Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
This centurion had greater faith than those in Israel. They all understood that Jesus was a healer. But they were happy to receive him under their roofs. They did not recognize what a privilege it was to have Jesus among them in the way that the centurion did. Seeing things from a more removed perspective appeared to allow the centurion to have a clearer view. Within the history of Israel there had been healers and prophets who were not entirely different from Jesus, and others had been known to misunderstand him as one more like them. But this centurion was able to recognize and appreciate the newness and uniqueness of Jesus. Those in Israel might expect Jesus to come into their homes or to receive them where he was as though it was his job. But the centurion recognized that in the case of Jesus he should take nothing for granted. He was accustomed to a scale of authority and honor in his own Roman society and somehow sensed that, although Jesus appeared to be common and poor, he was nevertheless deserving of all the honor the centurion could show, including the title 'Lord'.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
The centurion probably had no way to realize that Jesus came, not because of the worthiness of those to whom he came, but rather because of his mercy. It was likely therefore not anything lacking in the faith of the centurion, but rather a revelation he had not been given. Without that gap being bridged from the other side, it was appropriate for holy fear to make him respond as he did. But his faith in Jesus still allowed him to believe that Jesus could heal his servant, and moreover, that he was likely to do it if asked. He got more than he planned when Jesus said he would come and heal the servant in person. He felt unready to receive such a guest. Better not to presume on their mercy of God than to take it for granted. Fortunately, his faith in Jesus was such that it did not require Jesus to actually be present to accomplish the miracle he sought.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
Those with lesser faith required that Jesus accommodate himself more to their expectations. They had a form in their imagination to which his miracles would need to conform for them if they were to believe. But the centurion presumed no ritual or routine, no specific words or phrases, or even the physical presence or proximity of the healer. He realized that there was nothing specific about the setup that was essential to the result, that the only thing that mattered was the authority of Jesus himself.
And Jesus said to the centurion,
"You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you."
And at that very hour his servant was healed.
It seemed that because the centurion didn't bring any baggage of expectation, Jesus had more time to engage with others who also needed him. In one way our own expectations can't limit Jesus, since his presence is sufficiently available for all people everywhere. But our expectations can limit his ability to work in us, which can in turn limit his ability to work through us. If we're waiting for healing to come, but will only recognize it if it meets our preconceptions, we may be unknowingly resisting the healing he is actually trying to accomplish. This will keep us in the symbolically similar condition to the mother-in-law of Peter while she had a fever. But if we learn to welcome the healing mercy of Jesus we too can rise and wait on him, doing whatever we can too help his Kingdom mission.
When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:
He took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
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