How Did Jesus Respond to Unjust Authority?

Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. -Luke 7:2‭-‬3 ESV

We are often tempted to believe that unjust systems are 21st century inventions. But unjust governments and unjust authorities are nothing new. Jesus once encountered a centurion, the captain of over a hundred soldiers in the Roman army. He was the face of unjust, abusive, Roman power.

What does Jesus do when he encounters this man? It has always stood out to me that Jesus actually never encounters the man face to face, but only encounters the people the man sends. The centurion doesn't even go to Jesus Himself, he sends his employees and friends! Yet, Jesus saw beyond the system into the worshipful heart of the man.

Jesus puts the spotlight on the soldier's faith. He marveled at him from afar and said “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” (Luke 7:9). Jesus commended a man who was an authority in a broken system. Jesus commended someone our culture would deem an "oppressor."

We read that this centurion benefitted from slave labor. Yet his care for his servant is the catalyst for the whole encounter with Jesus. History tells us that centurions were known for being abusive, forcing people to do what they didn't want to do. The centurion even recognized, "I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:8). The centurion was known for his love of nation. He hob-nobbed with the elite Jewish leaders and even helped them build their corrupt synagogues (whether through his own labor or fundraising). This man of privilege was commended by Jesus for his faith!

Notice that Jesus doesn't command the centurion to leave his place of authority. He never commands him to tear down the system of oppression. Jesus commended the man's faith while he remained a cog in a broken system. Jesus never called him to give up his authority but to redeem it.

How could the centurion do his work with faith? Rather than change a system through political organizing, Jesus commends the man for his personal transformation and personal responsibility. Rather than selfishness, the centurion recognized that all who were under his authority were his responsibility, even the lowliest slave. Rather than see himself as the authority over his own life, he recognizes that there was One in authority over him. The centurion sent his friends to say to Jesus, "Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority" (Luke 7:7‭-‬8). He sought to redeem his authority by caring for those under his authority and recognizing there was a Holy Authority over him.

The world's government systems and places of authority will always be broken. Some will be more broken than others. But Jesus changes the system by transforming those within the system, rather than trying to tear down or legislate a different system. Until sinners are redeemed, authority cannot be redeemed. Until Jesus spoke a word, the servant wasn't healed, the centurion wasn't humbled, and systems could never change.

By redeeming the centurion, Jesus redeemed authority rather than rejecting it. Gospel power, not political lobbying, is the way Jesus responded to an unjust government. He knew that a redeemed man would do more good in a system of authority than a new system created by unredeemed men. May God's people at all levels of authority live with a commendable faith by loving those under our care and recognizing that we are under His.