Matthew 8:5-13
5 As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to Him, begging Him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed and [c]distressed with intense pains.
7 And Jesus said to him, I will come and restore him.
8 But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured.
9 For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.
10 When Jesus heard him, He marveled and said to those who followed Him [[d]who adhered steadfastly to Him, conforming to His example in living and, if need be, in dying also], I tell you truly, I have not found so much faith as this [e]with anyone, even in Israel.
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west, and will sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
12 While the sons and heirs of the kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
13 Then to the centurion Jesus said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed. And the servant boy was restored to health at that very [f]moment.
This is an amazing story that is full of liberating truth, but I want us to focus on one simple principle found in these verses. The end game of this story is that Jesus, as the Son of Man, released the heart and power of His Father in this situation and the servant boy was healed. When the Centurion came to Jesus to appeal for His help, Jesus responded positively by saying He would go to the Centurions house to heal the boy. The Centurions famous response was to, in humility, tell Jesus that it wouldn’t be necessary for Him to come. Instead, he acknowledge that he, like Jesus, was a man under authority and all Jesus had to do was speak the word. Because He (Jesus) was under authority, the authority of Heaven would be released, backing up Jesus, to heal the boy. Jesus celebrated this mans insight into faith. This is so important for us to grasp.
If we want to live under the reality of an open Heaven, ministering in signs and wonders, then we must be in absolute submission to the authority of Christ, just as He only lived to do the will of His Father. Living under the authority of Heaven releases the authority of Heaven into any given situation. It was the Father who did the works Jesus, Jn. 14:10 because by faith, He lived a surrendered life, allowing The Holy Spirit to release all the resources of The Father into and through the humanity of Jesus.
Jesus modeled to us how to live and minister supernaturally. He did everything by faith and at the foundation of faith is a radical submission to the agenda of ANOTHER. If we are prepared to be as available to Him in absolute submission, as He was to His Father, then He is prepared, by The Holy Spirit, to be as available to us in every circumstance and opportunity, as The Father was available to Him, releasing all the authority and resources of Heaven into His “every circumstance.”