Read that again. It doesn't say that the Centurion was amazed at Jesus. Everyone was amazed at Jesus, that wouldn't be a remarkable statement. Jesus was amazed at the Centurion. That is a remarkable statement. So. Why?
The Centurion showed two qualities here in great abundance that amazed Jesus. The first is the one that Jesus mentions: faith. The man is so convinced of Jesus' power that he knows even the mere words of Jesus have power enough to heal. He believes in Jesus enough to act on his belief. That is what faith is: strong enough belief to cause action.
The second quality that the Centurion displays is humility. Here we have a man, who in his own words has authority. Yet, in the mere idea of an encounter with Jesus, he recognizes his own lowly position and says he is not even worth coming to Jesus. He didn't see the resurrection or the transfiguration or even any other healings, he had only heard. Like us.
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