Luke 7:1 ¶ Now when he had
ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.
2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who
was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the
elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.
4 And when they came to Jesus, they
besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath
built us a synagogue. 6 Then Jesus went
with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent
friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy
that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7
Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in
a word, and my servant shall be healed. 8
For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I
say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my
servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 9
When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about,
and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so
great faith, no, not in Israel. 10 And
they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had
been sick.
Here is a Gentile, a
member of the ruling establishment of Roman imperialism, who understands that
Christ has authority, with just a word, to command a thing to be done and that
it will be done. He acknowledges that the material world and the spiritual are
under Christ’s control. With just a word the centurion’s servant will be
healed.
One thing of note is
that this centurion is a supporter of the Jewish nation and people and has even
built a synagogue. There are several conditions here that this Gentile meets.
He acknowledges the power of Christ, that he himself is not worthy to be in
Christ’s presence, and that Christ’s authority extends to having His will
accomplished with just a word. This is the kind of worship that we would do
well to consider.
Luke 7:11 ¶ And it came to pass the day after, that he
went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much
people. 12 Now when he came nigh to the
gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his
mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion
on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they
that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee,
Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up,
and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they
glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God
hath visited his people. 17 And this
rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region
round about. 18 And the disciples of
John shewed him of all these things.
This second miracle
after His ‘Sermon on the Plain’ Jesus accomplishes without faith of the one
suffering. He tells the women to weep not
and then raises her son from his funeral bier. So, there are two immediate
instances where Christ’s authority is manifested. The first as a response of
great faith on the part of a Gentile who humbles himself before Christ. The
other is Christ reaching out to someone who is suffering grief and restoring
their loved one to them, who in this culture was not only a beloved son but
probably the only source of livelihood for the woman, without any faith being
expressed.
I think these are two
important points. God can heal as a response to faith and He can heal without
any faith being expressed. His power is absolute. He has healed a sick person
and raised a dead person to life.
John the Baptist’s
disciples report to him what is happening.
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