A Centurion’s Faith and a Dead Man Raised

Book of Luke Chapter 7

As we get into the miracles of Jesus Christ, let’s talk about the Lord Jesus, the miracle worker.

The Lord Jesus Christ was also a miracle worker, but we should understand that for the most part, He did these miracles to show the people He is God Almighty.

Another thing we should see about the miracles of Jesus, He did things that only God could do.

Such healing of a leper, the knowledge to heal a leper, is something only God can do.

There is still no cure for leprosy even today.

It is the same for a sinner; there is no cure for sin other than the “Grace” of God that comes in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We can say that sin is a disease that only the Lord Jesus Christ can heal.

Another miracle happened when the Lord Jesus gave sight to the blind man. There is still no cure for blindness today.

Jesus came to this earth to open all our eyes to the truth of our Holy God.

Psa 146:8 The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:

There is another prophecy that led the Lord Jesus to perform miracles. Isa 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

The Bible must remain the truth of the Almighty God!

Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

What is the greatest miracle of Jesus Christ? Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

The religious leaders of Jerusalem had no way to explain the miracles that were done by Jesus Christ without admitting He was truly the Messiah, which they were not about to do.

They came up with a plan.

Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Mat 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.

This is the sin against the Holy Spirit.

This sin cannot be forgiven because these wicked men had seen that Jesus had performed these miracles, His words, and His works.

These Pharisees dogmatically reported that Jesus performed these miracles under the power of Satan.

The miracles could not be denied, but they refused to acknowledge that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

There will be no opportunity for repentance of this sin because it is the same sin of not believing the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mat 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

It is a great study just to study the miracles that the Lord did while He was on this earth.

*Luk 7:1 Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

We should understand one important thing about the Word of God.

Once we have heard the Word of God, we can no longer remain neutral; we will be on the Lord’s side or on the world’s side.

After the Lord Jesus was driven out of Nazareth, He chose Capernaum as the headquarters of His ministry.

The city of Capernaum saw many great works of the Lord during His time there, but this wicked city never accepted the Lord Jesus as God’s Messiah, and it does not exist as a city today.

Mat 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Mat 11:24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
The Lord Jesus had just preached a great sermon to those who had gathered to hear Him.

Capernaum was important enough to Rome that a detachment of Roman soldiers stayed there at all times.

It was this Roman commander who had provided the money to build a Jewish synagogue in Capernaum.

*Luk 7:2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.

There is a clear lesson to learn in this passage.

People with great faith also care for other people.

Most people look down on our military, but I found that when I was a soldier, most soldiers care for people.

Most soldiers respect others even when they are on assignment in other nations than their own.

When we see the word slave, we do not usually see a person who is loved or cared for.

This Centurion would have had to buy this person for him to be a slave, and he had grown attached to his slave.

A slave in that day was nothing more than a tool to be used and abused by most of those who owned them.

This slave had become deathly sick and ready to die.

The lesson we are to learn is that God will not do for those who have no or little faith.

*Luk 7:3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.

True faith will humble us because we know we are unworthy to approach God and certainly unworthy to ask God for His help.

We should understand that once we understand we are saved from the wrath of God, why should we think God owes us anything else?

This soldier had only heard about the wonderful things the Lord had done, and he believed these things were true, unlike most Jews of that day.

The Book of Matthew said that this Centurion had approached the Lord Jesus.

The Book of Luke says that this Centurion sent some religious leaders to approach Jesus.

The truth is, if a commander sends someone with a message, then it is as if he had approached that person himself.

Both Luke and Matthew are right in what they wrote by the Holy Spirit.

No doubt this military man had heard of the wonderful things that Jesus had done.

We had better believe that Rome had someone in the crowds who approached Jesus to put down any insurrection that occurred, but we know Jesus never preached for rebellion against Rome.

This Centurion requested help, not for himself but for a slave in his possession.

He sent priests who were the leaders of the synagogue that he had helped to build.

Today, we do not need a priest on this earth to intercede for us; we can go straight to our Heavenly Father as long as we go in the name of His Son, Jesus.

1) Once we are exposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must humble ourselves before the Lord if we want to seek the blessings of God!

Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

What was told to Jesus about this military man?

*Luk 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:
Luk 7:5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

When we have faith in the truth of God, we will want to know more about Him.

What we see is that some Roman soldiers did have true faith in the God of Israel.

He did this knowing that his own nation and his own rulers despised the Jews.

He helped these Jews because he loved the God of Israel, and it was not a fake love.

The world hated the Jews just as most of the world hates the Jews today.

When you are a hated person, you will strive to be better than those around you, and this will cause more hatred.

We can truly narrow this down to the fact that the Jews served the One True God, and the world will always have many gods or be Anti-God.

God said: Gen_12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Those who hate Israel and the Jews also hate the Word of God, no matter what they say!

The world rejects that it is by faith that God works in our world.

If there is one thing that the whole world has, it is that there is always someone to blame if things are not going to suit them.

This is why there are no solutions to problems reached in this world.

The Jews and the Gentiles have very few dealings with one another.

The Gentiles were treated with less respect than a dog by the Jews, and so did the Gentiles treat the Jews. We know it is much the same today.

Mar 7:25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:
Mar 7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
Mar 7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
Mar 7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.
Mar 7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

This Roman soldier did not allow these things to interfere with his love of God and his faith in Christ.

*Luk 7:6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:
Luk 7:7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.
Luk 7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

We can have faith in a lot of things in this world, and most of them have little or no real meaning because there is no real benefit for them.

If our faith is real in Jesus Christ, then He knows it, and it means something to Him!

That soldier of Rome had great faith in Jesus Christ.

We see this Scripture a lot, but it is a truth we can depend upon: Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

This is the faith of this soldier from Rome faith even the Jews did not have.

This faith is believing that the Lord Jesus Christ is the sovereign Lord with all the power of Heaven.

This faith is believing that the Lord Jesus Christ will reward those who diligently seek Him, and He will use His power on behalf of those who seek Him.

This faith is believing that there is nothing impossible for the God of the Bible.

This faith is believing that all God has to do is speak the Word, and things will happen.

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

If we cannot believe this, then we will never get a prayer answered, and we need to question our salvation.

*Luk 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Luk 7:10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

When God has a great admiration for our faith, He will move on our behalf!

This Gentile from Rome had stirred the heart of our Savior!

There are only two places in the Scriptures where it is said that Jesus marvelled.

Here in this passage about the Gentile Roman soldier and the people of Nazareth, His hometown who had no faith.

Mar 6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
Mar 6:5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
Mar 6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

There will be no great works in our life, in our church, nor in our ministries without “Great Faith” in the Lord Jesus Christ!

It did not matter if this man was a Roman.
It did not matter if this man was a Gentile.
It did not matter if this man was a soldier who had followed commands, even commands to kill.
It only mattered that he had great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to do as He says He will do and the power to meet all our needs!

Mar 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

This is the power to answer any prayer!

*Luk 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

The city of Nain was only six miles from the city of Nazareth, and this distance could be walked in less than a day.

This is the same area where Elisha had raised the son of a Shunammite woman, so this area had seen the power of God.

There were many witnesses to this resurrection because it was a funeral procession.

Many unbelievers had followed the Lord Jesus from Nazareth.

The disciples of Jesus were with Him.

The timing of the arrival of the Lord Jesus was perfect.

*Luk 7:12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and many people of the city were with her.
Luk 7:13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

We have stated before that for a woman to be left on her own in this day, it would be hard for her to survive.

The women of that day were homemakers, while the husband and sons, if she had one, would provide for the home.

We saw she was a widow, so her husband had already passed.

In typology, Israel is a widow without a husband today because the Jews still reject the Lord of Glory.

She is now attending the funeral of her only begotten son.

All of Israel’s hope lies in the only Begotten Son of God, the Son who will die for their sins as He did for all sinners. They must first admit that they are sinners.

Was this the reason that the Lord Jesus had compassion on her? It was at least part of it.

The crowd of people attending the funeral and the crowd of people following the Lord Jesus Christ all met together at the gates of the city.

The crowd of the city walks with death.

The crowd with Jesus walks with Life.

What we will witness is that death will lose to the Giver of Life.

Death has the last word for the unbeliever.
Life has the last word for the believer.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When death meets the Lord Jesus Christ, death will have to give way to Life!

Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

The Lord Jesus was touched by this whole scene. This mother was a type of the love that God has for His children.

We should also notice that no one had asked the Lord Jesus for help.

We see that God does act sometimes out of His own compassion. Why?

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Compassion is a mix of passion, love, and sorrow.

*Luk 7:14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
Luk 7:15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

A bier was a flat wooden frame on which the body of the dead was carried from the house to the grave.

The body of the Lord Jesus would lie on such a bier in a couple of years in Jerusalem.

We know that contact with a dead body was forbidden by the Laws of Moses as a source of defilement.

Num 19:11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

Though God can do as He pleases, the Lord Jesus did not touch the body of this young man but only touched the bier, as written by Luke.

Jesus then spoke: Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

1) The Lord Jesus did have the power to bypass traditional beliefs. The Lord Jesus Christ possesses the right and the power to override all religious laws and beliefs and over life and death as our Creator, but He would never go against the written Word of God.

2) The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to stop the death processional. The pallbearers stopped without Jesus saying a word to them.

3) The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who has the power to raise the dead. He commanded life to return to this young man.
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

We should understand that everyone who was raised from the dead by Jesus while he was first on this earth later died again.

The Lord Jesus Christ tells us exactly what will happen after the death of the believer and the death of the unbeliever.

The souls of the believers will return with Christ.

The souls of the unbeliever will be reunited with their mangled bodies in the Burning Lake of Fire.

*Luk 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
Luk 7:17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

These people in Nain had never seen such a thing as this.
The disciples of Christ had never seen such a thing as this.
All those who were following the Lord as spies for the religious had never seen such a thing as this resurrection of the dead.

Many of them had a great fear of what they saw.

This was a fear of reverence and awe. This is the same fear that we all should have.

Jhn_6:48 I am that bread of life.

Jhn_14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

As far as the human body is concerned, death has the last word.

As far as the Christian is concerned, death is the next step into God’s Heaven.

When death is confronted with life, death loses.

Death has no right to the body of a Christian!

1Th_4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

There was only one thing left to do, and this was to glorify God.

All those present all knew one thing, and it was that only the Living God had the power to raise the dead back to life.

The Lord Jesus was not asked for any help.

The Lord Jesus saw this poor mother and had compassion upon her.

We serve a compassionate and loving God who can be touched by the suffering of His people.

Our God is the only source of true consolation.

The Lord’s compassion is followed up with His “Grace”. The free, unmerited love and favor of God is the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from Him.

Why did God send His Son to save us to begin with? Because He had compassion on us and was willing to show His Grace to us.

Those words “God hath visited His people” mean they should have recognized that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, but they did not have enough faith, and even this little faith did not last long.

They began to see the Lord Jesus as only a Prophet of God, though He was a Prophet, He was so much more than a Prophet. He was God’s Son.

Luk 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Luk 19:42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
Luk 19:43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
Luk 19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

The Muslims and other religions call Him Prophet, but I call Him Savior. I call Him God!

We can look forward to the Rapture of the Church or the day after our death when we hear the voice of the Lord calling us home.

1Th 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Amen