Lk 7:1-10
1When [Jesus] had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. 2A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. 3When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. 4They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, 5for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” 6And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
7Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. 8For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
I am not Worthy: In Roman times and in the Roman army, a centurion was a soldier who commanded a division of a hundred soldiers and was the backbone of the army. The centurion in the Gospel is probably a mercenary serving Herod Antipas who was the ruler of Galilee but was a Roman vassal tetrarch.
The Jewish elders in Capernaum declare that the centurion is worthy to be a recipient of God’s favor because he loves the Jewish nation and helped build the synagogue of Capernaum. Though a Gentile and aware of his status in the place, the centurion respects, admires, and even loves the Jews, a rarity among the Roman officials.
Aware of the divide between Jews and Gentiles, the centurion does not consider himself worthy to come to Jesus, a prophet of God, but is confident that if Jesus says the word his servant will be healed. More than the mediation of the Jewish elders, it is the centurion’s disposition that prompts Jesus to heal the centurion’s servant from a distance. For Jesus, faith is shown in humble recognition of one’s unworthiness as well as one’s willingness to obey the word of God. In Luke’s gospel, the models of faith recognize their unworthiness and manifest unconditional obedience to the word. Mary, the mother of Jesus, echoes this in her reply to God’s messenger: “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:45).