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“Let us look at what the Word of God says.”
> *“When Jesus heard it, he marvelled and said to those who followed, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel…’ Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.’ His servant was healed in that hour.”*
> — Matthew 8:10, 13
The central theme of this passage, and of these lyrics, is the kind of faith that causes Jesus to marvel. Not ordinary faith. Not intellectual agreement. Not religious tradition. But great faith.
In all the Gospels, there are only two occasions where Jesus is said to “marvel” at faith:
These two responses stand as opposites: great faith and great unbelief. Every one of us is moving in one direction or the other.
This passage confronts us with several vital questions:
The centurion’s words are at the heart of this:
> *“Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am also a man under authority…”* (Matthew 8:8–9)
Here we see:
This is the faith that moves heaven and changes the earthly situation.
---
We must put ourselves into the scene as it occurred.
### The setting: Capernaum
Matthew 8:5 begins:
> *“When he came into Capernaum…”*
Capernaum was a significant town on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It became, in effect, Jesus’ base of ministry (Matthew 4:13). Many miracles occurred there, yet Jesus later pronounced woe on it because of its unbelief (Matthew 11:23–24). In a place of much light, there was also much hardness of heart.
Into this environment comes a most unlikely character.
### The centurion: a Roman military officer
A centurion was a Roman officer in charge of roughly 100 soldiers. He was:
Luke’s parallel account (Luke 7:1–10) gives more detail:
This is important. He was not a casual observer of Israel’s faith. He valued it and supported it. Yet, he remained outside the covenant people. He would have been seen as unclean, an outsider to the promises given to Abraham.
### The crisis: a suffering servant
> *“Lord, my servant lies in the house paralysed, grievously tormented.”* (Matthew 8:6)
The centurion’s servant is:
The Greek implies heavy, oppressive torment. The centurion, though a man of power, money, and influence, cannot solve this problem by natural means.
This is a picture of humanity. Human authority and human systems cannot solve the deepest problems of sin, sickness, and bondage. At some point, we come to the end of ourselves.
### Jesus’ immediate response
> *“Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’”* (Matthew 8:7)
Notice:
Jesus is ready to come into the centurion’s situation. But something remarkable happens. The centurion stops Him—with faith.
### The shock: Jesus marvels
> *“When Jesus heard it, he marvelled…”* (Matthew 8:10)
This hardened Roman soldier, trained in war, under a pagan regime, has a spiritual understanding that even many of God’s covenant people did not have. Jesus publicly commends him:
> *“I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel.”*
That is an astonishing statement. Among all those with the Scriptures, the covenants, the temple, and the promises, Jesus says: this Gentile soldier has the greatest faith I have encountered.
Then He enlarges the vision:
> *“I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness.”* (Matthew 8:11–12)
This is a prophetic warning:
Faith, not heritage, determines our place in the Kingdom.
---
To understand this passage more deeply, we will look at two key Greek words.
### 1. “Authority” – ἐξουσία (exousia)
The centurion says:
> *“For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers.”* (Matthew 8:9)
The word is exousia. It means:
It is distinct from *dynamis* (power/ability).
You can have ability without authority, or authority without ability. Jesus had both.
The centurion is saying:
This is crucial:
Now he applies this to Jesus. He recognizes that:
For the centurion, healing does not require physical presence. It only requires an authorized command.
### 2. “Heal” – ἰάομαι (iaomai)
> *“Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”* (Matthew 8:8)
> *“…His servant was healed in that hour.”* (Matthew 8:13)
The verb iaomai means:
This is not mere relief of symptoms. It is restoration.
The centurion believes that one authorized word from Jesus is sufficient to completely restore his servant.
Putting these together:
This deepens the meaning of the lyrics: *“Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”* It is not sentimental language; it is a precise, militarily informed, spiritually enlightened statement about how the Kingdom of God operates.
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We will now walk through the themes in this passage and connect them with the broader witness of Scripture.
### A. “Lord, my servant lies… grievously tormented” – The reality of human need
The centurion’s cry reveals three truths:
1. Lord – He acknowledges Jesus’ supremacy
He does not address Him as “Teacher” or “Rabbi,” but as Kyrios – Lord, Master, Owner.
2. My servant – He demonstrates compassion
A Roman officer pleading for a servant’s healing is unusual. This man is not only powerful; he is merciful. Mercy attracts the mercy of God.
3. Paralysed, grievously tormented – A picture of bondage
Paralysis is the inability to move as one is designed to move. Spiritually, many are paralyzed by fear, unbelief, sin, or demonic oppression.
Scripture consistently presents Jesus as the One who enters such situations:
Where there is torment, oppression, or paralysis—Jesus is willing to heal.
### B. “I will come and heal him” – The willingness of Jesus
Jesus’ response is simple and direct:
> *“I will come and heal him.”*
There is no religious complexity here. We must clear our minds of the suspicion that God is reluctant to heal or to save.
In Matthew 8 alone, we see a pattern:
Matthew 8:17 explains why:
> *“that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’”*
The cross is the foundation of Christ’s healing ministry. He does not heal out of mere sentiment. He heals on the basis of what He would accomplish at Calvary—taking our sin and our sickness.
### C. “Lord, I’m not worthy…” – Humility and right self-assessment
The centurion’s confession:
> *“Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof.”* (Matthew 8:8)
Compare this with many in Israel who felt Jesus *owed* them signs because of their heritage. The centurion is different:
This is the doorway to grace.
James 4:6:
> *“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”*
The centurion does not approach Jesus on the basis of his goodness, but on the basis of Jesus’ authority and mercy.
Many believers hinder their faith by one of two errors:
The centurion’s humility is not self-hatred. It is right alignment:
That is faith.
### D. “Just say the word” – Faith in the spoken Word
This is the heart of the matter:
> *“Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”*
Here is faith at its purest:
He believes that:
This aligns with the wider teaching of Scripture:
God’s primary instrument of creation, judgment, salvation, and healing is His Word.
If we grasp this, our entire approach to prayer and spiritual warfare will change. We will stop seeking feelings and start standing on Scripture.
### E. “For I am also a man under authority…” – The structure of the Kingdom
The centurion’s reasoning is profoundly theological:
> *“For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes…”*
He does not compare himself to Jesus as equal. He compares the structure of his world with the structure of Christ’s Kingdom.
He recognizes:
1. Authority is derived from being under a higher authority
2. Authority is released through words
3. Authority is not hindered by physical distance
This is a revelation many Christians never fully grasp. We often try to “feel” power instead of understanding authority.
Jesus Himself later declares:
> *“All authority (exousia) has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore…”* (Matthew 28:18–19)
He delegates that authority to His disciples. Luke 10:19:
> *“Behold, I give you authority (exousia) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power (dynamis) of the enemy…”*
We must see:
### F. “I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel” – The faith that recognizes authority
Why does Jesus call this “great faith”?
Because great faith is:
By contrast, unbelief is:
Romans 10:17 says:
> *“So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”*
The centurion had heard enough about Jesus to conclude:
That is faith.
### G. “Many will come from the east and the west…” – A warning and a promise
Jesus uses this encounter to teach about the Kingdom:
> *“Many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven…”* (Matthew 8:11)
This speaks of:
But then the warning:
> *“But the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”* (v. 12)
Religious familiarity without faith leads to judgment. Privilege without response leads to exclusion.
Today, many in “Christian” cultures assume they are safe because of tradition, upbringing, or church attendance. But Jesus measures by faith—specifically, faith that acknowledges His authority and obeys His word.
### H. “Let it be done for you as you have believed” – The measure of faith
Finally:
> *“Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.’ His servant was healed in that hour.”* (Matthew 8:13)
Notice:
This concords with other statements of Jesus:
This is both encouraging and challenging.
It confronts us with the responsibility to:
---
We must not leave this passage as mere information. It demands a response. How do we walk in the pattern of the centurion’s faith?
### 1. Acknowledge Jesus’ absolute authority
First, we must come to Jesus as Lord in truth, not just in language.
This means:
A practical step:
Faith grows as we align our confession with God’s reality.
### 2. Place yourself under authority to exercise authority
Second, we must embrace the principle the centurion understood: only those under authority can effectively exercise authority.
Spiritually, this means:
Many believers attempt to use authority over sickness, demons, or circumstances, while living in rebellion or independence. This undermines their effectiveness.
Ask yourself:
Repentance and alignment bring authority.
### 3. Rely on the Word, not on sight or sensation
Third, we must learn to say with the centurion: *“Just say the word.”*
This means:
Romans 4 describes Abraham:
> *“He did not waver through unbelief at the promise of God, but was strengthened through faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what he had promised, he was also able to perform.”* (Romans 4:20–21)
A practical discipline:
### 4. Exercise your delegated authority in Christ
Fourth, we must actively use the authority given to us in Jesus’ name.
Jesus said:
This includes:
We do not command God. We do not speak out of our own will. We enforce His revealed will, in submission to Him, by proclamation.
For example:
When spoken from a life under authority and grounded in Scripture, such words carry weight in the spiritual realm.
---
### Proclamation (to speak aloud)
“I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord over my life, my body, my mind, my home, and my future.
He has all authority in heaven and on earth, and I am under His authority.
Like the centurion, I choose to trust in the authority of His Word.
I do not rely on what I see or feel, but on what God has spoken.
Jesus has taken my infirmities and borne my diseases.
He has given me authority in His name over all the power of the enemy.
Therefore, I submit myself to God and resist the devil, and he must flee from me.
I align my words with God’s Word, and I say:
‘Lord, just say the word, and it shall be done.’
According to His word, it is done for me as I have believed.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
### Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ,
I acknowledge You as Lord of all and Lord of my life.
Forgive me for every area where I have doubted Your word, resisted Your authority, or relied on my own understanding.
Today I place myself under Your authority afresh.
Bring my thoughts, my desires, and my decisions into alignment with Your will.
Teach me to value Your word above every feeling, above every report, above every circumstance.
Give me the faith of the centurion—faith that recognizes Your authority and rests in Your word alone.
Where there is paralysis in my life—spiritual, emotional, or physical—speak Your word of healing and restoration.
Enable me, by Your Spirit, to exercise the authority You have given me over the works of darkness.
Let it be done in my life, my family, and my circumstances according to Your word, and as I have believed in You.
I ask this in Your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.”
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