Critical Analysis of a Bible
Matthew 8:5-13
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When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is 7 8 lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant 9 will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he 10 goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel 11 have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac 12 and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the Kingdom will be thrown into the outer 13 darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour. (NRSV)
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World behind the text Historical Context This narrative occurs in both Matthew and Luke (Lk 7:1-10) and details an encounter with Jesus and a centurion belonging to the Roman army. It does not occur in Mark, possibly indicating it may be from Q. The military occupation of Judea at the time was carried out not by Roman legionaries but by non-Jewish auxiliaries drawn mostly from the regions of Lebanon and Syria.1 A centurion was an officer in charge of 80 men (not quite the 100 as the title implies)2 and was responsible for the discipline and fighting efficiency of his unit. ‘The centurion was the backbone of the Roman military organization’.3 This event takes place in the town of Capernaum, a fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus lived for some time in Capernaum and this was his base for much of his Galilean ministry (Mark 2:1). It is not surprising, therefore, that his
5
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is 7 8 lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant 9 will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he 10 goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel 11 have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac 12 and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the Kingdom will be thrown into the outer 13 darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour. (NRSV)
6
World behind the text Historical Context This narrative occurs in both Matthew and Luke (Lk 7:1-10) and details an encounter with Jesus and a centurion belonging to the Roman army. It does not occur in Mark, possibly indicating it may be from Q. The military occupation of Judea at the time was carried out not by Roman legionaries but by non-Jewish auxiliaries drawn mostly from the regions of Lebanon and Syria.1 A centurion was an officer in charge of 80 men (not quite the 100 as the title implies)2 and was responsible for the discipline and fighting efficiency of his unit. ‘The centurion was the backbone of the Roman military organization’.3 This event takes place in the town of Capernaum, a fishing village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus lived for some time in Capernaum and this was his base for much of his Galilean ministry (Mark 2:1). It is not surprising, therefore, that his
Bibliography: Blomberg, Craig. Matthew. The New American Commentary, vol. 22. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1992. Bruce, F.F. “Roman Administration.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by David Noel Freedman et al., vol 5, 96-99. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Davies W.D. and Dale C. Allison. Matthew: A Shorter Commentary. London: T & T Clark International, 2004. Mays, James L., ed. Harper’s Bible Commentary. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988. Nolland, John. The Gospel of Matthew, The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. Swanson, Dennis M. “Centurion.” In Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, Astrid B. Beck, 228. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. Witherington, B. Matthew. Macon GA: Smyth and Helwys, 2006. Comment [l34]: No page numbers in book references, unless it is an edited book with essays or a reference work, as in the Bruce, F.F. reference above. Comment [l28]: Names go in alphabetical order of authors’ family names Comment [l29]: Place of publication goes before name of publisher. Comment [l30]: Title of article goes in quotation marks NOT italics. Comment [l31]: Title of reference work goes in italics. Comment [l32]: Name of 2nd or 3rd author goes in normal order: given name + family name. Comment [l33]: Name of a series does to go in italics. 4