Jesus spoke with authority. In Matthew 5, large crowds are following him, and he is healing many people. One case involves a Roman officer who pleads with Jesus that his young servant be healed. He tells Jesus to just “say the word,” and he believes the lad would be healed. Jesus says that he has not seen such faith before “in all Israel.” At the moment Jesus commands it, the lad is healed, and the Roman officer’s example of faith is also an example for the disciples and others (like us).
When we were in Hawaii on our way home for a furlough, we wanted to visit the USS Arizona, a ship that was a monument to the Pearl Harbor attack years earlier. However, when we were about to enter the area, a Captain asked me how old Kirk was. He was about 8 and the entrance requirements were that children could not go in unless they were 12. I told him how old Kirk was and that we were visiting on our way back to the US from Papua New Guinea. The Captain then said, “He looks about 12 to me.”
We had one more hurdle. We had to go from a small boat to the Arizona where a sailor, who was managing the small boat, again asked me again about Kirk’s age. I told him, “The Captain said he looks about 12.” “Well,” said the sailor, “if the Captain says he is 12, then he is 12.” The Captain had “said the word,” and the sailor did not argue about it, and Kirk was admitted with us.
When Jesus said the word, many unusual things happened. In a terrific storm on the Sea of Galilee, the winds stopped blowing when Jesus commanded them.
When Jesus said, “Follow me,” fishermen left their nets and boats and followed him. Jesus did not want them to think twice about the command, so when some people wanted to bury a man first, Jesus said, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead” (Matthew 8.22). When he saw a tax collector named Matthew, Jesus said, “Follow me,” and Matthew got up and went with him. He said the same thing to Philip and Nathanael (John 1.43-44) and later Peter. When he spoke, there was power and conviction in his voice and people listened and did what he said. They were not told to go home and think it over.
There was a condition, however, and he told it to his disciples, “you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me” (Matthew 16.24). He does not say that it will be easy, in fact, “You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot follow me unless you love me more than you love your own life” (Luke 14.26).
Jesus compares his followers to sheep when he says, “My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me” (John 10.27). Sheep know the voice of their master and, if they want protection and food, they follow him. In fact, “Words of wisdom are like the stick a farmer uses to make animals move. These sayings come from a shepherd, and they are like nails that fasten things together“(Ecclesiastes 12.11).
Children, hopefully, learn to obey their parents and when they hear something said in a certain tone of voice, it is best for them to listen.
Our daughter, her husband, and their three children worked in Ecuador for four years as missionaries. One day, Evan, who was about 5 was running ahead of his mother on the way home from school. Suddenly his mom saw a snake up ahead and said, “Evan, stop right now and come to this side of the road.” Evan obeyed and was spared the problem of confronting a poisonous snake, just out of the jungle. By listening to his mother’s just say those words, he avoided a dangerous situation.
Speaking isn’t always necessary. In baseball the coaches often used hand signals and they expect the players to obey them. Upon occasion, I have seen the runner disregard the coach’s signal and run through it. He is not complimented for his action.
Children who follow their parents should learn right and wrong from them. The parents should use words of wisdom to instruct the children, not nagging them but speaking firmly when such words are needed.
A commanding voice can alert us to danger, such as from a fire or flood, and it pays to listen and obey. At times that voice may not be loud, as when the Holy Spirit alerts us to the lies of a person or warns us not to do something. He is saying “Follow me,” and we should be grateful that we have a helper like that.
Sometimes, however, we do not listen when Jesus wants us to follow him, perhaps to another country, job, school, or different relationship. However, if we have listened to his voice before, we will know that it is him and we will realize that what he wants is best for us. We can know by studying his word, praying, and then, in faith, following him. He will “just say the word.”
Karl Franklin
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