Faith or Offense (Luke 7, Jeff Kliewer)

Faith and Offense in Luke 7

The risen Lord and Savior, Jesus, you paid it all on Calvary's tree. You were buried, and on the third day, on a Sunday morning, you rose from the dead. And so we gather here in your name because of your great sacrifice, because of your great victory over death.

You are living, you conquered death, and you are here. So we ask that you would make yourself known through the opening of your word, that your word would speak to us, that we would hear from you, and Lord, that we would respond.

To you.

Work in our hearts that we would respond in faith, in Jesus' name, amen, amen. So the book of Luke is a gospel that records the life of Jesus, and in the third chapter, we were introduced to a character named John the Baptist.

Now John the Baptist is a preacher that you could probably rightly call offensive. He's very offensive. If you will, just look at chapter three, verse seven. When a crowd filled with good people, bad people, relative to one another, came to see him, he addressed them this way, you brood of vipers, exclamation mark, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

He preached a message of repentance, calling sinful people to turn from sin to the true and living God. And his delivery could easily be taken as offensive. But if you continue in chapter three, his primary purpose was not to introduce himself, but rather to introduce another.

He was the forerunner. He was the prophet that was sent ahead of Jesus to reveal the Messiah. And so he tells them that this Jesus who he baptized is the Son of God. If you look in chapter three, he baptizes Jesus, verse 21.

All the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized, was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And here the Father speaks from heaven, saying, you are my beloved Son.

With you, I am well pleased. And so John the Baptist has this great privilege to introduce the Messiah to Israel, to hear the Father say, this is my Son. Mark that in your mind, because John the Baptist will come up again in Luke chapter seven,.

Where we are today.

We will see John the Baptist again in this chapter. But recall also from John the Baptist that he was a rather offensive preacher. He came right at people with their need for salvation. He addressed their sin.

And so it is today that when the message of Jesus Christ is preached, it calls for a response. And there are really only two responses to the gospel. Now it often looks like there's middle ground, and for a time there can be middle ground while a person is hearing the gospel but not quite sure what they're understanding and taking some time to process.

But by the end of their life, they will go in one of two directions. One of those directions is called faith. And the other is called offense. In Luke chapter seven, we will see stark illustrations at this point in the text as Luke has been introducing us to the Savior.

Jesus has been tempted in the wilderness. He began his ministry. He's going forth confronting enemies. Disciples are being called to follow him. He's doing great miracles and all of Israel is beginning to take notice.

Here at this point in the text, Luke chapter seven is the point of response. And we will begin to see that there are two responses that happen here. Some will have faith, like the centurion that will meet first.

But others will be offended by Jesus. And they will criticize him. And they will dishonor him. And ultimately, they will not believe. So we will look at these two responses in Luke chapter seven. Let's read it.

Beginning Luke seven one and following. After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.

The Centurion’s Faith in Jesus’ Authority

So here in the story, we're introduced to a centurion. This is someone who commands a hundred soldiers. That's why you get the term century, a hundred years. This is a centurion. He is in charge of a hundred soldiers.

We learn that he's a Gentile. So he may be a Roman God-fearing person. Because we'll learn that he is sympathetic to the Jews. But he is not an Israelite. He is in charge of troops commissioned by Herod under his authority.

In verse three, when the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. So this is a culturally sensitive thing to do. Rather than he himself not being a Jew, rather than going to Jesus himself, he sends some elders from the Jewish people that he knows, that he has a relationship with.

He says, go talk to the rabbi for me. He sends them out. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly saying, he is worthy to have you do this for him, to heal his servant. For he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.

So this is a God-fearing Gentile. Verse six, and Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends. So a second delegation now, because he sees that Jesus is actually coming to him.

And his friends say to him, Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you, but say the word and let my servant be healed.

For I too am a man, a man set under authority with soldiers under me. And I say to one, go, and he goes, and to another come, and he comes, and to my servant do this, and he does it. So this is the message that the centurion sends to Jesus.

And notice how much of the text is taken up by this message. The emphasis here in the text is upon the centurion, and how he's responding to Jesus. At the end we'll get a passing reference to how Jesus does the healing.

In verse 10, the servant is made well. But the emphasis here in the text is upon the response of this centurion. How does Jesus take him? Verse 9, when Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him. Notice that he's amazed by him.

He's moved.

There's some emotion with this. He's marveling at what this centurion says. And turning to the crowd that followed him, said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. Interesting. From this first story, we learn two things.

First of all, that this person being a Gentile would not be expected to have faith in the God of Israel. And so here, Jesus is interested not only in Jews, but also in Gentiles. And so we learn that Jesus is not only interested in white Anglo-Saxon males, or black men, or Asians, or women, but Jesus is interested in everyone.

That's the first thing we're learning from this. This is a Gentile, and the text is pointing that out for us. And Jesus makes the reference, not even in all of Israel have I seen faith such as this. But secondly, and I think the thrust of the text, is on the kind of faith that this centurion has.

It's the first illustration for us. It should speak to us of what Jesus would want to see in us. Not a sleepy faith, but an awake faith, an alive faith. This is a faith that's confident in the person of Christ.

And it's not so much what Jesus will do for him, because he doesn't demand anything of Jesus, does he? His request is an asking. Will you heal my servant? Please heal my servant. But notice that the faith is in Jesus' ability to do just that.

He uses himself as an example. As a centurion, I have a hundred soldiers underneath me. If I tell this one, go and do that, and this one go over here and do this, they will do exactly what I said. They respond to my authority, because of who I am as the centurion in charge.

How much more, Jesus, can you command sickness to leave my servant? This is amazing faith, because it recognizes who it is that the centurion is dealing with. This is a man who has charge over sickness.

It's as easy for Jesus to heal the sick servant, as it is for him to give a command to one of his servants. The centurion gets it. He's dealing with God in flesh. Only God can command a sickness to leave with the word, and it's gone.

Notice there is a movement in America, and on TV especially. If you were to take as a sampling of American Christianity only what you see on TV, you would assume that the faith healers that are on TV are pretty much what a Christianity is.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Because the faith healers on TV are telling you that if you'll have enough faith, then Jesus will do this miracle for you. And if he doesn't, well evidently there was something lacking in your faith.

Is that the message we should take for the centurion?

No.

His faith was not based on Jesus doing the miracle, but on that Jesus could do the miracle. It was based in the person of Jesus, not this particular miracle given to him. Now he would love it, and he wanted Jesus to do the miracle.

And Jesus responds powerfully. Verse 10, When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. So the lesson is not that if you can muster up enough faith, then your sick relative will be made well.

But if you can't muster up enough faith, well then Jesus just can't do the miracle. That's the implication that you'll see from TBN. But no, the centurion believed in Jesus' ability to do it. His willingness was another question altogether.

But here we see verse 11 and following, that often he is compassionate to heal. And it is within his plan to heal. Notice from 11 to 17, there's a second miracle. And this time, faith is not involved.

Soon afterward, he went to a town called Nain. And his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out. Do you think this dead man is going to be able to exercise faith?

No, he's dead.

He can't exercise faith. The only son of his mother. And she was a widow. And a considerable crowd from the town was with her. Now, the widow could exercise faith. But in the text, all we see is that she's a broken woman.

She's at the end of her rope. Not only is she a widow, meaning her husband has died. And in that culture, that's a pretty desperate place to be. Without a provider in the home. Her husband is dead. Now, her son.

Her only son. Verse 12.

Is dead.

And she's in this procession. Following along in a funeral procession. In verse 13, and when the Lord saw her. Not how much faith she had, but saw her. He had compassion. The emphasis here is on his heart being moved toward her.

This healing will come from the freedom of his will. From the freedom of his will to heal. And moved with compassion, he will do this. Keep reading. He says to her, do not weep. Verse 14. Then he came up and touched the buyer.

And the bearer stood still. And he said, young man, I say to you, arise. Just put yourself in the crowd for a minute. Picture this. You've all been to funeral processions, haven't you? We've all been walking behind that casket.

To go out into that field. To lay a body to rest. Picture yourself part of that crowd. And Jesus stops the whole show and says, stop. And they all stop and look at him. And he speaks to the dead body.

In verse 15, and the dead man sat up. And began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his mother. Now look at the response. God's fear sees them all. I'd be afraid. And they glorify God saying, a great prophet has arisen among us.

And God has visited his people. I think they're speaking prophetically there. They don't really recognize that, yes, indeed, this is God in human flesh. Born to a virgin. Living a sinless life. God in the flesh.

But they say, God has visited us. Meaning that God has sent a prophet who's here. And they recognize he's heaven sent. But literally, God is in their midst. Verse 17, and this report about him spread through the whole of Judea.

And all the surrounding country. So here is two examples of healing. And in each case, the healing comes from the freedom of Jesus' will. He's moved by compassion in one sense. Another time, he is pleased with the faith of the centurion.

But now we will be introduced to a story of offense. At least for a moment. And coming from a very unlikely source. If you haven't read the text for a while, you might be surprised who it is. It's John the Baptist.

John the Baptist’s Question and Jesus’ Answer

Verse 18 and following. The disciples of John reported all these things to him. Now recognize, when you see all these things, that's calling us attention to something that just took place in the text.

Right? So it's the healing of this dead son. And it even harkens back to verse 11. Soon afterward. So you have two events tied together. You have the healing of the centurion's servant. The healing of the dead man.

Two miraculous healings. And now we see in verse 18, all these things. So reports of healings. Dead people rising. Servants being raised up. All these reports are coming to John the Baptist. And it's beginning to blow his mind.

He's thinking more about this one that he baptized. Look at verse 19. Calling two of his disciples to him. Sent them to the Lord. Saying, are you the one who is to come? Or shall we look for another? These words are at the same time comforting and troubling.

Comforting because if even John the Baptist could have a moment of unbelief. Or a wavering in his faith. There's hope for me. And there's hope for each of us. Who of us, when something horrible happens, doesn't have a moment of wavering faith?

You know, just today we found out that this little dog that we were hoping to adopt. That we've been following online, died. So our kids had gotten really attached to Sheldon. At the Mount Laurel New Life Animal Hospital.

So to hear that news is crushing on a little heart.

You know?

And when something crushes your heart. And everybody here has experienced heartbreak. Do you begin to look at God and say, are you really there? Because you very easily could have snapped your fingers and said the word.

And little Sheldon would be running around like a healthy puppy.

And yet he died.

Is there a God?

All of us are prone to waver in our faith. So the two responses are not meaning that there's either faith or there's unbelief. But rather, in the end, that's all that's left. In the final conclusion, when we stand before the great white throne.

We will have believed or we will have been offended. And even if a believer wavers for a time. It's possible for a believer to depart even for a number of years. And then come back to that first love from which the person wandered.

But that seed of faith remains. Even if sometimes doubts creep in. Here, John the Baptist of all people is having a moment. You guys have all had a moment. He's having a moment of doubt. Now why do you think that is?

Well, he's probably processing everything. And back at that time, different people interpreted the Old Testament in different ways. Some people expected there to be three messiahs. A prophet, a priest, and a king.

Because there were different promises. The promises through David's line looked for a king. The prophet of Deuteronomy 18, 15 to 18 was a prophet like Moses to come. How did they know that this would be all one in the same person?

Many people didn't know that. And John is trying to take all these bits of biblical data. And weave it together. And so he comes up with the question. Are you the one who is to come? Or shall we look for another?

Who are you?

Who are you, Jesus? So he sends his disciples to ask this question. How does Jesus answer? And when the men had come to him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you the one who is to come?

Or shall we look for another? Now just pause right there between verse 20 and 21. Because I think it's almost like Jesus hears the question. He's like, hold that thought for a second.

Hold that thought.

And then look at verse 21. In that hour, he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits. And on many who were blind, he bestowed sight. Unpause. Verse 22, he turns back to say, What was that question you were asking again?

Please restate that. Are you the one to come or is there another? Verse 22, he answered them. Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight. The lame walk. Lepers are cleansed.

The deaf hear. The dead are raised up. The poor have good news.

Preach to them.

Answer. Jesus is the only one you need. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the prophet. He is the priest. He is the king. He is the Lord. He is your all-sufficiency. You who have been searching in this life for meaning.

And you're wondering, what is this life all about? The answer is Jesus. You who have been raised Christian but you're not sure there's, that's all there is. Maybe there's some other answers in other religions, in other prophets, in other teachings.

The answer is Jesus. Don't look for another. He is everything we need. And if you haven't seen that yet, it's trouble with your eyes. It's not trouble with who he is. John the Baptist was wavering.

That's okay.

But in the end, Jesus reveals who he is. What testifies? The blind eyes that now see. The open ears, he says. The dead who are being raised up like that son of that poor widow. The poor have the good news.

Preach to them.

There is no God like our God. There's never been one in all of human history who raises the dead with his words. Who stops funeral processions and says, get up dead man. This is our savior. This is the only one we need.

And that's the point he makes to Jesus. And so it's a break in this direction. Recognize who I am. If your eyes can see who I am, says Jesus, you don't need anything else. There is no other. Don't look for another.

This is all there is. Now look at 24 and following. And when John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John. Once again, these are comforting words. Because here's the guy that was just wavering for a moment.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in king's courts.

What then did you go out to see?

A prophet?

Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. I tell you, among those born of women, none is greater than John.

Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Verse 27 could be a sermon all by itself. We've talked about this subject before. Jesus goes back in quotes from Malachi. To show that Malachi, the Old Testament prophet, prophesied a prophet who would introduce Jesus.

We learned in the third chapter that Isaiah did the same thing. Chapter 40 verses 3 to 5. Isaiah had foretold the forerunner who's going to prepare the way for Messiah. Jesus does the same thing here.

He points us back to Malachi. To say, if Isaiah saw this and Malachi saw it, John the Baptist is not speaking of his own authority. He was sent by God and he's fulfilling prophecy. And you can trust the one that he's introducing.

So these verses build our faith because if even the prophets are prophesied, there must be a God who can tell the future. This is a trustworthy word. But continuing with the train of thought here, verse 28, Jesus commends John for his faith.

Although John had a moment of unbelief, let's remember who he is. This is the guy, more than a prophet, who left everything and went to live in the wilderness.

Eating locusts and honey.

Dressed like a madman. People saying, he has a demon. Why would they think that in the first place? Because he left everything and went to the wilderness and dressed like he did. And yelled, you brood of vipers, at everyone who came to see him.

They thought he had a demon.

Jesus is commending this kind of faith. This is a man who left all to follow God. And now as he's coming to a fuller realization of who Jesus is, the only one. He's a part of a kingdom. And that's what we're being taught.

If you see Jesus for who he is. If you trust in him. If you have faith. Your faith might waver. You might have a faith that's like a mustard seed. But it's a genuine faith in the Son of God. You're greater than John the Baptist.

You're sinless. Through the imputed righteousness of Christ. Meaning, the death and burial of Jesus has taken your sin away. And he counts you as righteous. He reckons you as righteous. And a full member of the kingdom.

A child of the living God. Through faith. That's what faith can do. That's the response that John had to Jesus. And that's what's being commended to us. Now, the offended ones. Recognize, guys, we live in a culture that takes great offense at Jesus.

My friend, I had the great privilege to lead this guy to Christ. He's an uncle. Well, he's not technically an uncle. I guess like an uncle second removed or something. I shared the gospel with him years ago.

He became a Christian. But he emailed me this week and said, Ah, I was sharing the gospel on Facebook. And your cousin, my cousin, his wife was offended by that. And I think I might have ruined the relationship.

And I emailed back saying, Listen, you preach the gospel. People will be offended by it. People will be offended by it. The world will be divided. Jesus said, I come not to bring peace but a sword. And he didn't mean that in a hostile way.

He meant that to say that when the gospel is preached, it divides people. Some people will be offended. When you claim that Jesus is the only way to the Father. When you say that he is the exalted one.

And all other so-called prophets. Whether they have six million people or two billion people like Muhammad following them. That they have to bow and fall on their faces. Like everyone else. Philippians 2.

Every knee shall bow. Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. When you start preaching that. When you say that Jesus is the only way. The truth.

The life.

People will be offended by you. They will be offended. The gospel is offensive. And it's foolish to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it is the wisdom and power of God. Here's where we see it in the text.

Verse 29 and 30. When all the people heard this and the tax collectors too. They declared God just. Declared God just. They declared him righteous. They recognized the righteousness of God. Romans 3 .26 explains how God is both just and the justifier of those who have faith in him.

Having been baptized with the baptism of John. There's group one. They heard this madman in the wilderness. Preaching repent of your sins. And they repented. And they were dunked under water. How foolish is that?

To go under water and come out of water in front of other people.

How foolish is that?

But it's a marker. It's a marker on the outside that shows that something's changed on the inside. It's an easy way to tell if someone. You know you're saying have I been born again? Have I truly been saved?

Well one great marker. To distinguish the difference. Have I been willing to submit to the ordinance of baptism? Not that the water will save me. But if I've been born again. Then why would I not obey Jesus into the water?

It's an outward symbol of something that's happened on the inside. But now look at verse 30. These are the having not been baptized.

Verse 30.

But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves. Not having been baptized by him. There's the separation. Right in that parenthesis. Verse 29 and 30. You have those who accept the message of Jesus.

Those who reject the message. It's a dividing point. Those who have been baptized in John's baptism here.

And those who have not.

Those who rejected. Those who were offended at John the Baptist. That's the division in the text. It's not the cultural thing to say at this particular point. Most preachers who want to tickle ears. Who want to say what the culture wants to hear.

So that they can pack an auditorium. Will not mention sin. And this great divide. But this is the response of faith. Either you respond in belief. Or you take offense at the message of Jesus. And we have to preach the text.

Don't we? We have to stick with what the Bible says. We're going to get an amazing illustration now here. Of this difference. Jesus will comment on the offended. It's kind of funny actually. If you get the comparison of what he makes here.

31 and following. To what then shall I compare the people of this generation? And what are they like?

The offended.

What are they like?

The Pharisees. They are like children. Sitting in the marketplace. And calling to one another. We played the flute for you. And you did not dance. We sang a dirge. And you did not weep. For John the Baptist has come eating no bread.

And drinking no wine. And you say he has a demon. The son of man came eating and drinking. And you say look at him. A glutton and a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.

Children sitting in a marketplace. Calling out to passers by. Trying to play a flute for them. That they'll dance for them. Or play a dirge that they'll mourn with them. And nobody wants to play along.

And so they start to cry about it. Jesus compares the Pharisees here to cry babies.

Look at these cry babies.

They're sitting in the marketplace. Crying because Jesus won't do what they say. John the Baptist came eating and drinking. And they complain about that.

He has a demon.

The son of man eats with tax collectors and sinners. And they complain about that. They're complaining and whining about everything. They're taking offense all the while. Verse 36 through 50 is a story.

That as beautiful as the story of the centurion's faith is. We have a second picture of beautiful faith. Of what faith genuinely is. But juxtaposed to that now. We're going to get a picture of offense.

All in the same story. One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And behold a woman of the city who was a sinner. When she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house.

Brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

This is faith guys.

This is a beautiful picture of faith. And standing behind him, Jesus. At his feet.

Weeping.

She began to wet his feet with her tears. And wiped them with the hair of her head. And kissed his feet. And anointed them with the ointment. Again, just pause and picture that scene. Jesus in the Pharisee's house.

And in comes a sinful woman. We don't know what her sins are. But it could be any number of sins. It could be adultery. It could be that she's in some kind of prostitution. We don't know precisely. But she's known as a sinner.

And here she comes. And she's crying.

And she's falling at his feet. And she's crying so much she wets his feet.

With her tears.

And then she uses her own hair to wipe his feet. This picture of just adoring love. And desperate plea for mercy. She knows that she's a sinner. She doesn't even need to be told here. She knows her sin.

And Jesus just lets this happen. He allows himself to be adored in that way. On the other side. Standing behind him. This is the woman. And then verse 39. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this.

He said to himself. If this man were a prophet. He would have known who and what sort of woman this is. Who is touching him.

For she is a sinner.

Do you see that's in his heart. That's what his heart looks like. And even in his heart he's saying. Yeah he should know what this woman is really up to. If he's really a prophet. Well guess what buddy.

He's reading your thoughts right now. He knows what you're thinking. He knows the darkness in there. Guess what. And Jesus answering him. Don't you love how Jesus can answer someone's thoughts. And Jesus answering said to him.