The Gospel of Matthew begins with the birth of Jesus, and by Ch 3 we come to Jordan, where Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist and receives the Holy Spirit, and in Ch 4, is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be ‘tempted by the devil’. Ouf!
From there, Jesus leaves for Galilee. This is immediately after His baptism in the Holy Spirit and His temptation by the devil. Now He begins His ministry. Ch 4.23 says He went about all Galilee, preaching the Kingdom in their synagogues, healing all manner of sickness and disease – and His fame, went out so widely, v24, it reached all Syria, and great multitudes came from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from Trans Jordan to hear Him! So even at this early stage, His ministry is so strong, it’s already reaching a vast area and great multitudes! And seeing the multitudes, He takes them into a mountain to teach and minister to them – Chs 5, 6 & 7.
Now in Ch 8.1-4, He comes down the mountain, followed by the crowds. A leper comes to Him and says to Him – I’m quite fascinated by this – “If You WANT, You CAN heal me of my leprosy!” What a strong, bold statement! Leprosy was incurable! So, already at this stage, there is an incredible level of faith in what He can do! And yes, of course the leper was healed. Jesus says to him, “I will!” And He does!
Next, in v5, Jesus comes into Capernaum, and a centurion comes to Him – he’s not a Jew, he’s a Roman soldier, an officer in the army that is occupying the land. But this officer comes to Jesus saying, “My servant is at home, sick of the palsy – paralysed – and grievously tormented.” Immediately Jesus responds, “I will come and heal him.” That’s Jesus – the willingness – He would even go to a Roman and heal his servant. But the Roman says, no, I’m not a Jew, I’m not good enough for You to come to my home. Yes, I’m an officer – but I’m not worthy of You!
You can imagine what those Roman officers got up to, believe me! They weren’t normally kind, gentle people, they had the power to be brutal. Yet – and this is very interesting – he says, “I’m not worthy to have You in my house, but SPEAK ONLY A WORD, and my servant will be healed!” He recognised the AUTHORITY Jesus had! Stop here for a moment.
You see, it wasn’t just the centurion who recognised the authority of Jesus, but the ordinary people, back up on that mountain in Chs 5,6 &7, THEY saw the authority He had! You see, the scribes studied and taught ‘from the Book’. But even the ordinary people saw that there’s a vast difference between ‘teaching from the Book’ and speaking with AUTHORITY as Jesus did – not from intellectual study, but from a life lived with practice and experience. Matthew 7.28-29.
My whole life has been putting into practice what I have believed – and I’ve gained unbelievable experiences with God. All my life, whether it was the cancers, the communist prison, all my ministry, the whole of my life has simply been putting into practice what I believe.
In His teaching, in healing the sick, in His life, Jesus SHOWED who He was by the AUTHORITY that He had. The crowds following Jesus sensed this. I don’t suppose that the centurion had been on the mountain, but he must certainly have heard of Christ’s reputation. As a soldier, he understood authority. He had to respond to the authority of his superiors. And in turn, he had authority over those under him. It’s the chain of command. Under the authority of Rome, he only had to say to his soldiers, “Obey! DO IT!” – and they did! A soldier HAS to obey his commanding officer. When he says, “Go, do this!” – he does it! When the centurion said to Jesus, “You have authority; I’m a man under authority, and I’ve got soldiers under me” he understood, in a very practical way, the authority that Jesus had!
So I think we ourselves need to reassess the relationship we have with God through Christ. Everything that Jesus did in all His human ministry, was under the authority of His Father! I’ve been looking at His relationship with His Father. It’s the same relationship of command and authority that the centurion had. Jesus had authority to command, because all the time He was on earth, He was under the authority of His Father. Jesus obeyed Him. One of the last things He says to His disciples before He leaves them is this, “While I was with you, you asked Me, and I gave you what you asked. But when I’m gone, you will ask the Father, direct – in My Name – He will give it to you – and I will do it!”
He’s passing on the authority to heal the sick to His disciples. He says, “You used to ask Me, and I gave you what you asked. But now, I’m giving you a DIFFERENT level of authority! Ask the Father direct, in My Name, and it will be done.”