Question regarding sin,

when God created the angels did he create them with sin in them and did he create humans in the same fashion as them, that is to say how did sin come to them if God said that His creation was good?



Answer:
No, God did not create angels with sin in them, nor humans. Sin came about because God gave to angels and humans the wonderful gift of freedom. God did not create us to be robots, but gave us some of His own freedom so that we could make genuine choices to love and serve Him. Of course, with that freedom comes the risk of using it to choose things that are contrary to God’s will. That is where sin came from.

III. The Synagogue Incentive (Luke 7:4-5)

Luke 7:4-5. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

Do you see how these Jewish elders approach Jesus? Yes, they come and they beg him earnestly, but they give reasons for why this man deserves help. The reasons were that he loves the Jewish people, and he even built a synagogue for them. Can’t you just hear the elders? “Jesus, I know he’s a Gentile, and I know he a Roman Centurion, but just this once, we can overlook that. After all, look how wonderful of a person he is. He loves the Jews, and he even built a synagogue for us to study God’s Word in. Jesus, if any Gentile deserves help, this one does. He’s a really good man.”

I wonder how often our prayers sound like that? “Oh God, I know I’m not perfect. I’ve sinned a few times. I’ve made a few mistakes. I’m only human, after all. Anyway, I’ve got this little request for you, which I think I deserve to have answered. I don’t ask for much, God, and I’ve tried to be good. I go to church. I tithe. I read my Bible every day. I volunteer at the food bank. Couldn’t you just give me this one thing?”

II. The Centurion’s Supplication (Luke 7:3)

Luke 7:3. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.

Matthew 8:5 says the Centurion came. But in Jewish culture (or almost any culture), when a man of authority sends someone else for him as a representative, it is as if they themselves are coming. The centurion sends elders of the Jews as his representatives. This is curious. The elders of the Jews were some of the spiritual leaders of Israel. They would rarely submit to a Roman Army official. But here, they do exactly what he asks, and they do it quickly. This tells us that he had a good relationship with those he ruled.

He tells them to go to Jesus and plead with Him to come and heal his servant. Luke 7:4 says that when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly. The situation is so dire, so important, they come pleading and begging earnestly for Jesus to heal the servant. It is always a good idea in prayer to get friends and relatives to pray with you and for you. It is not that God answers the prayers of ten people when He wouldn’t have answered the prayer of only one. I believe the prayer of one is just as powerful as the prayer of many. But there is something encouraging to know that other people are praying with you in your time of need.

In Luke 7:4-5 however, the elders explain why they were being sent as intermediaries. A distinguished Jewish rabbi had come to town, and so as not to offend him, the Centurion sent the Jewish elders to ask a favor of him. The Jewish elders explain why Jesus should heal the centurion’s servant.

Do you want great faith?

Luke 7:1-10 will provide some help on understanding what great faith is and how to get it. This passage comes right after the conclusion of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples on how to be a disciple. Luke 6 contains Christ’s discipleship manual. He has taught them with words what it means to follow Him. Now, in Luke 7, 8 and 9, Christ is going to teach by example what it takes to be his disciple.

He has taught the disciples with words. Now he teaches them by example.

The first lesson is about developing great faith. The scene is set in Luke 7:1-2 where we are introduced to a Centurion and his sick servant.

I. The Sick Servant (Luke 7:1-2)

Luke 7:1-2. Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.

Jesus has finished the teachings in Luke 6, and he now enters Capernaum, a small fishing village near the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus spent much of His time, and performed many of his miracles. Luke 7:2 goes on to tell us that in Capernaum was a centurion. Centurions were Roman Army officers who generally commanded 100 soldiers. Most of them were Gentiles, though sometimes they were half-Jews – Samaritans, so the Jewish people tended to despise centurions.

Not only where they symbolic of Roman rule, they often abused their power and took unjust liberties. But such was not the case with this centurion. We get a glimpse of his character in Luke 7:2, where we read that he had a servant who was dear to him. The word dear literally means he was held in high honor or value. Such compassion on a servant was unheard of at the time of Jesus.

The fact that the centurion cared so much for his servant set him apart from the typical Roman soldier, who could be brutally heartless. The average slave owner of that day…had no more regard for his slave than for an animal.

“The great Greek philosopher Aristotle said there could be no friendship and no justice toward inanimate things, not even toward a horse, an ox, or a slave, because master and slave were considered to have nothing in common. ‘A slave,” he said, ‘is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave.’ (Ethics, 1161b). The Roman law expert Gaius wrote that it was universally accepted that the master possessed the power of life and death over his slave (Institutes, 1:52). Still another Roman writer, Varro, maintained that the only difference between a slave, a beast, and a cart was that the slave talked (On Landed Estates, 1:17.1).

But this centurion cared for his servant. And this dear servant became sick. When the text says he was sick, the Greek literally says he was having it bad. This servant had it bad. That is Luke the physician’s professional diagnosis.

There are three things you never want to hear a doctor say:

1. Oops!
2. Hmm…I’ve never seen this before.
3. Oh, this is bad!

Luke says the third one here. This servant had it bad.

It was so bad, he was ready to die. He was at the point of death. So what did the servant have which was so bad? We don’t know. We aren’t told. But whatever it was, Matthew 8:6 indicates that the sickness caused paralysis and great torment. Generally, paralysis means you have no feeling. But this servant was paralyzed and in pain. He had the worst of both worlds. The centurion, who loved this servant, hated to see him in such distress and agony. So in Luke 7:3, he hears that Jesus is in town, and sends some people to ask Jesus to heal his servant.

And Jesus says, “Come.”
So, Peter steps out of the boat, and walks across the water to Jesus. But after a few steps, Peter’s brain kicks into gear, and realizes that what he is doing is impossible. The wind is above him, the waves are all around him. The depths of the sea are below him. It is impossible to walk on water. His logic and his faith begin to war with one another, so he begins to sink. He cries out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”

And of course, Jesus does. But as Jesus stretches out his hand to Peter, Jesus says to him, “Oh you of little faith. Why did you doubt?”

Peter? A man of little faith? He’s the one that got out of the boat!

What about the other disciples still holding on to the boat for dear life? What about them? If Peter is a man of little faith, what are they? Men of no faith? They must have some faith. Maybe they are men of miniscule faith?

Whatever kind of faith they had, I’m in the same boat. Literally. I don’t think I would have gotten out of that boat. So I must not have great faith. I must not even have little faith.

Furthermore, if Peter’s faith, which got him to step out of a boat into a howling storm was little faith, then what in the world does great faith look like?

Then I came to Luke 7 in my study this week. In Luke 7:1-10, Jesus encounters a man who had great faith. It comes from a shocking person, and produces some shocking truths. Even Jesus is a bit shocked at first. As I studied the passage, I came to a new understanding of what great faith is, how it is developed and how great faith produces great results.

#greatfaith #faith #Peter #Luke7:1-10