Sermon Tone Analysis

In 1 Timothy St. Paul commands us to pray for others.

James teaches us that prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.

We believe that even if we ourselves cannot help someone directly, we take it to the Lord in prayer and ask for him to help others.

Often St. Paul would urge fellow Christians to pray for him.

1 Thessalonians 5:25–27

25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us.

26 Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.

27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.

2 Thessalonians 3:1–5

3 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith.

3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command.

5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

Hebrews 13:18–19

18 Pray for us.

We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.

19 I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.

Specific Sin: What is our prayer life like?

Are we content to pray simple prayers before we go to bed and before meals?

Do we think through the prayers we use in the worship service?

Do we trust in the power of prayer enough to make intercession for others and seek the Lord’s strength to work powerfully in other peoples’ lives?

In the first verse I read, we are told to pray for those in authority.

Do those who are in authority pray for those they rule over?

When Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem, he offered this prayer for his people that he ruled.

Jesus certainly prayed for others in his high priestly prayer on Maundy Thursday.

As our great high priest, he intercedes for us even now.

In the miracle of Jesus healing the centurion’s servant, we see how the centurion interceded for his servant and how he trusted that Jesus could and would heal his servant.

In doing so he showed great faith in Jesus.

This takes place at the center point location of Jesus’ extended Galilean ministry.

(info on Capernaum).

The archeological remains of a synagogue have been discovered in that ancient city.

Luke describes the problem: A centurion’s servant was sick and about to die.

Cultural explanation: The Centurion was a soldier in charge of 100 other soldiers.

He was part of the occupational force that controlled Galilee on behalf of the Roman government.

He would have been a Gentile and Jewish laws regarding interaction with Gentiles applied to him.

CENTURION [sĕn tōōrˊĭ ən] (Gk.

hekatontárchēs).†

The commander of a “century”—one hundred soldiers—the smallest unit of the Roman army.

(In New Testament times there were ten centuries in a cohort and sixty centuries in a legion, making about six thousand soldiers per legion.)

The centurions, often called the backbone of the army, were responsible for keeping discipline, for inspection of arms, for commanding the century in both camp and field, and for the command of the auxiliaries.

Luke mentions two centurions by name: Cornelius, the first Gentile convert (Acts 10:1, 22, 30, 44–47) and Julius, the officer charged to secure Paul’s arrival at Rome (27:1, 3, 43).

Though the names of other centurions are not given, they are treated favorably.

The centurion stationed at Capernaum was praised by Jesus for his faith, and his servant was healed (Matt.

8:5–13 par.

Luke 7:1–10).

Another who supervised the crucifixion of Jesus and the other two men confessed, after Christ had died, that he truly was the “Son of God” (Matt.

27:54 par.

Luke 23:47; Gk. hekatóntarchos “leader of one hundred [men]”; Mark 15:39, 44–45, Gk. kentyríōn).

As a respected leader, he had people who served him and were considered beneath him on the social ladder.

Application: Occasions for which we pray.

Illness, imminent death, loss, catastrophe, strained relationships, natural disasters, those who have erred, etc.

Apparent contradiction: Matthew tells us that the centurion himself went to Jesus.

Matthew is most likely condensing the narrative.

The centurion had heard of Jesus (who he was and what he was capable of) He trusted that Jesus would be able to help his servant.

Note the rationale behind the request.

The elders of the Jews believed the centurion deserved special care.

After all, he had shown his love for the Jewish people by building a synagogue for them.

We may think that those who contribute large sums of money for building projects deserve special attention for their generosity.

I was always uncomfortable with members who made large donations and wanted to make sure everyone knew it was from them.

It seemed self-serving.

Certainly, the centurion did not think his love for God’s people and his donation warranted any special consideration as he himself would convey through his friends.

Why didn’t the Centurion want Jesus to come to his home?

Most likely because of the rules about Jews associating with Gentiles.

He had concern for Jesus.

He explains his faith in the power of Jesus to heal from a distance by comparing Jesus’ authority with his own.

He could get people to do things by a command, certainly Jesus had the power to give a command and be effective even from a distance.

Note Jesus’s reaction.

Commendation of a person’s faith.

It is instructive to note that Jesus’ only commended people’s faith several times and in each case it was that of Gentiles.

Elsewhere, the Bible emphasizes the importance of faith in God.

It is this type of faith that we ourselves long for.

(Hymn verse)

Oh, for a faith that will not shrink,

Though pressed by every foe,

That will not tremble on the brink

Of any earthly woe!That will not murmur nor complain

Beneath the chast’ning rod,

But, in the hour of grief or pain,

Will lean upon its God.A faith that shines more bright and clear

When tempests rage without;

That when in danger knows no fear,

In darkness feels no doubt.Lord, give me such a faith as this,

And then, whate’er may come,

I’ll taste, e’en here, the hallowed bliss

Of an eternal home.

As we would expect, Jesus fulfills the prayer of the centurion.

The servant is healed.

God has the power to work in our lives through prayer as well.

Conclusion: Almost daily we are made aware of the needs of others.

This may come from personal contact, correspondence, word of mouth, social media, or the news.

We learn of accidents, economic trouble, illness, victims of crime, those struggling with personal issues, etc.

In some cases we are able to take action ourselves, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him” “Parable of sheep and goats on helping others” “As far as possible do good to all especially the family of believers.”

We also trust that we have a living Savior who still helps those in need and that we can indeed pray for them.

Trust in the power of prayer and use that tool to seek God’s help for others.