In Luke 7, Jesus is in Galilee. He is still in the early stages of his ministry. This sermon will deal with the first three stories in the chapter: The centurion’s faith; The widows son; and the Baptist's doubt.
The first story is that of a Centurion. He is a Gentile, a non-Jew. And that is important. Even in the early stages of Jesus’ ministry he responded to Gentiles like us. He is the Saviour of the whole world, and not just the King of the Jews.
Moreover, he was a professional soldier of some success and note. The Centurion was a commander, of at least 80 men, but often more. He would lead the men into battle, positioned at the very front of their century. He was the model and inspiration for his troops. He also punished and maintained discipline. The Centurion here might have been a senior centurion, given his relationship with the Jewish elders and his ability to build their synagogue.
As an aside, you will notice nothing inconsistent with being a soldier and faith in Christ. When soldiers came to John the Baptist, he didn’t tell them to stop being soldiers, but to be content with their rations, not to extort, and not to bully. And similarly, Jesus praises this senior soldier, though never requiring him to leave his job. Soldiers were not told to turn the other cheek, only disciples as disciples.
This soldier has a slave that is highly valued and precious to him. And immediately he is presented as a good and sensible master. This slave’s sick. Oh well, ditch him and just get another! No, the slave is ‘precious to him’.
We notice that the Centurion is humble. An inaccuracy in our drama was that the Centurion went himself to Jesus. But as our reading told us, he sent the elders of the Jews. The reason the Centurion gives was that he is not worthy to come to Jesus. In this, the Centurion is like Peter. Compare ‘Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man’ with ‘I am not worthy to come to you’.
Indeed, a theme in this story is worthiness. The elder’s first word to Jesus is ‘He is Worthy!’ Clearly, the Centurion loves the nation of Israel. I remember seeing a story on a US Army Officer in Iraq. He converted to Islam, married a Kurdish Woman, and after his discharge lived in Kurdestan, because he loved the people. It happens.
Yet, twice the Centurion says ‘I am not worthy’! Who is telling the truth? Is he worthy? That’s what the Jewish elders say. Is he not worthy? That’s what the Centurion himself says. Probably, both sentiments are true, from their own perspective.
In fact, as he was waiting for Jesus to come, it seems the Centurion realized how unworthy he was. He first thought his unworthiness extended to not asking Jesus himself. But while he was waiting he clearly thought this was insufficient. He wanted to be more consistent. If he is unworthy to ask Jesus, he is also unworthy to see Jesus, and to have Jesus come over to his house. Like John the Baptist, he doesn’t consider himself worthy of the Coming One. So the Centurion changed his mind. Jesus, I am not worthy to see you face to face. And I am not worthy to have you come to my house. Just speak, and that will be enough.
But Jesus doesn’t refer to the debate about the Centurion’s worthiness. For Luke, it is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what he has done for the Jewish nation. It doesn’t matter whether the Centurion is worthy or not to see Jesus. What counts is his faith. And he has bucket loads.
Look at what Jesus says: Page 25, second paragraph:
When he heard this, Jesus was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith like this!”
Being amazed is not that unusual in Luke’s Gospel. Everyone everywhere all the time are amazed at Jesus: what he says, what he does, who he is, and what is said about him. Perpetual Amazement is an occupational hazard of following Jesus. But here is the one time where Jesus is amazed. The message from the Centurion stops Jesus in his tracks[1]. This faith goes beyond anything he has seen from Peter, Andrew, James and John or Matthew. It goes beyond anyone he has healed or rescued so far. The faith of the Centurion goes beyond anything shown by the crowd of disciples and onlookers. What is it about this faith? Let’s look at what the Centurion says: The very top of page 25:
But say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, and I have soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘God’ and he goes, and to another ‘Come here’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this’, and he does it.”
The Centurion likens himself to Jesus. The Centurion is under authority and over men. He is an officer under orders, and must follow them. And so must those soldiers under his command.
And so is Jesus. Jesus is under his Father. Again and again in the gospel of John, Jesus says that he only acts or does what his Father says or commands (John 10:18; 12:49-50; 14:31; 15:10). Now, this fact doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t God or equal to the Father, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses allege. He is God, in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells (John 1:1; Col 2:9). But Jesus is God in a Son way. Jesus is God the only Son, the monogenes theos, as John calls him (John 1:18). This is the way God the Son is God… as Son to the Father. And as Son, Jesus obeys his Father. They eternally within God have the relationship of Father and Son. And so Father and Son act in perfect harmony, the Father lovingly commanding and the son lovingly obeying, all in the unity of the Holy Spirit. And this is expressed in the way they act when Jesus becomes human.
So the Centurion is right. Jesus is a man under authority, as he is. And as a man under authority, with a commission from the Father, Jesus also has soldiers and servants that submit to his authority. He has disciples, whom he expects to obey his words. These, of course, are the most troublesome and difficult. They have stubborn and rebellious wills. And they require the Holy Spirit to truly be free and obey.
But as Jesus imposes his authority over his world, the world submits to him. demons, disease, death, nature, and even disciples. All do what he says. The one under authority, Jesus, is one who says, come and go, and follow me, and go out, and they do.
And this Centurion has this faith without having seen Jesus, without meeting him face to face, and without having Jesus come under his roof.
Luke was a man who never saw Jesus face to face. And he presents the Centurion for us as the model of faith. And the Centurion is the model of faith for us, who have never seen Jesus’ face.
You, like the Centurion, like Peter, know yourself unworthy of Christ. But you too can put your faith in Christ. You can have greater faith than anyone who Jesus saw in his Galilean ministry. You too can amaze Jesus. By treating him as the one under authority who has authority over the created order. By his word, we are brought safely through our troubles and evils. And now he sits at the right hand of God as our high priest and mediator. And it is still by his word, by his intercession for us, that we are still brought safely through all our troubles and evils.
We next see Jesus 34 km south west of Capernaum. He is in a small town called Nain. And it appears that the whole town was out mourning. And at the gate, they bump into Jesus and his disciples and the great crowd following him[2]. And there, the mourners behold the crowd. And the crowd behold the mourners.
We are told that the dead man was monogenes. The only Son of his mother. Just as Jesus is the only Son of the Father, so this son is the Only Son of his Mother. And she, even worse, is a widow.
And we read that ‘The Lord was moved to compassion concerning her’. Here is that word, splagchnizomai. A word that is only ever used of Jesus or of a character in a parable representing God. Jesus is deeply moved, way down deep in the pit of his stomach. His compassion juices have been stirred. Because Jesus has come face to face with the grim consequences of death. Death is what Jesus faces. He sees a widow who has lost her husband. And now her only Son. And Jesus has come to do something about death.
Friends, if death has touched you, if you have lost a husband or a child, notice the compassion of Jesus to this widow. Now, death renders us pretty helpless. We can give a card, or flowers, or say some words, or attend the funeral, or give some time and some practical help. But that is not want the grieving person wants. They want their loved one. And we are impotent in the face of death. We cannot really help.
But Jesus show us that his word cannot only heal. It can raise the dead. Jesus says to the dead man, ‘Young man, be raised’. And the young man speaks in turn. Jesus gives the woman what she really wanted – her son back.
And here is Jesus at his first coming giving us a small sample of what he will do at his second coming. For when he returns, he will speak to the graves and the earth and dust which we have become, and we will be raised imperishable. As far as we know, the young man of Nain succumbed to death later. It was a resuscitation. But Jesus in this resuscitation gives us a picture of the Resurrection that he will work with his Word when he returns.
So we have seen Jesus heal the diseased and give life to the dead? Yet, we still find doubt. And in an unexpected place: John the Baptist. Essential Jesus page 26, second paragraph from the bottom.
John’s disciples told him about all these things. So John selected two of his disciples, and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the Coming One, or should we wait for another?”
Now John the Baptist knew more about Jesus than almost anyone else. As a foetus, he leaped for joy hearing Mary’s voice. (Lk 1:41,44). In the desert, he pointed to Jesus: ‘The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (Jn 1:29,36). He knew enough to know he was unworthy to baptise Jesus, or even untie his shoelace (Mark 1:7; Matt 3:13). John even sent his own disciples to follow him.
But now John the Baptist’s voice no longer echoes across the Jordan valley. John is in prison. It was inevitable really. He kept telling Herod that it was not lawful for him to take his brother’s wife (Matt 14:3-4)
Now John has come to the point to ask Jesus a direct question: ‘Who exactly are you?’
“Are you the coming one, or should we wait for another?”
Perhaps John thinks, maybe someone else will follow Jesus. He doesn’t deny Jesus is from God. But he seeks confirmation from Jesus that Jesus is the Coming One, the long awaited Messiah.
Now, why does John ask Jesus this question? Some think John is asking for the sake of his disciples. He pretends to be puzzled and ask the question so they can follow Jesus[3]. I don’t think John is doing this.
Perhaps John got depressed in prison. Maybe he got doubts. He wondered whether Jesus really was from God. And so he asks Jesus for confirmation. I don’t think this is what John is doing.
I think John is puzzled about Jesus. I think John asks the question because, at that stage, Jesus hadn’t done everything the Messiah would do. There were many things the Messiah would do, that Jesus hadn’t yet done. First, Jesus hasn’t judged sinners. The Old Testament Messiah was a judge. John told people the one following him would judge with unquenchable fire (Matt 3:12). John knew this from Malachi. The coming of the Messiah, the Lord, would be unendurable for the wicked (Malachi 3:1-5[4]), But Jesus hasn’t yet done this. Jesus has come, but still there has been no thorough judgment. He has not yet judged Herod, the unrepentant adulterer.
What’s more, John the Baptist is in prison. And John knew Isaiah 61:1-2 That the Messiah would proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn… That was Jesus’ first sermon, in Luke chapter 4. Yet, here is one prisoner who hasn’t been released: John the Baptist.
If a captive needs freedom and prisoner needs release it is John the Baptist. But Jesus has come, and John is rotting in prison. So he asks: Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?
Jesus has not judged. Jesus has not freed prisoners. Jesus, are you still the one?
Typically, Jesus doesn’t give a straight answer. 4Jesus replied, “Go back and tell John what you see and hear: Tell John what I have done. Let my works speak for themselves Remember Isaiah’s prophecy, says Jesus My works fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy. The blind see, lame walk, deaf hear, just like Isaiah 35:4-6[5] And more, I raise the dead and cleanse lepers. Not only this, the good news is preached to the poor, just like Isaiah 61:1-2 said. Jesus is saying, I am fulfilling Isaiah. I am the one who was to come. Do not look for someone else. But John’s still got a problem. For John never was freed from his prison. We know that John died there (Matt 14).
But Jesus was calling on John to trust him. Jesus is saying to John, 'Look how I am fulfilling these parts. You need to trust me that I will fulfill the rest.' And Jesus’ word to us is the same. 'Look how I have fulfilled all these parts of the Old Testament scripture. You need to trust me that I will fulfill the rest.'
Today, Christians are in prison in different parts of the world for confessing Christ. For some, the only freedom from prison they will experience will be death. Like John the Baptist, Peter, Paul. And they and us, like John the Baptist are called to trust that Jesus is the Messiah who sets prisoners free and judges the wicked.
But, friends, we know more than John. We know Jesus will come twice. John never heard Jesus say he would come back. John simply knew that the Messiah was coming. But we know Jesus came a first time to save, and will come a second time to judge. That’s because we live after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus’ first coming was not to condemn the world, but save the world (Jn 3:17). And by his death and resurrection, he set spiritual prisoners free. So he healed the Centurion’s servant, with a word (p 26.1-2). And Jesus raised the widow of Nain’s son (p 26.4; 32.2). Jesus had the ability to empty both hospital and cemetery. And I reckon that’s essential to each of us, given that we will one day be found in each.
Well, John has asked the question ‘Who is Jesus?’ Now Jesus will ask the question ‘Who is John?’ Verse 7, He asks the crowd:
“What did you go out into the desert to see?
Who is John? And Jesus wants to hit two false answers on the head.
First, some people on hearing this question might have thought John fickle. Changeable, inconsistent, unstable. ‘A reed being shaken by the wind?’ John says, Jesus is the Christ. Then John asks Jesus, ‘Are you the Christ?’ Maybe he was fickle.
But Jesus defends John here. A man with only half the information wrestling to understand is not fickle. He just doesn’t know everything.
But perhaps John was ‘A man dressed in fine clothes?’. Literally, ‘Soft’ clothes. Maybe John was soft. But John wore sandpaper, not silk - home-made camel’s hair. And John may have been the King's guest, but in Herod’s dungeon, not his palace. No, John wasn’t soft.
No, Jesus will give the true answer, and build upon it. John is ‘A prophet’. But wait, there is more. John is more than a prophet. He was also ‘the messenger’ about whom the prophets spoke. He both prophesied and was prophesied about. He was the prophesied prophet. Page 27, 1st paragraph, about half way through. He is the one about whom it was written in the scriptures. But there’s still more He is the messenger sent before God. See I send my messenger before you who will prepare your way before you.’ He is the forerunner to the Messiah. John the Baptist is a prophet, greater than the prophets, the prophesied prophet, the messenger before the Messiah. But Jesus has still more to say about John the Baptist.
If John has fallen in your estimation because of his doubts about Jesus, listen to what Jesus says about him. Page 27, first paragraph, last sentence.
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John; but the person who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than him!’
No one born of woman is greater than John. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah. Indeed everyone in the crowd to whom Jesus spoke, had nothing on John the Baptist. Rugged, self-sufficient, courageous, bold. Enduring hardship for the sake of God and the truth. Yet humble, always pointing away from himself to another. Not wanting to create an empire for himself or people who follow him. But wanting people to repent and follow Jesus. I look at John the Baptist and think, I want to be like him. I need to point people away from myself and towards Jesus. No one born of woman was greater.
Except… you… Except me. Except the least one of us here.
John didn’t get to see that Jesus died for us, rise again, and now lives to plead to God on our behalf. But we do. The littlest well-instructed kid in our Kid’s church can sing: “He died on the Cross, he died, on the cross, he died on the cross, For me, for you and all the world too!’ That is more than John knew. So the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John.
How should we respond to Jesus and John? We can reject them. We can reject John and his testimony to Jesus. We can reject Jesus himself.
That’s what the people of that generation did. They rejected John and Jesus.
“To what, then, shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like” They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling out to one another, ‘We played the flute for you and you didn’t dance’ we wailed and you didn’t weep.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon?’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, he’s a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
John the Baptist, they said. He eats locusts. He’s a teetotaller. He wears camel hair. He lives by himself. He can’t be from God. He’s just too different.
Jesus. He eats normal food. He drinks normal drink. He wears normal clothes. He hangs out with normal, sinful, people. He can’t be from God. He’s just too normal.
Some people are never satisfied. John the Baptist is too hard. Jesus is too soft.
Ah this bed is just right. This bed that we make. If I were God, I would send someone just like me. I’m sure we are from God. We are not too hard, not too soft. We are just right.
John the Baptist and Jesus, they should be more like us. And so people make up their own Jesus. So they reject him.
Friends, we must be different. We need to see Jesus the way the Centurion saw him. Though the Centurion never saw Jesus, he saw he was sent from God, with power over the world. We don’t need to see Jesus to know this. And so with the Centurion we say, ‘I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof. Only say the word and we will be brought safely through’.
We need to see Jesus the way the Widow saw him. Though we don’t see the resurrection of the dead, we need to trust that Jesus is the compassionate Lord who will give eternal life to our dead bodies.
And we need to remember Jesus' words to John the Baptist. Jesus is the Coming One. There is no-one else.
Let’s pray.
[1] Possibly the force of the passive strapheis to be turned, in Lk 7:9
[2] Note idou, which seems to mark some element of surprise.
[3] Eg Ryle and the church fathers.
[4] 1See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant whom you desire, will come”, says the LORD Almighty. 2But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver…5So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcereers, adulterers and perjurers…
[5] Isaiah 35:4-6 (NIV): Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shot for joy.’