Study Guide - Changing the World God's Way - Week 3
Introduction
Asking the right questions is the most important part of understanding the Bible. Here are two key questions.
1. What did Jesus come to accomplish?
Jesus came to accomplish three things:
First, Jesus came to die on a cross as payment for the sins of the world so that all who receive Him and believe on His name will not perish but have eternal life.
Secondly, Jesus came to show us what God is like. Jesus is the exact representation of God. When we see Jesus being compassionate we learn that one of God's characteristics (attributes) is compassion.
Thirdly, Jesus came to train and establish a movement of followers who would continue and bring to completion the work Jesus began. That work is the establishment of the kingdom (or reign) of God in the earth as it is in heaven. Thus Jesus is our example and gives us our method and strategy.
2. How did Jesus go about doing what He came to accomplish (His method)?
Jesus did three basic things in His time on earth.
First, Jesus proclaimed the message of salvation and taught the principles of the kingdom.
Second, Jesus healed people holistically that is to say, physically, mentally, emotionally and in relationships.
Third, Jesus set people free, that is He delivered people bound by Satan and evil influences.
With these questions in mind we read the scripture for this week asking ourselves these questions. We ask not merely to have the answers but so that we as followers of Jesus can apply what we learn both to our lives and in our ministry of building God's kingdom. We learn Jesus' method and we apply that method today. The key question for this study is why out of the thousands of healings that Jesus performed did Luke choose to include this incident of the healing of the centurions servant.
Some Background Information
The central figure in this incident other than Jesus is the Roman centurion. A Roman centurion was an army officer who was in charge of 100 men. In addition to this centurion several other prominent centurions are mentioned in the New Testament, including the centurion mentioned as being present at Jesus' crucifixion (Matthew 27:54), the leader of the Italian regiment (Acts chapter 10), and the centurion who was in charge of Paul as he was brought to Rome. The centurion in Luke 7 was definitely not Jewish and most likely Roman. He would have worshiped the Greek-Roman gods and participated in the worship of idols such as Zeus, Apollos and others. This religion violated the first two of the ten commandments God had given his people (Exodus 20). The Romans were an enemy occupying force in Israel at the time of Jesus. They took taxes from the people and confiscated lands they needed and ruled and controlled the people by brute force. It was against the Jewish law for a Jew to enter the home of a Roman (Acts 10:28).
Right before this incident Jesus had been teaching his disciples (Luke 6:20-49). One of the key teachings was to love your enemies (Luke 6:27). To the Jews including Jesus' disciples it was inconceivable that a Roman could become a follower of God. The mentality among the Jews was that they, the Jews, were God's chosen people and no one else was welcome into God's kingdom. Jesus however through his teaching and actions was demonstrating that God's kingdom was for everyone and that there were no people or group that was excluded. (Galatians 3;28).
This incident has several participants. First there is Jesus then the Jewish elders who come with the request from the Centurion. The elders were most likely leaders of the village the centurion and his soldiers were located in. Finally the disciples were present although silent throughout. One of Jesus' purposes was to teach through action that all are welcome into God's kingdom. Throughout His ministry time Jesus reached out to people who the disciples would never have thought of reaching out to. Some examples are; the Gaderene demoniac (Mark 5), the Samaritan women at the well (John 4) and the Syrophenician woman (Matthew 15:21).
Some topics that these verses bring out are:
Jesus' purpose to seek and save the lost
The universal nature of the gospel - Jesus is for people of all races, ethnic groups, stations in life, etc.
The call and purpose of a follower of Jesus - to do as Jesus did
Differences between people and groups are external but the basic needs and realities are the same for all
How our walls between groups can hinder the growth of God's kingdom
People need a healing word
Note: This same incident is told by Matthew in Matthew 8:5-13. there are some differences but no contradictions at all. Matthews record of the incident has the centurion going personally to meet Jesus while Luke has representatives of the centurion going to Jesus. The best explanation for this I have found is that for Matthew the representatives of the centurion were the same as if the centurion went. It was a common way of writing that when some one in authority sent someone to do something it was as if that person was doing it. John 19:1 in the New American Standard translation (the most literal translation) notes that Pilate scourged (whipped) Jesus. It was of course not Pilate personally but his representatives who scourged Jesus.
Digging Deeper Questions
1. Verse 1 notes that this incident happened after Jesus finished teaching His disciples. Go over chapter 6: 27-36 and note what the teaching is. Relate this to chapter 7:1-10.
2. What would have been the disciples and the Jews general thoughts and feelings towards Roman soldiers? Is there any group today that you would have similar feeling towards? Do other people think like that today?
3. How did you hear about Jesus? What are ways that people hear about Jesus? What is the best way?
4. Read and discuss Romans 10:14
5. Why did Jesus go to the centurion? Why didn't Jesus just announce that the servant was healed and save the trip?
6. Describe what happens on the journey. What does this indicate about the centurions understanding of who Jesus is. What does Jesus do? What does this teach us?
7. What effect do you think this incident had upon the disciples? What effect does it have upon you?
This Week’s Victory Challenge
Look for opportunities this week to tell someone about Jesus. Have someone hold you accountable for doing that.