Luke 7:1-10 - Jesus Healing the Centurion’s Slave (2024)

Introduction

Luke 7:2-10, as does Matthew 8:5-13, records the instance of Jesus healing the servant of a centurion. This article will consider the account in Luke.

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The Text

Luke 7:2–10 (NASB 2020) reads:

¹ When He had completed all His teaching in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. ² Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. ³ When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; ⁵ for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.” ⁶ Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof; ⁷ for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just say the word, and my servant shall be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; 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.”

⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” ¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Discussion

Verses 1-2 set the stage for Jesus healing the centurion’s slave:

¹ When He had completed all His teaching in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. ² Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.

One description of Capernaum reads:

Capernaum. City of Galilee, mentioned only in the Gospels, which was the headquarters of much of Jesus’ ministry. It lay on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake of Gennesaret), but its site is unknown.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Capernaum. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 415). Baker Book House.

A brief description of a centurion is below:

CENTURION* Commander of 100 men in the Roman army. … The office of centurion was normally the highest one within reach of the ordinary soldier. Centurions often rose from the ranks because of their experience and knowledge. … A centurion had many duties besides maintaining discipline among the ranks. He had to oversee executions for capital offenses (Mt 27:54; Mk 15:39, 44–45; Lk 23:47). He was responsible for his troops at all times, whether they were Roman citizens or recruited mercenary soldiers. The position of centurion was prestigious and high-paying; those who reached that rank usually made a career of it.

Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 260). Tyndale House Publishers.

Hearing about Jesus, the Centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus asking for Him to heal the servant:

³ When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; ⁵ for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.”
See Also
The New Testament - Christianity Today Page 5634 – Christianity Today Page 5616 – Christianity Today

Possibly, the centurion thought that sending Jewish elders would have more sway over Jesus than himself, who was a Gentile. The Jewish elders made the centurion’s request known to Jesus. They also told Jesus about how much this centurion had done for the local Jewish community. No doubt, they thought what the centurion had done would make Jesus more favorably disposed towards healing the servant.

Verse 6a shows that Jesus did not waste any time in going to heal the servant:

^6a Now Jesus started on His way with them; …

Then something curious happened:

but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof; ⁷ for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

For Jesus who was looked upon a great Jewish teacher to go into a Gentile home would have offensive to the Jews. However, the Jewish elders were willing to make an exception.

The centurion wanted Jesus to know that he was a Gentile, and therefore, said:

say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

Most likely, this statement reflected the centurion’s understanding of Jesus’ absolute power to heal. Jesus did not have to touch someone to heal them.. All he had to do was say the word.

The centurion emphasized that he clearly understood the authority Jesus had over health issues:

⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; 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.”

After hearing that the Centurion appreciated Jesus’ authority for health issue, He was amazed:

⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”

The expression “was amazed” is the translation of the Greek verb thaumazō (lexical form) which means:

25.213 θαυμάζω: (derivative of θαῦμα^a ‘wonder, amazement,’ 25.212) to wonder or marvel at some event or object—‘to wonder, to be amazed, to marvel’ (whether the reaction is favorable or unfavorable depends on the context). ἐθαυμάσθη ὅλη ἡ γῆ ὀπίσω τοῦ θηρίου ‘the whole earth marveled and followed the beast’ Re 13:3; ὁ δὲ Μωϋσῆς ἰδὼν ἐθαύμαζεν τὸ ὅραμα ‘Moses was amazed by what he saw’ Ac 7:31.

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 311). United Bible Societies.

Notice that this is one of only two instances in the gospel where Jesus was amazed. While this instance reports Jesus’ response to faith, the is Mark 6:6 (NASB 2020), which reports Jesus’ response to unbelief:

⁶ And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.

There are two elements to the centurion’s faith. First, the centurion was humble. Second, the centurion knew that only Jesus had the absolute authority to heal and do what seemed impossible.

In fact, Jesus was so impressed that He turned to the crowd and said He had never found “such great faith” in all of Israel.

Jesus healed the servant:

¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

My Takeaways

In summary, my key takeaways are below.

First, in 1^st Century Palestine Jesus had the absolute authority to heal health-related conditions, and He still does today. It is appropriate to pray to Jesus for healing because He is the great Healer.

Right now, the resurrected ascended glorified Lord Jesus Christ is in heaven at the right hand of the Father. Acts 7:55–56 (NASB 2020) described what Stephen saw while being stoned to death:

⁵⁵ But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; ⁵⁶ and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Revelation 1:12–16 (NASB 2020) is John’s description of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ:

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

Jesus can speak the word for healing from heaven right now!

Second, the centurion interceded for his servant. Today, we can intercede for others about health issues.

Third, the centurion had treated the Jews very well, and thus, had the help of the Jewish elders. This seems to track the Old Testament teaching that God will bless those who bless Israel. Genesis 12:3 (NASB 2020) reads:

³ And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Fourth, the centurion was a Gentile who displayed humility and knowledge of the authority of Jesus to heal. Jesus appreciated the centurion’s humility and great faith. Today, we need to display those same attributes towards Jesus.

Fifth, Jesus used the great faith of the centurion as a contrast to the lack of faith in Israel. This is a contrast with eternal consequences. Faith results in salvation while unbelief results in condemnation.

Some guidance was provided by the Life Application Bible Commentary – Luke, (1994), Tyndale House Publishing, Inc, Wheaton, IL.

I hope you enjoyed reading this brief discussion of Jesus healing the centurion’s salve.

YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN, PLEASE READ GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION AND RESPOND ACCORDINGLY BY EXERCISING BIBLICAL SAVING FAITH

God’s Plan of Salvation

God Created the Universe including Male and Female and For A While, Everything was Right Between God and Humankind

In the beginning, God, who is holy (Ex. 15:11; Ps. 99:9; Is. 6:3; Hab 1:13) and perfect (De. 32:4; Ps. 18:30; Mt. 5:48), created the entire universe (Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:15-16). As a part of His creative actions, God made humans of two different biological genders ( male and female) in His image to know Him (Gen. 1:26-27, 31; Mat. 19:4-6). For a while, everything in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8) was right between God and our ancestors, Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:7-25).

Adam and Eve Sinned through Disobedience Resulting in a Separation between God and Humankind that Still Exists Today

But Satan deceived Eve (Gen. 3:1-5; 1 Tim. 2:13-14) causing Adam and Eve to sin by disobeying God (Gen. 3:6-7) resulting in the creation of a separation between God and humanity (Is. 59:2; 64:7; Hos. 5:6). Adam’s sin has been passed down to all of humanity (Rom. 5:17-19) so we are sinners at birth (Ps. 51:5). There is nothing we can do (e.g., go to church, read the Bible, give money, do good works, etc.) to bridge that gulf of separation (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5-7) caused by sin. Without God’s intervention, hell is our eternal destination (Rom. 6:23a; Heb. 2:1-4).

Through God’s Love He Provided the One and Only Way of Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah

Fortunately for us, in His great love and mercy (Rom. 5:6-8), God provided us with the one and only means of salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) by sending the Jewish Messiah in Abraham’s lineage (Mat. 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-28). The Jewish Messiah is Jesus Christ (Luke 19:10; 1 Tim. 1:15), God’s only unique Son (John 3:16-18). While retaining His deity (John 1:1-4, 14; Colossians 1:15; 2:9), God the Son became a man in Jesus (Heb. 2:17), lived a perfect life (Heb. 2:10; 5:9-10; 7:28), thereby fulfilling the Law (Mat. 5:17-18). Jesus died a substitutionary atoning death on the cross, taking on Himself the punishment for the sins of all people (Mat. 8:17; Is. 53:5; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18). Jesus rose from the dead (1 Thess. 4:14; 1 Pet. 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:3-4), showing that God the Father accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, thereby exhausting God’s wrath against humanity (Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).

God’s Universal Call to Sinners to Repent and Trust in Christ Alone and Thereby Be Saved to Eternal Life

God now calls on every unbeliever to repent of their sins and completely trust in Christ alone (Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30; 26:20; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Peter 3:8-9) that Jesus died for their sins (Romans 4:25) and rose to life from the dead (Rom. 10:9). Every unbeliever who repents and trusts in Jesus Christ alone (John 20:30-31; 1 John 5:1, 13) will be forgiven of all their past, present, and future sins (Ps. 103:12) and born again (John 3:5-8) as a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17 being indwelled by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16)), possessing guaranteed eternal life with God (John 6:37-40).

Your Exercise of Biblical Saving Faith – The “Sinner’s Prayer”

The time has come for you to exercise biblical saving faith or not. You are at the point where you need to call out like the Philippians jailer What must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30. Please pray from the bottom of your heart the “Sinner’s Prayer” meaning every word. If you do, you will be reconciled to God – saved - through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Lord, Jesus Christ, the only unique Son of God, thank You for Your free gift of eternal life. I know I’m a sinner who cannot save myself no matter what I do, and I deserve to spend eternity in hell. But, I know that because You loved me so much, You voluntarily died on the Cross for me taking my sins upon Yourself, and You physically bodily rose from the grave, showing that Your sacrificial death was sufficient payment to give me eternal life in Heaven. I now repent of my sins and completely trust alone in what You did for my eternal salvation through Your atoning death on the Cross and Your physical bodily resurrection. Please take control of my life as I now receive You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You so much for saving me. I am now Yours forever!

Now that You Are Saved

Upon your salvation, you must begin two basic practices. First, you must read the Bible daily. The Gospel of John is an excellent place to start reading. Also, you should learn how to study the Bible. Second, you must find a spiritually solid Bible-believing church that: (1) teaches that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, (2) believes in the doctrine of the Trinity, and (3) teaches that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and not by works of any kind.

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