6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.
The centurion’s words reveal much concerning his view of authority.
1. He recognized Jesus had authority. That is very clear. The centurion knew that Jesus did not even need to come to his home to heal his paralyzed servant. Travel was unnecessary. All Jesus needed to do was speak a work – to give a command.
2. He recognized that Jesus’ authority, like his own, was delegated authority.
In ancient Rome, to disobey the centurion’s authority would have FAR reaching consequences. Rome stood behind the centurion. The centurion wore the uniform of Rome, having obtained Rome’s endorsement and backing. To disobey him would mean disobedience to Rome. To take on the authority of the centurion would have meant taking on all the power of the Emperor himself. The consequence of disobedience could be death. Continue reading