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Advent Productions

Encounters With Jesus

Benjamin Ng

Jesus’ Encounter With The Devil

Jesus’ Encounter with the First Disciples

Jesus’ Encounter with Philip and Nathanael

Jesus Encounter at the Wedding Feast

Jesus’ Encounter with Nicodemus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman at the Well

Jesus’ Encounter With The Centurion

Jesus Encounter with the Blind Man Near Bethsaida

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man by the Pool of Bethesda

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man Sick of Palsy

Jesus’ Encounter with the Disciples in the Storm

Jesus’ Encounter with the Blind, Dumb Demoniac

Jesus’ Encounter with the Demoniacs of the Gadarenes

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman with the Issue of Blood

Jesus’ Encounter with the Five Thousand

Jesus’ Encounter with John the Baptist

Jesus’ Encounter with the Disciples on the Sea

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman Caught in Adultery

Jesus’ Encounter with Martha and Mary

Jesus’ Encounter with the Man Born Blind

Jesus’ Encounter with the 10 Lepers

Jesus’ Encounter with the Rich Young Ruler

Jesus’ Encounter with Blind Bartimaeus

Jesus’ Encounter with Zacchaeus

Jesus’ Encounter with the Woman with the Spirit of Infirmity

Jesus’ Encounter at Simon’s Feast

Jesus’ Encounter with Peter and His Denial

Jesus’ Encounter with Pilate

Jesus’ Encounters at the Cross

Jesus’ Encounter on the Road to Emmaus

Jesus’ Encounter with Peter at the Sea of Tiberias

Father in heaven, thank you so much for this time that we have to come and study your Word together.

Thank you for seeing us safely through another week.

Thank you Lord for the power of a sound mind.

And this evening I pray that you would empower us with your Holy Spirit and quicken our consciences and our minds Help us to understand your word help us to know how to use our mind to be able to discern and understand your word and how it will apply to our lives and how you can bless us so that we can be a blessing to other people as well.

Grant us and grace us with thy Holy Spirit we pray in Jesus name.

So we'll be looking at Jesus's encounter with the centurion this evening.

And for those that don't know, we've been going through the different people that Jesus has been encountering throughout his ministry on earth.

And we are now in Luke chapter 7 starting in verse 1.

Luke 7 and verse 1 the Bible says this Now when he, speaking of Jesus, had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum and a certain centurion's servant who was dear unto him was sick and ready to die and when he heard of Jesus he sent unto him the elders of the Jews beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant Jesus he had just finished teaching and as he turned to go in a direction that he had set his face to walk down, a centurion's servant comes.

A centurion's servant was sick and he sent the elders, it says there in verse 3, to ask for healing.

Now, this servant must have been dear to the centurion's heart.

It must have been someone that maybe had even brought him up as he was a young boy.

It was someone that was dear and favorable and lovable to him and it must have been like family This person and he hears of Jesus and he sends some of these elders of the Jews To go and speak to Jesus to ask Him if He would please come and heal His servant.

How did the elders approach Jesus on behalf of the centurion?

Notice there it says in verse, I believe it is verse 3, that it says that they beseeched him.

They were begging him on behalf of this centurion.

And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this, for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

The elders said that this centurion was worthy of Jesus' attention.

Worthy for Jesus to heal his servant, almost as if it would be a privilege for Jesus to go to his house.

What was the reason that the elders gave?

Because this man, this centurion, had built them a synagogue.

He didn't believe in God, yet he was so generous to the Jewish nation or at least to that city where he was in to build that town a church so that they could worship God.

He must have had some affinity for the Jews, otherwise he wouldn't have done such a thing.

Maybe he had come to learn of their religion and accept their teachings.

Maybe he had been listening to Jesus and his heart had been pricked.

And even though he didn't come and talk to Jesus personally, the Holy Spirit was probably working upon his heart and he was accepting more of the religion of the Jews, of the Israelites, than that of which he grew up in, in the Roman pagan culture.

He had not fully converted to their teachings yet, but surely the Holy Spirit was making an impression upon his heart and it moved him to go and build a synagogue for the town that he was living in.

Luke chapter 7 verses 6 and 7, Then Jesus went with them, and when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.

Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word and my servant shall be healed.

At the appeal of the elders, Jesus immediately sets out for the man's house.

The servant was about to perish, and Christ, he did not need this sort of urging or recommendation that this man was worthy.

Jesus came for this reason to relieve the earth of sin sick people but also those that were in physical sickness as well.

He came to be a blessing, a fountain of life.

That's not the reason why Jesus took off.

Not because he was worthy but because had any appeal come from anybody no matter what they had done or what they had not built, Jesus would still have gone to try and relieve those that were suffering.

The centurion sends some of his friends to come and speak to Jesus.

I am not worthy for you to come under my house.

I'm not worthy for you to step foot in my place.

Not because it was messy but he realized that he himself neither thought I myself even worthy to come to you.

Now we know in other other stories in the Bible, Matthew it says that the centurion himself came.

But here he says that he didn't even think himself worthy to come and even speak to Jesus himself.

That's why at the beginning he sent the elders and then when he was on the way, he changed his mind.

And he sent his friends to say, no, no, no, no, I'm not worthy for you to come.

You know, at the beginning, he asked the elders to ask Jesus for help.

They gave an outward sign of his worthiness.

He had single-handedly built a church in the area for them.

Too often we determine a person's worthiness based upon outward appearances, outward acts.

We determine worthiness based upon how much tithe a person donates to the church.

We determine a person's worthiness of what sort of car they drive to church or to drive in general.

We determine a person's worthiness based upon the sort of clothes they wear sometimes.

We determine a person's worthiness based on their status and their wealth.

Surely God is with them or else God would not bless them like this.

And we look at the riches, we look at the material possessions and we go, God is with this man.

And man, they place a too high an estimation of man upon themselves of others and those around them.

And so these elders, when they came to Jesus, they said, this centurion, he is worthy.

And we got to be so careful friends about esteeming people so highly Praising people so highly flattering them with our lips And look at what the Bible says here in James 2, starting in verse 1.

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and you have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and saying to him, Sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool.

Are you not partial in yourselves, and become judges of evil thoughts?

Hearken, my beloved Brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?

Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seat?

Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called?

If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.

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Encounters With Jesus

Jesus’ Encounter With The Centurion

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