Juan, a nearby neighbor and fellow Marine, went running by me as I was walking my dog, so I gave him a big “O-o-h-h-r-r-a-a-h-h” as he passed. He yelled back, “Have a great day,” to which I replied, “I’ll take that as a direct order!” I use that phrase a lot, and I mostly get puzzled looks in return. But when I say it to any current or former military member, he or she understands what I’m talking about.

Military members understand orders because we understand authority. When I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1965, I took an “oath of enlistment,” which ends with these words: “I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

In the Gospel of Luke, we see an illustration of this. A centurion asked Jewish elders to request Jesus come heal a servant who was close to death.

When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 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, with soldiers under me: and 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 7:6-8, ESV)

The centurion was a man with authority, and he recognized Jesus as a man who had authority. Even the common people who listened to Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount recognized His authority. “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” (Matthew 7:28-29)

So, what’s the big deal about this concept of “authority”? To quote the Apostle Paul, “Much in every way” (Romans 3:2). Obedience to constituted authority is the backbone of military discipline. Defense of a nation is serious business, and orders given are to be followed, with the caveat that they are “according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

Which brings me to the authority of Jesus, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Creator of all things, and He has given His church its marching orders in the form of the Great Commission. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus was very intentional in His use of the word “all.” In the original Greek, this word means (wait for it) “all, any, every” (Young’s Concordance). Jesus has been given “all” authority “in heaven and on earth,” and we are told to go and make disciples, teaching them to “observe all that I have commanded you.” There is that pesky little “all” again. All of us have been tasked by King Jesus to go and teach all that He commanded. When the early church obeyed the command to go, the numbers didn’t just grow, they multiplied. Our lack of obedience is why the church is not having an impactful influence on the world around us.

As a former Marine who understands authority, I recognize the Great Commission as a lawful and direct order. How about you?

What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!