Section 3
How did this Roman centurion, a Gentile, come to know the Lord's authority? According to verse 5, he loved the Jewish nation and built a synagogue for the Jews. From this we see that probably he had some knowledge of the Old Testament. Furthermore, he referred to the Man- Savior as Lord. Hence, he realized that the Man-Savior was the One who has the genuine authority.
The centurion also knew the significance of a word of authority. This was the reason he could say to the Man-Savior, "Say a word, and let my servant be cured" (v. 7). He knew authority and the word as the expression of authority. The cen turion's slave was in fact healed by the word of the Man-Savior.
In 7:9 the Lord Jesus marveled at the cen turion's faith: "And hearing these things, Jesus marveled at him, and turning to the crowd fol lowing Him, He said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith." The Gentile cen turion recognized the authority of the Man- Savior and realized that His word was a word with healing authority. Thus, he believed not only in the Man-Savior, but also in His word.
In this case also we see the Lord's human vir tues with His divine attributes. His virtue was