Luke 7:5

He loveth our nation. And was, in the light of this, “worthy” in the eyes of the elders (see on v. 4). It seems that the centurion was, in all probability, what was known as a “proselyte of the gate,” one who believed in the true God and in the tenets of the Jewish faith but who had not accepted circumcision, the sign of the covenant (see on Gen. 17:10, 11), and did not practice the ceremonial ritual of the Jewish religion. It is said that during the first century A.D. there were unnumbered thousands of Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire who had become “proselytes of the gate.” They had learned to admire and respect the comparatively pure worship of the Jews and were convinced of its superiority to their own. Many such proselytes later became full-fledged Jews (see p. 62).

A synagogue. Literally, “the synagogue”; probably the very one for which these messengers served as “elders.” It may have been the one Christ commonly attended while in Capernaum, and where He began His ministry there. The pronoun “he” is emphatic — probably the centurion had built this synagogue at his own expense. According to a 2d-century inscription, a certain pagan official of Egypt assisted the Jews in the erection of a synagogue at Athribis. Other similar instances are on record.