Why was Jesus so impressed by the centurion?
He had seen that Jesus himself was the
Asking Jesus to heal his servant signifies that the Centurion understood who had the ultimate authority. He accepted that his own authority had limitations. No matter how easy it can be to claim of how we can do almost everything, we have to admit that we cannot really do it all.
Amazed at the Lack of Faith
The first mention of Jesus' amazement was after a visit to his hometown found in Mark 6:5-6 which reads, He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
The centurion's confession tells us something eternally important: Jesus as the promised Messiah and Son of God is seen most clearly in His passion and death. How interesting that the Jewish religious establishment had mocked Him with the title (vv. 41-44) by which a Roman centurion now confessed Him.
Originally Roman centuries had one hundred men, the word Centurion meaning leader of a century. The Centurion was a Roman officer who made sure that orders from the top were followed by the 80-90 men below him.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.
Since the end of the first century, the beloved disciple has been commonly identified with John the Evangelist. Scholars have debated the authorship of Johannine literature (the Gospel of John, Epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation) since at least the third century, but especially since the Enlightenment.
Only two times does the Bible say Jesus was amazed. Once, he was amazed by a high level of belief (Matthew Ch 8) and once, he was amazed by a high level of unbelief (here). What does it take to leave Jesus amazed at our unbelief?
Have you noticed that Jesus was a man passionate about His mission? Jesus, as the Savior of humanity, took His role very seriously. He was neither passive nor weak, He put His whole heart into it, and He acted with great passion in all He did – when He healed, when He delivered, and when He taught.
Who was the centurion that killed Jesus?
Christian legend has it that Longinus was a blind Roman centurion who thrust the spear into Christ's side at the crucifixion.
The modern World English Bible translates the passage as: Now the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."
Biblical account
He is depicted in the New Testament as a God-fearing man who always prayed and was full of good works and deeds of alms.
Matthew 8:8
The centurion's faith is commendable because he had received the Word of God. In asking Christ to heal his servant by His word, he shows that he trusted God's Word. He believes that all that is necessary is for God's Word to be spoken for healing to occur in even the most desperate case.
As Jesus enters Capernaum in Matt 8:5-13 , a Roman officer known as a 'centurion' begs him to heal his servant. Jesus offers to go to his house, but the centurion says that he is unworthy, and that Jesus only has to give the order and the young man will be healed.
Some accounts have him leaving the life of a soldier and living as a monk. Some tell that he was martyred by Pilate for his confession of Jesus as the Son of God. Relics of St. Longinus rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and he is depicted in stained glass in the Basilica in several places.
In ancient Rome, a century was approximately equal to a company in the U.S. Army, and a centurion was roughly equivalent to a captain. Centurions play a role in the New Testament; Jesus performs a miracle for a centurion in Capernaum, centurions are present at the crucifixion, and in later years St.
He responds in amazement at the centurion's confidence that Jesus needn't actually come to his house to heal his slave: “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith” (7:9).
Centurions were promoted for being an exemplary soldier, expected to then become a strict commander of his subordinates, to be in the front leading their troops by example and helping the Century's coordination. In a Roman legion, centuries were grouped into cohorts and commanded by their senior-most centurion.
The healing of the Centurion's servant remains a powerful testament to the transformative power of faith and the boundless compassion of Jesus. It challenges us to examine our own faith, inviting us to approach God with humility, trust and the expectation that Jesus can and will reach into our lives.
What is the example the centurion used to explain Jesus authority?
The centurion goes on to recognize Jesus' authority, declaring that Jesus only has to say the word in order for his servant to be healed. “For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command.”
The centurion had enough faith in Jesus that he said Jesus only needed to say a word and his servant would be healed. Jesus then turned to the crowd following Him and said, “Never have I found such faith in all of Israel” (Matthew 8:10).
Instead, tradition, supported by references in Restoration scripture, 14 has identified John as being the anonymous “disciple whom Jesus loved” who was present at the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the empty tomb, and in Jesus's final Sea of Galilee appearance.
The Woman Jesus Loved – Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and Related Documents | Brill.
It is traditionally believed that John was the youngest of the apostles and survived all of them. He is said to have lived to old age, dying of natural causes at Ephesus sometime after AD 98, during the reign of Trajan, thus becoming the only apostle who did not die as a martyr.
