"Under the authority of the Word is every promise of Jesus" (Epiphany 3) — January 26, 2025

26. January 2025

Epiphany 3

Matthew 8:1-14

13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

8 The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.

The Holy Scriptures are careful to distinguish between power and authority. Our English word dynamite is derived from the Greek for power. To exercise power under authority is to serve, protect, guide, instruct, and even love. But to show power without authority is to manipulate, control, manhandle, coerce, abuse, and demean. So, like dynamite, power destroys but can also be used to build up. Or, as your mother probably told you, “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should.” Often, the best question is not what can I do but what have I been authorized to do.

The leper came and confessed that Jesus had the power to heal him. The Scriptures provide many examples of this. But the leper asked Jesus, “Lord, if you will…” The leper recognized that Jesus did not always exercise this power; the ability to heal was under the authority of His will.

And even today, Jesus heals when and where He wills, that is, when and where it benefits our faith. Everything in the Christian life is ordered towards the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. That’s why He sent the now-healed leper to the priests, not only to prove that he was healed and that they may know who Jesus is but also that he would receive the forgiveness daily given out by God in the temple.

This distinction is even more evident with the Centurion. This Gentile officer confesses Jesus Christ, His authority, and His power better than all of Israel. He recognizes in Jesus the authority of the one and only God. Jesus is God in the flesh, the Word that spoke all things into being and that knit his own life together in his mother’s womb.

Jesus told His disciples as He commissioned them to be His apostles, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” St. Stephen sees Jesus “sitting at the right hand of God.” St. Paul to Timothy and St. John confesses in his Apocalypse that Jesus is Kings of kings and Lord of lords. Every authority, from the angels in heaven to the demons below, from rulers on top and peasants at the bottom, is under Christ’s authority. As the Apostle confesses, “At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

The power of Jesus rests in the authority given to Him by the Father. As Jesus says, “I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.” (John 12:49-50) He has the authority to give life because the Father sent him for this purpose.

Consider our politics to demonstrate the misuse and confusion. We’ve seen power and authority confused in our nation. The proper exercise of power under authority is not the way of humanity. We are all about using power to manipulate, control, manhandle, coerce, and abuse. Those men who have stepped out of their jurisdiction have been examined, tried, and impeached. The president can only do what he is given authority to do. Except they often do, power-mad as the sinful flesh is. We’re like Naaman, who thinks He can tell God how to be God.

On both the left and the right, much of the political rhetoric you hear fails to make the clear distinction between power and authority given in today’s appointed Scriptures. What is immediately evident to the Centurion of Capernaum is lost on us: authority and power differ. If we are to be faithful, we must make this distinction. Failure to do so will mess up your faith and church and sabotage your faith. But if you can distinguish these two as they are in the Bible, your faith will be strengthened, your church will be peaceful, and your salvation will be assured.

The correct question is not what I can or want to do (power) but what Jesus gives me to think, say, and do (authority). To be a Christian is to submit to God the Father as dear children, their beloved Father. To be a Christian is to submit to Jesus as a bride to her faithful husband. The Word of God, Jesus, guides our ways and lights our path. Within this submission, the Word has authorized each within their vocation. According to Creation, men are given to teach, protect, and provide. Women are given to nurture, establish, and support. As people are fruitful and multiply, God extends the headship of men to civil government and church. God extends the support of women to society and congregation. God establishes every relationship in excellent order, with Christ Jesus as Lord of all.

We submit to this wonderful order for Christ’s sake. Under the authority of the Word is every promise of Jesus. He promises to give you faith, bring you into His church, and keep you safe and secure here until He comes again for you. He gives you the courage to keep your family under the Word, submitting to Christ for love’s sake. He even dares us to call every authority, earthly or spiritual, to submit to Christ. For our true King, its promises made and promises kept… for your blessing… for your faith… for your church… for your salvation.

This is the Word of the Lord that came to me, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His + Name. AMEN.

Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
St. John Ev. Lutheran Church & School - Sherman Center
Random Lake, Wisconsin