NOTES for Luk 7:1-17

Today we turn once again to a concept as fundamental as faith. In the Bible this word most often means not simply trusting certain information, but the ability at a critical moment to “grasp” God and lean on Him as on a solid pillar or rock. Today’s story about the Roman officer who asked Jesus to heal his servant, and whom Christ holds up as an example to His disciples, illustrates this well. As a military man raised in army discipline, he is absolutely certain that his command will be carried out, just as he is ready to carry out his own commander’s order. In his relationship with God, such confidence rests not on discipline and military order, where a soldier is punished with death for disobedience, but on something no less powerful—namely, faith. Indeed, when Scripture speaks of faith, it means a faith that is stronger even than death, so that the sick are healed and the dead are raised.