<p>8:13&nbsp;<i>And Jesus said to the centurion: Go your way</i>- The Lord several times uses this word (literally, &lsquo;depart&rsquo;) to a person after having healed them or having had a saving encounter with them. He used it to the healed leper in Mt. 8:4, and again in Mt. 9:6 (the paralyzed man); Mk. 5:19 (Legion); Mk. 5:34 (the woman with an issue of blood); Mk. 7:29 (the Syrian woman); Mk. 10:21 (the rich young man); Mk. 10:52 (the blind man); Lk. 17:14 (the lepers); the Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:16); the blind man at Siloam (Jn. 9:7); the resurrected Lazarus (Jn. 11:44). This is a significant theme, therefore, in the Lord&rsquo;s dealings with people. It suggests a commission, a sending forth on His work- the same word is found in the commission to &ldquo;Go into the vineyard&rdquo; to work (Mt. 20:4,7; 21:28), &lsquo;going&rsquo; to bring forth fruit (Jn. 15:16) and finally in &lsquo;going&rsquo; to the world to tell them of the Lord&rsquo;s resurrection (Mk. 16:7). We are each individually sent out from Him to do His work in our own unique way. The way for the great commission is therefore prepared by these many examples of &lsquo;sending&rsquo;. That commission, the sending out, is therefore a totally personal matter- not something to be merely considered by missions committees, or groups of enthusiasts. We are each personally &lsquo;sent&rsquo;, bidden depart on our personal way, as a result of our encounter with the Lord.</p>
<p><i>As you have believed, so it is done for you</i>&ndash; The idea could be that the quality, nature and extent of healing was dependent upon the nature of the faith. We ask for forgiveness for our own sins &ldquo;as&rdquo; we have forgiven others. There is here a recognition by the Lord that issues like faith and forgiveness are not simply black or white situations. They are processes, and there is clearly a sliding scale of measurement for things such as faith and forgiveness. The point is that according to where we set the slider on our own faith or forgiveness, so there will be a corresponding response from God. God&rsquo;s possibility is our possibility; and this is what the Lord was teaching the man who thought that it all depended upon the Lord&rsquo;s possibility alone (Mk. 9:23). The extent and nature of the Lord's healing seems to have been limited by the faith of the recipient (Mt. 8:13 &quot; as...so&rdquo;; 9:29 &quot; according to&rdquo;; 12:22 &quot; inasmuch&rdquo;).</p>
<p><i>And the servant was healed in that hour</i>- The phrase could mean that the servant was cured within the same hour, or at that very instant. In this case the suggestion would be that the centurion&rsquo;s faith was great and therefore the cure happened totally and instantly. The Greek for &lsquo;healed&rsquo; is also translated &lsquo;made whole&rsquo;, so there could be a comment upon the extent (total healing) and immediacy (instant) of the cure- as a result of the man&rsquo;s great level of faith.</p>