“Under Authority” (Luke 7:1-10) - 2nd Sunday after Pentecost -

Power and Authority

The theme of this week’s 4 lectionary passages (1 Kings 18, Psalm 96, Galatians 1, and Luke 7) is about power and authority. I would like to start with a story of Pastor A.W. Tozer, who was a well-respected and beloved pastor. His very last message, The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches, was published 2 days after his death. It was his valedictory. In his last message he expressed his concern for today’s church in this way: “Jesus Christ has today almost no authority at all among the groups that call themselves by His name. By these I mean not the Roman Catholics nor the liberals, nor the various quasi-Christian cults. I do mean Protestant churches generally, and I include those that protest the loudest that they are in spiritual descent from our Lord and His apostles, namely, the evangelicals.”[1] Then he offers some concrete proof to support his charge that Christ has little or no authority today among the churches. He asks, “What church board consults our Lord’s words to decide matters under discussion?” He grieves that our church meetings are habitually opened with a formal prayer; after that the Head of the Church is respectfully silent while the real rulers take over. He also grieves that today’s church becomes more and more committee-driven, rule-driven and less Christ-centered and the word-driven. We cannot deny the fact that Christ’s authority in his church is challenged or even ignored today. But today’ passage, the story of the centurion, declares the truth lour and clear that Christ still has authority over all. The centurion acknowledged and fully understood the authority of Jesus. To be more precise, how did the centurion acknowledge the authority of Jesus?

Authority over “Custom”

First, the centurion believed that Jesus has authority over custom. Luke 7:3 says that the centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. The centurion was well aware of the Jewish custom, in this case ceremonial law, regarding Gentiles. He knew the Jewish people are reluctant to converse with Gentiles. That is why he didn’t even consider himself as a Gentile worthy to come to Jesus and ask him in person. So he sent the Jewish elders. He also knew that a Jewish teacher could not enter a Gentile house because that would defile himself. The centurion respected the Jewish custom, but that custom couldn’t hinder him from experiencing Jesus Christ who brings physical, spiritual, and emotional healing to his life. This man had faith that surpassed the power of custom and tradition.

One day a rich young man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus said, “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” The man said, “I have kept all of them. I have faithfully followed all of our father’s religious customs and traditions. What do I still lack?” Jesus said, “You still lack one thing! You have never got out of your comfort zone – your custom and your tradition. Are you willing to follow me at the risk of getting out of the boat?” Then the man became very sad and went away (cf. Luke 18:18-23). Today many churches, including our church, praise the Lord Jesus Christ and preach about him. We worship according to our custom. We run the church according to our tradition. And it must be right because we have always done it that way. The power of custom is like gravitation. It exerts a steady and constant pressure over every area of the church in one direction, that is the status quo. In this case custom is lord, not Christ. In the story of the rich young man, “custom” does not just mean religious practice, but also Jesus expands the concept of custom to family system, blood ties and regionalism. Jesus said, “Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life” (Matt 19:29, NLT). And the centurion responded by faith, “Yes, Lord! I believe you have authority over my family traditions, my cultural customs, and my religious practices. Come, and heal my servant!”

Authority over “My Way”

Secondly, the centurion believed that Jesus has authority over “my way.” At fist, he was expecting that Jesus would come and heal his servant. That was his expectation, his way. But then, he even gave it up. In verse 6 he sent his friends to say to Jesus: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Probably, you remember the story of Naaman, the commander of Aram’s army, in 2 Kings 5. He was a highly regarded soldier, but he had leprosy. He heard the news that the prophet in Samaria could heal any diseases. He traveled from Damascus to Samaria, a distance of over 100 miles, to see Elisha to cure him of his leprosy. Finally he arrived at the door of Elisah’s house. But Elisha didn’t come out; instead, his servant came out and delivered the message: “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan.” Then, Naaman became furious and went away, saying, “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!" I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me!” (v. 11, NLT) That was his expectation, his way. But thankfully, Naaman changed his mind and decided to follow Elisha’s instruction. When he set aside his way and acknowledged God’s authority over his way, he then experienced healing and restoration in his life.

Our practical question is this: Can we believe in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, even if we don’t see or hear so called “real proofs”? We often want God to come and speak with us, and we are insisting that he do it again. Oswald Chambers said, “How many of us have set ourselves aside as if to say, “I cannot do anything else until God appears to me”? He will never do it. We will have to get up on our own, without any inspiration and without any sudden touch from God. Then comes our surprise and we find ourselves exclaiming, “Why, He was there all the time, and I never knew it!””[2] The centurion did walk by faith. He believed that whether Jesus would directly come and speak to him or just say the word where he was, he had authority over illness. The centurion believed, and he saw the glory of God.

Authority over “All”

Thirdly, the centurion believed that Jesus has authority over “all.” In verse 8 he said, “For I myself am a man under authority.” He had authority from Rome. He was able to enforce the obedience of his soldiers under him. But at the same time, he recognized that Jesus had a higher authority from God. Jesus was in the very nature God but did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Instead, he voluntarily emptied himself, took the form of a slave, and became human. Then he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Phil 2:6-9). The highest authority is given to Jesus in response to his death on the cross. And now we are acceptable to God and have spiritual authority as his children, not because we have obeyed, nor because we have given up things, but because of the death of Christ. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples!” The centurion fully understood Jesus’ authority over all. He also understood the strength of authority. As a Roman soldier, he understood he had authority over his people when he surrendered to his superior authority, such as chiliarch and caesar. In the same way, we Christians have spiritual authority when we are surrendered to Christ Jesus our Lord. Our authority comes from surrender. Authority is different from power. Authority comes from the office. Power resides in the person. Pastor Adrian Rogers gives us a good illustration of how these two are different: “Football players, big and fierce, have power. The only man on the football field without a uniform and pads, armed only with a whistle, he – the little guy – has the authority. He can stop a play or send guys to the locker room. Jesus says that we are the "little guy."”[3] We are weak, but he is strong. In Christ we are strong. Our strength comes from His authority. The more we acknowledge Jesus’ authority, the more we experience His power in our lives. If we acknowledge Jesus as a good moral teacher, we will live a moral life. But if we acknowledge Jesus as God in the flesh, we will experience God’s forgiveness, freedom, and healing in our lives. So let us step out in faith and acknowledge Jesus’ authority over our custom – our family custom, our church custom, and our local custom. Let us humbly surrender and acknowledge his authority over our way. And let us declare Jesus’ authority over all and exalt and sing his holy name forever! As our response to the Word, I would like to sing with you Larry Hampton’s “Hail to the King.” This song beautifully declares Jesus’ supreme authority as follows: 

You came to us a man, in very nature God
Pierced for our iniquities as You hung upon the cross
But God exalted You to the highest place
And gave to You the right to bear
The Name above all names
That at the Name of Jesus we should bow
And every tongue confess that You are Lord
And when You come in glory for the world to see
We will sing...

Hail to the King,

in all His splendour and majesty
Hail to the King of kings,

Lord Jesus, our God!

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[1] A.W. Tozer, The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches: Tozer's Very Last Message to the Church (CrossReach Publications, 2015), Kindle Location 16-18.

[2] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, May 1, 2016, “Faith – Not Emotion,” http://utmost.org/faith-not-emotion/

[3] Adrian Rogers, Sermon: Strength through Authority – Luke 7, http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-strength-through-authority-luke-7