The Book of Luke
James J. Barker


Lesson 17
THE CENTURION'S SERVANT AND THE WIDOW'S SON

Text: LUKE 7:1-17


INTRODUCTION:


  1. The first half of Luke chapter 7 shows Jesus as the great Healer. First He healed the centurion's servant, and then the widow's son was raised from the dead.
  2. Then John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus, saying, "Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?"
  3. Jesus answered them, "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached" (7:19-22).
  4. Our Lord's miracles were proof that He was the promised Messiah. As the Messiah, He had power to overcome despair, disease, and death.
  • Despair (7:2, 3, 13)
  • Disease (7:2).
  • Death (7:2b, 12)
  1. Tonight we will look at these two miracles recorded in Luke 7.

 

I. THE ROMAN CENTURION'S SERVANT (7:1-10).

  1. In Luke 7:1, we see our Lord entering Capernaum. He was met by a deputation of Jewish elders, who came to him on behalf of a Roman centurion, a military officer in charge of one hundred soldiers (7:1-3).
  2. G. Campbell Morgan wrote something interesting about Roman centurions (The Great Physician).

                    It is well to remind ourselves that all the scenes of the New Testament are revealed in the atmosphere of Roman government.  The earliest stories are connected with Roman taxation, and the latest glimpse of the historic in the New Testament is that of a house in Rome, in which there was a prisoner named Paul. We are conscious of the Roman Empire all the way through. 

                    It is also noticeable that we constantly come into contact with the Roman armies, as we read of cohorts, of legions, of bands, of officers, captains, centurions, and of soldiers.  In passing we may remind ourselves that in our reading of the New Testament we are brought into contact with seven centurions, and the remarkable thing is that every one of them presented seems to have been of a fine type.  I think there is a reason for this, which reason, by the way, emerges in our present study.  They were all men living under discipline, and that in itself is a valuable thing.


  1. Before we consider the miraculous healing of the centurion's servant, let us consider the character of the centurion, this noble man "living under discipline."
  2. He loved his servant -- he "was dear unto him" (7:2).
  3. He was held in high esteem by the Jews (7:4).
  4. He was humble. The Jews said to Jesus, "That he was worthy for whom he should do this" (7:4), but the centurion said to Jesus, "Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof" (7:6).
  5. Referring to the centurion's humility, Spurgeon said, "Two features of character blend in him, which do not often meet in such graceful harmony. He won the high opinion of others, and yet he held a low estimation of himself" (The Centurion -- or An Exhortation to the Virtuous).
  6. This Roman centurion loved the Jewish people and was generous toward them (7:5).
  7. Let us also consider the faith of the centurion (7:6-10).
  8. This centurion understood authority (7:8), and he understood that the Lord Jesus has authority over sickness and death.
  9. There are only places in the Bible where we are told that our Lord marvelled. Mark 6:6 says, "And he marvelled because of their unbelief."
  10. And here in Luke 7:9 we see that our Lord marvelled at the faith of this Roman centurion.
  11. Interesting contrast! Our Lord marvelled at the unbelief of Israel, and He marvelled at the faith of this heathen soldier.
  12. Charles R Erdman said, "The centurion was confident that Jesus could cure, because of what he had heard concerning our Lord. This is the very essence of faith, namely belief founded upon evidence. Faith is not credulity (gullibility) or fancy or caprice; it is a purely rational exercise of the mind; it is reasoning from the reports of credible witnesses. The centurion had heard enough of the power and goodness of Jesus to convince him of his ability to heal. Unbelief in the face of evidence is stupidity or sin" (The Gospel of Luke - An Exposition).
  13. The faith of this Roman centurion reminds us that the Bible teaches that when one lives in accordance with the light he has, more light is given. A great example of this is the Roman centurion Cornelius in Acts 10.
  14. Acts 10:2 says Cornelius was, "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." So God directed Peter to his house.
  15. John 1:9 says Jesus "was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." When men and women respond to the light, God gives them more light.
  16. But when men reject the light, they stumble into deep darkness. Our Lord said, "If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matthew 6:23).
  17. This miracle of the healing of the centurion's servant is also recorded by Matthew. Matthew 8:13 says, "And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee."
  18. Faith can heal the sick, and raise the dead, and move mountains.

 

II. THE WIDOW'S SON RAISED FROM THE DEAD (7:11-17).

  1. Only Luke records this great miracle. The story brings out the deep compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  2. People today lack compassion. Last Tuesday, an Amtrak train derailed, killing eight people and injuring more than 200. A former Pennsylvania congressman named Patrick Murphy was on that train, and said this to a reporter, "People don't care about anyone else. They walked off the train, stepping over people."
  3. But Jesus cares.

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?


Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

 

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

 

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

 

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

 

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
(Frank E. Graeff)

  1. The healing of the centurion's servant was a great miracle, but raising the widow's son was an even greater miracle.
  2. This passage contains some of the most beautiful words in the Bible -- "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still (the funeral procession stopped). And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother" (7:13-15).
  3. Can you imagine the look on that mother's face? Our Lord has great compassion on parents (cf. Luke 9:42).
  4. No wonder that the people glorified God and said, “God hath visited His people” (7:16)!
  5. A contrast -- in Capernaum, our Lord healed the centurion's servant in response to his request (7:1-3), but in Nain, our Lord raised the young man from the dead without being asked (7:11-14).
  6. Evangelist D.L. Moody said, "When a young man in Chicago, I was called upon suddenly to preach a funeral sermon. A good many Chicago business men were to be there, and I said to myself, ''Now, it will be a good chance for me to preach the gospel to those men, and I will get one of Christ's funeral sermons.'"
  7. "I hunted all through the four Gospels trying to find one of Christ's funeral sermons, but I couldn't find one. I found He broke up every funeral He ever attended! He never preached a funeral sermon in the world. Death couldn't exist where He was. When the dead heard His voice they sprang to life. He will smash up the undertaking business when He comes to reign. ''I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.''
  8. This is the only reference in the Bible to the city of Nain (7:11). When our Lord and His disciples arrived, they saw a funeral procession heading out the gate toward the graveyard (7:12).
  9. When our "Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not" (7:13). Then our Lord touched the bier.
  10. This is the only reference to a bier in Scripture. A bier was the funeral couch on which the Jews carried their dead to the graveyard. When our Lord touched the bier, "they that bare him stood still" (7:14).
  11. Then our Lord said, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise" (7:14). "And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak" (7:15). Immediately the young man was raised from the dead and began to speak.
  12. We do not know what he said but it must have been very interesting!
  13. There are many things we will find out when we get to heaven, and one of them is what this young man said.
  14. Another thing I am interesting in finding out is what our Lord wrote on the ground in John 8:6 and 8.
  15. I heard a preacher say he wrote, "Where is the man?"
  16. Maybe. But it looks like he wrote two different things (8:6, 8).
  17. Back to the young man raised from the dead, this was a demonstration of divine power as the people had never known before.
  18. "And there came a fear on all" (7:16a). This was the supernatural fear of God. Albert Barnes said it was, "An awe or solemnity at the presence of one who had power to raise the dead, and at the miracle which had been performed."
  19. "And they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people" (7:16b).
  20. News of this great miracle spread fast -- "throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about" (7:17).
  21. Soon great crowds of people were following our Lord (cf. 8:4, 19, 42).

 

CONCLUSION:


  1. A preacher was walking down the street, and passing by a repair shop, he noticed their sign in the window: "We mend everything except broken hearts."
  2. Intrigued by the sign, the preacher went inside and asked the young lady at the counter, "What do you do with people who have broken hearts?"
  3. The lady admitted there was not much they could do. The preacher, knowing the woman was Jewish, pulled out his Bible and read from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah -- "He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted" (Isa. 61:1).
  4. Furthermore, he explained that this Scripture was speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 4:18).
  5. Only Jesus can heal the brokenhearted and raise the dead.


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