Series: Gospel of Luke
Sermon Title: Lessons we learn from a Centurion and a Widow.
Passage: Luke 7:1-17
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Series: Gospel of Luke
Sermon Title: Lessons we learn from a Centurion and a Widow.
Passage: Luke 7:1-17 NIV
The stories of the soldier’s servant and widow’s son unveil four things…..
- We can think God wants to save some people, in reality, he wants to save all.
- We can think some people “deserve grace”, the reality is if we deserved it, it would not be grace.
- We can think God does not see our pain or care, in reality, he, sees, he knows, and he cares deeply.
- We can think being in a desperate situation is only a bad thing, in reality, that is when God does his best work.
Ephesians 2:1-10 NIV
- It’s Available for Everyone
- For the Desperate
- For All of Us
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Compassion is a thread in these two stories. How does your compassion help reveal God’s heart and healing in people’s lives?
- Read Luke 7:1-10. Why does Jesus equate the Centurion’s understanding of how authority works with how faith works?
- What do the centurion’s actions and words reveal about what He believes about Jesus?
- Do you approach God with an authority understanding like the centurion?
- Why do you think the Centurion believed he could not approach Jesus and had to send others on his behalf?
- Why did the “elders” believe the Centurion servant “deserved” to be healed?
- Do you believe some people are more deserving than others to receive God’s healing?
- The authority and power of Jesus is put on display when he tells the dead man “arise” and he does. What are the spiritual/physical implications of this for today?
- Jesus drew close to the dead son and also to the widow herself. What spiritual truth does this demonstrate to you?
- Where have you seen God meet you in a desperate or painful situation? How did God grow and shape you through that season of your life?
- The response of the people to the miracle was a holy fear and active glorification of God. They call Jesus a “great prophet.” Why?
- Read the following passages 1 Kings 17, 2 Kings 4 Discuss how were they right and how were they wrong.
- The miracle of the widow’s son glorified God. How have you allowed God to receive glory from the healing he has brought into your life?
PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- When in your life did you feel that you did not deserve to be saved by God? Does your belief then or now match what the scriptures say about God love for you? Psalms 86:13-17 , Psalms 33:18-22, Romans 5:8,10 , 2 Thessalonians 3:5, 1 John 3:1
- In what ways does our lack of humility or belief system interfere with our hope to see all people healed in Jesus?
- Have you felt like you’ve called out to God in your pain and suffering and He didn’t listen or care?
- Where are you hoping to experience the power, compassion or authority of Jesus. What, from this story, gives you encouragement?
SCRIPTURES TO MEDITATE ON:
RESOURCES:
- ARTICLE | DAVID SCHUMAN | HOW TO FIND JOY IN GOD’S PRESENCE
- BOOK | TIM KELLER | WALKING WITH GOD THROUGH PAIN AND SUFFERING
- BOOK | BRENNAN MANNING | RUTHLESS TRUST
- PODCAST | HENRI NOUWEN | THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING
MONTHLY SPIRITUAL PRACTICE TO TRY : Journaling
What is the point of Journaling? Why take the time and write down our thoughts? For some, it is to process, for some to express their emotions, and for others, it can be creative through drawing pictures. At the core of Journaling is the desire to slow down alert yourself and reflect on the presence and work of God in the day, week, or month. Journaling is a tool. This tool forces us in a rapid world to focus and be present with our inner thoughts and express them in a safe way.
Many of us live our life on autopilot running full speed from one thing to another. How do you process where God has worked and moved, or what He is doing in the moment in your life? Let’s detach from the hectic for a moment and be present with the incredible gift of God’s presence.
This month as we begin to explore this discipline, I want to start with this scripture, Psalm 25:1 – Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Sit down with a scratch piece of paper. Read this scripture and write out your thoughts for 3-5 minutes. Express any and all thoughts that come to mind.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
I love the Roman Centurion in Luke 7. Many jews during this time believed that the Messiah was going to be a military warrior who would come and overthrow the Roman government. Rome thought very little of the Jews and were on high alert when Jesus came on the scene. Yet we see this centurion who has found favor with the Jewish leaders. They tell Jesus in verse 4 “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” Because of his kindness to these Jewish people, they contended for him in his moment of need. However, we see the centurion again send friends out before him to tell Jesus that he knows he is unworthy for him to even step foot under his roof, and recognizes the magnitude of his power, declaring “But say the word, and my servant will be healed”.
I can’t help but wonder how this centurion knows so much about Jesus to have this kind of faith. Jesus responds with an incredible statement ” “I tell you; I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”. We only see one other time in scripture where Jesus commends someone on their faith, which is in Matthew 15. This Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and begs that her demon-possessed daughter be made well. Initially Jesus ignores and denies her, but she insists. Jesus responds with ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” Matthew 15:28.
On one hand we have this Roman officer who sees himself as unworthy for Jesus to even step foot in his house, sending others to talk to Jesus on His behalf, and then on the other hand we see a Canaanite woman who takes no offense at Jesus’ denial and apparent ignoring her, knowing that even the ‘crumbs that fall from his table’ are enough for her (Matthew 15:27). How many times do we wonder why God isn’t moving this mountain or doing this thing in our life. We quickly move from one request to another, only to forget the wonder of the miracle He has already performed. Or we don’t pray for things we need, because we feel it is within our ability to accomplish.
What we can learn from this Roman and from this Canaanite woman, is that Jesus saw incredible faith in people that were outside of ‘His people’, greater faith than even some of his followers had. We see that the Roman centurion tried to send Jesus away from possible shame, and quite possibly the most determined woman of the bible. Both of them desperate for a miracle, but two different ways of approaching Jesus. Both were commended for having great faith. There is no one right way to approach the throne of grace. Hebrews 4:16 says “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most, another translation reads “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence”. We see in both of these situations, the confidence and boldness were not in themselves, it was in who Jesus was. Both the woman and the Roman knew they were an outsider from the Jewish community and to Jesus. Yet they knew who he was, and what He could do, and they got their miracle.
Let us remember when we are in times of weak faith, what God has already done. Ask Him to show you times where He has moved mountains for you, or for those you love. And as the verse in Hebrews says, approach His throne with confidence of who He is, not who you are or are not or your current circumstances. – Emma Menesini – Women’s Ministry Director
Rob Hans | Pastor of Adult Discipleship and Connection