Luke Bible Study, Day 14
Today’s passage: Luke 7:1–17
Focus verse: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.” (Luke 7:6)
A military leader, a centurion, wants Jesus to heal his dying servant, a valued attendant. However, the centurion doesn’t approach Jesus himself. Instead, he wants someone else to do it.
The man asks some Jewish leaders to go on his behalf. If these men are like most of the religious leaders we read about in the Bible, they don’t like Jesus. It must humiliate them to ask him for help.
In presenting their case, the Jewish leaders claim the centurion is worthy to receive Jesus’s aid. This perspective matches the Jewish understanding of the Old Testament, which they see as focusing on right behavior.
Despite the admirable qualities of the centurion, the reality is that no one is worthy, no one deserves God’s favor. But though we can’t earn God’s attention, he gives it anyway.
Jesus agrees to help, but the centurion deems himself unworthy to meet Jesus or for Jesus to even enter his home. Again, speaking through others, the centurion gives us a lesson in authority.
Just as he has authority over his troops, he acknowledges that Jesus has authority over the servant’s illness. “Just say the word,” he says, “and it will happen.”
The centurion’s faith—greater than any Jesus has seen from his own people—amazes the Savior. He heals the servant in that instant.
Later Jesus travels with his disciples to the city of Nain. A huge crowd follows. As he approaches the city gate, he meets a funeral procession. It’s for the only son of a widow.
In that culture, a widow with no sons has no means of support. This isn’t God’s plan, but man’s perversion of it. Her future holds only poverty and despair.
Jesus sees her situation. He feels her pain—not only her agony over losing her only son, but also her worry about a bleak future. Though she asks Jesus for nothing, he’s moved to help.
He tells her not to cry, touches the coffin, and says to the dead man, “Young man, get up!”
The guy sits up and begins talking. Imagine that happening at a funeral we’re at. Jesus gives the widow’s resurrected son back to her.
Awe fills everyone. They praise God. They esteem Jesus as an amazing prophet, one sent from God to help them. The news of what Jesus did spreads throughout the area.
For the centurion, Jesus heals the man’s servant because of the centurion’s faith in Jesus’s power. The centurion receives a miracle because he asks for it in faith.
For the widow, Jesus raises her son from the dead, not because she asks him to, but because he has compassion for her. The widow receives a miracle because Jesus offers her grace.
Sometimes we need faith, and sometimes grace is enough.
Questions:
Do we ever strive to be worthy of God’s attention when his grace is all we need?
What has Jesus done for us that we don’t deserve?
[Discover more about God’s grace for us in 2 Corinthians 12:9.]
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Read more about the book of Luke in Dear Theophilus: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, now available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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