Authority at a Distance: Faith That Carries Others

Matthew 8 brings another Gentile before Jesus, not the Canaanite woman this time, but a Roman centurion in Capernaum. The centurion comes begging Jesus for his servant, sick of the palsy and grievously tormented. Jesus says that he will come and heal him, but the centurion stops him with a faith that does not need Jesus in the same room. The centurion says that Jesus only has to speak the word, and his servant shall be healed.

The centurion understands authority because he is a man under authority. Rome stands behind him, and his soldiers move when he commands. That kind of authority is delegated, but Jesus carries divine authority. Matthew 28 says all power is given unto him in heaven and in earth, and real faith yields to that authority before it ever tries to stand in that authority.

Real faith does not just want power from God. Real faith gets under God. The servant of God proves faithfulness in little things before God gives greater things. The small things matter, whether that means serving, moving chairs, cleaning, or doing what nobody sees, because God looks for loyalty before he entrusts more responsibility.

The centurion also knows that distance means nothing to the word of Jesus. Psalm 107 says God sent his word and healed them. Genesis says God spoke light into existence. John says the Word was made flesh. So Jesus does not need a location, a ritual, a ceremony, or even physical touch. The word itself is enough.

The centurion’s faith is called great faith, mega faith, abundant faith. Great faith has overflow. It has enough left over to carry somebody else. Mark 2 shows the same thing when the friends tear up the roof and lower the sick man down before Jesus. Jesus sees their faith and heals the man. Sometimes the one needing the miracle does not have the faith, but a friend can carry him to Jesus.

Jesus marvels at the centurion’s faith, and Jesus also marvels at unbelief in his own hometown. Faith and unbelief both amaze him, but in opposite directions. Hebrews 11 says without faith it is impossible to please God, and God rewards those who diligently seek him. The reward is tied to seeking him, because seeking him changes desire, character, mercy, love, and obedience.

The servant is healed in the same hour. Faith submits to God’s authority, trusts God’s word, overflows to others, and pleases God. The altar call becomes one plain question: who is God calling a believer to carry to Jesus?

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Real faith gets under authority. Faith does not use God’s authority while resisting God’s rule. The centurion understood command because he first understood submission, and that is why his faith made sense to Jesus. God entrusts more to the one who has been faithful in the little things, because authority without surrender becomes pride dressed up like spirituality. [26:16]
• 2. Jesus only needs to speak. The word of Christ is not weakened by distance, sickness, demons, or human limitation. The centurion did not require a visit, a touch, or a visible sign, because he believed the command of Jesus carried power wherever it was sent. Prayer rests on that same reality: Christ’s authority is not trapped in a building or dependent on a ceremony. [33:03]
• 3. Great faith has overflow. Great faith is not merely enough for personal survival. The centurion’s faith had surplus, enough to carry a servant who was not even present and may not have known what was being asked. Mature faith becomes shelter for the weak, the sick, the wandering, and the ones who cannot find words for themselves. [38:25]
• 4. True friends carry others to Jesus. Mark 2 shows Jesus responding to the faith of the friends, not first to the faith of the paralyzed man. A real friend does not merely feel sorry from a distance, but finds a way to put another person before Christ. Intercession is roof-tearing work, costly, determined, and full of holy stubbornness. [40:29]
• 5. God rewards diligent seeking. Hebrews 11 does not make the reward about numbers, visibility, or religious performance. God rewards the one who diligently seeks him, because seeking him reshapes nature, character, love, mercy, and obedience. When God becomes the pursuit, everything else begins to line up under him.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [18:43] - Great Faith And Prayer
• [20:26] - Authority At A Distance
• [22:47] - The Centurion’s Unworthy House
• [24:24] - A Man Under Authority
• [26:16] - Real Faith Submits First
• [33:03] - Speak The Word Only
• [36:16] - Faith With A Surplus
• [39:17] - Friends Who Carry The Weak
• [45:05] - Jesus Marvels At Faith
• [49:55] - God Rewards Diligent Seekers
• [53:25] - Healed In The Same Hour
• [57:03] - Who Are You Carrying?
• [60:27] - Fighting On Knees

Bible Reading

Matthew 8:5-13
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” [20:26]

Mark 2:3-5
“And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” [39:58]

Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” [49:55]

Matthew 28:18
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

Psalm 107:20
“He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” [33:23]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 8, what details show the centurion believed Jesus could heal his servant without coming to the house? [33:03]
2. What does the centurion say about being “a man under authority,” and what examples does he use to explain how authority works?
3. In Mark 2, what did the four friends actually do to get the sick man in front of Jesus, and whose faith does the passage say Jesus saw? [40:29]
4. According to Hebrews 11:6, what two things must a person believe when coming to God, and what kind of person does God reward? [51:04]

Interpretation questions

1. The centurion understood authority because he lived under authority himself. Why might submission be such an important part of real faith, especially for people who want God to work through them? [26:16]
2. The centurion says, “speak the word only.” What does that reveal about how he viewed Jesus, and how is that different from a faith that depends on visible signs, touch, or ceremony? [35:21]
3. Jesus marvels at the centurion’s faith, and elsewhere marvels at unbelief. What does that contrast show about what pleases Jesus and what grieves him? [45:05]
4. Great faith is described as having overflow, enough to carry somebody else. What might that look like in real life for a believer dealing with weak, discouraged, or unbelieving people? [38:25]

Application questions

1. Where is there resistance to God’s authority right now? Is there a place where obedience has been delayed, argued with, or kept at a distance? What would it look like to get under God instead of merely asking God for help? [26:16]
2. Small acts of faithfulness matter. What are the “little things” right now that may seem unimportant—serving, showing up, praying, helping, cleaning, encouraging, doing unseen work—and which of those has been easy to overlook? [28:58]
3. Jesus does not need a location, ritual, or perfect setup to work. How might prayer change this week if there were real confidence that Christ can speak and move across distance, over the phone, in another home, in a hospital room, or in a troubled family? [57:56]
4. Great faith has enough overflow to carry someone else. Who comes to mind right now that needs to be carried before Jesus—someone sick, spiritually weak, far from God, discouraged, or unable to pray for themselves? [57:14]
5. The friends in Mark 2 did not stop when the crowd blocked the way. What obstacles usually keep people from persistent intercession—disappointment, busyness, fear, awkwardness, doubt? Which obstacle shows up most often? [39:17]
6. God rewards those who diligently seek him. What does diligent seeking actually look like in daily life right now, and what would need to change in schedule, attention, or desire for that seeking to become more than occasional? [51:04]
7. There are people whose prayers seem to “get in touch with heaven.” What kind of life, habits, and closeness to Christ would make someone into that kind of friend for others? [01:00:27]