1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am 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.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Luke brings forth two stories where Jesus miraculously heals. I believe Luke’s intent was not only to show Jesus’ power to authoritatively command physical healing, but also to show Jesus’ heart in these run-ins with real people and real situations.
In the first story, the “elders of the Jews” try to bring a strong case for why Jesus should come to heal this man (Luke 7:4-5). He’s worthy, he loves our country and he’s patriotic, he helped build the temple. In other words, they brought forth a worthy resume for Jesus’ consideration. “This guy really deserves your attention.” But the centurion completely flips the tables and instead brings a stronger case for Jesus (Luke 7:6-8). He pleads the case that Jesus is worthy, too worthy for him and his servant, powerful, kind, merciful. The point isn’t that his servant is worthy and deserving, the point is that Jesus is worthy. Jesus commends the centurion’s faith and humility.
In the second story, Luke explicitly states that Jesus had “compassion on her” (Luke 7:13) and He touched the dead body (Luke 7:14). In the Mosaic law, touching a dead body (amongst other things) made you unclean. And Jesus, knowing what’s at risk and all that’s on the line, touches the unclean body (probably with a gasp from onlookers) and sought to heal and restore this young man. In that sense, His zealous love put Himself at risk— foreshadowing the cross.
In many ways, our life situations are not that different from the centurion and the widow. We face real suffering, sin, heartache, and pressure. Luke wants us to know that Jesus the Son of the Living God is not a distant God. Not primarily a harsh commanding officer, but a Friend, a Worthy King, a Loyal God— even at great risk to Himself. It is His worth and the commitment to His promises that extends compassion that breaks into our broken worlds, not in any sense our deservedness.