Most of us would like to have more authority. We would like people to do what we want, when we want it. The centurion in Luke actually did have this kind of influence. When he said something, it was done. But when this powerful man came across Jesus, the centurion was the only one who recognized that his authority amounted to nothing in comparison to that of Jesus’.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus (Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 26, Section.2). Ethnic diversity. Racial reconciliation. Social injustice. Gender equity. Rights for the disabled. It may sound like the political agenda of the left, but these phrases describe important themes from the Bible. The New Testament places race, class, and gender in the context of the good news about Jesus Christ.