Jesus healed them all (part 6): the healing of the centurion's servant

Matthew 8:5-13 (AMP)
⁵As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him, ⁶And saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed and distressed with intense pains. ⁷And Jesus said to him, I will come and restore him. ⁸But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured. ⁹For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it. ¹⁰When Jesus heard him, He marveled and said to those who followed Him who adhered steadfastly to Him, conforming to His example in living and, if need be, in dying also], I tell you truly, I have not found so much faith as this with anyone, even in Israel. ¹¹I tell you, many will come from east and west, and will sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, ¹²While the sons and heirs of the kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. ¹³Then to the centurion Jesus said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed. And the servant boy was restored to health at that very moment.

Luke 7:1-10 (New Living Translation)
¹ When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. ² At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. ³ When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. ⁴ So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, ⁵ “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

⁶ So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. ⁷ I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” ⁹ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” ¹⁰ And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

1. It is God's will to save and to heal, but not all are saved or healed. This does not change His will. Instead it demonstrates our free will to receive or not receive.
2. Jesus is the express or manifest will of God in action. He does only what His heavenly Father does. He said in verse 7: "I will come and restore him".
3. The centurion was a disciplined soldier who understood military hierarchy, authority and submission in the natural, and he applied it to the supernatural.
   
4. Just as his subordinates would obey his word when he commanded them, he believed that in the same way, sickness and disease would have to leave at the command of Jesus.
5. He was also an honourable man who had contributed to the building of a synagogue, to the extent the Jews spoke up for him.
6. His obedience was pleasing to the Lord, giving the Lord a legal right to bless him. Note that our obedience does not earn God's blessings.
7. The reason this man was commended for having great faith was that he did not ask for a sign to see or to feel. He did not go by his physical senses. He just asked for Jesus for His word and he believed. That is great faith.