Luke 7:18-35

We’re very near to Christmas now aren’t we, I hope you are all getting ready for a good holiday. In preparation for Christmas, Vannes is looking quite spectacular and this week we have had Josh, Sean and Hannah visiting us and spent a lot of time showing them around the town and other nearby sights. Mhairi was very happy to have a Christmas shopping partner and the boys were relieved we didn’t have to spend all day doing that ! Now we have only 2 weeks left until we leave Vannes, heading home to New Zealand before the end of the year. 

After learning last week that great faith is simple faith, this week the story moves on to one about doubt. Doubt can hit our simple faith when things go wrong, even the best of believers can go through this. It is good to know what to do if that ever happens to you.

Luke 7:18-23

Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

John 1:29-34

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

At that time John was fully convinced that Jesus was the Lamb of God but now he was in prison and soon to be executed and he wanted confirmation that he’d endorsed Jesus correctly. If he’d got it wrong, his whole life had been in vain. He was really suffering in his doubt.

But Jesus had nothing but good things to say about John. He called him the greatest prophet, that’s higher than Isaiah who had prophesied the coming of Jesus in great detail hundreds of years before.

Luke 7:24-28

When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Extraordinary statement. What did Jesus mean when he said that the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John.

That would seem to be saying that even though John was the greatest prophet, prophets are the least in the Kingdom of God. If I heard Jesus say that about my work, I could feel discouraged. Far from a put-down, Jesus is highlighting something else, a shift.

John is the greatest among women. WHY? Because he was filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. This is why John was the greatest of all those born from women. But even this, by comparison, is nothing compared to the least of those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit. That’s you and me!

John never saw the crucifixion of Christ or His glorious resurrection. Yet even the “least in the kingdom of heaven” knows of these events and understands their meaning. 

The baptism of John was insufficient to save (see Acts 18:24–26; 19:1–7). The disciples of John in Ephesus needed to hear the whole gospel, not just what John had taught. They needed to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, the one John had predicted. They needed the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John was truly the greatest prophet of his era—the Old Testament time—yet all Christians today have a fuller perspective on the work of Christ.

It is a good thing to remember when we’re in ministry. We could reflect with pride at our own achievements but instead God brings someone after us who does more than us. It’s the Lord’s way of keeping everyone humble.

John 4:37-38

For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

We should be pleased with the way the Kingdom of God works, instead of being offended that someone else might receive the blessing for our hard work. God had not rejected what John had achieved. Jesus commended John as the greatest of all prophets. But that time was up. God was doing something new.

But as for the Pharisees, they were never happy.

Luke 7:29-35

And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

The Pharisees weren’t happy when the people were sorrowful and repenting of their sins. But they also weren’t happy with Jesus teaching sinners while eating and drinking with them. They were never happy.

It is too easy to create a God in our own image rather than worshipping and following the one true God.

But what does wisdom is justified by her children mean? 

When Jesus challenged His listeners that wisdom is justified by her children, He was saying that the soundness of wisdom can be judged by the fruit of that wisdom. The people of that generation thought they had sound wisdom and were prideful in their own ability to discern and judge. But Jesus challenged their wisdom by looking at the “children” of their wisdom—what did their “wisdom” produce? Their deeds were woeful, in that they failed to recognize both the forerunner of the Messiah and the Messiah Himself. It is remarkable that those who were proud, Jesus rebuked soundly, while the one who was struggling with doubt Jesus affirmed and encouraged. Jesus had reminded John that Jesus was the King and that John was the forerunner, but it was important not to stumble over the King and His methods. On the other hand, Jesus chastised those who had made arrogant and wrongful judgments against John and Jesus. This is an important reminder that God is patient with His children even when they are doubting, but God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). We should never be arrogant in our judgments but should develop our conclusions humbly and by seeking God’s wisdom revealed in His Word, just as Jesus was encouraging John to do.

Doubt ≠ Unbelief

Doubt is not unbelief.

Unbelief shuts the door. It will not even consider whether God is real, it doesn’t want anything to do with Him.

Doubt leaves room for faith, room for God. 

Luke 7:1-17

We have spent some time reading the Sermon on the Mount and seeing that Jesus’s message about blessings and woes, loving our enemies, judging correctly and without hypocrisy and good and bad trees were directed at you and me, his disciples. We have to first make sure that we are building on God’s Rock, that is Jesus and his word and not on the sand of our own or man’s foolish ideas.

Luke 7:1-17

Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 

He came down from the mountain on which he gave the Sermon the Mount to go again to Capernaum. Capernaum was one of the places where Jesus did miracles as we learned heard several months ago. But it was also one of the towns that Jesus later condemned because of unbelief and their rejection of him just like his home town of Nazereth had done. He could have done much more there and wanted to if they would have truly embraced him.

Matthew 11:21-24

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

I always remember something Keith Green said: « Always be afraid of getting more light ». It is possible to live in the light, receive miracles, enjoy God’s favour but still be unrepentant, unchanged and unbelieving at heart. Has my life truly changed since I became a Christian? As we heard last week from James, faith isn’t just head knowledge, it’s action. Am I growing in faith, as faith pleases the Lord, it shows relationship. 

These questions hit us hard; we don’t want to end up like the people of Capernaum. Thankfully faith is a simple thing, you don’t have to have a PhD. In today’s reading, we hear 2 stories of faith, simple ways we can build a relationship with the Lord.

Luke 7:2-6a

And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” Then Jesus went with them. 

I believe the elders got a good response from Jesus at least in part because the Centurion loved Israel. Israel is Jesus’s nation, the Jews are his people, and he identifies with and loves them. A lot of people throughout history have hated Israel and that is rising in our World today. People blame Israel for just abut everything, our generation is no different. A substantial part of the Church today have taken the side of Hamas and only a smaller percentage of Church leaders have supported Israel publicly and condemned Hamas.  The Church is guilty of persecuting the Jews and we can’t say that was just the Catholic Church. Martin Luther told his followers to set fire to the Jewish synagogues, their houses and schools. The Nazi executed Luther’s words on the “Night of Broken Glass”  on November 9^th – 10^th 1938 and we all know what followed during the war. I’m afraid that someone who is hostile towards Israel would find it difficult to love the real Jesus if they met him. They have been deceived and are deluded into thinking that they love God. It is so important to love and act favourably towards Israel as this Centurion did.

Luke 7:6b-8

And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

A second way is in a heart attitude of humility. The Centurion was a man with high standing in the land. He had authority over his soldiers and the Jews, and his attitude could have been that he would order Jesus to come and heal his servant. But he hidn’t use his position of power and approached Jesus very humbly instead.  When we don’t think we’re better than others, when we don’t think our way is necessarily the best but respect another point of view and are grateful for what the Lord has given us, then we are more likely to get a response from Jesus.

In addition, the Centurion had a simple faith. He simply believed that Jesus had the authority granted to heal his servant since he himself had been given authority from people above him. He related it to his own life and he made a simple application. If only we could keep our own faith this simple!

Luke 7:9-10

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick. 

Jesus didn’t call it simple faith though – he called it great faith! It was faith like a child. Jesus will treat Jew and Gentile in the same way based on faith. This is a third way to get a response from Jesus - our simple faith. We rely on the Lord to provide for us, we trust his way is the right way, we don’t complain when things get hard but instead thank the Lord he is leading us to a better place.

Even so, sometimes life batters us and our faith can reach an all time low. Maybe someone you know has been going though such a trial, they may say they have lost their faith. The next story is for you.

Luke 7:11-13

Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had  compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 

This was a very bad predicament for the woman. Not only was she a widow but now her son had died. Her grief was made worse by the fact that all her financial security was gone. Remember Jesus had only just taught blessed are those who mourn. Maybe it’s not a path any of us would choose for ourselves but the situation can be redeemed. Cry out to the Lord ! She was in a good position to get a response from Jesus, this is a fourth way to have our prayers answered.

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

One day the Lord will wipe away all our tears. But even today, his heart is moved with compassion over the circumstances of our life. Jesus really cares about the situation you’re in. Others might only offer words, but the Lord is ready to act to help you in your trials.

Luke 7:14-15

Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. 

This was indeed a great miracle that brought great joy to the mother, and sent shockwaves around the region. It got a surprising response from the community as we’ve seen in other places in the Bible.

Luke 7:16-17

Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

When people encounter the unknown, it’s normal to feel out of our comfort zones. Fear is a common response. In addition, our flesh is hostile to God, so people don’t necessarily react enthusiastically to a move of God. An encounter with God, more than anything else, challenges our way of life and thinking and we are called to repent. Fear is not a bad thing if it brings about a change of behaviour and attitude in us and in this case the fear brought about worship which is a good thing.

As we heard at the beginning from Matthew though, ultimately the people of Capernaum rejected Jesus tragically. They didn’t trust the Lord because their fear was mixed with unrepentance and unbelief.

We will do well to hear what these 2 stories tell us about faith;

1. Love Israel
2. Be humble
3. Simple faith is great faith
4. Remember the Lord is compassionate to our cries

Is life weighing down on your mind, are you burdened by all the challenges you face. The old hymn goes;

“Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.”

For sure, each one of us will face circumstances in our life that could make us afraid and give up. But the only response is trust in the Lord, he will see you through.