Like many pastors, I have a tendency to speed while driving. I’ve lost count of the tickets I’ve received over the years. Seeing those flashing lights in my rearview mirror usually brings a familiar sense of dread, knowing it means another fine.
This scenario is a classic example of authority: someone in power is dictating that I broke the rules by driving too fast.
Today, we are going to look at a story about someone who viewed authority not as a hassle, but as a tremendous blessing.
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” (Matthew 8:5-7).
A few details stand out in these opening lines. First, the centurion was a man of significant authority himself, representing the Roman Empire in Capernaum. Second, he was a Gentile, yet he still sought out Jesus to help his servant.
Traditionally, Jewish people avoided entering the homes of Gentiles to remain ritually clean. Jesus, however, didn’t hesitate to offer to go to the centurion’s house. But the centurion understood the cultural boundaries and essentially told Jesus, “You don’t need to come; just say the word.”
The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.
For I also 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 slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” (Matthew 8:8-9).
The centurion understood exactly how authority worked. He knew that if he gave his soldiers a command, it would be done. In the same way, he recognized that Jesus held absolute authority over sickness and death. He believed with complete certainty that if Jesus simply spoke the word, his servant would be healed.
I’ve often thought about this scene when praying for others. I can’t physically bring Jesus into someone’s living room, but through the Holy Spirit, I can pray and ask Him to bring His healing, grace, and help into their lives. Once I pray, I trust that He has the power to act—and that He will.
It is crucial for us to recognize and submit to Jesus’s authority in our own lives. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shared three illustrations to demonstrate that simply hearing His words isn’t enough; true faith requires obedience.
Authority demands a response: will we trust Jesus to guide our lives? Our obedience reveals our faith—or, sadly, our lack of it.
When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:10-12).
One of my favorite preachers used to say in his sermons, “Jesus never beat a dead horse.” He meant that while Jesus often used strong, corrective language when addressing the religious leaders and the established systems of His day, He wasn’t saying that God’s historic people, the Jews, were excluded from His plan. Rather, He was emphasizing that they, too, needed to recognize His ultimate authority—just as this Roman centurion did.
Returning to the flashing red lights I mentioned at the beginning of this post: in that particular instance, the police officer turned out to be a friend who was just trying to get my attention. Instead of adding to my long list of speeding tickets, his authority brought a welcome surprise.
In a much greater way, the centurion was eager for news from the One with true authority. And Jesus delivered the best news possible: his servant was healed.
And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour. (Matthew 8:13).
Under New Management
When Jesus arrived in Galilee proclaiming that God’s kingdom had come to earth, it was as if He were hanging a sign in the window that read: “Under New Management.”
There is so much we could explore about the Kingdom of God, but let’s focus on this single truth today: through His presence and His promised return, Jesus announced that the earth is now under new management.
The question we have to ask ourselves on a personal level is, Am I under new management? The Apostle Paul understood this reality perfectly when he wrote about what it means to live under God’s authority:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. (Romans 12:1).
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 