The Power of His Word

"The Power of His Word" Matthew 8:5-11

Rev. Mark Bartsch Kobe Union Church 9 March 2025

In the 1980s, a telephone company in the U.S. ran a commercial with the catchphrase: “Reach out and touch someone.” It showed a child calling their grandmother across the country, highlighting the power of connection even from afar.

Last week, we explored how Jesus physically touched a man with leprosy—someone considered untouchable. Before even speaking healing over him, Jesus reached out and touched him, demonstrating both His willingness and ability to restore.

But today, we look at a different kind of healing—a long-distance miracle. This is a moment where faith bridged the gap between Jesus and the one in need.

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman centurion approached Him with a plea: "Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly." (Matthew 8:6) This was not a request. It was not a question. It was a plea. What separates a plea from a request is urgency.

There’s a famous story about a man hiking in the hills of Pennsylvania with his dog. The man suffered a heart attack, and his dog took off to find help. Finding some other hikers and being a dog and not being able to speak, the dog grabbed the pants of another hiker, whining and crying, then ran a short distance ahead before returning to tug again. Finally, the hiker understood and followed. Sadly, they found the man had already passed. But the hikers, moved by the dog’s loyalty, took it into their family until it passed. This dog showed the same kind of plea that the centurion had. Come! “I don’t just want you to come. I need you to come and help my servant.” 

And if you grab at Jesus’ robe (and some of you need to do that more than just on Sunday morning), He will follow you into your difficult relationships. He will walk with you through your challenges and fears.

This is the second encounter with an (so-called) outsider immediately following the Sermon on the Mount. First, Jesus healed a man with leprosy—an outcast under Jewish law. Now, a Roman centurion—an officer of the oppressive occupying force. Someone people hated.

The idea of Jesus helping a Roman might have been unthinkable to the crowd, just as touching a leper had been. They might have said, “Tell him you are ours, and they can’t have You, Jesus.” Yet, this moment connects to the story of Naaman, the Syrian general whom Elisha healed (that I talked about last week). It points toward God's plan for all people, all nations. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) Because if you are not one in Christ, you might not be in Christ.

We say we believe this. But do we live it—especially when we encounter people who are different from us? We think, Jesus couldn’t love that person. And yet, He does.

Unlike many who sought Jesus, the centurion understood power and authority probably most clearly. He lived in a world of authority—both under it and over it. He wasn’t a general, but he wasn’t an enlisted man either. You might say he was upper middle management in the Roman army. And Luke’s Gospel tells us he was a good and godly man.

This leader of men pleaded for Jesus to help, and when Jesus heard, He started coming. Jesus senses need, and this Gentile military leader was in need—perhaps even more than his servant.

We do not know how long it took Jesus to reach the centurion’s home. Interestingly, Luke’s Gospel (which tends to be more precise in details) records that the centurion did not come himself but sent Jewish elders to speak on his behalf (Luke 7:3-6).

In Jesus’ day, when you sent someone to carry out a mission or deliver a message on your behalf, it was understood that the messenger acted with your full authority. In effect, it was as if you yourself were taking the action personally even though you aren’t really there. This is why Matthew writes that the centurion came to Jesus—it was his message, even though he wasn’t physically present.

In Japan, we see a similar concept with the hanko (seal). When you authorize someone to use your hanko, they can withdraw money from your bank account or sign contracts in your name. The holder of your seal carries your authority. By entrusting someone with your hanko, you are, in essence, transferring your power to them.

In the same way, the Jewish elders who approached Jesus carried the centurion’s hanko, so to speak. They spoke on his behalf as if he were standing there himself. Or, for fans of cowboy movies, it’s like how a sheriff deputizes others to act with his authority.

Sometimes Christians think too lowly of themselves. Do you know that God calls you to be his representatives. God has given us his hanko to be his ambassadors by giving us the Holy Spirit. So when you go in the Spirit you go with Jesus’ hanko. “He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:1-2)

It is called being called. Or anointed Or set apart. And we are called to be witnesses to God love and power through our Lord Jesus the Christ.

This transfer of power is exactly what the centurion understood. He recognized that Jesus had the authority to act with God’s power, just as he, a Roman officer, could command soldiers and knew that the command would be obeyed. In the same way, we are entrusted with Jesus’ authority to carry out His mission in the world—NOT OUR MISSION!

At home, the centurion was likely pacing, thinking. Some of us think too much before acting; others don’t think enough. But this centurion pondered his plea to Jesus. He knew that Caesar in Rome, with just a word, could alter his life. And he knew that when he gave an order, his authority extended beyond his physical presence. That concept, for some reason, seemed difficult for Jewish people to grasp.

So he reasoned: If Jesus is who the elders say He is, then His power is not limited to His physical location either. And he realized something profound: "You don’t need to come," he said. "Actually, I am unworthy for You to enter my house. Just speak the word."

Interestingly, the centurion did not yet know what John would later write: "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us." (John 1:14) But he saw beyond the physical. He grasped, in a way few did, the true nature of Jesus’ power. Do we? Too often we are too focused on what we see instead of seeing with our faith. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) 

The centurion had real power, yet he humbled himself before Jesus. He sent a second message: "Just say the word." When Jesus heard this, He was amazed.

Notice that the focus of this story isn’t the servant but the centurion. We know very little about the servant—his nationality, gender, or even his illness. What we do know is that his master cared for him deeply and went to Jesus on his behalf. If you have watched the series Chosen, they hint that it is his illegitimate son. But we do not know.

What we know is that the centurion had a problem that his wealth and authority couldn’t fix. So, he turned to Jesus.

There are only two times in Scripture when Jesus is said to be amazed:

1. Here in Matthew 8—where a foreigner understands faith so clearly.

2. In Mark 6—where Jesus is amazed at how little faith His own people have.

I never want to amaze Jesus with a lack of faith. I don’t want to put God in a small, comfortable box that limits what I allow Him to do in my life. Let’s be people who amaze Him with faith, not with doubt. Basically the centurion orders off the menu. 

A wealthy friend told me a story. He dined at a Michelin three-star restaurant in New York. His dining companion had read that this Michelin-rated chef had trained under a chef at the best restaurant in Paris—where he had eaten at years earlier. As I heard the story he had the best meal of his life at that restaurant in Paris. Remembering that meal, he asked the waitstaff if he could order something not on the menu. The waitstaff was hesitant because the chef had a temper (the best ones do), but they went back and asked him.

Within minutes, the chef came out with tears in his eyes and said he had dreamed about his old mentor that week. Not only would he make the meal he would be honored to make it. The man learned later that the original meal was not even the old masters recipe but hat of his master’s mother. Of course, the whole table ordered it. So did other tables that overheard the conversation. And when it came, it was glorious. The best meal he ever ate.

He ordered off the menu. Sure, the chef could have said no. Sometimes when I order off the menu God says, “no, that is not in my plan”. But often God says, way to go Mark. Now you are thinking like a centurion not a Pharisee. That in turn grows my faith to be more bold and at the same time more humble in my prayer walk. Too many of us expect God to be a McDonald one taste for everyone but God is a master Chef. Do not be afraid to go to him with you requests. We remember James, that we go in boldness not like a double minded man but we also go like the centurion with humility. Don’t be afraid to order off the menu.

And sometimes, as a pastor (a waiter), I might be tempted to speak for the chef: "We don’t do it that way." That is what the Pharisees were doing—"God doesn’t do it that way." But it is never the waiter’s job to decide what the chef will make.

This Roman officer saw something that even Jesus’ disciples had not yet grasped. Physical distance and time are not a barrier to our Lord. In the bible up to this point, miracles occurred in the presence of God’s elect or His prophets. But the centurion understood that Jesus’ word alone carried divine power and it is not limited to his physical space. He broke the long-held belief that the person must be physically present for a miracle to happen.

The people had seen Jesus perform miracles, but they had not grasped the true extent of His authority. Yet this Gentile soldier did. That’s why Jesus said: "I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." (Matthew 8:10)

As I finish today. I want us to look at the elders in the Luke passage. I think this applies very strongly to us. I believe God is calling us to emulate these elders when a non-Christian comes to us with a need. We all have non-Christian friends that have needs problems like the centurion who cannot by their own authority solve problems in their life. They don’t go to Jesus, (Why?) because they do not know Jesus yet. But the good news is that they know you! And you can carry the message of the centurion to Jesus. It is called being an intercessor. A person between a person that stands in the gap. A lot like Moses did by raising his hands to God as the Israelites fought. I hope all your non-Christian friends know that they can come to you to go to Jesus on their behalf, and as you pray, “Jesus just say the Word.”

I had a non-Christian teacher come to me two weeks ago to pray for his child, who had been sick. We prayed every morning for a week. He doesn’t know Jesus (yet), but he knows someone who does. (Me). And your friends know you. And most important you know Jesus. 

Are you ready to be their intercessor? Are we, as a church, ready to be intercessors for Kobe? To stand in the gap? Because if we do not stand in the gap, no one else will. Let’s pray.