Wrestling with Truth considered Luke 7 today.   We looked at the various “models of devotion” contained in this chapter.

• The Centurion who sends some Jewish elders and then some of his servants to Jesus to request healing for his servant.
• The mother whose son has died.
• The disciples of John the Baptist who come to ask Jesus if he is really the Messiah.
• The Pharisee who invites Jesus to a dinner at his home.
• The sinful woman who comes to the dinner uninvited and weeps over Jesus’ feet and covers them with expensive perfume.

PRINCIPLES:

Jesus loves all types of people and seeks to meet their needs.

• Faith can be expressed as believing (creeds, knowledge), trusting (experience, feeling), and doing (will, behavior).
• The centurion’s servant is healed because of the centurion’s faith.
• The widow’s son is raised even without a request.  With compassion, Jesus sees and meets the need.
• Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah by his deeds and clearly demonstrates his Messiah-ship.
• Jesus challenges the misconceptions of the Pharisee.
• Jesus affirms the forgiveness of the sinful woman.

CONCLUSION

Jesus asks the Pharisee, “Do you see this woman?”  and then commends both her love and her faith.  This is a call for us to see people beyond the obvious, beyond our preconceived notions, and at a depth that can enable us to be the channels of Jesus’ love that helpsbring about the transforming power of love.

TLT