Necessity of Authority

Luke 7:6b-8
“Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, having 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.”

I addressed this centurion’s faith last week, so I won’t copy or restate what I wrote then, but there is one other observation I must make.  Forgive me for wading into this, but I believe that what I see in the centurion underscores the missing reverence and submission that should be central to our worship and service to Jesus Christ.  Though I may state this badly, I firmly believe that our society is robbing us of our ability to understand what a right relationship to a holy God can and should be.

It is my belief that our democratic, “level” society make it difficult for us to fully appreciate and relate to the majesty and authority of Jesus Christ.  Our egalitarian society is completely unsuited to prepare us for a correct relationship with the complete sovereignty of God.  Though we have been made sons of God in Christ – born again and adopted – that still leaves us far from equal with God in any measure and does not make us independent of His sovereignty.

The centurion was remarkable for his recognition of authority and how authority works in both the physical and the spiritual realities.  In our “classless” American culture, we pride ourselves on being an authority unto ourselves, but the relationship of authority under God still applies in our spiritual lives.  Our culture and education promote our individuality and rights and teach us to be suspicious of authority.  That inability to sufficiently respond to natural authority robs us of the full blessings of submission and obedience to Christ.

The Father has given Jesus Christ all authority so that Jesus’ word is sovereign in both the physical and spiritual worlds.  Our response to Him must be absolute submission and obedience.  No matter how our society has changed and reordered our physical relationships, that relationship of Lord and slave remains.  Thank God it does.

Coram deo

Great Faith in a Strange Place

Luke 7:1-10

This story of the healing of the centurion’s servant (also Matthew 8:5-13) concludes with Jesus’ declaration that He had not found such great faith even in Israel.  That reality and Jesus’ public recognition is important, but what about this man’s faith was so great?

Three elements of the centurion’s faith stand out from this passage.

1.       His faith recognized Jesus and His authority (v.8).  The Greek word is – ἐξουσία, “exousia” – lit. “power of choice, right.”  This is the same word Jesus used in Matthew 28:18 when He spoke of His own authority, “power” (KJV).  In fact, this Roman soldier had a better grasp of the true nature of Jesus Christ and His divine authority than even Jesus’ own disciples did.

2.       His faith recognized political, social, and cultural realities especially of race and religion, but it also recognized that by working within those situations Jesus could accomplish His will in spite of the limits and problems in society.

3.       This man’s faith responded in obedience to the word of Jesus before he saw the results of Jesus’ work in his situation.

Simply put, Faith responds in obedience to the Word of God because of Jesus’ authority whether or not the results of obedience are obvious or the conclusion is in view.  So should my faith be!

Coram deo