Matthew 8:5-13 5And after he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6and saying, “Lord, my child is lying in the house paralyzed at home, terribly being in torment.” 7And Jesus said to him, “Coming I will heal him.” 8In answering, the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy that you might come under my roof, but only say the word, and my child will be healed. 9 For 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.”
Matthew continues to recount the miracles of Jesus that show his power and authority over diseases and illnesses of all types. In this passage, a Roman centurion seeks Jesus’ intervention for someone special in his home. The child was in a desperate situation, paralyzed and in torment. The problem was beyond a human doctor. The word child (pais) can be interpreted in various ways. It denotes a young boy below the age of puberty. It can refer to one’s own child or a servant. This passage does not give enough context to indicate if this was the centurion’s own offspring. Many Roman soldiers were far from home, and Israel and Galilee were foreign nations, but it is possible that a soldier of responsibility could have his family and household with him, such as what we see in Acts 10 with Cornelius. What is clear from this passage is that this child was important to the centurion because this soldier went to great length to find Jesus and ask for help. The participle appealing (parakalōn) can have a strong sense of urging or imploring. Matthew’s style of using participles pushes the action of the narrative forward.
Jesus responds to the man’s plea with willingness to go to his home and heal the children. The surprise in the story is the centurion’s response of humility by trying to keep Jesus from going to his home. His response to Jesus emphasizes Jesus’ authority again within the narrative. Authority is illustrated from a soldier’s perspective. As a Roman centurion, this man had 100 soldiers under his command. The Roman army was well structured. Part of its effectiveness was its command structure and expectation of obedience to authority. This man could recognized authority because he had it. He believed Jesus had the authority, power, and ability to change the situation. Matthew continues to show Jesus as the Messiah who comes with a word of a new king offering people the opportunity to become part of a new kingdom.
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