What Does Luke 7:9 Mean in the King James?
When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The trust Jesus calls great is a full-weight reliance on his authority, so his word reaches the servant even across distance.
THE MEANING
Trust here is lived reliance: the centurion places the outcome under Jesus’ authority without requiring his physical presence. Jesus marvels at this trust and names it greater than any he has found in Israel. The verse makes its depth visible now wherever trust rests on his word before sight confirms it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that trust requires physical proximity or visible proof: the centurion relies on Jesus’ authority at a distance.
THE ROOT
πίστις
pistis
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
Trust, reliance; the quality of being trustworthy or firm.
“faith” in this verse is pistis. The Greek word holds trust as active reliance, a leaning of one’s full weight. The centurion’s trust rests on Jesus’ authority, so the spoken word reaches across distance.
ALSO GROWS
pisteuō: To trust, believe, or entrust oneself.
πιστεύω
The verb shows trust as something enacted: the centurion relies on Jesus’ authority.
pistos: Trustworthy, faithful, dependable.
πιστός
The same πιστ- family joins the act of trusting to the character deemed dependable; the centurion’s trust rests on Jesus’ authority.
THE PATTERN
Trust rests on the authority of God’s word before the promised outcome is visible.
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.THE THREAD
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.The Greek word translated “faith” here is πίστις, the same word used in Luke 7:9. Hebrews describes the unseen ground of trust; the centurion shows that trust resting on Jesus’ authority across distance.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
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