Matthew 8:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

NIV: When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

NASB: Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following, 'Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.

CSB: Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those following him, "Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith.

NLT: When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, 'I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!

KJV: When 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.

NKJV: When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

What an amazing statement: Jesus marveled. God is certainly never surprised, but Jesus was both fully God and fully man. He shared the human capacity to be amazed—to be emotionally impacted by what He saw and heard. In this case, Jesus is amazed by the rock-solid faith of the Roman centurion. The centurion had just expressed his understanding that Jesus had absolute authority over the natural world. He could simply speak a command and it would be carried out over any distance, including the command for a paralyzed man to be healed (Matthew 8:5–9).

Did this centurion understand that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah long promised to Israel? We are not told so, but it is possible. He clearly put together the truth of Jesus' God-like authority based on what he had seen and heard of Jesus' miraculous healings. He had a need, and he believed Jesus could meet it. At the very least, the man was sincerely following what he saw to the logical conclusion.

Jesus turns to His followers, who were overwhelmingly Jewish, and says something that may have felt like a dagger in their hearts: that this Gentile was exhibiting more faith than anyone Jesus had interacted with in the nation of Israel. Christ will use this moment to show that the kingdom of heaven will include many people His followers may not expect; the kingdom will also exclude some of those they assume will be there.

Matthew 8:5–13 describes Jesus' response to the request of a Roman centurion in Capernaum. The Gentile officer has a servant who is paralyzed and suffering greatly. The centurion says that Jesus does not even need to come to his home, but that He can heal the man with a word. As a man with authority, this soldier recognizes Christ's right to command, even with respect to healing. Jesus applauds this faith, and notes that many Gentiles will be in the kingdom of heaven, along with the Jewish patriarchs. Not all Israelites will be included, however. Jesus tells the Roman officer his servant has been healed.

Matthew begins a series of stories revealing Jesus' authority over sickness, demons, and even the weather. Jesus heals a humble man with leprosy and great faith. He then heals the servant of a Roman centurion who understands that Jesus does not need to come to his home; He can just speak a word. Jesus praises the Gentile man's amazing faith. After healing many more, Jesus and the disciples get caught in a deadly storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus stops the storm with a word. Later, He casts demons out of two men and into a huge herd of pigs.

Matthew 8 follows the conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1–2). He turns to telling a series of dramatic stories to show Jesus' power and authority over every kind of disease, over demons, and even over the weather. Jesus also gives brief teachings about the hard road of following Him on earth. He calms a violent storm with a single command and casts demons from two violently possessed men. Matthew will focus mostly on miracles until shifting focus to Jesus' teachings and parables in chapter 11.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.