Matthew 8:5-13
Most of us try to take authority for ourselves at a very early age. When one of our granddaughters was just three years old, she was riding with us. When she got out of the car in the parking lot, her grandmother said to her, “Let me hold your hand.” She said back to her grandmother, “My hold my own hand.” She put her hands together and walked beside her grandmother. She had taken on the authority for herself that she did not need anyone to hold her hand. She would do it herself.
It is in our human nature to try to seize authority. Some years ago I was visiting a family in their home to answer their questions about our church. They had a five-year-old that was accustomed to being in charge. As we sat in the living room, he was demanding attention. He said to his father and mother, “You shut up and let me talk.” They had allowed him to have authority about what he could, would and should do. If authority is in the wrong hands in a family, you see the wreckage of family life. It creates a world of angry people when someone tells them what they must do. If parents’ authority doesn’t outrank the child’s authority, you produce rude, crude adults that believe everything must be their way. In our culture we see a high rate of divorce because two people get married that have been accustomed to being the person of authority. This will create a clash of wills, and if the couple doesn’t make changes, the divorce lawyers will take care of the details of ending the marriage. Many things go into life that shape our attitudes toward authority. When I was in school the teacher was the authority figure in his or her classroom. If you broke the class or school rules the teacher would mete out instant discipline. The schools were not in chaos because the authority was the teacher or principle. As an advisor to a school superintendent in the 1990’s, I was amazed by the changes in schools as to who the authority figure was. I visited schools with fences and barbed wire at the top of the fences and metal detectors at the entry doors into the school. Some police presence was in the school. They even used drug sniffing dogs to check for drugs. Education changed when the student became the authority figure. Teachers could only write up a student for bad behavior and ask the system to do something about it. Most times the system did little or nothing to help with the problem. When school systems and parents no longer use the word ‘no’ it leads to bad behavior. They fear it might hurt the child’s psyche. We see the train wrecks taking place in homes and schools when the wrong people have the authority. We can see the results in the lawlessness that it brings into our human family. It brings pain, suffering and death. Life itself has lost its great value.
When the Bible was rejected by many of our church leaders as the authority of faith, it has produced a broken family, broken culture and lawlessness in every aspect of our lives. It is reflected in our homes, government, courts and schools. God is the voice of Biblical faith. He made us to be his family. The authority of scripture teaches us how to use and respect authority that created for us a wonderful life.
In today’s scripture lesson Jesus had an encounter with a Roman officer that sought out Jesus for help.
“When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, ‘Lord my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.’ Jesus said, ‘I will come and heal him.’
But the officer said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have your come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have the authority over my soldiers. I only need to say ‘go’ and they go, or ‘come’ and they come. And if I say to slaves ‘Do this’ they do it.’
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, ‘I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this is all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world – from east and west – and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites – those for who the Kingdom was prepared – will be thrown into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The reason Americans enjoy freedom was the Christian and Jewish influence on the founders and on their lives. No, they were not perfect people. They had respect and faith for God’s authority. In the planting of the free Christian churches here in this land, they lived and accepted God’s authority. That authority is found in the law of the Ten Commandments and the cross of God in the scriptures. We Christians know that Jesus did not change the Old Testament’s laws but finished his salvation work on the cross. It is only in God’s authority to give us his plan to save us from sin and death. God’s plan calls for our repentance of sin so that we might receive grace, mercy and forgiveness. This comes to us by faith in God who loves each of us. He has no place in his kingdom for evil and sin. When we reject God’s plan, we have chosen eternal death.
Many of our churches have ministers, Bishops and other leaders that have rejected the authority of God’s word. They have rejected the vows they took at ordination. Therefore, we see so many empty churches. They gave away the right to speak with the authority of God’s word for us sinners.
Ordination vows were meant to give us the authority to share God’s plan of salvation. Many ministers have taken these vows, or vows of this kind:
Have you faith in Christ? Are you going on to perfection? Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life? Are you earnestly striving after it? Are you resolved to devote yourself wholly to God and his work? Do you know the General Rules of our Church? Will you keep them? Have you studied the doctrines of the United Methodist Church? After full examination, do you believe that our doctrines are in harmony with the Holy Scriptures? Will you preach and maintain them? Have you studied our form of Church discipline and polity? Do you approve our Church government and polity? Will you support and maintain them? Will you diligently instruct the children in every place? Will you visit from house to house? Will you recommend fasting or abstinence, both by precept and example? Are you determined to employ all your time in the work of God? Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work? Will you observe the following directions? (a) Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never trifle away time; neither spend any more time at any one place than is strictly necessary. (b) Be punctual. Do everything exactly at the time. And do not mend our rules, but keep them; not for wrath, but for conscience’ sake.’”
Out of the Biblical faith and the vows I took that come from God’s authority, this has given me a word from God to his people. The leader in a Christian church has no authority to speak for God if they have tried to amend or change the teachings of Scriptures. In faith I seek to keep the authority to speak the truth that God has given me to speak. God’s authority will never change for He alone is the God of life. In faith I know I have His gift of life and so can you, if you also have faith in his authority.
