Matthew 8:7

‘And he says to him, “I will come and heal him.” '

The ‘I' is emphatic and we should probably translate as a question, ‘Shall I come and heal him?' (New Testament Greek had no way of indicating a positive question. It had to be gathered from the context or the tone of voice). This gives the emphatic ‘I' its full force. It may thus be intended as a deliberate attempt to discover what was in the centurion's mind. What does he really expect of a Jewish prophet? Has he really considered what he is asking? We can compare this with His treatment of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21. There also He was concerned that she recognise that she was dealing with the God of Israel. Or it may simply be a simple statement agreeing that He will indeed go, the emphasised ‘I' then being a hint that the centurion should recognise what a great privilege is his.