Faith and Authority: Luke 7:1-10
“1) When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. 2) And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3) When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. 4) When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5) for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6) Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; 7) for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8) For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9) Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10) When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.” Luke 7:1-10
This is a parallel story to Matthew 8:5-13. Some of the details seem different, but a harmony of the two stories is easy to accomplish. At some point, it seems the centurion arrived in person to converse with Jesus. Luke merely highlights a few important concepts to be learned from the story.
First, the centurions slave was highly regarded by him. They had a positive and healthy relationship. It was not abusive or exploitive. The centurion was leveraging his authority to get his servant healed.
Second, the Jewish elders attempted to be mediators with Jesus on behalf of the centurion. He had done some good and wonderful things for the Jewish people and they argued that the centurion had “earned” the right for healing. No one deserves God’s grace. God is no man’s debtor.
Third, both Matthew and Luke emphasize that both the centurion and Jesus connected faith with understanding authority. True faith is not measured my how strong your belief system is, rather it is measured by how big your God is.
Because the centurion understood that Jesus was the highest authority, the issue would be settled the moment He gave the command for the healing. All He needed to was “say the word” and his servant would be healed.
This story has shaped my view of both deliverance ministry and healing. Both rest squarely on the authority of Jesus Christ. The question is not whether or not He is willing to set free or heal? The question is “does He have authority diseases and demons? Is He the God that heals?
Finally, the matter was settled. The servant was healed. Faith in the authority of Jesus Christ resulted in the healing. Faith is the expression of your true view of Jesus Christ!
If you say, “Jesus can heal, but He no longer does miracles today”, you are double minded! You will get what you believe!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoSev Global
Sent from my iPhone
“1) When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. 2) And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3) When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. 4) When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5) for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6) Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; 7) for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8) For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9) Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10) When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.” Luke 7:1-10
This is a parallel story to Matthew 8:5-13. Some of the details seem different, but a harmony of the two stories is easy to accomplish. At some point, it seems the centurion arrived in person to converse with Jesus. Luke merely highlights a few important concepts to be learned from the story.
First, the centurions slave was highly regarded by him. They had a positive and healthy relationship. It was not abusive or exploitive. The centurion was leveraging his authority to get his servant healed.
Second, the Jewish elders attempted to be mediators with Jesus on behalf of the centurion. He had done some good and wonderful things for the Jewish people and they argued that the centurion had “earned” the right for healing. No one deserves God’s grace. God is no man’s debtor.
Third, both Matthew and Luke emphasize that both the centurion and Jesus connected faith with understanding authority. True faith is not measured my how strong your belief system is, rather it is measured by how big your God is.
Because the centurion understood that Jesus was the highest authority, the issue would be settled the moment He gave the command for the healing. All He needed to was “say the word” and his servant would be healed.
This story has shaped my view of both deliverance ministry and healing. Both rest squarely on the authority of Jesus Christ. The question is not whether or not He is willing to set free or heal? The question is “does He have authority diseases and demons? Is He the God that heals?
Finally, the matter was settled. The servant was healed. Faith in the authority of Jesus Christ resulted in the healing. Faith is the expression of your true view of Jesus Christ!
If you say, “Jesus can heal, but He no longer does miracles today”, you are double minded! You will get what you believe!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoSev Global
Sent from my iPhone
