Scripture
Matthew 8:5-13 NLT
The Faith of a Roman Officer
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.
But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.
But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.
Devotion
Having the right understanding of authority empowers our faith.
The centurion in this story knew that his servants would listen to him because he had authority. But he also understood that his authority came from the authority he was under. In other words, it wasn’t really him that his servants were obeying — it was ultimately the authority of Caesar, whom he represented.
Amazingly, the centurion recognised that same dynamic in Jesus. He saw that Jesus was under His Father’s authority, and therefore spoke from that authority (see John 14:10). There was no need for force or struggle — the Father’s authority would get it done.
When we ran our Easter Carnival outside on Cecil Street back in April, the weather forecast predicted cold temperatures and rain — not exactly ideal for an outdoor Easter outreach! But because we believed in Jesus’ authority over the natural world, we spoke to the weather in Jesus’ name, commanding it to be sunny and pleasant. We knew we were under God’s authority, and that it was His will to reach out to our community — so we prayed with that authority.
And I don’t know if you were there or remember, but we saw a total turnaround in the weather! The day started off rainy but cleared up before we began — and by the afternoon, it was actually too hot and sunny! One of our team even showed us the radar: there were clouds and rain all over the suburbs, but it was completely clear over South Melbourne!
Coming under the Father’s authority enables you to walk with authority in whatever you face. This is how we live now as Planetshakers. This is our normal life — walking with Divine Authority..
Prayer
Jesus, I believe that You are Lord of all! I know that when You give the word — things change.
Today, I choose to grow in faith, to walk in Your authority, and to speak to things in my life to come into line with Your will.
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