A Controversial Healing
based on Luke 7:1-10
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Many of us are familiar with this story from Sunday school days. Jesus healed the servant of a Roman centurion. This story is actually recorded in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10. When The centurion made his plea for his servant, Jesus had compassion for him and his slave and said he was willing to come to his house, though he apparently lived quite a distance away. It's absolutely remarkable that Jesus is actually willing to do this in light of the source of the request. The centurion is not only part of the occupying force he is an officer. Jesus truly practiced what he preached. He loved the enemy, he never turned anybody in need away.

What's also pretty remarkable is that the centurion could have had the most sought-after teacher and healer of the time come to his house. But he said there was no need for Jesus to come to his house. Perhaps he didn't want to trouble Jesus unnecessarily. Or maybe he was embarrassed about inviting Jesus into his house. We don't know. But apparently, this centurion truly believed that if Jesus simply spoke the word, his servant would be healed--long-distance. And Jesus was amazed at the centurion's faith and his servant was reported to be healed.

This is not your ordinary miracle story. This story is not only remarkable for the facts I already mentioned, it is also remarkable because there is a real possibility that the centurion and his “slave” were actually a homosexual couple.

This becomes clear when we look at the the Greek word used in Matthew’s account that refers to the servant of the centurion as pais. The word pais had three possible meanings depending on the social context. It could mean “son or boy;” it could mean “servant,” or it could mean a particular type of servant — one who was “his master’s male lover.” Often these servants were younger than their masters.

To our modern ears, the idea of having a love relationship with a servant seems outrageous. But we have to place this in the context of ancient cultural norms. Under the laws of Jesus' time, even a wife was viewed as the property of the husband, with a status just above that of slave. Like today, it was not uncommon for an older man to marry a younger woman. In that culture, a man gave money or goods to the father of his bride, then the father gave her away into marriage. A reminder of this is still present in the modern-day wedding ceremony in the symbolic ritual of the bride's father shaking the groom's hand, then giving his daughter to him in marriage.

Gay man in first-century Judea who wanted a male “spouse,” similarly acquired someone contractually to serve that purpose. A servant purchased to serve this purpose was often called a pais.

Is it possible that pais referred to in Matthew 8 and Luke 7 was the Roman centurion’s male lover? Let’s look at the biblical evidence:

Our text provides three key pieces of textual evidence for this possibility:

1. in the Luke passage, several additional Greek words are used to describe the one who is sick. Luke says this pais was the centurion’s entimos doulos. The word doulos is a generic term for slave, and was never used in ancient Greek to describe a son/boy. Thus, Luke’s account rules out the possibility the sick person was the centurion’s son; his use of doulos makes clear this was a slave. However, Luke also takes care to indicate this was no ordinary slave. The word entimos means “honored.” This was an “honored slave” (entimos doulos) who was his master’s pais. Taken together, the three Greek words preclude the possibility the sick person was either the centurion’s son or an ordinary slave, leaving only one viable option — he was his master’s male lover.

2. A second piece of evidence is found in verse 9 of the parallel account in Matthew. In the course of expressing his faith in Jesus’ power to heal by simply speaking, the centurion says, “When I tell my slave to do something, he does it.” By extension, the centurion concludes that Jesus is also able to issue a remote verbal command that must be carried out. When speaking here of his slaves, the centurion uses the word doulos. But when speaking of the one he is asking Jesus to heal, he uses only pais. In other words, when he is quoted in Matthew, the centurion uses pais only when referring to the sick person. He uses a different word, doulos, when speaking of his other slaves, as if to draw a distinction. Again, the clear implication is that the sick man was no ordinary slave. And when pais was used to describe a servant who was not an ordinary slave, it meant only one thing — a slave who was the master’s male lover.

3. In the Gospels, we have many examples of people seeking healing for themselves or for family members. But this story is the only example of someone seeking healing for a slave. The actions described are made even more remarkable by the fact that this was a proud Roman centurion who was humbling himself and pleading with a Jewish rabbi to heal his slave. The extraordinary lengths to which this man went to seek healing for his slave is much more understandable, from a psychological perspective, if the slave was his beloved companion.

All the textual evidence in the Gospels points in one direction. For objective observers, the conclusion is inescapable: In this story Jesus healed a man’s male lover. When understood this way, the story takes on a whole new dimension.

Imagine how it may have happened. While stationed in Palestine, the centurion’s pais becomes ill — experiencing some type of life-threatening paralysis. The centurion will stop at nothing to save him. Perhaps a friend tells him of rumors of Jesus’ healing powers. Perhaps this friend also tells him Jesus is unusually open to foreigners, teaching his followers that they should love their enemies, even Roman soldiers. So the centurion decides to take a chance. Jesus was his only hope.

As he made his way to Jesus, he probably worried about the possibility that Jesus, like other Jewish rabbis, would take a judgmental view of his homosexual relationship. Perhaps he even considered lying. He could simply use the word duolos. But the centurion probably figured if Jesus was powerful enough to heal his lover, he was also powerful enough to see through any half-truths.

So the centurion approaches Jesus and bows before him. “Rabbi, my . . . ,” the word gets caught in his throat. This is it — the moment of truth. Either Jesus will turn away in disgust, or something wonderful will happen. So, the centurion clears his throat and speaks again. “Rabbi, my pais — yes, my pais lies at home sick unto death.” Then he pauses and waits for a second that must have seemed like an eternity. The crowd of good, God-fearing people surrounding Jesus probably became tense. This was like a gay man asking a televangelist to heal his lover. What would Jesus do?

Without hesitation, Jesus says, “Then I will come and heal him.”

It’s that simple! Jesus didn’t say, “Are you kidding? I’m not going to heal your pais so you can go on living in sin!” Nor did he say, “Well, it shouldn’t surprise you that your pais is sick; this is God’s judgment on your relationship.”

Instead, Jesus’ words are simple, clear, and liberating for all who have worried about what God thinks of gay relationships. “I will come and heal him.”

Jesus didn’t just tolerate this gay centurion. He said he was an example of faith — someone we all should strive to be like.

In this story, Jesus restores a gay relationship by a miracle of healing and then holds up a gay man as an example of faith for all to follow. Let those who have ears, take heed! Amen.