Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 8:5

"And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him," — Matthew 8:5 (ASV)

Capernaum. See Barnes Matthew 4:13.

There came unto him a centurion. A centurion was a commander of a hundred men, in the Roman armies. Judea was a Roman province, and garrisons were kept there to preserve the people in subjection. This man was probably by birth a pagan. See Matthew 8:10.