‘And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you should do this for him, for he loves our nation, and himself built us our synagogue.'
The Jews were very impressed by good works. It was something for which Jews were well known. To them this, together with his reverent attitude towards the God of Israel, made the centurion commendable. It is made clear, however, that in the end what commended him to Jesus was his faith in Him. It did illustrate, however, that a tree is known by its fruit, and that a man of faith will also be a man of works.
Accordingly the elders came to Jesus and put to him the centurion's plea, assuring him that he was a deserving man having built a synagogue for the Jews. The remains of a synagogue have been discovered in the area which might well be a synagogue built on the site of this very one (which would have been destroyed by Titus).