Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 8:5-9

"And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And he saith unto him, I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." — Matthew 8:5-9 (ASV)

Pseudo-Chrysostom: After teaching His disciples on the mount and healing the leper at the foot of the mount, the Lord came to Capernaum. This is a mystery, signifying that after the purification of the Jews, He went to the Gentiles.

Haymo of Halberstadt: For Capernaum, which is interpreted as "the town of abundance" or "the field of consolation," signifies the Church. Gathered from the Gentiles, the Church is filled with spiritual abundance, according to the verse, "That my soul may be filled with marrow and fatness" (Psalm 63:5). Amid the troubles of the world, it is comforted with heavenly things, as it is written, "Your consolations have delighted my soul" (Psalm 94:19). This is why it says, "When he had entered into Capernaum, the centurion came to him."

St. Augustine of Hippo: This centurion was a Gentile, for Judea already had soldiers from the Roman empire.¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: This centurion was the first-fruits of the Gentiles, and in comparison to his faith, all the faith of the Jews was unbelief. He did not hear Christ teach, nor did he see the leper who was cleansed. But just from hearing that the leper had been healed, he believed more than what he had heard. In this way, he mystically represented the Gentiles who were to come, who had neither read the Law nor the Prophets concerning Christ, nor had seen Christ Himself perform His miracles. He came to Him and pleaded, saying, "Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed and is suffering terribly."

Notice the goodness of the centurion, who was so anxious and in such a hurry for his servant's health, as if he would suffer a loss not of money, but of his own well-being, by the servant's death. He considered no difference between the servant and the master; their station in this world may be different, but their nature is the same.

Notice also his faith, in that he did not say, "Come and heal him," because he knew that Christ, who stood there, was present everywhere. And notice his wisdom, in that he did not say, "Heal him here on this spot," for he knew that the Lord was mighty to act, wise to understand, and merciful to listen. Therefore, he simply stated the sickness, leaving the healing to the Lord's merciful power. The phrase "and is suffering terribly" shows how much he loved him. For when someone we love is in pain or tormented, even if it is only slightly, we think they are suffering more than they really are.

Rabanus Maurus: He recounts all these things with grief—that he is "sick," that it is with "palsy," and that he is "suffering terribly" with it—in order to show the sorrow of his own heart and to move the Lord to have mercy. In the same way, everyone ought to feel for their servants and take care of them.

St. John Chrysostom: Some say that he says these things as an excuse for not bringing the sick man himself. For it was impossible to bring someone who was paralyzed, in great torment, and at the point of death. But I believe it is a sign of his great faith; since he knew that a word alone was enough to restore the sick man, he considered it unnecessary to bring him.²

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Spiritually interpreted, the Gentiles are the sick in this world, afflicted with the diseases of sin, with all their limbs completely weakened and unfit for the duties of standing and walking. The mystery of their salvation is fulfilled in this centurion's servant, who is clearly shown to be a leader of the Gentiles who would come to believe. What sort of leader this is, the song of Moses in Deuteronomy teaches: "He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the angels" (Deuteronomy 32:8).

Remigius of Auxerre: Or, the centurion represents those among the Gentiles who were the first to believe and were perfect in virtue. For a centurion is one who commands a hundred soldiers, and a hundred is a perfect number. Rightly, therefore, the centurion prays for his servant, because the first-fruits of the Gentiles prayed to God for the salvation of the whole Gentile world.

St. Jerome: The Lord, seeing the centurion's faith, humility, and thoughtfulness, immediately promises to go and heal him: "Jesus said to him, 'I will come and heal him.'"

St. John Chrysostom: Here Jesus does something He has never done before. He always follows the wish of the person asking, but here He anticipates it, not only promising to heal the servant but also to go to his house. He does this so that we may learn the worthiness of the centurion.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: If He had not said, "I will come and heal him," the centurion would never have answered, "I am not worthy." Christ promised to go because the request was for a servant, in order to teach us not to favor the great and overlook the humble, but to honor poor and rich alike.

St. Jerome: Just as we praise the centurion's faith in believing that the Savior could heal the paralytic, so we see his humility in professing himself unworthy for the Lord to come under his roof, as it follows: "And the centurion answered and said to him, 'Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof.'"

Rabanus Maurus: Conscious of his Gentile life, he thought he would be more burdened than benefited by this act of condescension from Him, with whose faith he was indeed filled, but with whose sacraments he was not yet initiated.

St. Augustine of Hippo: By declaring himself unworthy, he showed himself worthy for Christ, the Word of God, to enter—not into his house, but into his heart. He could not have said this with such faith and humility if he had not already carried in his heart the One he was hesitant to welcome into his house. And indeed, it would have been no great blessing for Jesus to enter his walls if He had not already entered his heart.

St. Peter Chrysologus: Mystically, his house was the body that contained his soul, which in turn holds the freedom of the mind through a heavenly vision. But God disdains neither to inhabit flesh nor to enter the "roof" of our body.³

Pseudo-Origen: And now also, when the leaders of the Church—holy men acceptable to God—enter your home, the Lord enters in them, and you should consider yourself as receiving the Lord. And when you eat and drink the Lord's Bodyⁱ, the Lord enters under your roof, and you should then humble yourself, saying, "Lord, I am not worthy." For where He enters unworthily, He enters for the condemnation of the one who receives Him.⁴

St. Jerome: The thoughtfulness of the centurion appears in this: that he saw the Divinity hidden beneath the covering of a body. Therefore, he adds, "But speak the word only, and my servant will be healed."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He knew that unseen angels stood by to minister to Him, who turn His every word into action. Indeed, even if angels were to fail, diseases are still healed by His life-giving command.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He also says that only a word was needed to heal his servant because the entire salvation of the Gentiles comes from faith, and the life of all of them is found in the Lord's commands.

Therefore, he continues, saying, "For I also am a man set under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He has here unfolded the mystery of the Father and the Son by the secret prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is as if he is saying, "Though I am under the command of another, I still have the power to command those who are under me. So also You, though under the command of the Father insofar as You are Man, still have power over the angels."

But Sabellius, seeking to prove that the Son is the same as the Father, might claim that it should be understood this way: "If I, who am set under authority, still have the power to command, how much more power do You have, who are under the authority of no one?" But the words do not support this interpretation. For he did not say, "If I, being a man under authority," but rather, "For I also am a man set under authority," clearly pointing to a resemblance between himself and Christ in this respect, not drawing a contrast.

St. Augustine of Hippo: If I, who am under command, still have the power to command others, how much more power do You have, whom all powers serve!

Glossa Ordinaria: You are able, without Your bodily presence, to say to this disease, "Go," and it will leave him; and to say to health, "Come," and it will come to him, all through the ministry of Your angels.⁵

Haymo of Halberstadt: Or, we may understand those who are set under the centurion to be the natural virtues, in which many of the Gentiles were strong, or even our good and bad thoughts. Let us say to the bad thoughts, "Depart," and they will depart; let us call the good thoughts, "Come," and they will come; and let us command our servant—that is, our body—to submit itself to the divine will.

St. Augustine of Hippo: What is said here seems to disagree with Luke's account: "When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant" (Luke 7:3). And again, "When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying, 'Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.'"⁶

St. John Chrysostom: Some say that these are two different events, an opinion which has much to support it. Of the centurion in Luke, it is said, "He loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue;" but of this one, Jesus says, "I have not found such great faith in Israel." From this, it might seem that the centurion in Luke's account was a Jew.

In my opinion, however, they are both the same person. Luke's account, which says he sent Jews to ask Jesus to come, reveals their friendly assistance. We can suppose that when the centurion wanted to go to Jesus himself, he was held back by the Jews, who offered to go in his place to bring Jesus to him. But as soon as he was free from their persistent requests, he then sent his own message, saying, "Do not think I failed to come out of disrespect, but because I considered myself unworthy to receive you in my house."

So when Matthew reports that the centurion spoke these words himself, not through friends, it does not contradict Luke's account. Both evangelists simply portrayed the centurion's deep concern and his correct understanding of Christ. We can suppose that he first sent this message through friends as Jesus approached, and then, when Jesus arrived, he repeated it himself. But even if they are relating different stories, they do not contradict each other but rather supplement one another.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Matthew, therefore, intended to summarize everything that passed between the centurion and the Lord—which was actually done through others—in order to praise his faith, just as the Lord said, "I have not found such great faith in Israel." Luke, on the other hand, narrated the entire event exactly as it happened, so that we would be forced to understand the sense in which Matthew, who could not be mistaken, meant that the centurion came to Christ himself—that is, he came figuratively, through faith.

St. John Chrysostom: Indeed, there is no necessary contradiction between Luke's statement that he had built a synagogue and the fact that he was not an Israelite. It was entirely possible for someone who was not a Jew to have built a synagogue and to love the Jewish nation.

1. Serm., 62, 4
2. Hom. xxvi
3. Serm. 102
4. Hom. in div. 5
5. ord.
6. De Cons. Evan., ii, 20