When he had enteredΕἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦCapernaum,εἰς Καφαρναοὺμa centurionἑκατόνταρχοςcameπροσῆλθενto him,αὐτῷpleading withπαρακαλῶνhimαὐτὸν
Matthew 8:5
Study it in the app“When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him”
A centurion trusts Jesus' word and amazes himFaith
With the Greek beneath
Matthew 8:5, word by word
- When he had enteredΕἰσελθόντοςEiselthontos
enter
To go into a house, a town or a place.
Where else “Eiselthontos” appears- CapernaumΚαφαρναοὺμKapharnaoum
Capernaum
See it on the mapWhere else “Kapharnaoum” appears- a centurionἑκατόνταρχοςhekatontarchos
centurion
Centurion: a Roman officer in command of about a hundred soldiers.
Where else “hekatontarchos” appears- cameπροσῆλθενprosēlthen
come near
To come up close to someone, go toward them.
Where else “prosēlthen” appears- pleading withπαρακαλῶνparakalōn
beg
To call someone to your side, implore them.
Where else “parakalōn” appears
Translation note
The centurion was a Roman officer in command of about a hundred soldiers.
Parallel passages
Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.
The centurion's servant
John 4 tells of a royal official; it is discussed whether it is the same event.
See them side by side
Matthew 8:5-13
5When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, pleading with him 6and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, terribly tormented.” 7And he says to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8And the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say a word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10Hearing this, Jesus was amazed and said to those who were following, “Truly I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11And I tell you that many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
1When he had completed all his words in the hearing of the people, he went into Capernaum. 2Now a certain centurion’s slave, who was highly valued by him, was sick and was about to die. 3And when he heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and save his slave. 4And when they came to Jesus, they were urging him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you grant this, 5for he loves our nation, and he himself built the synagogue for us.” 6And Jesus was going with them. And when he was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you; but say a word, and let my servant be healed. 8For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9And when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
46So he came again to Cana of Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son was sick in Capernaum. 47When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die. 48So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will never believe.” 49The royal official says to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50Jesus says to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went on his way. 51And as he was already going down, his slaves met him, saying that his boy was alive. 52So he asked them the hour when he began to get better. So they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus had said to him, “Your son lives.” And he believed, and his whole household. 54Now this was again a second sign that Jesus did, having come from Judea into Galilee.
Places in this verse
Capernaum
Today: Capernaum (Tell Hum) ruins, Israel
A town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus left Nazareth and settled in Capernaum (Matt 4:13). He taught in its synagogue and healed many there (John 6:59; Luke 7:1).
The context
4And Jesus says to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
5 · This verse (above)
6and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, terribly tormented.”
To study Matthew 8 in a group
1. What it says
What did the centurion say to Jesus about his servant, and how did Jesus respond (vv. 8–10)?
2. What it means
What do these healings and the calming of the sea show about who Jesus is (v. 27)?
3. How I live it
The centurion asked for help for his servant (vv. 5–6). Whom could you stand with today in a need that isn't yours?