Luke 7:1-10 (Faith in Jesus)
In this passage, we read about a centurion in Capernaum, who had a very sick and dying servant. This centurion, being a Gentile, went to the Jewish elders to get them to ask Jesus to save his servant. But if you read on, you will realise that both Jesus and the centurion did not meet each other. For the centurion did not find himself worthy to have Jesus go to his house, so he sent his friend to Jesus along the way to ask Jesus to heal his servant by saying the word. What great faith the centurion had. He was commended by Jesus.
Luke 7:11-17 (A Compassionate God)
Here, we read about how Jesus raised a dead young man, the only son of a widow. In the text, we do not see anyone asking Jesus to heal or raise the man. But Jesus raised the dead man simply because He had compassion on the widow.
Luke 7:18-35 (Jesus is the One)
In the earlier part, we found John the Baptist sending his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the one who was to come. To answer John, Jesus spent the next hour healing many people of diseases, plagues and evil spirits, and also bestowed sight on the blind. Clearly, Jesus showed John that He was the One, not by mere words but by demonstration.
Luke 7:36-50 (Worship Him)
Jesus was invited to eat with a Pharisee. There, a woman, a sinner, came, weeping at the feet of Jesus. She wet His feet with her tears, cleaned them with her hair, then anointed His feet with ointment and kissed them. Indeed, she recognised her sinful status. She humbled herself before Jesus and worshipped Him with all that she had.
I reflect on myself. Being a Christian for so many years, has my faith in Jesus grown dull? Have I thought that accepting Jesus and praying the sinner’s prayer is sufficient? Been there, done that. But is that all?
Have I also been like John the Baptist? When John met Jesus at the river Jordan, John proclaimed that Jesus was the Lamb of God and even baptised Jesus. And yet, after some time, he asked Jesus if He was the One. Have I made Jesus into something He is not? Have I also begun to doubt who Jesus is?
I confess my faith is also way too small, compared to the centurion. But I am glad we have a big and compassionate God. He doesn’t need to wait for our prayers to answer them. He simply knows what is best for us and acts on it. Jesus is the One, and all Scripture testifies that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, and the Saviour of the world.
Let us come before Him in humility and worship Him with all our mind, with all our heart, with all our strength, and with all our soul.
- Dn Mike Fong
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