Lucas 7
R.C.H. Lenski · Citado em PreceptAustin
Lucas 7
Lenski explains "This would not do; Jesus must not come into this Levitically unclean house. It was improper for any Jew to go under the roof of a Gentile and most certainly for a great and holy Jew like Jesus." (ISLB) While some commentaries take the centurion's use of Lord (kurios) as something like "Sir" or "Rabbi," in the context of Jesus' assessment of his great faith, it is very reasonable to interpret the centurion's designation of Jesus as Lord in the sense of being the "divine Lord" and not merely "Sir" or "Rabbi." For I am not worthy (hikanos) for You to come under my roof - "This non-commissioned officer knows he needs help, he knows Jesus can give it, and he comes with nothing but a humble heart." (Holwick) Note that "Luke again represents the centurion himself as doing the speaking, which fully justifies Matthew’s account which omits mention of the friends." (Lenski) The centurion's statement I am not worthy is an amazing expression of his humility especially in light of the Jewish elders assessment that "He is worthy (axios) for You to grant this to him." NIV has "I do not deserve to have you come under my roof." BBE has "for I am not important enough for you to come into my house." More literally it could be read "I am not fit (which is the meaning of hikanos)". This recalls the line below from Joseph Hart's "Come Ye Sinners" which speaks of our "fitness" for Jesus to come to our house -- truth be told ,NONE of us are "worthy" for Him to come! And so our words echo those of the centurion "Lord I am not worthy!" And yet just as Jesus healed the centurion's servant with a WORD, He has healed our "sin sick" souls with His Gospel WORD! This truth should cause us all to fall on on our faces before Jesus with hearts filled with overwhelming gratitude for healing us! Thank YOU LORD JESUS!!! Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness he requireth Is to feel your need of him. This he gives you, this he gives you; ’Tis the Spirit’s glimmering beam. Lowell
Lucas 7
Lenski explains why Jesus said he had great faith - (1) The greatness of the centurion’s faith is evident in its humility. The man, although he is a high military officer and a great benefactor of the Jews, deems himself utterly unworthy. (2) In the second place this man’s faith centers in the word of Jesus, the very experience Jesus had so much difficulty in attaining among the Jews. On his own accord, merely from what this man had heard about Jesus, without further experience and teaching he shows absolute trust in Jesus’ word; compare the court officer mentioned in John 4:50 for an example of a man who slowly arrives at faith in Jesus’ word. A word is sufficient, Jesus does not need to come in person. (3) Thirdly, and as the basis of this humble confidence in the mere word, the centurion has a proper conception of the exalted person of Jesus. His word, spoken at a distance, works with omnipotence to save from death. It is an ill comment on Jesus’ estimate of the centurion’s faith to suggest that he had some pagan conception as to how the power of Jesus would work the healing, yet that this did not affect the nature and the value of his faith. Any pagan conception would vastly reduce, if it did not make void, this Gentile’s faith. The remarkable feature of the man’s faith was that it accorded so fully with the truest Israelite teaching and was wholly free from pagan conceptions. Gene Brooks points out that this "story parallels in Elisha’s healing of the Syrian General Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-16) where Elisha is not present (2 Kings 5:10), and the healing results in the recognition of the power of the Lord and the prophet representing him (2 Kings 5:8, 15; Luke 7:16)."