The Centurion comes to Jesus asking him to heal his paralyzed servant and Jesus commends his faith. In the middle of his commendation, Jesus says something quite unordinary. “But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then he turns back to the Centurion and says, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour (Mathew 8:5-13).
Why would Jesus throw this seemingly unrelated discourse in the middle of healing someone? Because it is not unrelated.
The Jewish leaders who followed Jesus looked spiritual but were dead on the inside (Mt 23:27). Others appeared to be seeking God but came so they could see miracles close up and be part of the excitement (John 6:26). But there were those, like the Centurion, who did not look like they belonged to God but recognized Jesus for who he was.
Jesus is telling the crowd, it does not matter how spiritual we appear on the outside. What matters is the condition of our relationship with God.
