Matthew 8:5-13 The Centurion

And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under 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. " Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.  I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven;  but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment. [Matthew 8:5‭-‬13 NASB]

The Jews deeply detested Gentiles, and especially Romans, whom they saw as their oppressors. If a Jew saw another Jew lying injured by the side of the road, he would be compelled by law to help the fellow Jew, even at his own expense. If a Jew saw a gentile lying injured by the side of the road, he would be compelled by culture and tradition to leave him there.

Therefore, for Jesus to actually stop and talk to a Roman centurion was outrageous. For Him to offer to enter the centurion's home to heal a servant was a complete rebuttal of Jewish tradition. Even the centurion understood that a Jew did not enter the home of a Roman.

This tradition was so ingrained that it continued into the early church. It took three visions for God to convince Peter to enter into the home of Cornelius (a Gentile). Afterwards, he was condemned by his fellow apostles for the act. (See Acts chapters 10 and 11). Even though he was vindicated by the Holy Spirit, Peter lost his status as the leader of the Jerusalem church. (That position fell to James).

The centurion demonstrated great faith by coming to Jesus for help. It is doubtful that he worshiped the Hebrew God, much less that he had any kind of understanding of the Trinity. Nevertheless, he understood authority, and rightly discerned that Jesus was acting under an authority. At this point, even Jesus' disciples didn't understand the relationship between God the Father and God the Son, nor that Jesus willingly submitted Himself to the authority of His Father. But the centurion's faith allowed him to understand just enough, for he said, "I also am a man under authority...."

The principle here is that authority exists only where it has been given. If I walk up to a thief and say, "You are under arrest," he will laugh in my face and walk away. But if a police officer, who has been given authority, says to the thief, "You are under arrest," then the thief is compelled to go with the arresting officer.

Even though Jesus is God, "In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," [Colossians 2:9 NASB], He submitted Himself to the Father. "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." [Philippians 2:6-8 NASB]

Therefore He was able to pray, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”" [Matthew 26:39 NASB]

If I act of my own accord, it is meaningless. But if I am led by the Spirit of God, and act according to His will and authority, then I will have my reward in the kingdom of God.