Centurion's Servant & Widow's Son

Luke 7:2-10

2There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

9When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

10Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

OBSERVATIONS (parallel in Matthew 8:5-13)

Setting:
Matthew has the dialogue b/w Jesus and the centurion himself
Luke records that the centurion sent 2 delegations to Jesus

Faith Act:
Luke's is longer b/c of the extra characters

Faith Affirmation:
Matthew uses astonished, Luke amazed
Matthew, writing to Jews, rebukes the Jews

Questions to Consider

Do Matthew and Luke contradict each other on the setting?
(Liberals complain about contradiction and collusion)
(The gospels can't win either way)
Other NT examples that illustrate that both accounts can be correct
Matthew 20:20 vs. Mark 10:35
Matthew 27:7 vs. Acts 1:18
Acts 21:11 vs. Acts 21:33
1 Thes. 2:15 vs. Gospel accounts

What can we learn from the study of history that heightens the power of this account?
Jews usually hated Romans, especially centurion's. This was an exceptional centurion.

What was so astonishing about the Centurion’s faith? What made it great?
Humility (8:8, 7:4, 6)
Servant (7:5)
Loving (7:5)
Caring (8:5, 7:3)
Belief (didn't need to see Jesus physically, see John 20:29)





Luke 7:11-17

11Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.

13When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." 14Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" 15The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Questions to Consider

How does this miracle connect to the one previous? What kinds of people did Jesus make a habit of healing? What are his miracles revealing?

Luke seems to be pointing out an escalating view of Jesus
Jesus seems to be focused on healing the outsiders
This is the first recorded resurrection in Jesus' ministry


How does this story compare to that of the widow of Zarephath during Elijah’s ministry (1 Kings 17:8-24)? In what ways was Jesus like Elijah?

Very comparable. This is what prompted them to call Jesus a 'great prophet' and, perhaps, played a role in prompting some to say that Jesus was Elijah himself (Matthew 16:4). And yet Elijah had to pray for a miracle. Jesus did the work himself.