Authority Over Distance
by Paul George
Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10
Jesus showed that the extent of His Kingdom
went beyond the high and the mighty by reaching out to
people that nobody else would touch. His Kingdom was not
what most expected; it was not for the super pious, but for
the desperate and the hurting. Therefore, Christ touched a
man with leprosy and healed him.
That brings us to the next healing in Matthew 8 involving a
centurion, a man considered an outcast by the Jewish people
because he was a Gentile. Worse than that, he was a Roman
soldier, a member of the occupying army that had invaded
their precious land. Although he was despised as much as a
leper was, the Lord healed his servant. By so doing, He
reinforced the fact that His Kingdom included the outcast
and the Gentile.
Some commentators think that all three of the miracles
recorded in chapter eight happened the same day after Jesus
had finished the Sermon on the Mount, came down from the
mountain, and entered Capernaum, a town on the northwest
shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Verses 5 - 6 - “A centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and
saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home,
fearfully tormented.”
Jesus’ response - “Jesus said to him, I will come and heal
him” (verse 7).
The centurion’s response – “But the centurion said, ‘Lord I
am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say
the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man
under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this
one, ‘Go’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come’ and he comes,
and to my slave, ‘Do this’ and he does it’” (Verses 8-9).
The centurion’s response expressed humility. Some people
think they do God a favor by becoming a Christian. However,
the centurion who had worked his way up through the ranks,
even though he was a combat-veteran was clearly a gentle,
humble, meek, sensitive, and loving man who even cared for a
sick slave, was a true God-fearing Gentile like Cornelius in
Acts 10. His response is also evidence of his faith and
recognition of the authority of Jesus over distance.
The centurion was saying, “I understand Your authority,
there might be some around here who would question it, but I
know a man with authority when I see one. I've seen what
you’ve done and I know the power of Your words.” He reasoned
from the lesser to the greater. He could say, “I am under
authority and I can command things to happen. However, You
are above all authorities, You speak and cause anything to
happen. That is great faith.
Jesus is amazed (verse 10). When the text says that Jesus
marveled, it tells us that Jesus in His humanness was
literally amazed at the faith of that Gentile. His great
faith was a taste of things to come, because there have been
countless other Gentiles who have had that kind of faith in
Christ. The implication is that He should have found such
faith among the people of the covenant promises and
inheritance. He had found a certain amount among the Jewish
people but never with that much virtue. The centurion's
unique response showed his love, thoughtfulness, humility,
sensitivity, and absolute confidence in the authority and
deity of Christ. Even Christ's own disciples on occasion had
to be rebuked by Jesus for their “little faith” (Matthew
6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8). They were not even too sure who He
was during His earthly ministry. Even after others had
testified of Jesus' resurrection, Thomas would not believe
until He saw Christ himself. However, the centurion had
great faith. His example shows that some Gentiles would
demonstrate greater faith than those of Israel. Isn't that
true today? The church predominately is a Gentile church;
Israel still rejects Jesus as her Messiah. Jesus went on to
make that clear in one of His most devastating statements –
verses11-12.
There is coming a great and glorious Kingdom called the
millennial Kingdom and an eternal Kingdom will follow it. In
that first Kingdom, God's wonderful promise to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob will happen.
God brought the covenant through them, therefore, salvation
comes through Abraham's seed, but we are sons of Abraham by
faith, so we receive blessing because we are part of that
same covenant. That is precisely what Jesus was saying in
verse 11. The many that would come from the East and the
West are those from the Gentile world, which is literally to
the east and west of Israel. Most Jewish people did not
believe that because Jesus’ statement was contrary to their
tradition. They believed that all the Gentiles would be
destroyed before the Kingdom came. Never for a moment did
the Jews believe that the Gentiles would be reclining with
them at the Messianic banquet. However, two thousand years
later here we are, a church filled with Gentiles, and we
will sit down someday in the millennial Kingdom with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Now, if that isn't shocking enough, note what verse 12 says
– “But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the
outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.”
That is a very powerful statement. The Jewish people were
called “sons of the kingdom” because by right they are the
heirs of the promises and privileges that were given to them
(Psalm 147:19-20; Isaiah 63:8-9; Romans 9:4). In spite of
that, many will not be part of the Kingdom, because one does
not enter it based on physical lineage. In John 8, the
Jewish rulers boasted that they were the sons of Abraham.
Jesus said, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet
you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you. I
speak the things which I have seen with My Father; there for
you also do the things which you heard from your fathers.’
They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.’
Jesus said to them, ‘If you are Abraham’s children, do the
deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me,
a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God;
this Abraham did not do.’”
Proudly assuming their right to enter, many sons of the
Kingdom are going to be thrown out, having forfeited their
inheritance by unbelief.
"Outer darkness" was a meaningful phrase in Jewish thought.
The rabbis taught that sinners in Gehenna would be covered
with darkness. They believed that sinners would be sent away
from the light of God's presence. Paradoxically, hell is not
only a place of darkness; it is also a place of fire. Its
supernatural quality enables fire to exist in total
darkness, a phenomenon created by God for eternal
punishment. Outer darkness is a place, just as heaven is.
The horrible result of that punishment will be the “weeping
and gnashing of teeth.” The darkness will cause a loss of
all happiness, helpless despair, and the endless torment of
eternal blackness.
Although some people think that Jesus just talked about
love, the gospels make it clear that He talked a lot about
hell. The message of Jesus is that people who reject Him as
the Messiah, even if they are, the sons of the Kingdom are
going to be thrown into outer darkness.
The promise – “And Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go and it
shall be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant
was healed that very moment’” (verse 13).
Notice the phrase “as you have believed.” Sometimes God
heals people who have no faith. In fact, the Bible does not
say that the servant had any faith; Jesus healed him for the
benefit of the centurion, and everybody else in history who
would read about him.
Do you see what Jesus was saying here? “I cleanse lepers and
heal outcast Gentiles, because My Kingdom encompasses those
who believe in Me, not those who are of some particular
race.”
Conclusion
Many Jewish people in spite of the fact that he was a Roman
soldier and possibly even a Samaritan held the centurion in
high esteem. Do you think that those who disagree with your
commitment to Christ hold you in high esteem because of your
personal integrity? Do you uphold the same high standards of
godliness whether you are at work, at home, in the
community, on vacation, or anywhere else? When we do, even
those who would oppose us can have reason to respect us.
Consider the early church as they preached a controversial
message: the Jewish leaders had rejected and crucified their
Messiah, who had risen from the dead. Among other things,
Acts 2 characterizes the early church as having unity of
mind, gladness, and sincerity of heart (verse 46) As a
result, what were other people’s responses to them,
according to verse 47? Then, even after the fear-inspiring
discipline of Ananias and Sapphira, how did people feel
toward the church according to Acts 5:13? Are you willing to
uphold the smallest commands of God as much as the more
important ones? Do you think your faith would give Jesus any
cause to marvel? Do you have reservations about Jesus' power
or His authority? If so, meditate upon Matthew 28:18; John
11:38-44; 20:30- 31; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1-2; and
Revelation 5.
The Authority of
Jesus Series
To top of
page |
