Lesson 20- Luke 7:1- 15 The Centurion and he Widow

Healing of the Centurion's Son 7:1-10

English Standard Version (Chapter 7)

7 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.

This is a significant account because Dr. Luke was a Gentile and the Centurion was most certainly a Gentile also. So, here a Gentile gains a “God” benefit of healing by faith. Roman soldiers had an important part in the holy land culture. They had wives, children, slaves, maybe extended family, homes, and possessions in the area around where Jesus walked. They may have even had Jewish wives. They were well entrenched in daily life. It does not say the centurion knew Jesus but he did know about Him. This first verse says that Jesus finished all of His statement/teachings/ discourse in the hearing of the people in the plain, before He arrived in Capernaum. This was the place that Jesus would make the center of His ministry and His home.

A centurion, as the Scripture reads, was a man usually in charge of 100 soldiers. Below the centurion was a decurion, like an NCO below a captain. That would be our closest comparison to today. So, we could just call him Captain Capernaum for our story purposes. CC has a slave-servant who was sick and at the point of death. Whatever he had was deadly and possibly he had a suffered an injury that was about to take his life. Because of his value to the centurion, the boss cannot let that happen. Because of CC’s knowledge of Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to greet Jesus and ask him to come and heal the servant. They made a serious show of pleading his case.

These Jewish elders make some outstanding comments about the character of this soldier. Look at the comments again:

English Standard Version (Chapter 7)

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

Obviously the CC was a very good friend of the Israelites for they considered him 1. worthy, 2. he loved their nation, 3. He is responsible for building their synagogue.

Jesus packed up his bags and went with the delegation of elders. As Jesus got closer to the centurion’s home, CC sent more friends to the Savior with an extra urgent message that really impressed Jesus concerning his faith. The message was that he, Captain Capernaum, was not worthy to have Jesus come and be under his roof. The Centurion did not presume that Jesus would drop everything if he showed up, in person, and ask Him to come tend to his servant. But the Centurion says, just say the word and let my servant be healed. His understanding of faith was spot on, even though he may not have been a believer or schooled in the ways of the Hebrews. Faith begins with “things not seen...” The Centurion also knew what it was to have people under him. He was a true leader. He operated like a true leader as he delegated the responsibility of the healing of the servant to others and to Jesus. Jesus said that he had not seem this kind of faith in all of Israel. So Jesus granted the request and the Centurion’s servant was healed. Disease had to obey Jesus the way soldiers obeyed their leader. In Nazareth, Jesus marveled at the unbelief, but here in Capernaum he marveled at their faith!

Remember, the Centurion was a Gentile and the Jews did not necessarily take too kindly to them. That is why the elders and soldiers were sent to plead the centurion’s case. He was concerned that because of who he was, he would be ignored by a Jewish preacher. The ministry of Jesus was told to be “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek/Gentile.” It was a new day of understanding and ministry for this generation. Jesus was really on the move and apparently He was going to leave some hard nosed people behind! Let’s look at the role Centurion’s have in the New Testament:

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 7)

• As we will see, this centurion is a man of humility and faith.

• It was a centurion on the hill of Calvary who said to Jesus, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

• A centurion named Cornelius was the first Gentile to be converted and baptized in the Spirit (Acts 10).

• A centurion named Julius befriended Paul and assisted him on his journey toward Rome (Acts 27).

This one of two places in the New Testament where Jesus marveled at someone’s faith. The other place was the Syro-Phoenician woman. A person’s faith may not seem to work as it should if we fail to take Jesus or the Word at face value. The Lord loves to honor this type of servant and that is right where we want to be. We want to be believing Him, to His face!

A Great Prophet has Come! 7:11-17

English Standard Version (Chapter 7)

11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Jesus is on the road right now as He enters the town of Nain in Galilee. A great crowd of groupie’s were following him. Coming close to town he was greeted by a crowd carrying the body of a man who had died, a widow's son. His death and her plight as a widow had an effect on everyone round about. The crowd was considerable at this point and it was alongside her. The scene moved the Savior to compassion and He said to her, “do not weep!”

Touching the funeral bier, Jesus commanded the young man to arise. It was then the man sat up and began to speak. Jesus handed him off to his mother. The people were seized with fear, they glorified God, and said, “God has visited His people.” Did they realize the weight of their words? Probably not, but Jesus has been glorified and the report of this spread like wildfire.It is not time to let the smoke clear, but rather to jump in and get caught up in the blaze. God is still at work today as back then and we need to get on board, stay on board, and bring others to the Savior. Who knows when God will perhaps use you to bring someone to life, who has been counted for dead or whose life is as if they were better off dead. It is this person who will not receive the glory for the healing. The individuals name is hidden for the centuries. The Glory belongs to God. It is He who will do great things today as He did before the crowd at Nain. His Glory is on the move.