A Gift of a Healing or a Reward for Merit

Jesus is back in Capernaum after delivering a sermon. A centurion's servant is sick and the centurion asks Jesus to heal him. The centurion shows great faith and Jesus is amazed by it. The servant is healed. This story highlights Jesus' ability to heal and the faith of the centurion. I invite you to stand, please, for the reading of Scripture. We're back in the gospel of Luke, and we're picking up that series. And so Luke today, chapter 7, verses 1 through 10 is our text this morning. Luke chapter 7, verses 1 through 10 is the place where we will pick up in our study of Luke's gospel, which we studied last spring and then set it aside for a while, but here we pick it back up again. So Luke chapter 7, verses 1 through 10, and this is God's Word. When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him. This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue. So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him, Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. This is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you, but say the word and my servant will be healed, for I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, go, and he goes, and that one, come, and he comes. I say to my servant, do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel. Then the man who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. So our series is entitled, According to Luke, the Truth Concerning the Christ, and today we have to look at the text, and we're asking the question, is this a gift of healing, or is this a reward for merit? As we study this text, first we'll look at verse 1, and we'll pick up the story, a little bit of a reminder of where we've been so far in Luke's gospel. Then we're looking at verses 2-6, the public's perception, verses 6-9, the centurion's realization, and then verse 10, it's the servant's restoration. It was last winter when we began our detailed study of Luke's gospel. We are reminded that Luke was not an eyewitness to the events of Jesus' earthly ministry. Luke comes later upon the scene, and so to write his gospel, he relies on interviews with disciples and family members and followers of Jesus, those who saw the events in Jesus' ministry, those who heard his teaching, those who were impacted by Jesus when he was on earth. In roughly the first half or so of Luke's gospel, Luke reports on the ministry and the teaching of Jesus in and around the village of Capernaum. Capernaum is a little hamlet on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And when we last visited the text in Luke's gospel, we encountered what has been commonly called the Sermon on the Plain. This is a message that Jesus gave there in the area around Capernaum. There's a similar text in Matthew's gospel. In Matthew's gospel, we call it the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke's gospel, we call it the Sermon on the Plain. Now, they could be the same sermons. They could be different sermons. It's possible that Jesus used the same sermon in a number of different places. We're not really sure. It's also possible that both sermons are kind of compilations of things that Jesus said during his ministry. We're not really exactly sure, but whatever it is, we know that there was a time when Jesus stands outside of Capernaum and he preaches to the people. Luke tells us that this sermon was delivered just outside the village of Capernaum. And in this sermon, Jesus, as you know, teaches his Declaration of Ethics. The sermon describes how we are to live as followers of Christ, that which is presented to us as imperatives, as we reside in and dwell in and find refuge under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be a Christian? How do you live as a Christian? Read the sermon that Jesus offers here in the text in Luke, and you'll hear the best about how to live the Christian life. I notice in the text, it doesn't say, here's five points on how to do this. Here's seven points on how to do that. Here's three sure-fire things you can do for this, that, or the other. It doesn't say any of that in the text. Rather, read the text. And if you want the homework, go back to Luke chapter 6 and read the text of the Sermon on the Plain, and then you'll remember the text that we covered last time. But this is life lived as followers of Christ, as we live under the Lordship of Christ. And so with that, we rejoin our study in the Gospel of Luke. And today we pick up in Luke chapter 7 verse 1, and here we find Jesus having just completed His sermon, entering again the town that has been His base of ministry operations. And let's not miss the detail that's included in just this first verse. When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. So we notice here that it's not just the disciples who are present for this sermon, not just followers of Jesus, but there's a sense here that Christ from this location offers a call to all, believers and unbelievers, students and skeptics, friend and foe. And Luke affirms that which Jesus said was understood, and it was received by those who were gathered. This doesn't mean that they believe the message, it doesn't mean they accept it, it doesn't mean they submit to it, but they did hear it. What did they hear? Well, we look back on just, there's a lot of stuff we can cover. Let's just cover one verse that was from that, well, two verses, from that sermon. Here we find Jesus' clear teaching, Luke chapter 6, verses 46-47. Jesus says, Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? I will show you what He is like, who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. Let's just take a moment and examine verse 47 a little bit closer. Here's what Jesus says. He says, I will show you what He is like, who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. Look at it even closer. Jesus says, I will show you, I will show you. So as we consider chapter 7, beginning of verse 8, sandwiched in between the sermon on the plane and the recalling of Jesus' parables, we see in this text amazing things, beautiful things, miraculous things, glorious things in the text. And Jesus says, I will show you. Here Jesus brings in this chapter, He brings healing and the granting of sight to the blind and deliverance and forgiveness of sins and even the raising of the dead. And these events, amazing as they are, highlight and point forward to Jesus' declaration of the coming of His kingdom. So let's wrap your brain around this for a moment. Jesus doesn't appear just to merely tell the people about the kingdom, but Jesus comes to show them the kingdom. He has come to show us the kingdom. Luke says a little further in the text, he says in chapter 8 in verse 1, and this is how the King James Version describes it, the text says, And it came to pass afterward that it went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. Jesus comes on the scene and He shows the world that there is a kingdom, a kingdom that is not of this world, a heavenly kingdom, an eternal kingdom. And let's make no mistake, Jesus has come to show us the kingdom too, not just to tell us some stories, not just to teach us some wisdom, Jesus has drawn you and me into this picture and He has come to see to it that we would see the kingdom of God. It's the heavenly city, it's the throne room of God, it's the innumerable angels in joyous assembly, it's the kingdom and the power and the glory, all that stuff, now made known to man, now brought to bear for this world, now for all to see. And as we know, once we see something, we can't unsee it, you ever tried to unsee something? You can't do it, I can't do it, I know you can't do it either, once you've seen something, you can't unsee it, and so Jesus comes to show us the kingdom, and once He's shown us the kingdom, we can't unsee it. So don't bother trying to wiggle away now because it ain't going to work, we've seen the kingdom, His name is Jesus. So Luke tells us that once Jesus completed His sermon, then the text says that Jesus entered Capernaum, you notice there in the text, Luke gives us that information, he says once the sermon was over, Jesus entered Capernaum. And yes, the town is a point on a map, so Luke affirms here for us the identity of the real location of all of these activities, in fact archaeologists have found the location of the ruins of Capernaum, they've identified a 4th century synagogue there, most recently they've determined that this newer synagogue, if it's the 4th century being newer, but the newer synagogue was actually built on top of the foundation and the floor of a much older synagogue, and they think that the older synagogue is the one mentioned here in Luke's gospel in chapter 7. Capernaum also has a 5th century church that's still there, and they believe it was built on the top of what was Peter's house, because Peter was a fisherman, and that's on the Sea of Galilee, and that's where he lived where he did his fishing there in Capernaum. And they think that this church was built on top of what was his house. So Capernaum is a real place with real archaeological evidence from the time of Jesus. In fact, and I remember this from just a couple of months ago, so we watch on Discovery Channel, I think it is, we watch Expedition Unknown, Josh Gates has a great show, he sees a lot of things and stuff, and yeah once in a while he's looking for Bigfoot or the Yeti or whatever it is, but otherwise he shows some really neat stuff. And a couple of months ago he had an episode where they were in Capernaum, and they were looking for these things, and he didn't present it like, well this is just mythology but we'll go along with it anyway. No, he really gave it a real honest-to-goodness assessment, and they were seeing all the stuff that's been found as a location along the Sea of Galilee. If it ever comes on again and you see it in the reruns, you're going to want to watch that episode, because it's a really great episode of all the archaeological evidence from the time of Jesus that's been found there in Capernaum. But Luke tells us more, right? For here is Jesus entering Capernaum, not just the town of Capernaum, but he's back into the thick of things, isn't he not? He's back in with the sinners, and the lame, and the blind, and the broken, and the broken-hearted. We notice that when we read the Gospels, we notice that Jesus doesn't just minister from some secluded cave, and he doesn't just broadcast from some studio in an upscale suburb somewhere. He doesn't speak from a concert stage with a light show and a disco ball and a fog machine. He's in the world, in the world with all of its grit and grime, and the world with all of its fallenness, a world of lost jobs and bankrupt businesses, a world of dysfunctional families and fractured relationships, a world of broken dreams, a world of incomprehensible medical diagnoses, a world of anger and confusion and pain, a world that feels the sin of the past that feels stuck in the sin of the present and has a longing for the feeling of freedom from sin someday in the future. And this is you and me because this is the world where you live, and this is the world where I live. So when we read that Luke says that Jesus entered Capernaum, in our mind's eye, can we not see Jesus walking down State Road 19 and right into Napadee? Absolutely. After all, who is he? He's Emmanuel. He's God with us. So during the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus says, watch me and I will show you. Watch me and I will show you. And the people gathered on the plain heard his declaration. So that's why we read when Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now generally the commentators of this story want to focus on the centurion, and we'll get to the centurion in a moment, but let's get our focus where it really belongs. First and foremost, this is a story about a person who needs healing. This is a story about a man who is either a servant or a slave, and we don't really know for sure which one because, unfortunately, the language of the day uses the same word for both. So we don't know if he's a servant who has taken on a job or if he's a slave. We're not sure exactly which one. Whichever one it is, though, the man exists and works at the bottom of the societal ladder, and so most likely he has no means to any proper medical care, no insurance policy back in those days. And we don't know the man's name, and we don't know if the man is a Jew or a Gentile, but this we know, and that the man is suffering from an illness. And because of the severity of the illness, this man is close to death. Remember that is Jesus' stated intention, to enter the village and to show the people the kingdom. And doesn't it sound like Jesus to kick things off with a story of just such a man? This gives us a little more detail. We read that this man is a servant, and he is highly valued by the one that he serves. And the one that he serves happens to be a Roman centurion, apparently stationed in or nearby Capernaum. He's not a Jew, but there he is in Capernaum, a Roman centurion. The centurion is a Gentile. So he's a part of the army, an officer in the army of occupation. But the text also points out that he is one who loves the Jewish people living in and around Capernaum, so much so in fact that he was remembered as the man who built their local synagogue. Did you notice that in the text? So that means he not only, either he physically built the synagogue, or he at least gathered the money and the funds and material to have the thing built. Either way, he's credited with being the one who built the synagogue. And we would have good ground certainly to conclude that the people of Capernaum all know and they admire this centurion, this Roman soldier, Roman officer, who loved them and built their synagogue. And it also seems certain that the centurion would then know Jesus. And we know this because Luke places Jesus at a number of times in the Capernaum synagogue. Luke chapter 4, verse 31, the text says, then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. And in Luke chapter 4, verse 33-36, the text says that in the Capernaum synagogue Jesus confronted a man possessed by a demon and delivered him right in the middle of the synagogue. And then in Luke chapter 6, verses 6-11, again in the Capernaum synagogue, Jesus healed a man with a shriveled hand. And because he did this, remember, on the Sabbath day, the Pharisees who were present in the synagogue became so furious they began to discuss what they might do to Jesus. All because he healed in the synagogue. And so we best determine these scenes would have occurred in the synagogue and likely to be, since it's the only synagogue in town in those days, the synagogue built by the centurion. So we must conclude, therefore, that the centurion knows of Jesus. And not only that, but Capernaum's not a big town. It's a little town. And as we all know, news travels in a little town. Do we know that here in Napanee? News travels, and you can't get away with anything in Napanee. Every time I mow my lawn, people tell me, I saw you mowing your lawn, you were out mowing your lawn, you were out walking your dog. Everything is known in Napanee. News travels fast. News travels fast in Capernaum as well. This centurion would have known Jesus. And so the centurion requests the Jewish elders that they ask Jesus to come to the centurion's house in order to heal the servant. And it's in verse 4 that we hear of the reason given by the elders. Did you notice they have a reason why they said, Jesus, you should really do this? Look at verse 4. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him. And they said, this man, speaking of the centurion, this man deserves for you to do this. This man deserves to have you do this. So Jesus goes to visit the servant. But we're not to assume that Jesus agrees with their reasoning. This here is not affirming the centurion's record has earned Jesus' participation. And so the question is, what do the people seek when they say this? They say, you know, he deserves this. You should do this. And so the question before us, is this a gift of healing or is it a reward for merit? Is it a gift of healing or is it a reward for merit? Now today upon our reading this, the notion of such merit does, of course, seem strange to us because we know now the gospel. We know the fullness of the gospel. What do we know about the gospel? What do we know about the gospel? Well, the first thing that we know about the gospel is we're not worthy. That's the first thing that we know about the gospel. We know that we need the gospel. We know that we are not worthy. Remember the apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Christians and what did he say to them? None are righteous, no not one. And this wasn't anything that Paul invented. Paul got it from David who had written it first in the 14th Psalm. So Paul's just reading what he always remembered from David's text. This is why the first point of the five points of Calvinism is total depravity because that's where we need to start. Jesus brings us grace and mercy because we all need the one who is gracious and merciful. So no one has earned the healing here. The centurion has not earned anything. The servant hasn't earned it. Centurion hasn't earned it even though the public's perception is that he has. The elders argue for the servant's healing based on the centurion's worthiness. Come to the synagogue, Jesus. Come to this house, Jesus. Come to this person and let's do this and he really deserves that. Some churches advertise that people can come expecting a miracle. You ever heard that before? You ever seen that on a sign or ever heard that at a church somewhere when they say come expecting a miracle? But that's not what the Bible teaches, right? A miracle is extraordinary and it is unexpected. If you or I would be worthy of a miracle, then it wouldn't be a miracle. It'd be akin to a coupon that we redeem, right? I have this coupon for this free thing. I could go to Culver's and get free ice cream because I have the coupon. I'm going to turn it in and they'll give me free ice cream. It's not a miracle. I get it because the coupon says I get it. So it's kind of like a coupon we redeem or it's kind of like a wish granted by a genie in a bottle. So if you're trying, for example, so if you're trying to earn or otherwise conjure up the favor of the blessing of God, if you're trying to do that, if you're trying to live your life that way, if you're trying to earn the good graces of God, stop. Stop right now. The truth is you're not that good. Now I'm not either, so I understand, but you're not that good and I'm not that good. And Jesus doesn't come to teach us how to redeem a coupon. And Jesus doesn't come to teach us how to procure a wish granted by a genie in a bottle. That's not Jesus' job. What does He come to do? He comes to show us the kingdom. He comes to show us the kingdom. And here He will show us all the kingdom. He will make the kingdom known with a visit to the centurion's servant. And this further confirms something that we see that Apostle John states in the opening verses of his gospel. If you want to keep a finger in Luke chapter 7 and flip ahead a little bit to John chapter 1, it's just a few pages ahead in your text. If you want to visit this, we've heard it before, a word we should all take note. Let's revisit this. John chapter 1. Look with me at verses 10 and 11. Notice what the text says. John chapter 1, verses 10 and 11. The text says, speaking of Jesus, it says, He was in the world and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. Gentile or Jew, the public's perception is that we earn our way to God. And then God comes to us with a...but then God comes to us not bearing some merit-based system, but rather grace and mercy. And John says that the world hasn't comprehended Jesus. And He says even His own people wouldn't receive Him. Jesus shows us the kingdom, and this is a kingdom of grace and mercy, and we can't wrap our brains around it. I mean, surely God isn't going to just give us salvation. He's not going to do that. He's not going to just give us salvation, is He? Well, look at the next verse. Look at John chapter 1, verse 12. Here it is. And yet to all who received Him, to all who believed in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God. There it is. There it is right in the text. And now, if you think that's the only place it might say that, well, no, no, there's some other places as well. A few chapters forward in John's Gospel, John speaking in Nicodemus, John chapter 3, verse 16. What did Jesus say? For God so loved, He gave. For God so loved, He gave. Remember also our recent study of James, and we were in James' letter. What did the apostles say? James wrote, He chose to give us birth through the word of truth. So on that day in Capernaum, and in our world today, when it comes to the kingdom, no one is earning anything. So we respond. We respond by proclaiming praise and honor and glory to Christ, because He is the giving God who gives good gifts to His children. So we come to verses 6 through 9, and before Jesus can arrive at the centurion's house, centurion hears Jesus coming, so the centurion sends a message to Jesus, and it's in that message that we discover the heart of this man. We read his statement, and we think that the centurion has a real devotion to Jesus. So even though he's a Gentile, and even though he's a Roman officer, yet we believe that centurion has a real devotion to Jesus. Notice in the text. We've seen earlier that the centurion knows about Jesus, and he knows that Jesus is no mere man. How does he address Him? He calls Him Lord. Notice that in the text. Now he could throw around the right language, so let's not be fooled by that alone. Let's look deeper and see what else is going on. Notice the last half of verse 6, the beginning of verse 7, to see what else we might find. What does centurion say? He says, Lord, don't trouble Yourself, for I do not deserve to have You come under my roof. That is why I do not even consider myself worthy to come to You. Now this guy's a Roman military officer. A centurion is a commander of 100 men. That's why the title centurion, and yet this man is clearly humble before Christ. He's not throwing his title around. He's not pulling the Roman soldier card in just a mention of Jesus. It's just a mention of Jesus, and his response is one of humility, and we see it here in the text. I'm not worthy, he says. Another indicator of his devotion to Jesus, notice the end of verse 7. He says this. I will say the word and my servant will be healed. Centurion recognizes the authority in which Jesus operates. He knows that Jesus' word is authoritative. Why? Because he knows Jesus' track record. He knows Jesus has the power to heal because it's happened in his own synagogue. And so the centurion confidently states, you can just say the word Jesus and your command for healing cannot be thwarted. And then one more bit of evidence that points to the centurion as a follower of Christ. We read in verse 9 that Jesus refers to him as a man of great faith. You see that in the text. He says this is a man of great faith. And of course Jesus doesn't just throw his words around unconcerned about how they're received. He's not throwing them on a bunch of platitudes, not worried about whether they really stick or not. Jesus said what he said because he meant what he said. This is a man of great faith. And so with the compilation of all these indicators, we're encouraged to think that the centurion, a Roman soldier, a Gentile, is also a believer in Jesus. He's one who has placed his faith and his trust in Christ. He calls him Lord and with humility he recognizes Jesus' authority and he does not doubt Jesus' power. And Jesus affirms the centurion's profession of faith. So the centurion's realization is that Jesus is Lord. Now this is a man who understands the command of authority. Notice his reasoning in verse 8. He says for I myself am a man under authority with soldiers under me. He's kind of in the middle, right? He's got authority over him and he has authority over those below him. I tell this one go and he goes and that one come and he comes and I say to my servant do this. And he does it. This centurion knows how to command and he knows how to submit to command. He knows how authority operates and in Jesus he sees and he recognizes real authority. And here we find Jesus not surprised by the words of the centurion but certainly amazed by the articulation of his faith. So Jesus turns around to face the Jewish elders who are following him as if to say I tell you and I'm particularly talking to you guys, you Jewish elders, you guys should have already known what faith is. I have not found such great faith even in Israel. Even amongst you guys from the synagogue. And this guy is a Gentile and a soldier of the Roman occupying army. And I've not yet seen such faith in all of Israel. So we come to our final verse in today's lesson. This is verse 10. And here we find that the request of the centurion has been answered. And you know the miracle, which is the healing of the servant, almost goes unnoticed. And there's no light show and there's no big production here, nothing fancy going on. We almost didn't even notice that it happens. But verse 10 says, then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. So that's the beginning of the story, right? The beginning of the story was the servant is sick. The end of the story, the servant's well. That's the story. The servant was close to death and he needed healing. And everyone in the story knew that healing had one source. Here we read the servant's restoration, the miracle of healing, the gracious gift from the Lord Jesus Christ. He has healed the servant. And even with a servant, we'll see this here in a second, what do we learn from this story? Why do we need to know this? Okay, well, there's a few points here. First, we notice in the story that the three main characters, Jesus, the centurion, and the servant, we notice that they never actually meet. Did you notice that in the text? They never actually meet. It's the servant who is sick and dying, yet it's the centurion who asks for healing. And although request is for Jesus to heal, the centurion asks the elders to make the request for him. And although Jesus is coming to the centurion's house, the centurion sends his friends to meet Jesus before he gets there. And though Jesus never has contact with the servant, the centurion's friends return to find the servant has indeed been healed. It's all done by distance. It's almost like it's being texted in or something, right? It's online, apparently. No, but you get the point here. There's no contact. What we see in the story is that it's the elders and the friends who are the go-betweens. And the elders and the friends, they remain nameless and they remain faceless, and yet the role they play is unmistakably divinely ordained. It's unmistakable here in this story, the use of the elders and the friends. They're the go-betweens. And this is a lesson for us, because the church of Jesus Christ needs to understand its role as the elders and the friends in this world. This point, church needs to understand its role as the elders and the friends in Napanian and Wakarusa and in our surrounding area in this day, as we communicate the good news of Jesus Christ, as we testify as to the goodness of God, as it impacts the hearts and lives of the faithful. Believers in Jesus are called to serve as those who would communicate Christ to this dark and broken and sinful world, which desperately needs to know Christ. So we better understand the vitally important role that we play when we engage with our neighbor or a friend or a family member or a co-worker, praying with or for someone, sharing a meal or enjoying a cup of coffee with them, giving a free ride to the doctor's visit or to the airport, or even holding their hand or just being present with them during one of life's challenging moments. These are all opportunities, situations where you and I stand in the gap for them, when you engage with them on behalf of the kingdom, that's what it means to be an elder and a friend, just like we see in Capernaum. And you're doing this on behalf of the kingdom of God. Second, when Christians think of healing, we hear the word healing thrown around. When Christians think of healing, we usually default to a 20th century picture of charismatic healing services and the like. But when we do this, so what do we do with this when we kind of have that picture in our head? Because remember Jesus said, Luke chapter 6, verses 46 and 47, he said, why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? I'll show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. So let us not think that we can wiggle away from the scriptural imperatives concerning physical healing. We certainly cannot do so, and we don't want to do so. We certainly seek God for healing, physical healing, for ourselves and for our families and friends and sometimes for people that we don't even know, and indeed we are commanded to do so by God's word, and we did it this morning. We prayed for healing for people. Presbyterians, yes we are, but we prayed for healing for people. Go figure. But let's also remember that the Bible presents the ministry of healing in a much larger picture, more than just the physical aspect of it. We don't want to water that down, we don't want to push that aside, but more than that, the Bible presents the ministry of healing in a much larger picture. Healing in Scripture addresses not only physical ailments, but really is a ministry to the whole person. Let me give you a couple of examples. Just for example, the story of the woman who was bent over for eighteen years, and when Jesus healed her, He declared her free from her infirmity. Now she's free to work and live and enjoy life. See how He ministers to her in that way? He doesn't just physically heal, He does so much more. Or we think of the woman who bled continually for twelve years, which means that she endured twelve years of ceremonial uncleanness. And now she can be declared clean. Now she can go to temple and worship. Now she can enjoy meals with friends and neighbors because she's not unclean any longer. The blessing that has come to her is beyond just physical healing. Or we think of the paralyzed man who was healed by Jesus as Jesus said to him, Friend, your sins are forgiven. Remember the text in Luke, the previous story in Luke's Gospel. And Jesus heals, and when He said, Friend, your sins are forgiven, that's when He was healed. So, here we go, Presbyterians. Let's jump into the healing business. Let's apply the full Gospel to the whole person. Let's anticipate the work of the Holy Spirit as God uses His people to bring healing, healing not just to the body, but also to the hearts and to the mind. And finally, we remember again Luke's description of Jesus' ministry. What was the description? Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, preaching and showing the good news of the kingdom. You think that Jesus appears on the scene merely to impart wisdom? You hope that Jesus comes to earth just to give us stuff? Well, think again. As we study the story of Jesus in Luke's Gospel, let us keep our eyes on Jesus. Let us watch Jesus. Let us watch Him as He shows us the kingdom of God. Let's bow our heads and pray, shall we? Remember in this story that you give us in Luke's Gospel, and as you set this section of Luke's Gospel up for us, you're reminding us of this great and glorious gift that is Jesus come to us to show us the kingdom. What does the kingdom look like? What does the kingdom of God look like? Well, Jesus comes to show us. Thank you, Father, for sending Jesus to us to do just that. In Christ we find health and healing and wholeness. In Christ we find forgiveness and deliverance. In Christ we find that our hearts are made new, and for all this we are grateful. And in the midst of all that, Jesus is showing us the kingdom, and He's showing us the kingdom because you have made us part of the kingdom. And this is a great and glorious gift that we don't deserve, yet you have done it for us. And for this we praise you and we give you glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.