“…but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority…” Matthew 8:8,9
Dear Ones:
In the story of the centurion who came to Jesus on behalf of his servant who was “grievously tormented” because of an illness, we find the Lord Jesus making a most striking statement: “…Truly I say unto you, I have not found SO GREAT FAITH, no, not in Israel.” (v.10) What is it about the matter of submission to authority and faith that is so critical to grasp?
When Jesus was speaking of His upcoming crucifixion, and thus, the laying down of His life, He said: “…No man taketh it (His life) from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have POWER to lay it down, and I have POWER to take it again.” (Jn. 10:18) What is He seeking to communicate to us by this statement? Certainly it concerns the issue of the supreme authority of God over all of creation, visible and invisible. In addition, there is a very applicable truth here for us. It is that when we are submitted to the authority of God, then HIS authority is given to us, as was the case with Jesus, to overcome adversity and our enemy.
James, in writing to Jewish believers scattered across the then known world, placed in their hand a great key. He told them that “…God giveth grace unto the humble.” (Ja. 4:6) Humility is the prelude to that which is to follow concerning spiritual authority: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (v.7) True humility recognizes that we have NO spiritual authority in and of ourselves. It is when, in the economy of God, we see and understand that true authority is given by God, and this by our submission to His authority, that His very authority becomes operational…with a promise: “…he (the devil) will flee from you.” The commitment of resisting our enemy with the authority of Christ will result in victory.
In the case of the centurion who came to Jesus, there was certainly the evidence of humility…for he said to Jesus that he was not worthy that the Lord Jesus should come under his roof. As a commander of a hundred soldiers, in perhaps the greatest army of the then known world, he had every reason to be proud. But he was faced with is own limitations, and the desperate need of his servant. His recourse was two-fold. First, it was to come to Jesus and humble himself before Him, imploring Him to heal his servant. The second was to declare to Jesus that he knew what true faith was, the expression of which was submission to the authority in Heaven. He believed Jesus was under Divine authority, and that He would and could receive that authority from on High to heal his servant. This was, in the words of Jesus, “…so great a faith.” The result of such faith was that Jesus healed the centurion’s servant.
Dear Father, give us to grasp that faith’s expression is not only intellectual, emotional, but primarily volitional…the submitting of the authority of our lives entirely to Thee. Enable us to understand, and to count on, Thy given authority to those who submit to Thee. Grant us the humility to humble ourselves under Thy mighty hand, believing Thee to work wonderfully in answer to prayer and faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad