As One with Authority (3): Understanding Authority -- January 31, 2010

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."

Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

(Matthew 8:5-13)

In one of his books author R. C. Sproul tells the story of a burglar stalking an unsuspecting neighborhood. He noticed one family who was obviously preparing to leave for vacation as they loaded up their car and headed off. The thief waited till dark, then approached the front door and rang the bell. No answer. So then he deftly picked the lock and let himself in. He called into the darkness, "Is anybody home?" He was stunned to hear a voice reply back, "I see you, and Jesus sees you." Terrified, the buglar cried out, "Who's there?" Again, there was this voice, "I see you, and Jesus sees you." The thief switched on his flashlight and aimed it in the direction of the voice. He was instantly relieved when he saw a caged parrot reciting the refrain, "I see you, and Jesus sees you." The burglar laughed out loud and switched on the lights. Then it came to light. Right below the parrot's cage was a Doberman pinscher. Then the parrot said, "Attack, Jesus, attack!" (quoted in C. Swindoll's Tale of the Tardy Ox Cart, pg.594, 595)

Now, I don't know if that's a true story, but late one night I had the shock of my life. I had been grocery shopping. And as I drove home there was a newspaper left in a bundle on the driveway. I hastily took the paper, unlocked the house, let the kids in, and tossed the paper into the hall so I could go unload the car. When I came back in the front hall, there was blood splattered all over the front hall and wall! Had the kids been injured? Was there someone else in the house? My heart was racing!

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't blood at all. It was ketchup. A small packet of ketchup had been left on the floor from an earlier fast-food foray. The newspaper bundle hit the ketchup, the packet exploded, and I walked in on what looked like the set of a Mel Gibson film! But I'll tell you, I took a while for my pulse to slow down!

Sometimes, we can be so easily surprised. But not God. There are no surprises for God. He knows it all. He sees it all. He is never caught off guard. Which makes this passage here in Matthew so, well, ... surprising. Here, in Matthew 8, we see an astonished Jesus. Now, that really is surprising because Jesus is fully God. But we can't forget that Jesus is also fully human. And while Jesus really is fully God, it's in His total humanity that we see the Surprised Savior.

What astonished Him so? I think it may have been that statement by the centurion: "But just say the word, and my servant will be healed." That shocked Jesus. The reasons Jesus was so surprised are many, but one key thing is that this centurion had somehow grasped the authority of Jesus.

This centurion was not a part of what was traditionally thought of as the people of God. He wasn't a Jew. He was a Roman centurion. A military man, a Roman captain in charge of a hundred soldiers beneath him. He wasn't a part of the people of God. He played a key role in what many thought was the enemy of the people -- the occupying Roman army. His troops would have been comprised of non-Jewish men -- Jews were exempt from serving in the army -- probably recruited from places like nearby Syria and Lebanon. And he was a man of authority, and a man under authority. One scholar described centurions of that time as "the military backbone throughout the empire, maintaining discipline and executing orders." (D.A. Carson)

And our passage opens with this man approaching Jesus on behalf of his servant who is laid up at home, paralyzed and in terrible suffering. Immediately in verse 7 Jesus says to this man, "I will go and heal him." But in actuality, there are many biblical scholars who believe that the force and import of Jesus' words here are actually a question in the form of a challenge. As in, "Am I (and in the original language the "am I" is emphatic here, so Am I), I Jew, go and heal him?"

And the way the centurion answers this query in the form of a challenge is both telling and amazing: Vs.8, "The centurion replied, 'Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof." (By the way, I wonder how many people think that way of Jesus. "How can I have a relationship or an on-going friendship with Jesus when I don't deserve to go anywhere near Him?") But the centurion says, " 'Lord, I don't deserve to have you come under my roof.' But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go," and he goes; and that one, "Come," and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.'"

And that, verse 10 tells us, shocked Jesus -- He was totally blown away by this man's response. It could be that this man felt he was undeserving to have Jesus come so near that shocked and amazed Jesus -- but I'm not sure that's really it. It could be that Jesus was amazed that this man trusted Him to heal his servant at a distance. And I think that may be getting closer, because Jesus does praise this man's faith in verses 10-12. But I want to suggest this morning that the thing that really impressed Jesus was this man's faith or simple trust in Jesus, coupled with his understanding of Jesus' authority.

Initially, it may seem that this man was simply and directly relating the nature of Jesus' authority with that of his own. But I think there's a lot more going on here than that. But to get there, we have to take a moment to go beneath the surface of this man's own understanding of authority.

Remember, this man was a centurion, a military captain in charge of a hundred soldiers -- but he wasn't just any old centurion, he was a Roman centurion. We may suppose from their conversation the emphasis is on the nature of man here. But really, the emphasis here is on this centurion's understanding of authority. See, this man was under the authority of the Roman Emperor. The emperor, at that time, was king -- literally. So all authority back then belonged to the emperor and was delegated to his underlings. So as this centurion spoke, he spoke with the emperor's authority -- so his command was obeyed as that coming directly from the emperor himself. So a common footsoldier who disobeyed would not be defying a mere centurion -- he'd be defying the emperor himself, he'd be going against Rome itself, with all of its imperial majesty and might.

So what this man does is apply this to Jesus: This man somehow realizes that Jesus is vested with God's authority. So when Jesus speaks, God speaks. So, therefore, Jesus' Word must be vested with God's authority that is able to heal this servant's illness. As New Testament scholar D.A. Carson says, "This analogy, though not perfect, reveals an astonishing faith that recognizes that Jesus needed neither ritual, magic, nor any other kind of help; his authority was God's authority, and his word was effective because it was God's word."

In Mark 6:6 Jesus is astonished at deeply rooted unbelief -- so here He is astonished (same word used!) at the faith of this centurion. So surprised was He that Jesus says something even more surprising in response to all this. In verses 10-12 Jesus proclaims, " 'I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'" Now, remember, Israel was understood by His hearers as the bona fide people of God. And Jesus goes on to say, " 'I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" Whoa, talk about the unexpected! What is Jesus getting at here?

Well, I think Jesus is trying to tell us that there are going to a lot of surprises when it comes to heaven. The people of that time automatically supposed that since they were part of the nation of Israel, since they were part of the chosen people of God, they were a lock for having a place at the table of the great feast of the kingdom -- they were shoe-ins. But Jesus is saying something quite different: He's saying as people come from all over to take their place at the table of the kingdom of heaven -- there's going to be one colossal surprise as to who's in on the party and who's out. It isn't going to be folks that just assume they're going to have a place at the table because of their religiousity or national background.

Instead, it's going to be people who have trusted in Jesus and who have taken Him at His Word who will find a place at the table -- while those who just assumed they make it will be out on their keister! Think back for a moment at this military man's attitude and trust in Jesus: Remember what he told Jesus? First he said, "Lord, I don't even deserve you under my roof." But then he says, "But just say the word, and my servant will be healed." That mixture of humility and faith aren't things that repel Jesus, they are things that impress and attract Him. For this man, Jesus' Word was all he needed. For him, it was enough. And in response to that humility and simple faith, Jesus declares this man to be on the vanguard of a whole bunch of people who come to a right relationship with God from every corner of the globe: They may not be religious enough, or good enough, or respectable enough -- but in the end none of those things really matter at all to Jesus. What matters most is that total humility and simple trust in Jesus.

As I get longer in the tooth as a Christ-follower, I realize I don't have to be "enough" of anything-- I don't have to be good enough or competent enough or anything enough -- I just have to trust Jesus radically and take Him at His Word. Like that centurion, you and I may not even feel deserving enough for Jesus to come under our roof, no less come and be a part of our lives. But as we trust in His Word even that sense of not being deserving surprises and amazes Jesus to no end. What matters most to Him is our trust in His Word and our trust in Him.

In verse 13, Jesus tells this man who had no claim to the people of God -- who, in fact, was actually playing for the other team -- still, Jesus tells him, " 'Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.'" See, it wasn't just that the man believed that made all the difference. It was that this man placed his belief in Jesus. This man believed in Jesus so much that he simply said, "just say the word, and it'll be done."

What about us? Can we join this man with that kind of radical humility and trust? That's really what it's all about: Radical humility, "Lord, I don't even deserve You to come under my roof." And then radical trust, "But just say the word, and my servant will be healed." In John 6 Jesus said, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." That is, simply believe in Jesus. And in that very say chapter Jesus went on to say, "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believe in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise (that person) up at the last day." (John 6:29, 40) Humility and trust -- it all comes down to that. Humility in admitting we could never be good enough to gain heaven -- ever -- we can never do it on our own, we need Jesus and the price He paid on our behalf on the Cross to get us there. And trust -- trust that His sacrifice, His victory in the Empty tomb is all we need -- that's it's enough. Humility and trust -- that's what this military man shows us. "Just say the word, Lord, and that'll be enough for me." Last week I came across a quote that seems to say it all. It says, "The Gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet you are more accepted and loved than you ever dared hope because Jesus lived and died in your place." (P. Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Church, pg.81)

A poet once told the story of a long-forgotten battlefield where a fierce engagement had been fought. That night two believers moved among the dead and dying, speaking words of comfort, offering guidance, making promises to carry messages, and speaking to soldiers under command about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They came across one young man -- so white and still was he they thought him dead. But then they heard a soft sigh -- he was barely alive. And they knelt down and gently but earnestly told him things about Jesus. How amazed they were when bloodless lips moved and spoke a gentle "Hush!" Then the dying soldier, with great effort whispered, "Hush! For the angels call the muster roll! I wait to hear my name!"

Then the poet wrote, "They spoke no more. What need to speak again? For now full well They knew on whom his dying hopes were fixed, And what his prospects were. So, hushed and still, They, kneeling, watched.

And presently a smile, As of the most thrilling and intense delight, Played for a moment on the soldier's face, And with one last breath he whispered, "Here!" (quoted in J. McGuiggan's, Celebrating the Wrath of God, pg.190, 191)

Yes, there'll be some great surprises indeed. But understanding Jesus' authority is to grasp the fact that at His Word we can be changed, regardless of the distance between us and Him.