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For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, `Go,` and he goes; and to another, `Come,` and he comes; and to my servant, `Do this,` and he does it."
Verse Takeaways
1
The Logic of Authority
The centurion used his military experience to understand Jesus. He knew that because he was 'under authority' to his superiors, he was given authority over his soldiers. Commentators explain he applied this logic to Jesus: because Jesus was under God's ultimate authority, He wielded God's absolute power. To defy Jesus' word was to defy God Himself. This shows a faith built on a logical understanding of how divine authority works.
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Matthew
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14
18th Century
Presbyterian
I am a man, etc. He had full confidence in the ability of Jesus to heal his servant and requested him simply to give the command. This req…
For I also am a man under authority (κα γαρ εγω ανθρωπος υπο εξουσιαν). "Also" is in the text, though the κα here may mean "even,"…
19th Century
Anglican
For I am a man under authority — He gives, not without a certain naïveté, the process of reasoning that led him to this convictio…
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Baptist
Having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does i…
Both here and in the story of the Canaanite woman (15:21–28), faith triumphs over the obstacle Jesus erects. The centurion’s reply again opens with…
16th Century
Protestant
For I am a man subject to the power of another. This comparison does not imply equality between the two cases, but is taken from the less …
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17th Century
Reformed Baptist
For I am a man under authority Of Caesar the Roman emperor, and of superior officers under him, as a tribune
…
This centurion was a Gentile, a Roman soldier. Though he was a soldier, yet he was a godly man. No one's calling or place will be an excuse for unb…
13th Century
Catholic
And when he had entered into Capernaum. Here, Christ’s power is shown from His absence. Firstly, the centurion’s piety wi…
