Matthew 8:9

“For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers, 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.”

The centurion gives a simple explanation for his faith in Jesus, and points out that he knows what it is to be ‘under authority'. He also is under authority. He has his authority from Caesar. Thus men dare not disobey him, for if they did they would be disobeying Caesar. In the same way he recognises that Jesus has His authority directly from God. Thus even disease has to obey Him, and that even at a distance. Note how the threefold examples ‘go', ‘come', ‘do this', are paralleled in Matthew 8:11 in a different order in the ‘coming', ‘sitting down' and casting forth'. Matthew is bringing out that Jesus has in fact the same power in eternal matters (compare Revelation 6:1).