What Will Jesus Do For Those Who Ask? (Luke 7:1-10) Series

The last few weeks, we've been working our way through what is possibly Jesus' second most famous sermon of all time, which in Luke is usually called "The Sermon on the Plain." This message, is one that Jesus gave to his disciples (Luke 6:17-20, verse 20 in particular). They are words for people who have chosen to follow Jesus. But, at the same time, Jesus speaks these words in the hearing of the crowds (and the Sermon on the Mount works the same way). So what Jesus is doing, is letting his disciples know how life works in this new kingdom of God, that Jesus is bringing. God has expectations for how his people will live, and there are consequences, good and bad, that depend on if we follow those expectations.

And much of what God expects, is that we live like him.

God is good, and kind, and merciful, to all people, regardless of whether or not they are grateful, or whether or not they live rightly (Luke 6:35). And God expects his people to look and act like him. If we were going to bring in Genesis 1 ("Page 1" of the Bible to use Tim Mackie's language) at this point, we'd say that this is part of how we "image" God on earth (Luke 6:35-36). God expects us to love all people, to do good to them, to lend our money, and to be merciful. God expects us to show grace.

So all of us, who are Jesus' disciples, hear these words and find ourselves struggling with this high calling. I'm perfectly willing to lend money to my friends, but less willing to lend money to people I'm not close to. I'm willing to love my friends, but less willing to love my enemies. I'm willing to show mercy to my friends when they hurt me or wrong me, but less willing to show mercy to my enemies. We read Jesus' words, and there's nothing abstract or complicated about them, really. There have been people in my life I've really struggled with, who have hurt me, and wronged me, and who I want nothing to do with. If that person needed my help, I'd be tempted to use that as an opportunity to mock them, or teach them about the importance of being nice. If that person wrongs me in a way that I can use against them, I'd be tempted to harm them. But Jesus says, "No. Be like your Father in heaven."

And so, this is a tough sermon. Jesus addresses his disciples directly, but he does so in a way that invites everyone to consider whether or not they want in. Lots of people are at the edges of Jesus' ministry. Lots of people are drawn close enough to him, that they find themselves starting to wrestle with what he says, and with whether or not they want to enter God's kingdom. Is this the kind of kingdom, you want to be a citizen of?

Our passage today, Luke 7, begins with Jesus wrapping up his sermon. And what we will see, in today's verses, is a few things. We will see that Jesus lives his words. We will see that Jesus is a good tree, who bears good fruit. We will see Jesus giving freely, and loving people who do nothing for him. We will Jesus showing mercy, just as his Father, and ours, shows mercy. And we will perhaps learn a thing or two about faith, along the way.

Let's read verses 1-5:

(1) After he finished/completed all his words in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

(2) Now, a certain slave of a centurion, having sickness, was about to die,

who was by him (by the centurion) esteemed/honored/valued.

(3) Now, hearing about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews,

asking him that he, coming, would bring his slave safely through [the sickness].

Roman soldiers, as a whole, were not well-liked by good Jews. They were the occupiers. They were the illegitimate rulers of the land. They were idol-worshippers, who were outside of God's covenant people.

But this centurion is quite the exception to the rule. Right? This centurion is a model Gentile. He is a good master to his slave. He cares about him, values him, doesn't treat him as property. He doesn't want his servant to die, but the situation is hopeless.

Now, sometimes you can just tell that someone is going to die. You can see them slipping away, and you know it's just a matter of time. You know it's time to gather the family, and say goodbye.

But the centurion knows that there's no reason to simply accept death. Not today. He hears about this Jesus person, that Jesus has healed all sorts of people. He "hears" the good news about Jesus, and he's open to Jesus.