‘Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour’ (Matthew 8:13 NKJV).

This was the centurion according to Luke’s gospel that had built the synagogue in Capernaum (Luke 7:5). He was probably the commander of the Roman garrison in Capernaum and was very familiar with the Jewish religion and culture. He came to Jesus asking Him to heal his servant. Jesus immediately agreed to go to the centurion’s home and heal his servant. But the Roman commander insisted that he was “not worthy” of having the Lord enter his home and that if only He would “speak a word” he knew that his servant would be healed. This expressed both his awareness of Jewish reluctance to enter a Gentile’s home (Not specifically forbidden by Moses, but had become a Pharisaic practice), and his faith that Jesus had the authority to heal. The centurion went on the explain his understanding of Christ’s authority, saying it was similar to how he could command his soldiers and they obeyed. Christ commended the centurion’s faith and sent him on his way, having healed the servant according to the centurion’s request. When the centurion returned home he found that his servant had been healed at the very “same hour” that Jesus had spoke.