For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
- KJV For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
- NKJV For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
- NASB For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
- NLT I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
As a man under authority, the centurion understood that Jesus could command healing with a word. He recognized Jesus' authority by analogy to military command.
Overview
The centurion explains his faith through his own experience of authority: just as his commands are instantly obeyed by soldiers and servants, so Jesus can command sickness with a word. He grasps that Jesus possesses real authority over the unseen forces of disease. This insight into Jesus' power, coming from a Gentile, sets up Jesus' praise of his faith in the next verse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Titus 2:9Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
- Ps 107:25–29For He spoke and raised a tempest that lifted the waves of the sea.
- Ps 148:8lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word,
- Luke 7:8For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”
- Luke 4:35–36But Jesus rebuked the demon. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!” At this, the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without harming him.
- Col 3:22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only to please them while they are watching, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord.
- Ps 119:91Your ordinances stand to this day, for all things are servants to You.
- Luke 4:39and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and began to serve them.
- Mark 4:39–41Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm.
- Job 38:34–35Can you command the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?
- Jer 47:6–7‘Alas, O sword of the LORD, how long until you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still!’
- Ezek 14:17–21Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
- Eph 6:5–6Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 8:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.