Luke 7:1-10 (3)
Notes
Transcript
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-Well, we’ve finally come to a new chapter...
…in our study of Luke’s Gospel.
We’re going to begin our study of chapter 7 this morning.
As always, I invite you to follow along in your Bibles.
You probably won’t believe this...
…but I plan to cover the first ten verses this morning!
With that being said...
…we’re going to jump right in.
Please follow along as I read.
Luke 7:1–10 (ESV)
1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.
3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.
4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,
5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”
6 And Jesus went with them. 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.
7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.
8 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.”
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
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Pray
-Verse one tells us that...
....after Jesus had finished preaching the S.O.M...
…He went back into Capernaum.
While He was there...
...An opportunity to both:
1.) Illustrate and prove the authority that...
…He had asserted in giving the Sermon...
2.) (In a sense) To exemplify the commands He had given, to:
Love your enemies
Do good and give, etc...
…presents itself to our Lord.
-Verse 2 sets up the encounter for us.
Luke 7:2 (ESV)
2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.
Remember, that a centurion...
…was a Roman military official.
This commentary gives a helpful summary:
A centurion was a non-commissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men.
The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. — NET Notes
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So, this was an enlisted man...
…who had likely worked his way up...
…through the ranks of common soldiers...
…and had now arrived at the zenith of his military career.
It would appear from our text, that...
…though an enlisted man...
…he had become affluent and wealthy.
-Now, here’s something interesting:
A centurion — including this centurion — worked for the Empire...
…that held Israel in subjection at the time.
Yet, every centurion mentioned in the NT...
…is presented in a positive light!
We can see that beginning to happen in verse 2.
Let’s look at it again:
Luke 7:2 (ESV)
2 Now a centurion had a servant . . . who was highly valued by him.
Explain the beneficial aspects of slavery in the ancient world.
“highly valued” has the connotation of something:
Treasured
Precious...
…not simply something of monetary value.
The point being implied is that this man...
Cared for this servant
Treated him well.
-Now, notice what I skipped over in verse 2.
His dear servant (Luke tells us):
Luke 7:2 (ESV)
2 ...was sick and at the point of death...
Matthew’s account specifies that he was:
Matthew 8:6 (ESV)
6 ...lying paralyzed . . . suffering terribly.”
Seems like he may have been afflicted...
…with a form of palsy similar to the Jewish man…
…that Jesus had healed/forgiven...
…back in chapter 5.
It would appear from verse 3...
…that word of Jesus’ divine abilities...
…had reached the ears of our centurion.
Luke tells us this:
Luke 7:3 (ESV)
3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.
-Now, it’s important that you’re aware of the fact...
…that Matthew presents this narrative in a way...
…that makes it sound like...
…the Centurion went to Jesus personally...
…rather than sending out a Jewish delegation on his behalf.
-Now, it’s possible that both are true:
He sent them...
AND (subsequently) went himself...
But, it’s more likely that Matthew...
…was simply abbreviating his description...
And that what he meant was that...
…the centurion “went” to Jesus...
…through the means of authorized delegates.
“apostles,” if you will!
This is a principle in Scripture that we need to be familiar with .
The foremost example is found here:
2 Corinthians 5:20 (ESV)
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
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It’s so important that we approach the Scripture:
With a believing disposition
From the starting point of Faith.
I have found that it ALWAYS makes sense EVENTUALLY.
-Back to verse 3.
Notice, again, what our kind-hearted centurion does...
…once he heard that Jesus was back in town.
Luke 7:3 (ESV)
3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.
There’s a lot going on in this verse
Remember:
This man is a pagan (Gentile — Unclean)
Roman military commander
Israel is under Roman occupation.
He has a good deal of de-facto authority in this area.
Yet...
He doesn’t try and demand that his Jewish subject to do this for him!
Instead, he humbles himself...
…and asks the local Jewish elders...
…to present the request for help...
…on his behalf.
Calvin says this about it:
This was itself a miracle. One who belonged to the military profession, and who had crossed the sea with a band of soldiers, for the purpose of accustoming the Jews to endure the yoke of Roman tyranny, submits willingly, and yields obedience to the God of Israel. — John Calvin
Think of the parallels with Naaman the Syrian
What’s more surprising than that...
…is that the elders agree to do it!
They agree to help their Roman oppressor!
Sproul explains this time:
There was no love between the Jews and their foreign oppressors. What kind of a man was this centurion, that he had friends among the Jews?
We could conclude that the soldier simply ordered the Jews to intercede on his behalf, but as Luke tells the story, the centurion wasn’t present when the Jewish elders came to Jesus, and so they had no reason to praise him unless they really meant it. — R.C. Sproul
And praise him, they did!
Look at verse 4:
Luke 7:4–5 (ESV)
4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,
They over-valued the centurion
Under-valued Christ!
5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”
The Greek here (“he himself”) implies that He built it at his own expense!
Think about that.
This Roman conqueror...
…has come to love the Jewish “nation.”
This means more than just caring for the Jewish people.
It implies the idea that he was drawn to:
The people
Their culture
Their religion
Their laws
Their overall way of life!
This is the language that we see elsewhere...
…of a gentile “God-fearer.”
That is to say:
A Gentile who attached himself to the synagogue and worshiped God but without being circumcised and becoming a Jewish proselyte. — Reformation Study Bible
Cornelius, arguably the first gentile Christian (technically-speaking)...
…is probably the most well-known example.
Of him, it was said:
Acts 10:1–2 (ESV)
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,
2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.
It would appear that the centurion in our text...
…had been similarly affected by the grace of God.
And like Cornelius — To whom Peter was sent to bring the grace of salvation....
Our centurion is visited by the grace of God as well.
Luke says, simply:
Luke 7:6 (ESV)
6 And Jesus went with them...
Matthew elaborates here a bit:
Matthew 8:7 (ESV)
7 . . . “I will come and heal him.”
-But, notice what happened next:
Luke 7:6 (ESV)
6 ...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.
The word “worthy” that Luke uses...
…literally means “sufficient.”
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This is not something a Roman official did...
i.e., humbling himself before his Jewish subjects.
This evidences an astounding level of humility...
…and an abnormally accurate self-perception.
Whereas the Jews, had, in their estimation of him...
...deemed his merits...
...as sufficient to earn the favor of the Lord...
...He judges himself righteously...
…and confesses his insufficiency...
…to merit anything from the Lord.
This is the disposition of heart...
…that the Spirit of God produces in a person...
…which ultimately leads to salvation.
This is — in a word — REPENTANCE...
This is what repentance toward God looks like!
-Now, we also need to remember this reality as well:
Acts 10:28 (ESV)
28 . . . “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation...
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So, in saying what he said, the Centurion:
Accedes the supremacy of the Jewish worldview over his own.
Accepts its moral and religious precepts
Submits himself to being subject to and governed by them!
And in so doing...
…Recognizes and confesses the reality of:
His uncleanness
Profanity.
This wealthy, powerful Roman says...
...(from the depths of his heart):
Luke 7:6–7 (ESV)
6 . . . “Lord, . . . I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.
7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you...
That’s repentance.
That’s a truly penitent heart...
…which has been humbled before God.
And the Scripture promises:
James 4:6 (ESV)
6 . . .“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
That’s what we see in the last part of verse 7...
…the grace of faith!
Luke 7:7–8 (ESV)
7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.
8 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.”
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Do you see what he is saying?
He’s saying:
Hey… I understand authority.
I know...
what it looks like
how it works...
And I know that You have it...
…and that all you have to do is authorize (“let”) this happen...
…and it will happen!
You don’t have to:
Be there
Touch him
Speak an incantation
Invoke an alien power
Petition a higher sovereign...
…You just have to issue the fiat...
…and it’s as good as done!
-Do you see the manner of authority...
…that he recognized to be possessed by Jesus?
If he was a God-fearer...
…then he may have known passages like these:
Deuteronomy 32:39 (ESV)
39 “ ‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
1 Samuel 2:6 (ESV)
6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
Psalm 107:19–20 (ESV)
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.
Psalm 33:8–9 (ESV)
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
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At best:
He recognized Christ’s divinity
At the least:
He recognized Him as the Messianic King...
…in whom divine authority had been vested!
And he humbly bows the knee before him...
…in repentance and faith.
This is the what saving faith looks like.
-How can I be so sure?
Because of what Jesus says in verse 9:
Luke 7:9 (ESV)
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him...”
Only twice was Jesus — in his real humanity — said to marvel:
Here
At the unbelief of His family and friends in Nazareth
Sproul elaborates upon the amazement here:
Jesus was astonished by the faith and understanding that he found in this man.
He had not been born and raised in the shadow of the synagogue, he had not been steeped in the literature of the Old Testament, he had not known intimately the oracles of God found in the prophets.
He was a stranger to the covenant, a foreigner, an alien to the Old Testament world. But he understood authority, and he understood that Jesus had it. — R.C. Sproul
You can see why Sproul makes those connections...
…in the last part of verse 9:
Luke 7:9 (ESV)
9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Matthew’s account is even more emphatic:
Matthew 8:10 (ESV)
10 . . . “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.
This is the sad reality that we see throughout the gospels.
John wrote:
John 1:11–13 (ESV)
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Jesus says the same thing back in Matthew’s account:
Matthew 8:11–12 (ESV)
11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,
12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Oh, brethren… We mustn’t make this same mistake ourselves.
We mustn’t commit the sin of presumption.
These folks thought they were entitled to the favor of God:
Because of who their grandpa was...
Because of a physical ritual that had been done to their bodies...
Because of the circumstances of their natural birth.
Because of their proximity to the Kingdom of God...
But they were deceived by their pride...
…and will suffer eternal torments because of it.
Paul wrote:
Galatians 5:6 (ESV)
6 ...in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
That’s exactly what we see in this centurion
In Romans 2 he wrote:
Romans 2:29 (ESV)
29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
This is the humility and fear of the Lord...
....that is evidenced in the actions of our Centurion.
Paul also said this:
Romans 9:30–32 (ESV)
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
Romans 10:3–4 (ESV)
3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
There is no other way.
Let’s pray