Bible Tangent(s) is back! I'm glad you're here.
I was studying Luke 7 today, and it occurred to me that this entire chapter is about faith. There are four episodes (three of which we'll discuss), and in each one Jesus responds to a person's faith. The people in this chapter are all over the map, so we get to see Jesus' responses to various strengths and types of belief.
A caution against formula: God does not always respond in the same ways to the same things. You've probably noticed this in your own spiritual life. Sometimes in prayer, worship, or Bible study, God may lead you a certain way, but other times God doesn't. So just a fair warning ("heads up!") that the principles here will not always play out exactly like this in your life.
This is true in part because God (in infinite wisdom) knows that different responses might be best to two different people in very similar situations, or with very similar expressions of faith. That being said, Jesus' reactions to the people in this chapter can teach us about his heart, purposes, and character.
Here's the cast of characters in Luke 7:
1. The centurion
This guy isn't Jewish. It's difficult to overstate how important this is at the time of this story. It would have been almost impossible for Jesus' followers to imagine that a Gentile could have the same type of faith (or even better!) than the Jews. But then this centurion happens.
He wants Jesus to heal his servant, but he knows he's not worthy to have Jesus under his roof. So you might imagine he would leave his home to track down Jesus. But alas--he knows he's not even worthy to meet with Jesus in person! So he sends messengers to ask Jesus to heal the servant from afar. Jesus not only does it, but says that the centurion's faith surpasses any he's seen in Israel (Luke 7:9-10). To the centurion's humble faith, Jesus responds with healing.
2. John the Baptist
If you remember John the Baptist, he was an extreme dude who ate locusts in the wilderness. He preached about repentance and foretold Jesus' arrival. But now, in Luke 7, John is in prison. I don't want to infer too much, but based on what he does next, I think his faith is in crisis. He sends two of his followers to Jesus to ask him whether or not he's really the Messiah.
This is a significant ask from someone who had already publicly declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God. But now John is in prison, and maybe that has shaken his confidence. At any rate, Jesus responds in an interesting way: he quotes some passages from Isaiah that he has fulfilled through his miracles and ministry. Thus, he gives John two of the same pieces of evidence available to us: his miraculous works and his fulfillment of prophecy (Luke 7:21-23). He then affirms John's ministry to the crowd (7:24-28). To John's faltering faith, Jesus responds with evidence and encouragement.
3. The Pharisees
Pharisees appear twice in this chapter in quick succession: those in the crowd as Jesus preaches, and Simon who invites Jesus to dinner. To those in the crowd, Jesus reveals the hypocrisy in their reactions to John the Baptist and Jesus--John was an ascetic, and because of that they rejected him; Jesus wasn't an ascetic, and because of that they rejected him. The irony, of course, is that they responded incorrectly to both of them. They were like kids who hadn't cried during the dirge, and now they weren't dancing to the jig (Luke 7:31-35).
Simon also rejects Jesus, but in a more subtle way. Yes, he invites Jesus to dinner, but he shows him no hospitality and becomes indignant when a "sinful" woman lavishly loves Jesus at his table. Jesus rebukes him with a parable, revealing that the man (unlike the sinful woman) doesn't love Jesus because he doesn't realize how much he needs to be forgiven by Jesus (Luke 7:39-47). To the Pharisees' lack of faith, Jesus responds with rebuke and correction.
4. The sinful woman
This woman is sort of making a scene. She's interacting a lot with Jesus' feet: crying on them, kissing them, drying them with her hair, and pouring perfume on them. Maybe the outpouring of love is so profuse that it's making Simon the Pharisee uncomfortable, adding to his already judgmental disposition. This woman is going all-out in her expression of love.
And Jesus is moved by her actions. The parable he uses to rebuke the Pharisee also explains and commends the woman's love. It's because she knows how much she's been forgiven that she feels such immense gratitude to Jesus. In light of this, Jesus publicly declares her sins to be forgiven (Luke 7:44-50). To the woman's loving faith, Jesus responds with forgiveness.
How great our Savior is! When we lack faith, he rebukes and corrects us in love. When our faith wavers, he reveals himself. When we are humble, he brings healing. When we love him, he reminds us again of his saving forgiveness.
