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This study looks at the healing of the Centurion's servant in Matthew 8 and the healing of the paralytic in Matthew 9. The point of the discussion is that Jesus has authority over everything. I got the idea for this study from “For the Love of God” by D. A. Carson. The Gospels go to great lengths to establish the authority of Christ – it is key aspect of who He is.
Opening question: When was a time that you were given a big responsibility; and what happened? [This might generate some interesting stories.]
Read Matthew 7:28-29: After the Sermon on the Mount, the crowds were amazed by the power of Jesus words. Matthew goes on in the next few chapters to emphasise the power of his actions as well. Today we're going to read about two of the healings which Jesus performed, and we'll ask what kind of authority He claimed to have.
Have Matthew 8:5-13 read out. Jesus' public ministry is in full swing here, and this event takes place in Capernaum, which was Jesus' centre of missionary effort.
v5: What was a Centurion? [A military commander! He commanded a squadron of 80 soldiers – a standing army big enough to take care of a small city or a group of villages. He would be accountable to a senior officer, the Tribune, who is like an Admiral today. The Tribune would be under the direct orders of Caesar himself, who at this time was Tiberius. Rome was a Military dictatorship, and its military hierarchy was the tightest and most effective that the world had ever seen.]
v6: Why would this guy have sought out Jesus? [Jesus had become popular as a healer.]
Do we notice anything unexpected about this Centurion, even with just these words? [He is sympathetic to his servant. The stereotypical military commander would have no such compassion!]
v7: Jesus' response is to go and give help immediately.
Read v8-9 carefully. What is the Centurion saying here? [Get people's opinions. If someone gets it right, great, but usually people get this one all wrong. The Centurion here has a humble faith in Jesus because Jesus, like him, is a man under authority. Imagine that Caesar decides he's going to invade a new territory. The order goes through the Tribune, who will then order the Centurions to gather each of their squadrons...
Ask: So, when a Centurion gives a command to his soldier, is he commanding under his own authority? Answer: No! He is speaking with the authority of his superiors. In fact, it is as if Caesar himself is giving the order. If a soldier disobeyed, the punishment was death. This is not because the Centurion is so powerful, but because he is a man under authority, and if he is disobeyed, Caesar is disobeyed. The chain of command means that when a Centurion speaks to a soldier, Rome speaks.]
Say: With this in mind, let's reread v8-9. What is the Centurion really saying? [The answer should now be obvious. The Centurion is to be respected and obeyed because he is a man under authority, with people under him. In the same way, the Centurion understood that Jesus was a man under authority. When He spoke, it was as if God Himself was speaking. Jesus spoke with God's authority. Because of this, the Centurion knew that Jesus could do anything at a word, regardless of distance, just like God (and Caesar, so to speak).]
Say: When Jesus speaks, God speaks. With the eyes of faith, the Centurion was able to draw an analogy with his own situation in order to profoundly understand Jesus' authority.
v10: What is Jesus' response? [Astonishment at the Centurion's amazing spiritual insight.]
v11-12: Who are the subjects of the kingdom? [The Jews.] What contrast is Jesus drawing here? [He is saying the many Gentiles (those “from east and west”) will join the Jews in the Kingdom of God.]
v13: Was the Centurion's faith vindicated? [An easy one to end on!]
Say: We'll now look another healing of Jesus, to see what more we can learn about His authority. Who would like to read Matthew 9:1-8?
v1: Jesus has returned home to Nazareth. Most of his public ministry was confined to the area around the Sea of Galilee.
v2: How could Jesus have seen their faith? [No correct answer. My opinion: They had travelled so far with a paraplegic, which would have been a lot of work, for no reason other than the hope that Jesus could heal him. That takes faith!]
What is Jesus' response to the paralytic? [To forgive his sins.]
But he wanted healing, not forgiveness. Why would Jesus do that? [Get people's opinions. This is a very difficult question, because Jesus seems to be saying that people get sick because they're in sin, which is not always true. The most likely answer is that Jews always believed that if you were sick, it was because of sin. (This explains the Rabbi's confusion in John 9:1: He reasoned, “We only get sick because we sin, so how can someone be born sick?” You may even like to read John 9:1 to show that this was the prevailing attitude of the day). So, Jesus knew that if anyone got sick, they would be convinced that they needed mercy. That's why so many sick people in the Gospels cry out for mercy instead of healing (see, for instance Matthew 9:27 - they are convinced that if they were just forgiven, then they would get well immediately!, because they thought their suffering was due to their sin). It may be helpful to just reaffirm the fact that suffering is not due to our sin - it could be a multitude of other reasons, as the book of Job makes abundantly clear.]
Given these facts, how can we understand Jesus' words in v2? Is he saying that people only get sick due to sin? [The answer should be obvious now, but get people's opinions. Most likely, Jesus gives the man forgiveness because that is what he so desperately desired.]
v3: How do the religious leaders react? [Outrage. Blasphemy (such as claiming to be God) is an offence worthy of death.]
Why were they so outraged? [Because only God gives forgiveness for sins. Jesus is claiming God's authority again!]
v4-5: Jesus here asks a rhetorical question. What is the answer? [It's surprising how few people actually think about this answer to this rather straightforward question! The answer is “It is easier to say Your sins are forgiven.” Why? Because forgiveness is unseen, anyone can say it, and who knows if they're telling the truth! But to say “Get up and walk” requires immediate miraculous intervention.]
What is the point of Jesus' rhetorical question? [He is pointing out how ridiculous it is for the Rabbi's to be so outraged simply because He forgave someone their sins!]
v6-7: Jesus now makes the more difficult claim (Get up and walk), and is successful. What has Jesus tried to prove here? [By demonstrably doing the more difficult task, He proves His authority to do the “easier” task: To forgive.]
Say: The Jews were correct in their belief that only God can grant eternal forgiveness. No mortal can restore his relationship with the divine by his own efforts – forgiveness comes from God alone. In this passage, Jesus sought to prove His authority to grant the forgiveness of sins. And that is a bold claim indeed!
v8: What was the response of the crowd? [They were amazed, and confounded by the authority that Jesus had. “How could a man have such authority?”, they wondered.]
In the two passages we've looked at today, we have sought to uncover different aspects of Jesus' authority. We have seen that in His day, people saw Jesus' life, heard His words and witnessed His miracles, and concluded that He had the authority of God. The Centurion saw that when Jesus spoke, God Himself was speaking. The crowd around the paralytic was struck by Jesus' evidence that He, like God, had the authority to forgive sins. Jesus made many other powerful and unique claims of authority. In what ways are we discovering the power of Jesus in our lives today?
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