Matthew 8:10 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

He marvelled— Our Lord's conduct on this occasion by no means implies that he was ignorant before either of the centurion's faith, or of the grounds on which it was built; he knew all fully, before the man spake one word; but he was struck with admiration at the noble notion which this heathen Roman captain had conceived of his power; the passion of admiration being excited by the greatest and most beautiful of any object, as well as by its novelty: Jesus expressed his admiration of the centurion's faith in the praises which he bestowed upon it to them who followed, as he was passing along the streets of Capernaum, with a view to make it the more conspicuous; for he declared publicly, that he had not met with, among the Jews themselves, any one who possessed such just, such elevated conceptions of the power by which he acted, notwithstanding they were, as a nation, the chosen people of God, and enjoyed the benefit of a divine revelation, directing them to believe on him. See Macknight, and Beausobre and Lenfant. It is very remarkable, says Dr. Heylin, that throughout the whole Gospel Jesus is never said to wonder at any thing but faith; which wonder in Christ is to be interpreted as a high expression of esteem. See ch. Matthew 15:28. Now things difficult, rare, and extraordinary in their kind, are the proper objects of admiration: but it may be said, Is not faith the gift of God? and is God's bounty so penurious, and his gifts so rare, that he himself, who has the distribution of them, our Lord I mean, should wonder to find a mind greatly enriched by them? To this we answer, that most indubitably faith is the gift of God, and that a man might as soon create in himself a new sense, as produce a true and lively faith by his own natural abilities: and it was not the gift, but man's persevering acceptance of that gift, which was the subject of Christ's admiration. To pass over what was peculiar in the case of this centurion,—whereof we are not competent judges, as Christ alone discerned his inmost sentiments,—and to bring this matter home to ourselves, we may, upon due reflection, be convinced that divine faith in general, when it is actually received and embraced in the heart of a Christian, produces there such strange and wondrous effects, as cannot but raise our esteem and admiration: for faith is a divine light, by which conscience will presently read us our duty, and urge such mortifying consequences, mixed with the most consolatory, that it is no wonder men shut their eyes against it, when it first begins to glimmer upon their minds. But this matter cannot be more emphatically represented than in the following words of the judicious Dr Barrow: "The first step," says he, "into the Christian state, is a sight and sense of our own weakness, baseness, and misery. We must discern and feel that our mind is very blind, our reason feeble, our will impotent and prone to evil; that out life is void of merit, and polluted with guilt; that our condition is deplorably sad and wretched; that of ourselves we are insufficient to think or do any good, in order to our recovery: whence we are obliged to sore compunction of spirit for our deeds and our case; to humble confession of our sins and miseries; to earnest supplication for mercy and grace, to heal and rescue us from our sad estate. Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! What shall I do to be saved? Wretched man that I am! &c. are the ejaculations of a soul teeming with faith." It isthen, if the sinner will simply and believingly lay hold on Christ, that the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him. Romans 5:5.