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passages that we will be exploring in this study (Matt. 8:5-13; Luke
7:1-10) have been criticized by some who have a low view of the Bible
or the Christian faith. Some have attempted to use these two passages
to prove that the Bible was not written by God but simply by men. The
critics have identified what they believe are inconsistencies between
the two accounts about the healing of a centurion’s slave. As a
result, they claim that the Bible is not inspired and contains errors.
Admittedly, this is a difficult account if one casually reads the two
passages and makes simple assumptions about how the gospels or any other
books of the Bible were written. So put your thinking hat on, get out
your shovel, and prepare to dig deep as we head into this study. This
study is different from our other studies because the issues are significant
and the criticism has been serious. Our study will be rewarding and encouraging
when we get to the end.Return To Galilee. The message of the Sermon
on the Mount was direct and powerful. It challenged men and women to
consider their relationships to God. How many decided to follow Jesus
as a result of the sermon is unknown. The truth is that men and women
follow God because the Holy Spirit draws them. Since we are born spiritually
dead (Eph. 2:1-3), God must pull us to Himself. Mysteriously, the Holy
Spirit used the sermon and still uses it to motivate people to action.
When Jesus finished the Sermon on the Mount, He returned
to His hometown of Capernaum in Galilee.
When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. (NASB) Luke 7:1 The trip would have taken two or three days to complete. He must have
returned tired and weary, ready for some rest.
The Issues. But when He arrived in Capernaum,
the gospel of Matthew tells us that a centurion met Him and asked for
help.
And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” (NASB) Matt. 8:5-6 However, the gospel of Luke appears to have a different version of the
event that occurred,
And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. (NASB) Luke 7:2-3. A quick comparison of the two accounts reveals that there are three
areas of apparent disagreement: 1) Matthew says the centurion came to
Jesus while Luke says some Jewish leaders came to Jesus; 2) Matthew says
the ill person was the centurion’s servant, but Luke calls him
a slave; and 3) Matthew says the individual was paralyzed, and Luke says
he was sick and about to die.
Who Approached Jesus? Of the three issues,
the major problem is who approached Jesus - the centurion (Matt. 8:5-6)
or the Jewish leaders (Luke 7:2-3)? Those who reject the Bible as being
divinely inspired are motivated to find error and conclude that the two
passages contradict each other. They want to discredit the Bible rather
than explore the possibility that it is accurate. But if the Bible is
divinely inspired, then the two passages are not in disagreement and
they faithfully record what truly happened. This apparent problem exists
because Matthew and Luke recorded only the aspects of the event that
were important to them.
The problem disappears if we start with Luke’s account
of the event. From Luke we discover that after the centurion had heard
that Jesus was back in Capernaum, he sent some Jewish leaders to Jesus
to plead for healing.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. (NASB) Luke 7:3 When the Jewish leaders arrived, they gave a patriotic and religious
plea as the reason why Jesus should heal the slave.
When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” (NASB) Luke 7:4-5 The nature of their plea revealed what they considered to be a good
reason for helping someone. They revealed their hearts - their sense
of what is important. They were not motivated by the fact that someone
was sick, in pain, and near death. Instead these religious leaders presented
their case from a worldly perspective and not from a spiritual perspective.
The leaders believed that this Gentile centurion deserved
some help because he had given money and maybe donated some labor enabling
them to build a synagogue. The fact that someone was sick, in pain, and
near death was not enough. We will discover later that Jesus was not
motivated by their worldly values. Yet, He agreed to go to the centurion’s
home and heal the slave.
Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” (NASB) Luke 7:6-8
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | ||||||||
