlessly and instantly. In performing miracles, He proclaimed the teaching of the kingdom and drew all towards that realm." In the perspective of the pagans, a slave was viewed as less than human; if they became ill or unproductive, they could be sold off as if they were mere property.

Eager to assist his servant but lacking conventional means, he held hope in Jesus’ healing power while simultaneously feeling unworthy to approach Him directly, believing, as a Gentile, that he would be deemed unfit to invite the Lord into his home for such a purpose. Misjudging the Lord based on the attitudes of other Jews, who rejected interaction with Gentiles, he ultimately resolved to seek assistance through the Jewish elders. Though the Lord was already on His way to respond to the request, the centurion, in light of his humility and belief in the Lord’s might, instructed his friends to convey that it was unnecessary for the Lord to trouble Himself further, as he believed a mere command from Christ would suffice to heal the servant, just as he himself could give orders to his subordinates. No one before had demonstrated such profound faith in the Lord's divine capability, and this man was a Gentile. The Lord honored the faithful request and, in the presence of the apostles, declared, “I have not found such faith, even in Israel,” revealing that many would come from the East and the West and would recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom, referring to the Jews as its natural heirs, would be cast out into outer darkness.

Demonstrating extraordinary faith and humility—particularly noteworthy in a Gentile—the centurion, upon realizing Jesus was nearby, sent word through his friends to inform the Lord: “Do not trouble yourself, Lord, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. Your powerful command will certainly reach its intended target. Just as those under my authority follow my orders without question, so the destructive forces of evil will surely depart from my servant at the decree of the Prince of life and death.”

Jesus was taken aback by the strength of faith exhibited by this Gentile, declaring that he had not encountered such belief even among the people of Israel. Furthermore, Christ, according to the Gospel of Matthew, prophesied that many Gentiles would exhibit greater faith and would enter the kingdom of God, while those who were considered the heirs of the kingdom from the Old Testament would be cast out. Following this, the Lord granted the centurion's petition, and at that very hour, the servant was healed. When the messengers returned, they found him restored to health.

In order to not offend the Jewish listeners, who viewed themselves as the sole inheritors of the Messiah's kingdom, He privately remarked about the Gentiles: “I say unto you, that many from east and west shall come, and shall lie down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the deepest darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The Savior frequently used the metaphor of a banquet to illustrate the Kingdom of Heaven, where, in accordance with Eastern customs, guests recline on couches. The concept of outer darkness, along with the weeping and gnashing of teeth experienced by those excluded from the joyous celebration in the radiant and welcoming temple, symbolizes eternal suffering in hell. The centurion who sought healing for his servant received, as articulated by St. John Chrysostom, “more than he asked for” — first the promise of entry into the Kingdom of Christ, and then the healing he sought. Through the centurion’s emissaries, Christ proclaimed: “Go, as thou hast believed, be it unto thee.” When they returned home, they discovered the ailing servant had been restored to health at the very moment when the Lord spoke His powerful Word.