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Luke Lesson 22 (2009)

BUT SAY THE WORD!
(The Faith of the Centurion)

Luke 7:1 – 17
Key Verse: 7:7

“That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.
But say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

In today’s passage, Jesus heals the Roman centurion’s servant (1-10) and raises a dead young man, the only son of the widow (11-17). Jesus was impressed by the centurion because of his faith when he said to Jesus, “But say the word, and my servant will be healed!” The centurion believed that the very power of God was present in Jesus’ word even though he had never met Jesus face to face. He was a Gentile, and not even one of Jesus’ followers. In the eyes of Jesus, it was a great miracle that the centurion could have such great faith. This event gives great hope to those who have never met Jesus face to face, that they also can experience the living God in their lives through faith. Let’s see how.

Jesus’ messianic ministry can be summarized in what Jesus said in his hometown at the outset of his ministry. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of the sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk 4:18-20) Jesus’ Galilean ministry was very radical in terms of the content of his teaching and the way he ministered to the people. He reached out mainly to the poor, the sick, the oppressed and the marginalized. His radical approach in ministry offended the religious leaders of his time. As a result he was rejected by most of the Jewish leaders. At the same time, his ministry also drew a great number of followers from all Judea, from Jerusalem and even from the coast of Tyre and Sidon. (6:17-19) Most of these people came to hear from Jesus and also to be healed of their diseases. Jesus healed them all and delivered the Sermon on the Mount, which is the core of his discipleship ministry. (6:20-49)

Look at verses 1-5. “When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.” Capernaum was the town in which Jesus’ Galilean ministry had been mainly focused. There was living there a Roman centurion, whose servant was sick and about to die. It says the servant was valued highly by his master. In those days, servants were considered as property and treated like machines or tools. If they become old, useless or sick, their value automatically dropped. They were mostly either replaced by new ones or discarded. But the centurion valued his servant highly even when he became very sick. The centurion treated his servant with respect and dignity as a human being. Apparently, he had done his best to find a cure for his dying servant. However, his servant didn’t get better and was about to die.

Look at verse 3. When the centurion heard that Jesus came back to the town, he immediately sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. Obviously, these elders were the village leaders whom the centurion had been associated with. Normally, the Jews did not like the Roman soldiers who occupied their country. But when they came to Jesus, they not only brought the centurion’s request but they also pleaded earnestly with him, saying “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”(5) The Jewish elders evaluated the Roman centurion very highly based on his integrity, genuine interest and love for their country, Israel. The centurion had probably built the synagogue out of his own wealth.

The centurion’s basic human quality was outstanding although he was a Gentile, not a Jew and not even a follower of Jesus Christ at that time. As a Roman officer, he could have been proud of himself and looked down upon the occupied people. But he was humble and treated all men and women with respect and genuine love regardless of their human condition. And he was willing to serve them with his talent, wealth, power and whatever was available to him. Why are humans valuable regardless of their condition? It’s because all humankind bear the image of God. When you find a one dollar bill on the street, most of us may not ignore it even though it may be wrinkled or stained. Why? It’s because it has an unchanging value. Likewise, no matter how damaged we may be, the value of humans does not change. All humans are precious regardless of age, race, culture or religion because we bear the precious image of God.

Look at verses 6-10. Hearing from the elders of the Jews, Jesus was quite impressed by the Roman centurion and eager to go his house and heal his servant. But just before he arrived at the centurion’s house, the centurion sent his friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home. I do not deserve such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” At first, the centurion hurriedly sent some elders to Jesus to come and heal his servant because he was desperate. But he soon realized that he acted presumptuously by asking Jesus to come to his home. So he quickly sent his friends with the message that Jesus should not bother himself to come to his home. Instead, he should just say the word to heal his servant. The centurion believed that no matter how sick his servant might be, he would be healed by the word of Jesus.

Look at verse 8. “For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” The centurion’s faith is simple but not simplistic. With his military background he was familiar with the chain of command. Orders are received and then channeled to others, peers and subordinates alike. Obviously, the centurion believed that all authority comes from God. He understood that the divine power of God was present in the words of Jesus. And he wanted to be a channel, open to receive power from God and eager to let that power flow out to others.

In fact, the centurion had never met Jesus face to face. Yet, he could have such tremendous trust in Jesus’ words by hearing about him and based on his military background. Isn’t this amazing? In fact, even though the centurion was a Gentile, he had classic faith based on the power of God’s word. “But say the word, and my servant will be healed.” The centurion’s faith reminds us of Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commanded for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Look at verse 9. When Jesus heard what the centurion said, he was even
more amazed at him. Turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” The centurion’s faith is a model for all of us. Look at verse 10. The men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. Jesus didn’t even see the servant, and yet he healed him from distance simply by uttering the word.
In verses 11-17, we see that right after healing the centurion’s servant Jesus raises a widow’s son from death to life. This event is recorded only in Luke’s Gospel.

Look at verse 11. Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. As they came near the gate of the town, they saw a funeral procession with people carrying the body of a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. Obviously, these people came to comfort the widow. What kind of comfort could they offer to this sorrowful and unfortunate woman? Where could she find the meaning of her life and of the tragic death of her son? Why did God let him die so early? Why did she have to experience so much pain and sorrows one after another? Is life fair? People all must die, but when a young man dies, it’s somehow more tragic. The young man’s mother already had lost her husband some time ago, and now she lost her only son. We don’t how he died. But her future without her son seemed bleak. Following the funeral procession, the widow must have been crying and mourning endlessly.

What did Jesus do for her? Look at verse 13. “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” According to pastoral counseling skills, you should never say “don’t cry” to those who mourn for the dead. You would say, “I am sorry.” Of course, Jesus was not insensitive to her pains and sorrows. Verse 13 says that Jesus’ heart went out to her, meaning that Jesus had deep compassion for her. Yet, Jesus didn’t just feel sorry for her tragic life. Jesus could say to her, “Don’t cry” because he had something to offer to end her sorrowful tragedy.

Look at verses 14-15. Then Jesus went up and touched the coffin, and those who were carrying it stood still, wondering what Jesus might do next. In fact, Jesus stopped the funeral procession and said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” When we talk to a dead person, the dead cannot hear our voices. But when Jesus said to the dead young man “I say to you, get up!,” the dead man heard his voice, his eyes opened, sat upright and began to talk. “Hello, every one. I am alive and well!” This young man’s life was completely restored by the word of Jesus, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. What a wonderful gift! Instead of burying the dead, people could celebrate his life. How was it possible? It’s because of the power of Jesus’ words.

This was a great miracle. This may sound too good to be true. But this is a new reality of the gospel that God our Father offers us through His Son Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection. We might call it “impossible possibility.” Our life is often challenging because of sicknesses, failures and other unfortunate things. Many people experience pain in their hearts because of their broken relationship with their loved ones. When certain things happen, we think that our life is over and we are like dead people in the coffin. There are many people who are physically young and alive but are spiritually dead. They feel powerless and hopeless, due to despair, self-condemnation, fear or some other unknown reason. We may often feel that we have no choices due to human circumstances. But the truth is that we are not supposed to be lying in the coffin. How can we get up? We need to hear the word of Jesus, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”

After all, how could a man who is extremely self-centered become centered upon God and concerned about others? Self-centeredness is like quicksand from which the self cannot escape by one’s own strength. How can a man who is proud, fearful and lustful be forgiven of all his sins and become a precious child of God and the heir of God’s righteousness? How can a discouraged man become hopeful? How can a disgusting man begin to live a pure, beautiful and wholesome life? Humanly speaking, it’s impossible. But when Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, suffered and died on the cross, God turned impossibility into a possibility and makes a new reality in us. God’s will for each of us is not to perish but to be fully alive in Jesus Christ now and forever.

The power of death cannot dominate those who are in Jesus Christ. But the power of death often overshadows our lives through the channel of fear. Yet, we have nothing to be afraid of because God is stronger than death. Faith in Jesus drives away our fear and gives us courage to live day to day in all circumstances. In fact, Jesus envisioned our lives through him both in this world and the future by saying in John 5:24 and 25, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” He also said in John 11:25 and 26, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Who is this man who claims to have the authority to forgive man’s sins? Who is this man who is said to be the Lord of the Sabbath? Who is this man who has such authority to heal a dying man simply by uttering the word? Who is this man who could raise the dead simply by his words? Look at verses 16 and 17. The people who saw this event were all filled with awe and praised and worshiped God. They said, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” but also, “God has come to help His people.” These people could rejoice greatly for they experienced the living God among them through miracles. We can also celebrate the living God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our life is not given to us to perish slowly until we die. We are meant to be fully alive now and forever in Jesus Christ. Is anything more important than having Jesus? If we have Jesus, we have everything. We will not die. Although we go through bumpy and crooked roads in our life journeys, we are to hold on to Jesus and his word. Jesus is our light. He is our real food and real drink. He is the kingdom we will inherit. He is our Bible. He is our prayer. He is the living God in us through the Holy Spirit.

The centurion believed that the very power of God is present in the word of Jesus. Even though we don’t see Jesus face to face, we can still experience the power of the living God in us through the word of Jesus who is the foundation of our eternal salvation. Simon Peter said in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus also said in 6:63, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Amos 8:11-12 reads, “’The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.’” Everyone needs to hear the word of Jesus to be fully alive. We are God’s instruments for sharing the good news with everyone around us. “Say the word, for my servant will be healed.”(7)