Matthew 8:10

Seest thou how each of them that bore witness of His authority is marvelled at? "And the multitudes were astonished at His doctrine, because He taught as one having authority;" and so far from blaming them, He both took them with Him when He came down, and by His words of cleansing to the leper, confirmed their judgment. Again, that leper said, "If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean;" and so far from rebuking, He on the contrary cleansed him by such treatment as He had said. Again, this centurion saith, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed:" and "marvelling" at him, He said, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Now, to convince thee of this by the opposite also; Martha having said nothing of this sort, but on the contrary, "Whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, He will give Thee;" so far from being praised, although an acquaintance, and dear to Him, and one of them that had shown great zeal toward Him, she was rather rebuked and corrected by Him, as not having spoken well; in that He said to her, "Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" blaming her, as though she did not even yet believe. And again, because she had said, "Whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, He will give Thee;" to lead her away from such a surmise, and to teach her that He needs not to receive from another, but is Himself the fountain of all good things, He saith, "I am the resurrection and the life;" that is to say, "I wait not to receive active power, but work all of myself." Wherefore at the centurion He both marvels, and prefers him to all the people, and honors him with the gift of the kingdom, and provokes the rest to the same zeal. And to show thee that for this end He so spake, viz. for the instructing of the rest to believe in like manner, listen to the exactness of the evangelist, how he hath intimated it. […]

"The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, …

(Hom. in Div. 5.) Observe how great and what that is at which God the Only-begotten marvels! Gold, riches, principalities, are in His sight as the shadow or the flower that fadeth; in the sight of God none of these things is wonderful, as though it were great or precious, but faith only; this He wonders at, and pays honour to, this He esteems acceptable to Himself. (ubi sup.) Jairus a prince in Israel, making request for his daughter, said not, 'speak the word,' but, 'Come quickly.' Nicodemus, hearing of the sacrament of faith, asks, How can these things be? (John 3:9.) Mary and Martha say, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died; (John 11:21.) as though distrusting that God's power could be in all places at the same time.

When Jesus heard him, he marveled... Here he touches on Christ's kindness. But how can he say, he marveled? For marveling finds no place in God, because it arises from ignorance of a cause, which cannot occur in God. But it is also due to …

Verily, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. Now this speaks, First, Honour to the centurion; who, though not a son of Abraham's loins, was an heir of Abraham's faith, and Christ found it so. Note, The thing that Christ seeks is faith, and wherever it is, he finds it, though but as a grain of mustard-seed.

You remember that we commenced this morning's sermon by observing that Jesus is not reported to have marvelled either at the gigantic architecture of the Temple, or at the wonderful discipline of the Roman army, or at the profound knowledge of the rabbis. He only wondered twice, according to the record, and on both of those occasions he marvelled concerning faith—once at the absence of it, and once at its presence. In the case which we spoke of this morning, He marvelled at the unbelief of His fellow townsmen.

The eighth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel is full of our Lord’s miracles: no less than five are specially recorded. There is beautiful fitness in this. It was fitting that the greatest sermon ever preached should be immediately followed by mighty proofs that the preacher was the Son of God. Those who heard the Sermon on the Mount would be obliged to confess that as “none spake such words as this man,” so also no one did such works.

The eighth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel is full of our Lord’s miracles: no less than five are specially recorded. There is beautiful fitness in this. It was fitting that the greatest sermon ever preached should be immediately followed by mighty proofs that the preacher was the Son of God. Those who heard the Sermon on the Mount would be obliged to confess that as “none spake such words as this man,” so also no one did such works. The verses we have now read contain three great miracles: a leper is healed with a touch, a palsied person is made well by a word, a woman sick with a fever is restored in a moment to health and strength. On the face of these three miracles we may read three striking lessons. Let us examine them and lay them to heart. Let us learn for one thing how great is the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Leprosy is the most fearful disease by which man’s body can be afflicted. He that has it is like one dead person while he lives; it is a complaint regarded by physicians as incurable (see 2 Kings 5:7 ). Yet Jesus says, “Be thou clean!” and immediately the leprosy was cleansed.” To heal a person of the palsy without even seeing him, by only speaking a word, is to do that which our minds cannot even conceive: yet Jesus commands, and at once it is done. To give a woman prostrate with a fever, not merely relief, but strength to do work in an instant, would baffle the skill of all the physicians on earth: yet Jesus “touched” Peter’s wife’s mother and “she arose and ministered unto them. These are the doings of one that is almighty. There is no escape from the conclusion. This was “the finger of God” ( Exodus 8:19 ). Behold here a broad foundation for the faith of a Christian.

You remember that we commenced this morning's sermon by observing that Jesus is not reported to have marvelled either at the gigantic architecture of the Temple, or at the wonderful discipline of the Roman army, or at the profound knowledge of the rabbis. He only wondered twice, according to the record, and on both of those occasions he marvelled concerning faith—once at the absence of it, and once at its presence. In the case which we spoke of this morning, He marvelled at the unbelief of His fellow townsmen. In the narrative before us, He marvelled at the faith of the centurion. From this we learn that we ought not to be so engrossed with the wonders of science and of art, or even with the wonders of creation and of Providence, as to become indifferent to the marvels of Divine Grace. These should occupy the very highest place in our estimation. The seven wonders of the world are nothing when compared with the countless wonders of Grace. That man must be foolish who does not admire the works of God in Nature. He is frivolous who does not trace with awe the hand of God in history. And he is even more unwise who despises the masterpieces of Divine skill and wisdom which are to be seen in the empire of Divine Grace. In the kingdom of God the wise man only wonders once in his life, but that is always—fools think not so, but they are void of understanding. The museum of Grace is richer than that of Nature. A heart broken on account of sin is a far greater wonder than the rarest fossil, whatever it may tell of ancient floods of the sea or convulsions of the land. An eye that glistens with the tears of penitence is a greater marvel than the falls of Niagara, or the fountains of the Nile.

I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel - That is, I have not found so great an instance of confidence and faith in my power, even among the Jews, as this Roman, a Gentile, has shown himself to possess.

When Jesus heard it, he marveled - He wondered at it, or he deemed it remarkable. I have not found so great faith - The word “faith,” here, means “confidence” or belief that Christ had power to heal his servant. It does not of “necessity” imply that he had saving faith; though, from the connection and the spirit manifested, it seems probable that he had. If this was so, then he was the first Gentile convert to Christianity, and was a very early illustration of what was more clearly revealed afterward - that the pagan were to be brought to the knowledge of the truth. Not in Israel - Israel was a name given to “Jacob” Gen 32:28-29, because, as a prince, he had power with God; because he persevered in wrestling with the angel that met him, and obtained the blessing. The name is derived from two Hebrew words signifying “Prince” and “God.” He was one of the patriarchs, a progenitor of the Jewish nation; and the names “Israel and Israelites” were given to them, as the name Romans to the Roman people was in honor of Romulus, and the name “American” to this continent from “Americus Vespuccius.” The name Israel was given to the whole nation until the time of Jeroboam, when only the ten tribes that revolted received the name, probably because they were a majority of the nation. After the captivity of Babylon it was given to all the Jews indiscriminately. See Mat 10:6; Act 7:42; Heb 8:8; Mar 15:32. It here means, “I have not found such an instance of “confidence” among the Jews.”

Notice this, that there is one thing certain, there is no such thing as seeking without finding. He that seeketh findeth.