Pastor's Corner: Honoring authority

In Matthew 8:1-13 and Luke 7:1-10 we read the account of the Roman Centurion from Capernaum asking Jesus to heal his servant who was sick and about to die. When Jesus answered that He would go to the house, the centurion responded that he was unworthy for Jesus to enter his home and that all Jesus had to do was say the word and the servant would be healed.

Reading the rest of this account reveals several wonderful gems for living the Christian life in Christ. We struggle with facing hardships and often become distraught over what actions are needed to resolve these problems. Here we see this man of war, a leader of 100 men of battle, a gentile coming to Jesus for the sake of his dying servant,

The first lesson of this passage recognizes that the Centurion is a military man of authority. He receives orders from his superiors and he gives orders to his subordinates knowing that they are followed precisely. Now, this Centurion recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God, a Man of authority over diseases and he asks Jesus to “say the word” for the servant to be healed!  There was no need to lay hands on the boy, nor some ritual ceremony, but simply say the word and the lad would live! Jesus was amazed at the faith of this veteran’s faith! Possibly his military training for this position helped build faith in God’s chain of command and ensured the grace of God’s grace given. 

The second gem is to recognize God’s great compassion to this gentile leader in acting upon this Centurion’s faith. God responds to our hearts needs regardless of our background. Like Cornelius (Acts 10:1-31), Naaman (2Kings 5:1-14) and the Canaanite woman pleading for her daughter’s deliverance (Matthew 15:22-28), all of these were gentiles seeking God for deliverance.  God’s desire is to reconcile all humanity back to His creation design of harmony and unity with our Creator.

As we recognize the veterans among us for their sacrifice for our freedoms, let us also thank them for their honor to authority and remember we, too, are people under God’s great authority as our Creator and Sustainer. Let us also receive His Word, the Bible, given as our marching orders to love Him and our neighbors as ourselves.

(Pastor John Chapman leads the First Baptist Church and is a member of Greater Havre Area Ministry Association.)