1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello, and thank you for listening to your 2 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Daily Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each 3 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: day to help us learn more about God and his 4 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: will for us. I'm your host, Shaka Heinz, and after 5 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: this short word from our sponsor, will dive into today's 6 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: Bible verse and Matthew eight verse nine. Today's Bible verse 7 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: Matthew eight verse nine is spoken by the Centurion to 8 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: Jesus for I myself, He says, AM a man under authority, 9 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: with soldiers under me. I tell this one go and 10 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: he goes, and that one come and he comes to 11 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: my servant, do this and he does it. Now. For 12 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: some reason this verse it reminds me of my relationship 13 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: with my dogs. The way the centurion describes men under 14 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: his authority is exactly the opposite of how I would 15 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: describe the dogs in my family. They're under my care, 16 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: but often they don't care what I say. I tell 17 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: Zuko to come, and he goes. I tell bu Radley 18 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: to sit, and he rolls his eyes at me. They 19 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: do listen to me every other time, but seem to 20 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: understand that I do not have absolute authority over them. 21 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: This is not the way of the military particularly the 22 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: Roman army. Understanding authority in the military saves lives and 23 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: it wins wars. Centurions were generally career soldiers, and they 24 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: formed the backbone of the Roman military. One became a 25 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: centurion by serving tirelessly as a legionnaire for years, working 26 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: their way up and up through the ranks through discipline 27 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: and bravery. In battle, a centurion was a commander of 28 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: a hundred who fought alongside his men on the front lines. 29 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,639 Speaker 1: When the centurion says, for I myself am a man 30 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: under authority, the Greek word exusia is used for authority. 31 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: Exusia is the right to control or govern or, to 32 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:38,399 Speaker 1: exercise dominion, or to have delegated influence. The centurions authority 33 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: to command issued directly from the emperor, meaning that when 34 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: a centurion spoke, it was as if the Emperor were 35 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:53,639 Speaker 1: giving the command, and a soldier disobeying a command from 36 00:02:53,639 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: a centurion was defying the Emperor himself. You know, we 37 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: learn earlier in Matthew eight. If you read the verse ahead, 38 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: it says that one of the centurion's servants was really sick, 39 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: and the centurion had sought out Jesus to heal him. 40 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: Now in Luke seven, verse six, which is the parallel 41 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: account of this story, we find that it wasn't the 42 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: centurion himself, but rather friends, friends that were sent in 43 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 1: his name, that actually spoke the words of Matthew eight 44 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:34,960 Speaker 1: to Jesus. The centurion understood his authority. If he told 45 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: someone to go, they went. When he told someone to 46 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: intercept Jesus and say these words to him before Jesus 47 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: came to his house, they spoke as the centurion. The 48 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: centurion understood the way his emperor derived authority worked. The 49 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: scripture again says, for I myself am a man under authority, 50 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: with soldiers under me. I tell this one go when 51 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: he goes, and that one come, and he comes, I 52 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: say to my servant, do this, and he does it. 53 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: Now there are two times in scripture when Jesus is 54 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: amazed in relation to faith. Now, in Mark sixty sixth 55 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:16,840 Speaker 1: the text says that in his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus 56 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: was amazed at the lack of faith he found there. Now, 57 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: this incident with the centurion is the other time Jesus 58 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: is amazed by faith. In Matthew eight, after hearing the 59 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: centurion's words Jesus turns to those around him, and he proclaims, truly, 60 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,919 Speaker 1: I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel 61 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,279 Speaker 1: with such great faith, And we have to ask what 62 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: great faith has the centurion displayed. The centurion understands Jesus's authority. 63 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,480 Speaker 1: Unlike so many of Jesus's people, the Jews of his day, 64 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: the Roman centurion recognizes the xusiah of Jesus as the 65 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: centurion has been given authority by the Emperor. He understands 66 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: that Jesus has been granted authority by God. Jesus has 67 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: the exusiah to exercise dominion over the disease of the 68 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: centurion servant. Now, to the centurion, Jesus's authority is so 69 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: complete that his word over a problem is enough to 70 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: affect the situation. Listen to that again, Jesus' authority is 71 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: so complete that his word over a problem is enough 72 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: to affect the situation. Now, in this case, Jesus's word 73 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 1: is enough to heal the centurion's servant. This is great 74 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 1: faith in Jesus's economy, Recognizing that Jesus has all authority 75 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: and his word accomplishes his will. Whenever Jesus speaks what 76 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: he says, says will be done today? Do you understand 77 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: Jesus's authority or what needs to shift in your perspective 78 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: to understand that Jesus has all authority over your situation? 79 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: I recommend studying out the authority of Jesus as outline 80 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: in the Gospels by King Jesus himself. How can today 81 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 1: be different for you if you proclaim Jesus's authority over 82 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 1: your current circumstances. When we understand Jesus's authority as the 83 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: Centurion did, it frees us from stressing, straining and striving 84 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: to relaxing because we know that Jesus has power over 85 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: all problems, resting because it is Jesus who works on 86 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: our behalf, and rejoicing because we have a God who 87 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: loves us enough to exercise his authority on our behalf. 88 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: Let's pray, Father, we praise you that Jesus has all authority. 89 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: Therefore we have everything we need in him to face 90 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 1: every challenge that comes our way. For so many of us, 91 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,720 Speaker 1: we need your help to really deepen our understanding of 92 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: Jesus's authority. God, would you give us understanding as we 93 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: read your word? Would you fill us with clarity of 94 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: thought and heart to perceive what you want us to 95 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: know about Jesus and take it, God, from head, knowledge 96 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: to heart, knowledge that changes the way we face our day. 97 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: You are the God who is for us, and in 98 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: Jesus you have graciously gifted us. May we live today 99 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: the truth that Jesus is who he says he is. 100 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: He has done all he says he did, and he 101 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: will do all that he promises to do. In his 102 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: precious name, we pray Amen I s.