Lesson 119: the Centurion and the Gentile Woman

We continue our journey of learning about Jesus’ miracles. In this lesson, we learn about two “foreigners” who humbly sought Jesus’ mercy and help.

The story of the centurion is found in Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10, and the story of the gentile woman is found in Matthew 15:21-28 and John 7:24-30. Consider how the story of the gentile woman comes right after the account of Jesus explaining to his disciples why having a clean inside is much more important than a clean outside (Matt. 8:1-20 and Mark 7:1-23. The Pharisees (who should have known better) were blind to their own sin problems, yet the Centurion and gentile woman recognized their unworthiness, even though they were not Jewish.

The memory verse for this week is:

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. 1 Chronicles 16:23

An ALTERNATE (or critically related) memory verse is:

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6

Handout: The Centurion and the Gentile Woman

Craft Activity: All Nations Praise the Lord Craft

Narrative*:

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, some Jewish elders came to ask him for help. They told Him about a Jewish man who was the servant of a Roman Centurion. The servant was very sick, in terrible pain and was on the verge of death. They pleaded with Jesus to come heal the man. They said, “This servant loves his nation and is the one who built the synagogue in our town.”

And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion met Him and told him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

Another time, as Jesus was traveling to the region of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus was approached by a woman who had a young daughter who was afflicted by an evil spirit. She came to Him and fell at his feet and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile (the word gentile means someone who is not Jewish), Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

What is the same about these two stories? That in both cases, the people seeking Jesus’ help were not Jews, but people of different nationalities. In both cases the people seeking help knew there was nothing they could do to earn Jesus’ favor. Yet in faith, they sought His help. And Jesus, being faithful to the promise made to Abraham blessed them with grace and mercy.

* this narrative takes small liberties in sharing HOW the centurion communicated with Jesus, with the goal of not making any error in sharing WHAT the centurion communicated to Jesus.