“…but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”…” Matthew 8:8-9
The Roman centurion obviously took note of the amazing miracles Jesus did. In doing so, he must have associated Jesus’ authority with his own authority under Rome. That is, as long as he discharged the duties of a centurion, he was backed by the entire Roman Empire! That is the type of chain of command he understood Jesus to be under! In short, he had a revelation of delegated authority, and Jesus called that FAITH!
The key that unlocks the power of the centurion’s story is the simple, submissive heart of the centurion. His belief in Jesus’ authority was so simple and pure that it really left Jesus no alternative other than to heal his servant. What could Jesus say to the centurion? “No, My words won’t work because I don’t have authority?!” I don’t think so… No, Jesus honored the centurion’s faith because it identified with Jesus and His authority!
At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” In short, Jesus was conferring His authority upon anyone who would believe in Him! And the KEY to operating in that authority, is very simple. Believe in Jesus and relinquish our own human authority and place ourselves under the authority of God. We do that by doing what His Word tells us to do. When we do, we will discover authority we never dreamed of! When we do what God says to do, God becomes responsible for the outcome. Jeremiah 1:12 tells us that God watches over His Word to fulfill it! That’s what He did for the centurion. That’s what He will do for you!
With Love,
Pastor Tom