Matthew 8:5 As Yeshua entered K’far-Nachum, a Roman army officer came up and pleaded for help. 6 “Sir, my orderly is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly!” 7 Yeshua said, “I will go and heal him.” 8 But the officer answered, “Sir, I am unfit to have you come into my home. Rather, if you will only give the command, my orderly will recover. 9 For I too am a man under authority. I have soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 On hearing this Yeshua was amazed and said to the people following him, “Yes! I tell you, I have not found anyone in Isra’el with such trust! 11 Moreover, I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west to take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. 12 But those born for the Kingdom will be thrown outside in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!” 13 Then Yeshua said to the officer, “Go; let it be for you as you have trusted.” And his orderly was healed at that very moment.
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Luke 7:1 When Yeshua had finished speaking to the people, he went back to K’far-Nachum. 2 A Roman army officer there had a servant he regarded highly, who was sick to the point of death. 3 Hearing about Yeshua, the officer sent some Jewish elders to him with the request that he come and heal his servant. 4 They came to Yeshua and pleaded earnestly with him, “He really deserves to have you do this, 5 for he loves our people — in fact, he built the synagogue for us!” 6 So Yeshua went with them. He had not gone far from the house, when the officer sent friends who said to him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I’m not worthy to have you come under my roof — 7 this is why I didn’t presume to approach you myself. Instead, just give a command and let my servant recover. 8 For I too am a man set under authority. I have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9 Yeshua was astonished at him when he heard this; and he turned and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Isra’el have I found such trust!” 10 When the messengers got back to the officer’s house, they found the servant in good health.
Huh…a Roman army officer. And again we see that healing came due to trust. No hands needed.
This story is chock full of detail but there are a few things that really stand out to me (out of order).
If Yeshua could heal the servant remotely, why would He bother going to the man’s house in the first place? That’s exactly what He did with the royal officer. Why would He not just do that same thing here?
It’s almost as if Yeshua was expecting people to have little to no trust. So maybe going to the guy’s house would give Him an opportunity to share with him the truth and help build his trust. He seemed to have an affinity (or at least a healthy respect) for the Jews and enjoyed helping them when he had the chance. He used his authority within the Roman government to serve those that he had no expectation of serving.
Since he honored God’s people, maybe he’d be open to hearing the Good News, repenting of his Roman-ness, and swaying many other Romans into following suit. Then the oppression would lift and Yeshua could then step into His role of King of Israel. Problem solved.
Of course, this would not at all be Yeshua’s motivation. He didn’t need any man to change so He could fulfill His call here on earth. But He does seem interested in building trust.
With the royal officer, there was no audience. But thanks to the leprous man, people were flocking to Him waiting to see what He’ll do next. Hoping to perhaps get their share of what this Man has on offer. In addition to those following, there were also many Jewish elders and friends of this officer that were roped into the fold. Knowing they were all paying attention, He knew the people needed to see the result of the healing themselves in order to build trust.
This, I believe, was why He agreed to go to the officer’s house.
But the lesson came in a different vein where the people could learn something far greater about the authority given to Yeshua here on earth.
But before we look at the authority in play, let’s look at one other thing that I find interesting.
What does it mean for Yeshua to be astonished? I mean, this is the Son of God and was there at the foundation of the world. What could possibly surprise Him? How could He be caught off guard?
But apparently, with this man’s words, He was shocked. Claiming that, in His experience, there has been no one in Israel with that kind of trust. Think about that. We know the disciples are still in the process of figuring out what it means to trust, but His mom seems to be aware of His abilities. But even she must have a few holes in her trust. Seriously, think about all of the people alive during this time.
This officer isn’t even a believer, in the traditional sense. He may not believe in God, but He understands authority. And the word on the street is that this Man can heal. He doesn't question how it’s done, he just believes the testimony of others. If He can heal, then He can decide who, what, when, where, and how He wants to do it. No questions asked. There is no reasoning built into his request. It’s as simple as, “if He decides to do it, it will be done.”
The fact that someone can trust simply because of an authoritative structure, with no questions asked, is absolutely amazing in a rebellious world.
Think about it. The world is exactly how it is because of rebellion, i.e., a lack of submission to authority.
What does the authority structure described by the Roman officer have to do with Yeshua? Did he know the sickness would have to obey Yeshua’s authority? Did he know Yeshua Himself was under authority? Was the Roman officer submitting to Yeshua’s authority?
It seems like the officer knew that a word that comes from high up gets fully pushed down AND executed. No backtalk, no questioning, no laziness or indifference in its execution. It gets done. Period.
There is no place strict obedience has more value than in the military. When people’s lives are on the line, there is no time to sit and debate about whether you feel like obeying or not. Someone with much more authority and much more information sees what you can’t see. They have insight that does not need to be shared with someone whose job it is to simply execute actions quickly and swiftly so that a mission can be completed successfully. Time is usually of the essence so just do what you're told and trust the ones above you.
Rebellion in this type of situation can cause a campaign to fail at minimum, or people to die at worst. Repeated rebellion leads to the fall of not just your military but the nation altogether. Anarchy reigns and the person that has a group of people that operate with blind obedience the quickest will take charge and the process starts all over again.
Here we have a man that refuses to entertain rebellion. And that is not something common among humanity. Look at those living in Israel at this time. They were begging for a rebellion that would “set them free” but as history teaches, they wouldn't be free at all. They’d just have to submit to some other oppressive group because they haven’t dealt with their core issue: rebellion.
People claim to submit to God, but do they? If children can’t submit to their parents, how could they possibly submit to God? If wives can’t submit to their husbands, how can they submit to God? If you can’t submit to your boss, how can you submit to God?
So we tumble around in this destructive cycle of refusing to submit, creating an environment of oppression, complaining about it, rebelling with our attitudes and judgments, then wondering why we are in an oppressive situation.
“It’s unfair!”
Ah, the warcry of the rebellious. Go ahead, take this rebellious attitude and walk up to the Messiah begging for help — assuming that somehow you are innocent and deserve to be delivered.
Don’t you know your life is the way it is because of your decisions?! Mine sure is.
Why can’t we just submit? Why do we need reasons and explanations before we decide to trust that Abba has over us exactly who needs to be over us? He has the entire authority structure over you for your benefit. Why can’t we just trust Him?
I’d guess it’s because we think we are far more important than we really are. We are so full of pride it’s nauseating. The only thing we deserve is death. Because if we don’t die, then so many others may. Our rebellion is toxic and will leech into everyone else’s life. Our judgments and twisted beliefs will get slowly peppered in the lives of everyone around us. We’ll bring them down with us. Combine this with the fact that they are doing the same thing to us and you now have a community and subsequent nation bringing itself to its knees. Look around and tell me I’m wrong.
Back to this Roman officer. Now can you see why Yeshua would be so surprised? It’s one thing to be a good soldier and understand authority in a military structure, but this man truly knew and understood how all of life works. Which is also made clear in his helping the people in the land. He wasn’t just waking up everyday to do his job. He woke up everyday to do His job -- even though he had no knowledge of Abba directly. Submitting to authority and serving those under him, that is Kingdom living.
How surprising it must have been to hear this Rabbi speak so highly of a secular Roman officer. The people that followed were wanting their heritage honored but now they are being told that this man was far more trusting than any of them. In fact, He even used their heritage in His example. The play on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Matthew’s narrative is a direct kick in the teeth.
But those born for the Kingdom will be thrown outside in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!
If this isn’t a call to humility, I don’t know what is. This call is also put to our feet. Assuming that we are ok just because we grew up in church or have been attending for a long time means very little if there is a rebellious spirit within you.
Healing could come with just a word but our lack of submission won’t allow it.