Matthew 8:5

The Faith of a Centurion

5 ¹When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,

Matthew 8:5 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 8:5

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum
Was returned from his journey through Galilee, to the place where he before dwelt, and is called his own city, ( Matthew 9:1 )

there came unto him a centurion,
a Roman officer, (ham rv) , "a commander of an hundred men", as the Hebrew Gospel by Munster reads it: though the number of men under a "centurion" was more, according to some accounts.

``A band (it is said ^F7) made two centuries, each of which consisted of an hundred and twenty eight soldiers; for a doubled century made a band, whose governor was called an ordinary "centurion".''

Such an one was Cornelius, a centurion of a band, ( Acts 10:1 ) . The other person that was healed was a Jew. The next instance of Christ's power and goodness is the servant of a Gentile; he came to do good both to Jews and Gentiles;

beseeching him,
not in person, but by his messengers; see ( Luke 7:3 ) and the Jews ^F8 say, (wtwmk Mda lv wxwlvv) , "that a man's messenger is as himself".

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 6. c. 13.
F8 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 34. 2.

Matthew 8:5 In-Context

3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

4 And Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them."

5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,

6 "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly."

7 And he said to him, "I will come and heal him."

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 5-13, see Luke 7:1-10