The Life Of Jesus Christ In Its Historical Connexion

As soon as Christ arrived at Capernaum, his aid was sought in behalf of another sufferer. The elders of the synagogue came to him with a petition in the name of a centurion. He was a heathen; but, like many other heathens of that age, unsatisfied with the old and languishing popular religion, and impressed, by the moral and religious spirit of the Jewish Theism, he has been led to believe in JEHOVAH as the Almighty. Whether a proselyte of the gate [418] or not, he had proved his faith by building a Jewish synagogue at his own expense.

His love and care for a faithful slave [419] shows how his piety had influenced his character. During Christ's absence this slave became severely ill; and just when he was ready to die, the centurion heard, to his great joy, of the Saviour's return. Placing his only hopes in Him, he hastened to ask his assistance. But he had been accustomed to look upon the Jews alone as consecrated to the worship of the Most High; and Christ yet appeared to belong only to that people. He did not venture, therefore, as a heathen, to apply to him directly, but sought the mediation of the elders, whom he had laid under obligation. [420]

The centurion heard that Christ, in compliance with the request of the elders, was approaching his house. But then the thought arose, "Hast thou not gone too far in asking the Son of God, who has spirits at his command, to come to thy house? Hast thou not lowered him, by presuming that his corporeal presence is necessary to the healing of thy slave? Could he not have employed one of his hosts of ministering spirits to accomplish it?" ["Say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. For I, also . . . say unto one, Come,' and he cometh; and to another, Go,' and he goeth." [421] ] Although his hesitation, doubtless, arose in part from his unwillingness, as a heathen, to summon the Saviour to his house, his words imply that it arose far more from his conscious unworthiness in comparison with Christ's greatness. He conceived Christ to be the Son of God in a sense natural to one who had, from paganism, become a believer in Theism.

The centurion illustrates a state of heart which, in all ages of Christianity, belongs to those who are susceptible of admitting and embracing Christ: the consciousness, namely, of His loftiness and our own unworthiness. Here was the deep import of his signs of faith; and here the ground of these striking words of Christ addressed to the attendant multitudes: "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." He had, indeed, found access to the people; he had, indeed, found faith, but not such faith as that of this pagan. The faith of the Jews, prejudiced by their peculiar notions of the Messiahship, could not, as yet, raise itself to a just intuition of the super-human greatness of Christ. But the pagan, viewing Christ as Lord of the World of Spirits, had reached a point which the Apostles themselves were only to attain at a later period. And here we have a sign that the true and high intuition of the person of Christ was to come rather from the stand-point of paganism than of Judaism.