Faith of the Centurion – Matthew 8:5-13

The Story in a Nutshell

The story continues…

Jesus had just arrived in Capernaum when a Roman officer came to him and begged for help.  “I have a young servant in bed that is paralyzed and in great pain. He needs help!  He needs to be healed.”

Jesus said to him, “I will go home with you and heal him.”

But the officer said, “I’m not worthy to have you come to my house.  Just do what you need to do from here and he will be healed.  I understand authority.   I too am under the authority of my superior officers and I also have authority over my soldiers.  When I tell them to do something they do it.  I understand your authority.  I believe you can heal my servant.”

Jesus was amazed at the officer’s faith.  He said, “I haven’t seen faith like this in all of Israel.”  Jesus then said that many other non-Jews (Gentiles) would respond with the same faith as the officer, but that many of his own people, the Jews, would not. Thus they would miss out on the blessings of God.  As a result, many Israelites for whom the Kingdom of Heaven was prepared would live in darkness where there would be great sorrow and torment.

With that said, it was time to act.  Jesus told the Roman officer to go home.  “What you have asked for has happened.”  And the young servant was healed that very hour.

To be continued…

What did you learn from the story?

If you want to gain a full understanding of the complete story, and for help in answering some of the questions below, you may want to have the following items as additional resources:  a Bible, a dictionary, and a Bible commentary on the Book of Matthew (optional).

1. Where did the story take place?
2. What happened when Jesus arrive in Capernaum?
3. What did Jesus tell the Roman officer he would do?
4. What was the Roman officer’s response?
5. What does it mean to be under authority?
6. What amazed Jesus?
7. What did Jesus have to say about Gentiles and his own people, the Jews?
8. Who are the Gentiles?
9. What did Jesus say would happen to people that do not respond to God in faith?
10. What does it mean to live in darkness with great sorrow and torment?
11. What does the story tell you about faith?
12.  What did you learn about God, Jesus, and people from the story?

Have questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible? An excellent source for answers to your questions is gotquestions.org. Check it out. gotquestions.org.

Would you like to know more about God and his plan of salvation? Then Click Here.