For I too am a man 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. The centurion's self-understanding as a man under authority is the basis for his understanding of Jesus' authority: command-authority delegated from a higher command produces certain obedience from those below. The centurion knows that effective power flows downward from delegated authority, not upward from the ranks. He perceives that Jesus' authority over disease and demons is the authority of one who operates at the command of a higher power — and that power will produce the same certain result in the servant's body as the centurion's command produces in his soldiers.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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