After He had finished all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum… a centurion had a servant…at the point of death…elders of the Jews, asking Him to…heal his servant…the centurion sent friends, saying…, “Lord, do not trouble yourself…For I too am a man set under authority…When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and…said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith……they found the servant well… afterward, He went to…Nain, and…behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, …widow…the Lord…had compassion on her…He…touched the bier…said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” …the dead man sat up and began to speak, and…they glorified God…this report about Him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Luke 7:1-17
Sometime after Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He went into Capernaum and, later, travelled to Judea. A centurion, in or near Capernaum, sent Jewish messengers to request help from Jesus for a sick servant of the centurion. This centurion was one who loved the Jewish people, even, building a synagogue for them where he lived. The Jewish elders told Jesus of the centurion’s love and for the Jews in their area. This was enough for Jesus to go with the elders to the centurion. Of course, the crowd followed and, when He was close to the centurion’s house, the centurion sent other friends telling Jesus he, the centurion, was unworthy to have Jesus in his house. The centurion explained that, like Jesus, he was under authority, having many soldiers and servants to command and serve him and, that Jesus could just say a word and heal his sick servant. At this, Jesus was amazed! He said to the crowd, “I tell you, not even in Israel, have I found such faith.” And, when the centurion’s servants returned to the centurion, they discovered the sick servant had been healed! Christians, our faith is at the center of our relationship with our Savior and Lord! Jesus is always in our presence for He is omnipresent. Scripture clearly tells us that. But, to this centurion, Jesus was a great man of God and the centurion realized that the God of the Jews, that he worshipped, did not need to be present to do anything. The centurion, a Gentile, exhibited more faith in God than any other Jew or Gentile our Lord had encountered up to that time. When your faith wanes, remember this centurion. Jesus’ next encounter is in Nain, a town on the way to Judea. Jesus sees a funeral procession taking a body to be buried. Scripture does not tell us how Jesus knew of the dead man and his family, but, simply tells us of the man. Again, we know Jesus knows all people. So, when Jesus turned to the mother of the dead man, He knew what He needed to know and had compassion on this woman who was left without any means of support because her husband and, now her son, had died. Jesus touches the bier holding the man’s body and raises him back to life and returns the man to his mother. The word fear is used to describe the crowd’s reaction to this event. This fear is that awesomeness that people, who encounter the Living God, experience in His presence. The crowd went on to glorify God for what had taken place there. This great event was told of throughout Judea. Christians, we may experience death in this life but, we have a great Savior and Lord who has redeemed our souls and, one day, promises to raise our bodies from the dead, giving us new, eternal bodies in which we will worship and glorify Him and enjoy Him throughout eternity!
Source: S C Ball January 30, 2023
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