Verses 1-10 “1Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
2And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
3And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
4And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
5For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
6Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
7Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
8For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
9When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
10And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.”
There are several indications that the centurion was a saved man, an Old Testament Saint, a Gentile God-fearer, who had looked for the Messiah, and that now that Jesus had come he had embraced Him as the fulfillment of Israel’s hope. First is the fact that he, though a man of power and authority, held a lowly servant as dear and valuable. Truly saved people tend to look upon their fellow human beings as having intrinsic worth because they were made in the image of God, people for whom Jesus died. Second, the centurion’s friends (the elders) thought that he was worthy, but the centurion did not think so. He said in his message to Jesus, “neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee.” A saved person tends to humble himself before the Lord, and the more the saint knows about God’s holiness the more humble he becomes. Thirdly, the most important indicator of the centurion’s salvation are the words of Jesus when He said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Can a person have so great a faith in Jesus for his daily needs of life and not have saving faith? It is doubtful.
The important lesson for us in this passage is that Jesus does not have to be physically present in order to bless us and answer our prayers. From His seat on the right hand of God the Father, He hears our prayers and is able to act on our behalf by “long distance.”