Matthew 8:10-13

Ver 10. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of Heaven. 12. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13. And Jesus said unto the centurion, "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

Chrys.: As what the leper had affirmed concerning Christ's power, "If thou will, thou canst cleanse me," was confirmed by the mouth of Christ, saying, "I will, be thou clean;" so here He did not blame the centurion for bearing testimony to Christ's authority, but even commended him. Nay more; it is something greater than commendation that the Evangelist signifies in the words, "But Jesus hearing marvelled."

Pseudo-Origen, Hom. in Div. 5: Observe how great and what that is at which God the Only-begotten marvels. Gold, riches, principalities, are in His sight as the shadow or the flower that fadeth; in the sight of God none of these things is wonderful, as though it were great or precious, but faith only; this He wonders at, and pays honour to, this He esteems acceptable to Himself.

Aug., super Gen. c. Man. i. 8: But who was He that had created this faith in him, but only He who now marvelled at it? But even had it come from any other, how should He marvel who know all things future? When the Lords marvels, it is only to teach us what we ought to wonder at; for all these emotions in Him are not signs of passion, but examples of a teacher.

Chrys.: Wherefore He is said to have thus wondered in the presence of all the people, giving them an example that they also should wonder at Him; for it follows, "And he said to them that followed, I have not found so great faith in Israel."

Aug., cont. Faust. xxii, 74: He praises his faith, but gives no command to quit his profession of a soldier.

Jerome: This He speaks of the present generation, not of all the Patriarchs and Prophets of past ages.

Pseudo-Chrys.: Andrew believed, but it was after John had said, "Behold the Lamb of God;" [John 1:36] Peter believed, but it was by reading the Scriptures; and Nathanael first received a proof of His Divinity, and then spoke forth his confession of faith.

Pseudo-Origen: Jairus, a prince in Israel, making request for his daughter, said not, 'Speak the word,' but, 'Come quickly.' Nicodemus, hearing of the sacrament of faith, asks, "How can these things be?" [John 3:9] Mary and Martha say, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died;" [John 11:21] as though distrusting that God's power could be in all places at the same time.

Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, if we would suppose [ed. note: The text of Pseudo-Chrys has 'si non sumus ausi putare.'] that his faith was greater than even that of the Apostles, Christ's testimony to it must be understood as though every good in a man should be commended relatively to his character; as it were a great thing in a countryman to speak with wisdom, but in a philosopher the same would be nothing wonderful. In this way it may be said of the centurion, In none other have I found so great faith in Israel.

Chrys.: For it is a different thing for a Jew to believe and for a Gentile.

Jerome: Or perhaps in the person of the centurion the faith of the Gentiles is preferred to that of Israel; whence He proceeds, "But I say unto you, Many shall come from the east and from the west."

Aug., Serm., 62, 4: He says, not 'all,' but many; yet these from the east and west; for by these two quarters the whole world is intended.

Haymo: Or; From the east shall come they, who pass into the kingdom as soon as they are enlightened; from the west they who have suffered persecution for the faith even unto death.

Or, he comes from the east who has served God from a child; he from the west who in decrepit age has turned to God.

Pseudo-Origen: How then does He say in another place, that "the chosen are few?" Because in each generation there are few that are chosen, but when all are gathered together in the day of visitation they shall be found many. "They shall sit down," not the bodily posture, but the spiritual rest, not with human food, but with an eternal feast, "with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven," where is light, joy, glory, and eternal length of days.

Jerome: Because the God of Abraham, the Maker of heaven, is the Father of Christ, therefore also is Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, and with him will sit down the nations who have believed in Christ the Son of the Creator.

Aug.: As we see Christians called to the heavenly feast, where is the bread of righteousness, the drink of wisdom; so we see the Jews in reprobation. "The children of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness," that is, the Jews, who have received the Law, who observe the types of all things that were to be, yet did not acknowledge the realities when present.

Jerome: Or the Jews may be called "the children of the kingdom," because God reigned among them heretofore.

Chrys.: Or, He calls them "the children of the kingdom," because the kingdom was prepared for them, which was the greater grief to them.

Aug., cont. Faust., xvi. 24: Moses set before the people of Israel no other God than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Christ sets forth the very same God. So that so far was He from seeking to turn that people away from their own God, that He therefore threatened them with the outer darkness, because He saw them turned away from their own God. And in this kingdom He tells them the Gentiles shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for no other reason than that they held the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To these Fathers Christ gives His testimony, not as though they had been converted after death, or had received justification after His passion.

Jerome: It is called, "outer darkness," because he whom the Lord casts out leaves the light.

Haymo: What they should suffer there, He shews when He adds, "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Thus in metaphor He describes the sufferings of the tormented limbs; the eyes shed tears when filled with smoke, and the teeth chatter together from cold. This shews that the wicked in hell shall endure both extreme cold and extreme heat: according to that in Job, "They shall pass from rivers of snow to the scorching heat." [Job 24:19]

Jerome: Weeping and gnashing of teeth are a proof of bones and body; truly then is there a resurrection of the same limbs, that sank into the grave.

Rabanus: Or; The gnashing of teeth expresses the passion of remorse; repentance coming too late and self-accusation that he had sinned with such obstinate wickedness.

Remig.: Otherwise; By "other darkness," He means foreign nations; for these words of the Lord are a historical prediction of the destruction of the Jews, that they were to be led into captivity for their unbelief, and to be scattered over the earth; for tears are usually caused by heat, gnashing of teeth by cold. "Weeping" then is ascribed to those who should be dispersed into the warmer climates of India and Ethiopia, "gnashing of teeth" to those who should dwell in the colder regions, as Hyrcania and Scythia.

Chrys.: But that none might suppose that these were nothing more than fair words, He makes them credible by the miracles following, "And Jesus said to the centurion, Go, and be it done to thee as thou hast believed."

Rabanus: As though He had said, According to the measure of thy faith, so be thy grace. For the merit of the Lord may be communicated even to servants not only through the merit of their faith, but through their obedience to rule. It follows, "And his servant was healed in the self-same hour."

Chrys.: Wherein admire the speediness, shewing Christ's power, not only to heal, but to do it in a moment of time.

Aug., Serm., 62. 3: As the Lord did not enter the centurion's house with His body, but healed the servant, present in majesty, but absent in body; so He went among the Jews only in the body, but among other nations He was neither born of a Virgin, nor suffered, nor endured human sufferings, nor did divine wonders; and yet was fulfilled that which was spoken, "A people that I have not known hath served me, and hath obeyed me by the hearing of the ear." [Psalms 18:43] The Jews behold, yet crucified Him; the world heard, and believed.