“And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.”
Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. The centurion's petition is for his servant (pais, which can mean child, boy, or servant) — he is advocating for someone dependent on him. The suffering that the centurion describes is acute; the concern is genuine. A Roman military officer concerned about a servant's welfare is already unusual; his willingness to seek help from a Jewish teacher is more so. The lord address and the straightforward description of the need communicate a directness and a trust that Jesus will explicitly commend as exceeding what he has found in Israel.
Church Fathers on Matthew 8:6
The Lord having taught His disciples on the mount, and healed the leper at the foot of the mount, came to Capharnaum. This is a mystery, signifying that after the purification of the Jews He went to the Gentiles.
This centurion was of the Gentiles, for Judaea had already soldiers of the Roman empire.
All these things he recounts with grief, that he is 'sick,' that it is with 'palsy;' that he is 'grievously afflicted' therewith, the more to shew the sorrow of his own heart, and to move the Lord to have mercy. In like manner ought all to feel for their servants, and to take thought for them.
Read all 25 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!