Verses 5-13 “5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
The centurion, though he placed great value on Jesus’ presence, testified that Jesus’ word was as good as His presence. We do not have Jesus’ bodily presence today, but we do have His Word and His Holy Spirit. Because of God’s amazing grace, Jesus is able to save us from sin and do everything for us that we need, even though He is in heaven and we are on earth. Jesus assures this gentile centurion that many gentiles would be saved and will be in His kingdom, while many Jews will be lost. Indeed, the Jewish people as a nation were temporarily set aside because of unbelief, and the gentiles were grafted into God’s program of salvation and service (see Romans Chapter 11). This is grace! And when Jesus comes, the Jewish nation will be grafted back in again. This too is grace