Centurions were Roman military officers each of whom controlled100 men, therefore the name "centurion." They were the military backbone of the Roman Empire. Interestingly every reference to a centurion in the New Testament is a positive one. These centurions were, according to the biblical record, fair-minded men whom the Jews respected. Capernaum was an important garrison town in Jesus" day. Probably most of the soldiers under this centurion"s command were Phoenician and Syrian Gentiles. [1][source]
Context Summary
Matthew 8:1-10 - Rewards Of Faith
The Lord can touch thy heart, leprous with impurity, and make its stain depart, so that, as in the case of Naaman, its foulness shall become like "unto the flesh of a little child." See 2 Kings 5:14. The psalmist cried, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean," alluding to the rite for the cleansing of the leper. Compare Psalms 51:7; Leviticus 14:4, etc. But one touch of Christ's hand is enough, for He is the great High Priest.
He also can heal the paralysis which has limited thy service and pinned thee down in helplessness. As the centurion recognized, because Christ was obedient to the Father's law He was able to wield the Father's power. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the death of the Cross; therefore God hath highly exalted Him, that He might send tides of living energy into the paralyzed will. The Apostle Paul testified, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." [source]
Chapter Summary: Matthew 8
1Jesus cleanses the leper; 5heals the centurion's servant, 14Peter's mother in law, 16and many others; 18shows the cost of following him; 23stills the storm on the sea; 28drives the demons out of two men possessed; 31and tells them to go into the pigs
Greek Commentary for Matthew 8:5
Unto him [αυτωι] Dative in spite of the genitive absolute εισελτοντος αυτου eiselthontos autou as in Matthew 8:1, a not infrequent Greek idiom, especially in the Koiné. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 8:5
Luke 7:1Had ended [εις τας ακοας του λαου] First aorist active indicative. There is here a reference to the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, but with nothing concerning the impression produced by the discourse such as is seen in Matthew 7:28. This verse really belongs as the conclusion of Chapter 6, not as the beginning of Chapter 7.In the ears of the people (Ακοη eis tas akoas tou laou). ακουω Akoē from akouō to hear, is used of the sense of hearing (1 Corinthians 12:17), the ear with which one hears (Mark 7:35; Hebrews 5:11), the thing heard or the report (Romans 10:16) or oral instruction (Galatians 3:2,Galatians 3:5). Both Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10 locate the healing of the centurion‘s servant in Capernaum where Jesus was after the Sermon on the Mount. [source]
Luke 7:2Centurion‘s servant [εκατονταρχου τινος δουλος] Slave of a certain centurion (Latin word centurio, commander of a century or hundred). Mark 15:39,Mark 15:44 has the Latin word in Greek letters, χεντυριο kenturiōn The centurion commanded a company which varied from fifty to a hundred. Each cohort had six centuries. Each legion had ten cohorts or bands (Acts 10:1). The centurions mentioned in the N.T. all seem to be fine men as Polybius states that the best men in the army had this position. See also Luke 23:47. The Greek has two forms of the word, both from κεντυριων hekaton hundred, and εκατον archō to rule, and they appear to be used interchangeably. So we have αρχω hekatontarchos here, the form is -εκατονταρχος archos and αρχος hekatontarchēs the form is -εκατονταρχης archēs in Luke 7:6. The manuscripts differ about it in almost every instance. The -αρχης archos form is accepted by Westcott and Hort only in the nominative save the genitive singular here in Luke 7:2 and the accusative singular in Acts 22:25. See like variation between them in Matthew 8:5,Matthew 8:8 (-αρχος archos) and Matthew 8:13 So also -αρχηι archon (Acts 22:25) and -αρχον archēs (Acts 22:26). [source]
Luke 7:3Sent unto him elders of the Jews [απεστειλεν προς αυτον πρεσβουτερους των Ιουδαιων] Matthew 8:5 says “the centurion came unto him.” For discussion of this famous case of apparent discrepancy see note on Matthew 8:7. One possible solution is that Luke tells the story as it happened with the details, whereas Matthew simply presents a summary statement without the details. What one does through another he does himself. [source]
Luke 7:4Besought [παρεκαλουν] Imperfect active, began and kept on beseeching. This is the same verb used by Matthew in Matthew 8:5 of the centurion himself. [source]
Acts 10:1Cornelius [Kornēlios)] The great Cornelian family of Rome may have had a freedman or descendant who is centurion See Matthew 8:5. These Roman centurions always appear in a favourable light in the N.T. (Matthew 8:5; Luke 7:2; Luke 23:47; Acts 10:1; Acts 22:25; Acts 27:3). Furneaux notes the contrasts between Joppa, the oldest town in Palestine, and Caesarea, built by Herod; the Galilean fisherman lodging with a tanner and the Roman officer in the seat of governmental authority. [source]
What do the individual words in Matthew 8:5 mean?
Having enterednowHeintoCapernaumcameto Hima centurionimploringHim
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: Καπερναούμ
Sense: a flourishing city of Galilee situated on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret, near the place where the Jordan flows into the lake.
Greek Commentary for Matthew 8:5
Dative in spite of the genitive absolute εισελτοντος αυτου eiselthontos autou as in Matthew 8:1, a not infrequent Greek idiom, especially in the Koiné. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 8:5
First aorist active indicative. There is here a reference to the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, but with nothing concerning the impression produced by the discourse such as is seen in Matthew 7:28. This verse really belongs as the conclusion of Chapter 6, not as the beginning of Chapter 7.In the ears of the people (Ακοη eis tas akoas tou laou). ακουω Akoē from akouō to hear, is used of the sense of hearing (1 Corinthians 12:17), the ear with which one hears (Mark 7:35; Hebrews 5:11), the thing heard or the report (Romans 10:16) or oral instruction (Galatians 3:2, Galatians 3:5). Both Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10 locate the healing of the centurion‘s servant in Capernaum where Jesus was after the Sermon on the Mount. [source]
ακουω Akoē from akouō to hear, is used of the sense of hearing (1 Corinthians 12:17), the ear with which one hears (Mark 7:35; Hebrews 5:11), the thing heard or the report (Romans 10:16) or oral instruction (Galatians 3:2, Galatians 3:5). Both Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10 locate the healing of the centurion‘s servant in Capernaum where Jesus was after the Sermon on the Mount. [source]
Slave of a certain centurion (Latin word centurio, commander of a century or hundred). Mark 15:39, Mark 15:44 has the Latin word in Greek letters, χεντυριο kenturiōn The centurion commanded a company which varied from fifty to a hundred. Each cohort had six centuries. Each legion had ten cohorts or bands (Acts 10:1). The centurions mentioned in the N.T. all seem to be fine men as Polybius states that the best men in the army had this position. See also Luke 23:47. The Greek has two forms of the word, both from κεντυριων hekaton hundred, and εκατον archō to rule, and they appear to be used interchangeably. So we have αρχω hekatontarchos here, the form is -εκατονταρχος archos and αρχος hekatontarchēs the form is -εκατονταρχης archēs in Luke 7:6. The manuscripts differ about it in almost every instance. The -αρχης archos form is accepted by Westcott and Hort only in the nominative save the genitive singular here in Luke 7:2 and the accusative singular in Acts 22:25. See like variation between them in Matthew 8:5, Matthew 8:8 (-αρχος archos) and Matthew 8:13 So also -αρχηι archon (Acts 22:25) and -αρχον archēs (Acts 22:26). [source]
Matthew 8:5 says “the centurion came unto him.” For discussion of this famous case of apparent discrepancy see note on Matthew 8:7. One possible solution is that Luke tells the story as it happened with the details, whereas Matthew simply presents a summary statement without the details. What one does through another he does himself. [source]
Imperfect active, began and kept on beseeching. This is the same verb used by Matthew in Matthew 8:5 of the centurion himself. [source]
The great Cornelian family of Rome may have had a freedman or descendant who is centurion See Matthew 8:5. These Roman centurions always appear in a favourable light in the N.T. (Matthew 8:5; Luke 7:2; Luke 23:47; Acts 10:1; Acts 22:25; Acts 27:3). Furneaux notes the contrasts between Joppa, the oldest town in Palestine, and Caesarea, built by Herod; the Galilean fisherman lodging with a tanner and the Roman officer in the seat of governmental authority. [source]