Coffee With God

Reflection: Matthew 8: 5-11

To the Jewish mind, Gentiles were untouchables. They were waiting for the coming of the Messiah and the Messiah of their understanding was a powerful King like David, who would establish a Jewish kingdom. Hence, they waited for an exclusive Messiah. Matthew, writing for the Jewish community intends to rectify this exclusivism of the Jewish Christians and hence, present the story of this gentile Roman officer. Jesus not only granted him the grace he was looking for, but also projected him as an example for ideal faith. A centurion working in the area of Capernaum would have been an officer of the Roman army – certainly a Gentile. Moreover, the Jews must have hated the centurions because they were working for the enemies of Jews who had suppressed them. An observant Jew would no eat with a Gentile, nor even visit the house of a Gentile because they were regarded as unclean. Therefore, It was normal for the centurion to think that, Jesus, a Jewish preacher, would not want to go to his house. Showing due sensitivity, he requests Jesus for help, and pleads for that all important command so that his servant could be healed. Gentiles in Matthew’s community believed in the risen Jesus as Lord. They had no further proofs for their faith – they simply believed. Acknowledging their strong faith in a person whom they have never seen, Matthew challenges the lack of faith of some of the traditional Jews of the synagogue. They hold on to their traditions and continue to wait for their Messiah. Moreover, those Jews who believed in Christ were expelled from synagogues. That bitterness over the broken relationships between the Jews and Christians is reflected in the graphic imagery that Matthew employs to describe the fate of those who would not believe: outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth. Through the faith of the Centurion, Matthew wants to tell his listeners, that the Messiah has already come and while people from all corners of the world have come to know him, the chosen people of God have missed the bus. Significant, furthermore, for Matthew was the fact that the centurion’s trust in Jesus was accompanied by a genuine love and care for his paralysed servant boy. Those with faith opened themselves to change, in line with the goodness and mercy of God.