Matthew 8:5

THE CENTURION'S FAITH. -- Matthew 8:5-13.

GOLDEN TEXT. --. have not found so great faith, no not in Israel. -- Matthew 8:10. TIME. --A. D. 28. PLACE. --Capernaum. HELPFUL READINGS. -- Matthew 8:1-4; Luke 7:1-10; Hebrews 11:1-10; John 4:47-53; Luke 13:24-30. LESSON ANALYSIS. --1. The Centurion's Prayer; 2. The Centurion's Faith; 3. Gentiles and Children of the Kingdom.

INTRODUCTION.

The healing of the centurion's servant almost certainly followed close upon the Sermon on the Mount. At the close of the Sermon the Lord returned to Capernaum, and as he entered that city the messengers sent by the centurion met him on the way and importuned his help. It will be found by consulting the parallel account, recorded in Luke 7:1-10, that some of the details are omitted in Matthew's more condensed narration. The centurion did not make his appeal in person, but sent those whom he, not knowing that the Lord was entirely free from Jewish narrowness, supposed would be more likely to be heard than. Gentile. The Jewish elders plead that the centurion is worthy, "loves our nation and has built us. synagogue." This Gentile officer, like Cornelius, seems to have outgrown paganism, and to have been. "devout man,". believer in Jehovah, but not. circumcised proselyte. In the ruins of Tel-Hum, identified as those of Capernaum, are found the remains of. synagogue, probably the very structure that he erected, and the one in which the Savior delivered the wonderful discourse on the bread of life found in John, chap. 6.

This centurion, whose name is unknown, is one of the three named in the New Testament who indicated belief in Christ, the second and third being the one at the cross, and Cornelius.. fourth, Julius, is spoken of in very favorable terms, and there is. tradition that he became. Christian. There is. peculiar significance in this incident, following so close upon the Sermon on the Mount. In that sermon the fundamental principles of the kingdom soon to be inaugurated were developed. His hearers supposed that the benefits of the kingdom were to be confined to the Jewish race; but almost immediately. Gentile officer is commended for exhibiting. faith surpassing anything the Lord had found in Israel, and he declares that "Many shall come from the east and the west (Gentiles from afar) and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven," while the children of the kingdom (Jews) shall be cast into outer darkness."

I. THE CENTURION'S PRAYER.

5. When Jesus was entered into Capernaum.

Capernaum, hallowed in its associations because Christ made it his center during his Galilean ministry ("his own city"), was located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Its site is identified by archæologists in the ruins of Tel-Hum. It is remarkable that three cities, Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin, upon which the Lord pronounced woes because they had neglected their splendid opportunities, have been extinct for many ages, while other cities of Judea and Galilee have continued to exist.

There came unto him. centurion.

The centurion was. Roman military officer, corresponding to our captain of. company. The Roman legion contained ten cohorts (regiments), each with six centuries (companies) making sixty in the legion. These, if filled to the maximum, contained. hundred men each, and hence the company was called. century from centum,. hundred, and its captain. centurion, or commander of. hundred men. All Palestine was under Roman military government at this time, with headquarters at Cæsarea, and from. century to. cohort in every leading town. This centurion probably commanded the company stationed at Capernaum. He was, of course,. Gentile instead of. Jew. As we learn from Luke 7:3, he came to Jesus, not in person, but by Jewish elders, whom he supposed would have more influence with the Lord.