Luke Part 1 Week 28

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:1-2 

¹ When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. ² At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. 

Jesus’ hometown had rejected Him while Capernaum had welcomed Him. Here He learned that a “highly valued slave” of a Gentile Roman officer was near death. Jesus and His apostles were taking the Messiah’s message to the Jewish people first. The Gentile officer needed help because of the slave he did not want to lose. What would Jesus do? 

REFLECT 

Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. Do you think Jesus will help this Gentile officer? 

RESPOND 

Join with a friend in reading Matthew 4:12-16. This passage tells of the prophecy concerning Jesus living in Capernaum.  

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:3-5 

³ When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. ⁴ So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, ⁵ “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” 

The Gentile officer sent Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come heal his valued slave. The elders made the case for the Gentile officer by mentioning all he had done for the Jewish people. As they begged Jesus to help, they said, “If anyone deserves your help, he does.” There is no clear indication yet that the Roman officer was a believer in the Messiah, just that he was favorable to the Jews. The Jewish elders thought he was worthy. What did the officer think? 

REFLECT 

Do you know of some people who are kind to Christians even though they have not believed in Jesus? This means they will spend eternity separated from God if they don’t believe in Jesus.  

RESPOND 

Cornelius was another one who was favorable to the Jewish people. Some say he was a believer, others say he was not. See Acts 10:1-2 to see how he is described. When Peter rehearsed what had occurred for the Jews who questioned him, Acts 11:14 indicates all of this was telling Cornelius as well as others how to be saved. 

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:6-8 

⁶ So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. ⁷ I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 

The Roman officer sent some friends to meet Jesus with a message. They told what the officer said. The Jewish elders had said the officer was worthy. He said he is not worthy of having Jesus come to his home. He was under authority and had authority over others. He thought Jesus only needed to say the word and his servant would be healed.  

REFLECT 

Think of the confidence this officer had in Jesus. He was confident that if Jesus said the word his servant would be healed.  

RESPOND  

Today the spoken word of Jesus is not needed. His word and teaching are available in the four gospels and what He has said through the writers of Scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:20-21 indicate this. Talk about this with a friend. 

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:9-10 

⁹ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” ¹⁰ And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed. 

It was not often that Jesus was amazed. He said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” The confidence the Gentile Roman officer had in the authority of Jesus was highly unusual. The spoken word of Jesus was all he needed to have confidence his servant would be healed. 

REFLECT 

Do you have confidence in the authority of Jesus’ words? What words do you especially treasure? 

RESPOND 

With your friend, examine some recorded words of Jesus to think about. See John 3:16; 11:25; 14:6. As you read the four gospels you will find other recorded comments of Jesus that will be encouraging to your heart.  

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

Luke 7:11-12 

¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. ¹² A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 

The village of Nain was about 25 miles southwest of Capernaum. A large crowd was following Him. Coming near the village they saw a funeral procession. It seems significant that the young man who died was a widow’s “only son.” Jesus Himself was an only son. There was a large crowd accompanying the funeral procession.  

REFLECT 

This is a sad scene of a widow who has lost her only son. This woman had no other means of support with her son dead. Imagine the deep sorrow. 

RESPOND 

Jesus was comfortable around sick people and death. This enabled Him to be a blessing to others. Ask God to help you to be comfortable in such situations so you can also be of encouragement to others. May the characteristics of Christ shine through you at such a time.