(5) In St. Luke the narrative follows immediately upon the Sermon on the Plain; in St. Matthew (the healing of the leper intervening), upon the Sermon on the Mount. The juxtaposition in both cases seems to imply a connection between the teaching and the act that had fixed itself on men's minds. The act was, indeed, chiefly memorable for the teaching to which it led. A comparison of the two narratives suggests the thought that St. Matthew records the miracle more with reference to the associated teaching, St. Luke after more close inquiry into the details and circumstances. Here, e.g., the centurion is said to have come to our Lord himself; but from St. Luke's report we learn that he never came at all in person, but sent first the elders of the Jews, and then his friends.

A centurion.--The presence of a centurion (a word originally meaning the commander of a hundred soldiers, out, like most words of the kind, afterwards used with a greater latitude of meaning) implied that of a garrison stationed at Capernaum to preserve order. So we find a centurion with his soldiers at Caesarea (Acts 10:1). At Jerusalem, it would appear, it was thought necessary to station a Chiliarch, or "chief captain" of a thousand soldiers (Acts 21:31); and the same word meets us as connected with the birthday feast of the Tetrarch Antipas (Mark 6:21).

Here, as in the case of Cornelius, the faith and the life of Judaism (seen, we may well believe, to more advantage in the villages of Galilee than amid the factions of Jerusalem) had made a deep impression on the soldier's mind. He found a purity, reverence, simplicity, and nobleness of life which he had not found elsewhere; and so he "loved the nation" (Luke 7:5), and built anew the synagogue of the town. It is probable, as has been already said, that among the ruins of Tell-H-m, identified as Capernaum, we have the remains of the very fabric thus erected. And he, in like manner, had made a favourable impression upon the Jews of that city. They felt his love for them, were ready to go on his errand, to support his prayer with all earnestness, to attest his worth. To one whose work had been, like that of St. Luke, to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, all these incidents would be precious, as early tokens of that breaking-down of barriers, that brotherhood of mankind in Christ, of which the Apostle who was his companion was the great preacher.

Verses 5-13. - The healing of the centurion's servant. (Vers. 5-10; parallel passage Luke 7:1-3, 6-10. Vers. 11, 12, equivalent to Luke 13:28, 29.) According to St. Luke, the centurion sent first elders of the Jews to plead for him, and afterwards friends, and expressly said by them that he did not think himself worthy to come to Jesus. Their return in ver. 10 seems to forbid the supposition that he eventually came. This detailed narrative seems more likely than St. Matthew's, which is not only compressed, but, if taken by itself, gives a wrong idea of what appears to have actually taken place. But quod tacit per alium facit per se, and as Trench points out, this is "an exchange of persons, of which all historical narrative and all the language of our common life is full. A comparison of Mark 10:35 with ch. 20:20 will furnish another example of the same." The fact is that St. Matthew (or, perhaps, the original framer of the source that he used, or those through whose hands it passed) seizes on the Gentilic origin of the centurion, without troubling himself to record his previous kind and generous attitude towards the Jews, and the interest that they now show on his behalf. This led to the omission of the second group of messengers also, and, of course, to the modification of the language where necessary, e.g. ver. 13. For the same reason, St. Matthew records vers. 11, 12 in this place. For the contrast between this and the superficially similar miracle recorded in John 4:46, sqq., cf. Trench on that miracle. Verse 5. - And when Jesus (Revised Version, he) was entered into Capernaum. (On Capernaum, see Matthew 4:13.) There came unto him; i.e. by messengers, as we learn from St. Luke (vide supra). A centurion, beseeching him. The centurion probably belonged to the soldiers of Antipas, in whose district Capernaum lay. They would naturally be organized after the Roman manner; of the forces of the Indian native states and our own. It should be observed, by the way, that even the imperial troops stationed in Palestine were drawn, not from distant lands, but from the non-Jewish inhabitants of the country, perhaps especially from Samaritans (vide Schurer, I. 2. p. 50).

Parallel Commentaries ...


When
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

[Jesus]
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

had entered
Εἰσελθόντος (Eiselthontos)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 1525: To go in, come in, enter. From eis and erchomai; to enter.

Capernaum,
Καφαρναοὺμ (Kapharnaoum)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2584: Capernaum, a town of Galilee. Of Hebrew origin; Capernaum, a place in Palestine.

a centurion
ἑκατόνταρχος (hekatontarchos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1543: A centurion of the Roman army. Or hekatontarchos hek-at-on'-tar-khos; from hekaton and archo; the captain of one hundred men.

came
προσῆλθεν (prosēlthen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4334: From pros and erchomai; to approach, i.e. come near, visit, or worship, assent to.

[and] pleaded
παρακαλῶν (parakalōn)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3870: From para and kaleo; to call near, i.e. Invite, invoke.

with Him,
αὐτὸν (auton)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.


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NT Gospels: Matthew 8:5 When he came into Capernaum a centurion (Matt. Mat Mt)