NOTES for Mat 8:5-13
It is good to read Matthew the evangelist's account of the healing of the centurion's servant alongside the first chapter of Genesis, the first chapter of John's Gospel, and several Psalms. They speak of creation accomplished by the will and word of God. "For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm," says Ps. 32:9. This is exactly how the centurion's servant is healed, and this is the kind of manifestation of Christ's will that the centurion expects from Him.
It is striking that he does not even say to the Lord Jesus, "Come and heal him." In the spirit of the best people of the Old Covenant, he simply presents to Jesus the fact of his servant's illness, and nothing more. Therefore, when the Lord says to the centurion, "I will come and heal him," the centurion experiences something like the feelings of the apostle Peter at the miraculous catch of fish in the Sea of Galilee. Peter felt fear and confusion, saying, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." And the centurion too, seeing Jesus' eyes, says in confusion and reverence, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof."
The centurion's words, "but only say the word, and my servant will be healed," are also to a certain degree comparable to the apostle Peter's words, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," because in them the centurion places his own confession. He sees in Jesus the One who commands and creates the world by His word. This is the confession the Lord approves when He says, "I have not found such faith even in Israel."
That is why St. John Chrysostom turns to the centurion's words in one of the pre-Communion prayers, and for many Christians they directly became a prayer before Communion: "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed."