Editorial Note: This is a transcript of an audio Bible talk on Luke chapter 7. It has been lightly edited by Claude AI for readability: spelling has been corrected, paragraphs and sentences have been added for clarity, and scripture quotations have been highlighted. Conversational asides, interjections, and banter are marked with square brackets. The spoken and informal character of the original has been preserved throughout.

Luke Chapter 7 — Bible Study Talk

Opening

Okay, so this is our meditation, and has been for some while, in the Gospel of Luke, and we’re in chapter seven. I’m going to read the passage and then, as we read, we will make comments.

The Centurion and His Servant (Luke 7:1–10)

All right, so chapter seven.

“Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.”

Capernaum was, I believe, where he started off — or was it his second synagogue? He had been going from synagogue to synagogue and his reputation was expanding.

“And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die.”

So the centurion is not named — he is anonymous. And the centurion was never met by Jesus on this earth. It is interesting that such an important figure — and maybe you know the importance already; we will come to it when we hit it in the passage — it is quite remarkable that he should be unmet and unnamed. And yet it was his faith that made him stand out. Of course, the Holy Spirit does not seek to answer our curiosities, but rather, for his own purposes, reveals names and withholds names.

“A certain centurion’s servant who was dear unto him.”

So this was a man who was compassionate. This was not a hard man.

Very often the idea of what we think a good Christian should be can be, in my experience, a little bit cold and calculating — people who deal with ideas, and the more they deal with ideas and the less they deal with the commonplace of life and people, the better. But this very important man in scripture, this man who deserves to be up there in the hall of fame, as it were, had a servant who was dear unto him.

Now, a controversial point. This was a servant. Was it a servant? Was it a slave? Perhaps a little bit of both. I don’t know. We know that amongst the people of God, slavery was regulated by the law of God, and so it had to be limited. We do not know how much he would have put this into practice — probably quite a lot. But he had a servant, an underling, very definitely an underling, who was yet dear to him.

We should therefore reject the Marxist idea that the weak are always oppressed by the strong — that the strong always oppress the weak. This springs from Hegelianism and what we call the conflict-of-interest theory, that each class or group is necessarily in conflict with another class or group. We have the so-called battle of the sexes. The idea is thesis, antithesis, synthesis — that through this conflict between thesis and antithesis, progress in history emerges. This is presented as the natural evolution of the world, the only way progress can be made. But this is demonic and devilish.

There is harmony here because this is a godly man. That is what makes harmony — godliness, the application of God’s word to a particular situation. There will always be, despite any contrary language that might be used, more capable and stronger people who are leaders, and people who are followers by nature. We look at the scripture that talks about the man who says,

“I love my master, I do not want to be set free”

— and he has his ear pierced at the doorpost with an awl. He is still a man, but he is in a dependent position. There are many dependent people now, and I have been one of those dependent people. We are all dependent, of course, but dependent to an ungodly, unnatural degree — that is what I am talking about. We must recognise that some men are more capable, some men have leadership roles, others simply do not.

But here we have so much in one verse already.

The Delegation to Jesus (Luke 7:3–5)

“And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews.”

So this is a very unusual situation. Where we might expect conflict of the worst kind — a Roman centurion sending the elders of the Jews — we find instead a filial harmony. Why? How?

[Personal aside:] I sit here in South Armagh, outside a Republican town, and what is expected of me is conflict and animosity. Perhaps less so than previously, but conflict was expected here. Yet what do we have? As I say, filial bonds of mutual love.

Because this was a godly man — not just godly in the abstract, not just godly in principle, not just godly because he belonged to such and such a denomination — but a godly man in the things that he did. According to his calling, abilities, and wealth, he did good things, and this established links. And this is what we must realise too: if we want to establish links, “he who would have friends must show himself friendly.” He did that and more.

“Beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.”

So people were being sent. His servant, who would previously have been well, would have been sent here and there. But instead of this being a vicious power play, there is a sending and a going motivated by love — mutual love. They felt they were sent, but yet they felt a heartfelt sense of love towards this very dear brother who was yet a Roman centurion.

This also speaks to a certain perfectionism that says if you are a Christian, you cannot be part of the British army or the American army, and so on. Well, you might have a point to make here, but what do we find? This man did not resign from being a Roman centurion. Indeed, he probably could not do that. And yet within the bounds of his office he was a godly man who did godly things and found tremendous fellowship with men who, naturally speaking, he should have had no dealings with.

Another thing about verse three: “And when he heard of Jesus, he sent.” Immediately he heard of Jesus, this man acted. There was no hesitation — he went.

“And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly.”

He heard of Jesus, he sent. They came to Jesus, they besought him instantly. So why this urgency — not haste or precipitation perhaps — but there was a great earnestness here. I have found in my own life that whatever I have picked up in the culture, earnestness is frowned upon. It is seen as a little bit gauche, a little bit naïve. Whereas here we have godly men on a mission who are extremely earnest. That is something worth thinking about.

[Aside on cynicism:] Perhaps in your own life you have had the same influence, which pours cold water on anything that smacks too much of being earnest, being sincere. Everything in this thinking must be clouded with a little bit of cynicism. But cynicism — what is the root of that word? It is canem, it is a dog, being like a beast. Canis, I think that is the word. [Banter:] Canis? Canem, canis, yes.

“And they came to Jesus and besought him instantly, saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this.”

So these were not ordinary bonds — these were bonds from faith, a godly faith.

Why was he worthy?

“For he loveth our nation and hath built us a synagogue.”

Did he love the nation? In the abstract? Did he post on his Facebook page with a little Jewish flag saying “I stand with Israel”? Was this grandstanding? No.

“He loveth our nation and hath built us a synagogue.”

And again we come back to what we might call the idea that the emotional and internal world is wholly distinct from the world of the material. Whereas in the Bible, in the plan of God, the material — the stuff of life, the stuff from which the house you are in is made, and your clothes are made — is in necessary relationship with everything of importance. It is important stuff. God made it, therefore it is important.

The fact that this centurion took the fruits of his labour and freely gave — he was a centurion, not a general, he did not have limitless wealth — he took whatever resources he had, and I suspect this was sacrificial giving. He was only over a hundred men; that is what centurion means, after all. But he built them a synagogue. Perhaps he had a windfall somehow — some campaign in which he shared in the spoils — I do not know. But he showed the sincerity of his love, the sincerity of his devotion to the faith, and to the God of the faith, and to the people of the faith, with a giving of money, which resulted in the creation of a godly institution.

Some synagogues are synagogues of Satan, but some welcomed Jesus gladly, and listened to him, and many were converted. That was Jesus’ tactic. [Aside:] So if you have a problem with synagogues, you take it up with the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul, not with me. Synagogue simply means assembly — it is the meeting house, what we used to call Presbyterian churches, and what we should call them again.

Material Giving as Genuine Fellowship

So if we want to be bound together with people in a real way — if we are saying, “I want real fellowship” — well, as the Spirit leads, give. Get your chequebook out, get your debit card out, set up bank transfers. Build towards tithing.

[Personal aside:] I tithe to a friend who is a bishop in Nigeria and has a certain need. I will talk to my wife; we will discuss that. But I tell you, that binds you to another person. If you give — and not all giving is to what we call “the church” by any means — I think of the man from Shunem who brought such a great offering to Elisha and the school of the prophets. So material things are of material importance because God says they are. We do not tithe principles; we tithe our money.

I suspect this centurion’s gift was way over and above the tithe. He was a man of love who let that love reach to his fingertips. I have heard it said that the last piece of a man’s mind to be converted is his pocketbook, his chequebook. But how can we build institutions if men have no faith enough to tithe, to give to good causes, and to starve bad ones?

The Second Delegation (Luke 7:6–8)

“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.”

He was near — near enough to perceive, perhaps to see. And this was not a man who wanted to take a selfie with a celebrity. [Aside:] Jesus is the Son of God — I am not reducing Christ to this — but I am saying that this man wanted the substance of the faith. He genuinely felt unworthy. He was not just performing.

So he was a man of love — filial love; a man of giving — sacrificial giving; and a man of genuine humility, who genuinely thought to himself, “I am not worthy.” Sometimes you read the commentaries and they say, “Oh yes, this is Eastern exaggeration.” Well no, he was genuinely humble.

Again he is sending people. And this is interesting — throughout this whole chapter, even across different narratives, there is a great deal of sending. What I said to Tiffany previously was this: very often — and I cannot remember the name of the author, but the title of the book is Who Not How — delegation, sending other people, is the key. You do not have to do it all yourself. And if you are bound by love, in the context of law, in the giving of the tithe, in the building of Christian institutions, then you will be able to send all the more, and people will go willingly. This party was not put out about being sent — quite the contrary. They were sent and they went.

Speaking in reported speech:

“Lord, trouble not thyself.”

He is thinking of other people — of his servant, of the needs of the community, of the Lord himself; he does not want to trouble him. And yet does he resign his authority? Does he say, “I totally empty myself”? No — not like these heretics who bring forward the pagan idea of kenosis, that the Lord emptied himself and we should empty ourselves as well. No, that authority which he had was God-given. We do not have to undo ourselves, to destroy ourselves, for the sake of displaying humility. We show humility within our posts, with whatever authority we have, be it small or great.

So he is sending people to say he is not worthy, and in this he is recognising that he is, in God’s providence, above the people he is sending. He is not lording it over them — far from it — but he is above them, and he is recognising that Jesus is far above him. You do not trouble your colonel, your major, your general over what is to him an easy matter. His word suffices.

“Wherefore, neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.”

This is pure faith. Humility: I am not worthy. Jesus would not have balked at coming into his house — he had already eaten with tax collectors; he would certainly have come. But such was this man’s humility. Imagine putting on your résumé that you have met the Son of God. But to him, this was far less important than not troubling the Son of God who was on a mission. His concern was not with himself, not with his social standing — he was concerned about others.

“My servant shall be healed. For I am a man set under authority.”

The Theology of Authority (Luke 7:8)

He had just been giving orders — he sent that group of elders, he sent this second delegation when Jesus was near — and the whole business is over a servant. He is sending, sending, sending. But what does he say about himself?

“For I 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.”

[Aside on his use of “I”:] We hark back to the conflict, and the supposed necessary conflict in the Hegelian and Marxist framework of superior over inferior. But no — here we have authority within the bounds of love. He knows his position.

This is something in our present world that we simply do not have an accurate picture of. Parents are reducing themselves to the level of their children — and in fact below their children — saying, “Oh, what should we do next? Do you want to do this? Do you want to go there?” [Banter:] What is that? Let children be children and let parents be parents. Goodness gracious. It is a curse to let yourself be led about by the nose by your children. It is the spirit of the age.

“For I also am a man set under authority.”

He acknowledges that he has a role in life. He has been placed there. He would have worked his way up through the ranks — he was not born a centurion, after all.

“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.”

Again, we reject the Hegelian and Marxist framing of superior over inferior as necessarily a conflict. Here we have authority, but within the bounds of love.

Jesus Marvels (Luke 7:9)

“And 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.”

Now, this is why this man should be so in focus — not revered, but his life should be studied and considered. Because he caused the very Son of God to marvel.

But what does the Bible say about humbling yourself?

“He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

He humbled himself. He did not abdicate his responsibility — that is a great evil; he embraced it. But within that, he was exceedingly humble. Each time he uses “I,” he uses it to humble himself. He is not denigrating himself, but he is humbling himself.

Because he was a man who recognised his position in life — over some, but under others, and definitely under the command of the Son of God — he was not worthy that the Son of God should come into his house. And because he was so other-focused, and so rooted in a real and practical faith — a faith that moved his hand to give — for this he is honoured by the Lord. His faith was so striking that the Lord marvelled at it.

And the Lord will not marvel at your faith if you do not put feet to it, if you do not put your signature on it, if you do not put one of those cheques in the post. If we want to work towards being in that position, what do we have to do? We have to develop a genuine care for people. We have to develop a genuine humility. We have to give, with whatever resources we have, to the Lord’s work.

Now, there was no central bureau of synagogues over which he was in charge. He simply recognised that there was a need in an area, the kingdom of God needed it, and he gave. This should be our working: we see a need in the kingdom of God and we give to it. We do not have to give through some ecclesiastical bureaucracy — it is simply not necessary. You may do so, but it is not required.

And I think one of the reasons this centurion is not more highlighted is that he does not really fit the expected bill. He is a man with power — limited power, but real power. He is a Roman in the holy land. Surely the recipient of such praise should be a Jew, or a Samaritan at the very least. What is this Roman doing receiving the praise? And he has servants, he can send people. But the kingdom of God — the Scripture says “not many rich,” not “not any rich.” Not many rich. It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, but it is jolly well not impossible. So here we have honour given by Jesus to a man we would not have suspected.

And of course, if we find ourselves in a position of wealth and authority, we should be heartened.

The Healing (Luke 7:10)

“And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.”

All right, let us consider this further. What is the opposite of sickness here in this passage? Wholeness. Wholeness.

What is our body in health? It is a whole. What does it mean when the Bible says “a living soul”? That we are living souls — that we are a wholeness: body, mind, spirit, however you want to divide it up in terms of words. We are a whole, with spirit, with mind, with body. And our relationship with God — maybe that falls under spirit, I do not know.

So what is health? Health is wholeness. As we want to move towards what we might call mental health, bodily health, or spiritual health, we must to some degree discard those isolated labels and go for wholeness — wholeness of body, mind, and spirit, under one heading. And as we think about a paradigm of health, we should ask: to what degree am I not whole? How can I be more whole? Am I lopsided? Am I missing something? Have I integrated this area in my thinking, in my practice?

This centurion was a man who had a whole life of service, work, command, and being commanded.

A Critique of Modern Medicine

Furthermore, in our society, the idea of health in what some call allopathic medicine is quite the opposite of wholeness. You go to hospital and you might see a specialist — a heart specialist — who has very little thought of the liver, or of the spiritual state of man, or of the mental state, the worries and anxieties. I would dare to make the statement that in allopathic medicine — our standard Western medicine — there is no concept that the body is a whole.

In fact, quite the opposite. You do not even treat a part of the body; you treat a symptom. You try to alter symptoms, alter markers. You have a certain cholesterol reading, and you are supposed to take medicine to change your level to some standard measure. But what impact does that have on your mental health? On your nervous system? Who cares? It is one marker, we must change that one marker — and you can go on and on for a different illness.

So I think, in the light of scripture — yes, it is one verse, but one verse that represents the truth of scripture — this is a great wrecking ball to the edifice of modern medicine, which is indisputably godless. Where is God in the hospital of today? There is no space for him, as there is no space for him in the so-called secular schools.

We may have assemblies, and Christian assemblies we are thankful for. But they are outside the areas of learning. We might have a Christian union or scripture union meeting in a school — but outside the classroom. There is no room for him in the classroom. And so too there is no room for Christ, in whom all things hold together.

Unity in Christ

“That is the principle of unity.”

How could this centurion have unity with someone who would naturally have such great antipathy towards him? Because there was a unity in Jesus Christ — a unity in the faith. Yes, there were Jews, but many Jews came to know the Lord. Yes, he was a Roman, and many Romans came to know the Lord.

Closing

So there is much in this passage for us — both in terms of sickness, and in terms of faith, what true faith and real faith is, in terms of fellowship. So rich, so very much. We will leave you with that. We thank the Lord for his grace, and I hope and trust that it has been a blessing to you.

Scriptures Referenced

ReferenceContent
Luke 7:1”Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.”
Luke 7:2The centurion’s servant who was dear unto him, sick and ready to die.
Luke 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.”
Luke 7:4–5”He was worthy for whom he should do this: for he loveth our nation and hath built us a synagogue.”
Luke 7:6”Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.”
Luke 7:7”Say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.”
Luke 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.”
Luke 7:9”I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”
Luke 7:10”They that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.”
Exodus 21:5–6The servant who loves his master and has his ear pierced at the doorpost (alluded to).
1 Kings 17 / 2 Kings 4The man from Shunem / the woman of Shunem who supported Elijah and Elisha and the school of the prophets (alluded to; speaker says “Balchelisha” — likely Shunem).
Proverbs 18:24”He that would have friends must show himself friendly” (alluded to).
Luke 18:25”It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” — “not many rich, not any rich” (alluded to).
Colossians 1:17”In him all things hold together” (alluded to in closing section).
Luke 14:11 / 18:14”He that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (alluded to).
Genesis 2:7”A living soul” (alluded to in wholeness discussion).
Revelation 2:9 / 3:9”Synagogue of Satan” (alluded to).