Now, this centurion…A centurion was—is a man that’s over, I think the right word would be, over a century which would be a hundred men. And he was—put himself in the background. Now, I want you to do that: keep yourself in the background. Never be somebody that you’re not. I’ve often wondered, when wheat was growing in the field, you see the little wheat that sticks up and just feels like it’s so—the inferiority complex. There’s nothing in that head: a heavy head bows, a full head bows. A full heart will bow. “Lord…(See?) not worthy…” But this man thought he was unworthy: He said, “I’m not worthy that—that You should come under my roof.” He said, “And I didn’t think myself worthy to go to You, so I sent someone else.” But said, “Lord, I am a man under authority, and I say to this man go, and he goes. And to this man come, and he comes,” for he had authority. He…In other words, if he told that man to go, he must go, because he’s over him. He’s superior to him, and he must obey his master.

The Authority of the Word, 1953-06-02, Connersville, IN, §3