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The Gospel of Luke Chapter Seven
Commentary by Timothy H. Burdick
First in Luke 7, we will look at the
story of the centurion’s servant (Verse 2 & forward). It is
as follows. “When Jesus had finished saying all this in the
hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. The centurion’s
servant whom his master valued was sick and about to die.
The centurion had heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the
Jews to Him, asking Him to come and heal his servant. When
they came to Jesus, They pleaded earnestly with Him, “this
man deserves to have you do this because he loves our nation
and has built our synagogue” (Verses 2-5).
“So Jesus went with them” (Verse 6).
“He was not far from the house when the centurion sent
friends to say to Him, Lord don’t trouble Yourself, for I do
not deserve to have You come under my roof. That is why I
did not even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say
the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a
man under authority with soldiers under me. I tell this one
go and he goes; and that one come and he comes. I say to my
servant, do this and he does it” (Verses 6-8). When Jesus
heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd
following Him He said, “I have not found such great faith
even in Israel” (Verse 9). Then the men who had been sent,
returned to the house and found the servant well (Verse 10).
Now let’s look at this story in depth.
I admire the centurion’s faith in
this story, but even more I admire his humility. True
humility is always the father to great faith, but what makes
this story even more amazing is the culture in which he
lived. In the Roman world, a slave didn’t have any rights,
and was seen as the property of his master. Slaves in
general were subjected to all kinds of cruel treatment. This
is what makes the centurion so unusual. He actually cared
about his servant. I think that many times we miss one of
the greatest points of this story. In our culture, we tend
to look for the sensational. If we will look deeper however,
this story teaches a great deal about the power of love.
With all of his power as a government official, l like it
that the centurion was not too proud to send an urgent
message to Jesus. Instead of just talking, he put love into
action, and it was this love that brought his servant to the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Many times our words and actions
don’t deliver this same message of love. Sometimes, we can
even cause more harm than good with our words. Look with me
and see what James had to say about this. He said that “the
tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of
the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole
course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by
hell” (James 3:6). Notice that this centurion in Luke 7:2 &
forward was a Gentile and Jesus said his faith was greater
than any He had seen in all of Israel (Luke 7:9). As I said
above, humility is the father to great faith, but the other
pillar holding up the centurion’s faith was his love. In our
lives, we need humility towards God and a consuming love for
Him, which will result in a great love for people.
Next, in Luke 7:12 & forward, we
have the story of the widow’s dead son. Before we read this
Scripture, let’s try and form a mental picture of the scene.
The widow in the story would not only have been
grief-stricken, but with her son dead, she might as well
have been an outcast. For her son would have been her only
means of support. She probably wondered what she was going
to do next. Anxiety must have filled her mind. Just then,
Jesus saw her, went up and touched the coffin. The people
must have gasped as this would have made him ceremonially
unclean under Jewish Law.
Now let’s look at what the
Scriptures have to say. “Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a
town called Nain, and His disciples and a large crowd went
along with Him (Luke 7:11). As He approached the town gate,
a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his
mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town
was with her (Luke 7:12). When the Lord saw her, His heart
went out to her and He said, “don’t cry” (Luke 7:13). Then
He went up and touched the coffin and those carrying it
stood still. He said, “young man, I say to you get up!”
(Luke 7:14). The dead young man sat up and began to talk,
and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They were all filled with awe and
praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they
said in Verse16; “God has come to help his people.” This
news about Jesus spread throughout Judea (The land of the
Jews) and the surrounding country (Verse 17). In the
Scriptures, the fact that it was a large crowd was repeated
twice (Verses 11 and 12), so it must have been huge. What
lessons do you think that we can learn from this story? Like
the “widow” (Verse 12 & forward), you might be going through
a great deal of grief. You can know however, that Jesus not
only sees you, but His heart goes out to you.
And just like He raised the dead
son, the Bible says that we have been raised as well -
“Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your
hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right
hand (right hand speaks of authority) of God. Set your minds
on things above, not on earthly things“ (Colossians 3:1).
But you might be thinking, that is all well and good, but my
situation seems so hopeless! It’s time to take your eyes off
of your problems and look unto Jesus. I know that this can
sound glib, but just know that Jesus has the same compassion
for you as He did for those in Scripture. The Bible says,
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8).
Now, let’s look at Luke 7:18-23.
“John the Baptist’s disciples told him about all these
things that Jesus was doing. Calling two of them he sent
them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the One who was to come,
or should we expect someone else?” (Verse 19). When the men
came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to You
to ask, “are You the one who was to come, or should we
expect someone else?” (Verse 20). At that very time Jesus
cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits,
and gave sight to many who were blind (Verse 21). So He
replied to the messengers, “go back and report to John what
you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame
walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me”
(Verses 22-23).
Now we see John again, but this
time, he is in prison. Look with me at Mark 1:14 - “After
John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming
the good news of God.” The people who followed Jesus were
expecting Him to bring the kingdom of God in immediately,
and overthrow the Roman empire.” (The kingdom of God is
simply the rule of God). Jesus, knowing that John had a lot
of time to think about things, did not condemn him. Rather,
He reassured John by pointing back to Isaiah 42:6-7, about
His miracles. It says, “I the Lord have called You in
righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep
You and will make You to be a covenant for the people and a
light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free
captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those
who sit in darkness.” This is an important principle to
remember, because just as Jesus did not condemn John,
Neither does he condemn us. Also look with me at Psalm
103:14.
Paul says, “Therefore, there is now
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do
not live according to the sinful nature, but according to
the Spirit.” After having praised John, Jesus in Luke 31-35,
asks, ”To what then can I compare the people of this
generation? What are they like? They are like children
sitting in the marketplace, and calling out to each other:
We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang
a dirge and you did not cry. John the Baptist came neither
eating bread or drinking wine, and you say he has a demon.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, “here
is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and
sinners. But wisdom is proved right by all her children.” In
this passage, Jesus was just asking his listeners, what they
would be satisfied with? Those especially of the religious
establishment had rejected both John and Him. John came
living more of an ascetic lifestyle, where as Jesus ate and
drank with the religious leaders and common people alike.
In the final fourteen Verses of Luke
Chapter 7, we see Jesus as the dinner guest of Simon (Verse
36-39) - “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have
dinner with him, so He went to the Pharisees house and
reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful
life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the
Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,
and as she stood behind Him, she began to wet His feet with
her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them
and poured perfume on them.” When the Pharisee who had
invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “if this man were
a prophet He would know who is touching Him and what kind of
woman she is - that she is a sinner. Jesus answered him
(Verse 40), “Simon I have something to tell you.” ”Tell me
teacher, he said.”
Verse 41 & forward - “Two men owed
money to a certain money lender. One owed him five hundred
denarii, and the other fifty.” (In that time, a denarii was
a coin worth about a day’s wage). “Neither of them, had the
money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now
which of them will love him more? Simon replied, “I suppose
the one who had the bigger debt canceled. ‘You have judged
correctly,’ Jesus said. Then He turned toward the woman and
said to Simon (the Pharisee), ‘do you see this woman? I came
into your house. You did not give Me any water for my feet,
but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her
hair. You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman from the
time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not
put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet.
Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - for
she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves
little.” Then Jesus said to her (Verse 48) “Your sins are
forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among
themselves, ”Who is this that even forgives sins?” Jesus
said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.”
Simon did not perform many of the common courtesies of that
day. The Romans wore open-toed sandals, and while they are
famous for their paved roads, many of the roads were still
dirt. As a symbol of refreshment, oil was poured on the
head, and the kiss, which is still practiced in some
cultures was synonymous with our modern hand shake. Again
there is a principal here. I think in our culture, because
we have so much, many times we forget how much we have been
forgiven. Many times, we have a superficial Christianity,
and we wonder why there is such little love in the Church
today. We can learn from this woman and go the extra mile.
When talking about the marriage supper of the lamb, where
the Church will be His guests, Jesus said, “The king will
reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the
least of the brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew
25:45). Finally, we too can go in peace like the woman if we
have been forgiven and begin the love the Lord as she did.
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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