Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew

² “But say in a word only, and my servant shall be healed.”

See this man also, how, like the leper, he has the right opinion touching Him. For neither did this one say, “entreat,” nor did he say, “pray, and beseech,” but “command only.” And then from fear lest out of modesty He refuse, he says,

“For I also am a man under authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this man, go, and he goes; and to another, come, and he comes; and to my servant, do this, and he does it.”

“And what of that,” says one, “if the centurion did suspect it to be so? For the question is, whether Christ affirmed and ratified as much.” You speak well, and very sensibly. Let us then look to this very thing; and we shall find what happened in the case of the leper, the same happening here likewise. For even as the leper said, “If you will” (and not from the leper only are we positive about His authority, but also from the voice of Christ; in that, so far from putting an end to the suspicion, He did even confirm it more, by adding what were else superfluous to say, in the phrase, “I will, be thou cleansed,” in order to establish that man's doctrine): so here too, it is right to see whether any such thing occurred. In fact, we shall find this same thing again taking place. For when the centurion had spoken such words, and had testified His so great prerogative; so far from blaming, He did even approve it, and did somewhat more than approve it. For neither has the evangelist said, that He praised the saying only, but declaring a certain earnestness in His praise, that He even “marvelled;” and neither did He simply marvel, but in the presence also of the whole people, and set Him as an example to the rest, that they should emulate Him.

Do you see 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 you will, you can make me clean;” and so far from rebuking, He on the contrary cleansed him by such treatment as He had said. Again, this centurion says, “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 you of this by the opposite also; Martha having said nothing of this sort, but on the contrary, “Whatsoever you will ask of God, He will give You;” 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 you, that if you would believe, you should see the glory of God?” blaming her, as though she did not even yet believe. And again, because she had said, “Whatsoever You will ask of God, He will give You;” 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 says, “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 you that for this end He so spoke, viz. for the instructing of the rest to believe in like manner, listen to the exactness of the evangelist, how he has intimated it. For,

“Jesus,” says he, “turned Him about, and said to them that followed Him, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

It follows, that to have high imaginations concerning Him, this especially is of faith, and tends to procure the kingdom and His other blessings. For neither did His praise reach to words only, but He both restored the sick man whole, in recompence of his faith, and weaves for him a glorious crown, and promises great gifts, saying on this wise,

“Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down in the bosoms of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out.”

Thus, since He had shown many miracles, He proceeds to talk with them more unreservedly.

Then, that no one might suppose His words to come of flattery, but that all might be aware that such was the mind of the centurion, He says,

“Go your way; as you have believed, so be it done unto you.”

And straightway the work followed, bearing witness to his character. nothing; for the question is, whether each of them has set before us the zealousness of the man, and his having had the right opinion concerning Christ. But it is likely, that after sending his friends, he himself also came and said these things. And if Luke did not speak of the one, no more did Matthew of the other; and this is not the part of men disagreeing among themselves, but rather of those that are filling up the things omitted by one another. But see by another thing also how Luke has proclaimed his faith, saying that his servant “was ready to die.” Nevertheless, not even this cast him into despondency, neither did it cause him to give up: but even so he trusted that he should prevail. And if Matthew affirm Christ to have said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel,” and hereby to show clearly that he was not an Israelite; while Luke says, “He built our synagogue;” neither is this a contradiction. For it was possible for one, even though not a Jew, both to build the synagogue, and to love the nation.