strength in submission
The centurion said, "For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Luke 7:8
So often we try to make decisions based on our own authority. Sometimes I make decisions and I feel bad about standing firm on an issue. Sometimes I waver and am inconsistent with rules and guidelines I set down.
This Roman Centurion understood how things were supposed to work. He said he was "a man set under authority." Whose authority? Ultimately this man was under the authority of Caesar. And he understood what that meant, and so did the men who were set in authority under him: "As long as he was in submission to his leaders, every command he uttered carried the authority of the Roman Emperor." (The Making of a Disciple, Keith Phillips) When he gave a command, it carried the weight of his authority. His soldiers had to obey him because of the chain of command just as much as they would have to obey the Emperor himself.
The Centurion had heard about who Jesus was (Luke 7:3), to an extent he must have understood that Jesus submitted to the authority of the Father. And, thus, he trusted that Jesus' command carried behind it the power and authority of the Father Himself. And so the Centurion had faith, he trusted that Jesus' command was enough to heal his servant. And Jesus marveled at this man's faith (v9). (I find it interesting that throughout the gospel accounts we see the people marveling and being amazed over and over again at Jesus' statements and His miracles, but here we see Jesus Himself marvel at a man. The only other place I've found Jesus marveling at people [from Nazareth of all places!] was for their unbelief [Mark 6:6].)
But I believe we can learn another lesson from this. I love that quote: "As long as [the centurion] was in submission to his leaders, every command he uttered carried the authority of the Roman Emperor." He goes on to write "...The centurion's authority was great because of whom he represented."
Just as this centurion followed the submission structure of the Roman army, and because of that had great authority when he spoke, we too can have confidence and authority when we speak if we follow God's submission structure. To me that is very comforting. As leader of Student Ministries I have to make a lot of decisions and enforce a lot of rules. Sometimes I have to tell people older than I am things they don't want to hear. That's not easy. But if I am following the leadership of those God has put in authority over me (my senior pastor and the elders), then I can be confident in the decisions I make and the rules I enforce. And if anyone has a complaint against me I can ultimately refer them to the senior pastor or the elders. That's comforting! But if come out from under their authority, if I disregard it, then I am in a dangerous place, I'm all by myself and I don't have a leg to stand on.
I'd rather submit to the authority structure that God has set up.
Whom do you represent?
So often we try to make decisions based on our own authority. Sometimes I make decisions and I feel bad about standing firm on an issue. Sometimes I waver and am inconsistent with rules and guidelines I set down.
This Roman Centurion understood how things were supposed to work. He said he was "a man set under authority." Whose authority? Ultimately this man was under the authority of Caesar. And he understood what that meant, and so did the men who were set in authority under him: "As long as he was in submission to his leaders, every command he uttered carried the authority of the Roman Emperor." (The Making of a Disciple, Keith Phillips) When he gave a command, it carried the weight of his authority. His soldiers had to obey him because of the chain of command just as much as they would have to obey the Emperor himself.
The Centurion had heard about who Jesus was (Luke 7:3), to an extent he must have understood that Jesus submitted to the authority of the Father. And, thus, he trusted that Jesus' command carried behind it the power and authority of the Father Himself. And so the Centurion had faith, he trusted that Jesus' command was enough to heal his servant. And Jesus marveled at this man's faith (v9). (I find it interesting that throughout the gospel accounts we see the people marveling and being amazed over and over again at Jesus' statements and His miracles, but here we see Jesus Himself marvel at a man. The only other place I've found Jesus marveling at people [from Nazareth of all places!] was for their unbelief [Mark 6:6].)
But I believe we can learn another lesson from this. I love that quote: "As long as [the centurion] was in submission to his leaders, every command he uttered carried the authority of the Roman Emperor." He goes on to write "...The centurion's authority was great because of whom he represented."
Just as this centurion followed the submission structure of the Roman army, and because of that had great authority when he spoke, we too can have confidence and authority when we speak if we follow God's submission structure. To me that is very comforting. As leader of Student Ministries I have to make a lot of decisions and enforce a lot of rules. Sometimes I have to tell people older than I am things they don't want to hear. That's not easy. But if I am following the leadership of those God has put in authority over me (my senior pastor and the elders), then I can be confident in the decisions I make and the rules I enforce. And if anyone has a complaint against me I can ultimately refer them to the senior pastor or the elders. That's comforting! But if come out from under their authority, if I disregard it, then I am in a dangerous place, I'm all by myself and I don't have a leg to stand on.
I'd rather submit to the authority structure that God has set up.
Whom do you represent?
posted by Elias at 22:07
5 Comments:
sistre, like how i didn't say "So often we try and make decisions based on our own authority" ?
if anyone who reads this knows of another place where Jesus marvels at a person or people, let me know.
i really do like that you didn't say "try and!!" because you should "try TO" do something; it's not a separate action!
and i agree that it is really interesting to find Christ marvel at someone! i also agree that Christ has a structure to most things if we look at them (i.e. governments, families, the church) and submitting to said structures is the best way to go!!
marvel-thaumazo-to wonder; by impl. to admire, have in admiration,marvel,wonder. I marvel at you!
slmo
i really like the quote, "The centurion's authority was great because of whom he represented."
hum. good stuff.
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