Luke 7

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, He was met with the elders of the Jews who asked him to do a favor for a centurion whose servant was sick and needed healing, for they said that this centurion loved their nation and even built them a synagogue, for which reason they felt that he was indeed worthy of receiving this miracle, vs 1-5. As Jesus readily went along, some friends of the centurion came with a message from the centurion saying that he felt unworthy to have Jesus visit his home and on recognising the authority that Jesus had, all that he wanted Jesus to do was to command by His Word for the healing of his servant and it would be done, vs 6-8! Jesus marvelled at his ‘great faith’ and on doing as the centurion wished, his servant received his healing, vs 9,10!

We deserve to receive nothing from God

Thus, great faith originates with a revelation of our unworthiness on account of which we know that we deserve to receive nothing from God, but yet go to Him knowing that He is well able, as well as, deeply desires for us to partake of all His goodness! The good work that the centurion did for the Jews was not done in order to be made worthy to receive anything from them, but rather out of gratitude towards the

God of the Jews whom he felt was good and worthy of His trust and worship!
It was compassion for the widow at Nain that led Jesus there, in order to give her her miracle, vs 11-15. This miracle brought glory to God and Jesus’ fame spread throughout all Judea and the region round about, 16,17. Therefore, if there is some need that is weighing us down greatly, let us not hesitate to bring it to our Lord in faith, even if it be a dead situation that seems beyond a resurrection, because passion coupled with faith, is able to touch God’s heart and cause Him to overflow with compassion towards us in order to give us our miracle!

John the Baptist was the greatest prophet born of woman

For those whose situations are so depressing like John the Baptist’s was, who was cast into prison inspite of doing a great work for God in His generation, and was, therefore, blinded to the great works of the Lord going on around him, let us be encouraged to see that our ministry has indeed brought blessing to many and be content that though we are persecuted here on earth for the same, yet we can rejoice and be glad, on being assured that our reward will be great in heaven, 18-23! Indeed, John the Baptist was the greatest prophet born of woman, having served the purpose of God in His generation, but those who have been born of water and the Holy Spirit are greater than him because of the spirit of God that dwells in us, vs 24-28! The common sinners humbly accepted the baptism of John, but the leaders of the day, on justifying their every inconsistency and sin, failed to see the purpose of God through John, and so remained fruitless and became the main persecutors of Jesus too, vs 29-35!

And yes, while being a Pharisee, we may invite Jesus to our home for a meal as a guest, (with us being the benefactor) without first inviting him into our hearts as our Lord and Saviour! , However, the way in which we treat those whom we consider as greater sinners than ourselves, will eventually reveal the true condition of our hearts! As far as the woman was concerned, the fruits of true repentance were seen in her. For she brought unto the Lord that which cost her something out of gratitude and not as a benefactor,
and she valued the feet of Jesus, which represented that part of his body that often got dirty because it walked the dusty roads of the city! Thus her attitude towards the lowest part of the body of Jesus, revealed the status of her salvation, and so she loved much because she realised that she was forgiven much! Therefore, she was saved on account of her faith, on realising her own unworthiness, yet trusting in God’s ability to save her and being convinced of His intense desire to do so as well, vs 36-50! Let us
take care not to fail to meet the conditions of great faith and be determined to go to God with a passion for whatever we need, be it salvation, healing or some other miracle, thus enabling Him to give us more than what we can ask or imagine, on account of His great compassion towards us which compels Him to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:19! Amen.

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai
India.