In Matthew 8 a Centurion came to Jesus for healing of his servant. The Centurion showed a remarkable faith that compelled Jesus to comment, "And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites-those for whom the Kingdom was prepared-will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew places this story about the Centurion in the midst of stories of unclean people and spirits. The Centurion was a Gentile, which meant that he was unclean by Hebrew standards. The story of the Centurion is a story of an unclean Gentile being cleansed because of his unparalleled faith.
When the early church told or read this story about the Centurion's faith, they no doubt thought about another Centurion who would come a few short years after who was the first officially accepted Gentile convert to Christianity. To be sure, there were others before him, but he the Centurion in Acts 11 is the first one officially accepted by the leadership of Jerusalem. Furthermore, he is also the first to have a Jewish Christian leader to enter his house.
The faith of the Centurion is contrasted with the disiples' lack of faith later in the same chapter when they were caught in a storm on the sea in a boat.
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