Matthew 8:5-13
New American Standard Bible
The Centurion’s Faith
5 And (A)when [a]Jesus entered Capernaum, a [b]centurion came to Him, begging Him, 6 and saying, “[c]Lord, my [d]servant is lying (B)paralyzed at home, terribly tormented.” 7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “[e]Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just [f]say the word, and my [g]servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under (C)authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith [h]with anyone in Israel. 11 And I say to you that many (D)will come from east and west, and [i]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but (E)the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into (F)the outer darkness; in that place (G)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; [j]it shall be done for you (H)as you have believed.” And the [k]servant was healed at that very [l]moment.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 8:5 Lit He
- Matthew 8:5 I.e., a Roman military officer
- Matthew 8:6 Or Sir
- Matthew 8:6 Lit boy
- Matthew 8:8 Or Sir
- Matthew 8:8 Lit say with a word
- Matthew 8:8 Lit boy
- Matthew 8:10 One early ms not even in Israel
- Matthew 8:11 I.e., to dine
- Matthew 8:13 Or it is to be done; Gr imperative, i.e., a command
- Matthew 8:13 Lit boy
- Matthew 8:13 Lit hour
Matthew 8:5-13
The Message
5-6 As Jesus entered the village of Capernaum, a Roman captain came up in a panic and said, “Master, my servant is sick. He can’t walk. He’s in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus said, “I’ll come and heal him.”
8-9 “Oh, no,” said the captain. “I don’t want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. I’m a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10-12 Taken aback, Jesus said, “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works. This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”
13 Then Jesus turned to the captain and said, “Go. What you believed could happen has happened.” At that moment his servant became well.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson