The significance of Jesus’ willingness to heal the servant can be seen in either translation of Matthew 8:7. Shall I come and heal [this unclean Gentile]?
stresses the answer that indeed Jesus is willing to help, while the statement I will come and I will heal him
stresses his willingness to help.
The Greek text of Matthew 8:7 can be translated in two different ways. It is sometimes understood as a question: Shall I come and heal him?
The meaning then is a dismissive question with an emphasis on I,
: that is, "Shall I go to the house of an unclean Gentile to heal him?” (See also Matthew 15:21–28.) A second way of translating this phrase is as a compound sentence: that is, I will come and I will heal him.
Considering the reaction of the centurion recorded in Matthew 8:8 and Luke 7:6 this is perhaps the most likely translation. Regardless, Jesus indeed proceeded to heal the centurion’s servant. The fact that he does not go to the centurion’s house can be attributed to the way in which the conversation developed.1 What is significant here is that Jesus publicly declared himself ready to come to the aid of a Gentile when called.2
7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”