Chapter 7
contains two major themes. They are the importance of faith (responding to
Jesus by trusting Him) and Jesus’ compassion. The centurion is commended for his
faith (v 9). Jesus then heals the centurion’s slave – an act of compassion (v
10). Later on Jesus sees a widow weeping at the funeral of her only son. This
woman had nobody in her life to support her. Jesus’ heart goes out to her and
He raises her son from the dead (v 15). The passage goes on to describe, in a
shockingly honest way, John’s the Baptist’s questions about Jesus. John, who was imprisoned at the time, began to
doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus recognized that John was an
imperfect human. Rather than rebuking John, Jesus sent the messengers back with
a sign that He was, indeed, the foretold Messiah (v 20-23). Jesus goes on to
rebuke the Pharisees for their lack of faith (v 30-35). Their hearts were hard
and un-repentant (“not having been baptized by John”). Rather than
acknowledging their doubt and seeking the truth, they rejected Jesus entirely
(v 30). We are given yet another illustration of a person’s faith and Jesus’
compassion in the story of the sinful woman anointing Jesus’ feet (36-47). Luke
sums up this section by quoting Jesus: “Your faith has saved you.” We are all
saved by trusting in Jesus, who forgives our sins out of His compassion.
Journaling and Prayer
1. Ask
Jesus where in your life He wants to show His compassion. Then ask where He
wants you to show someone else compassion.
2. John
the Baptist had doubt, but He brought it to Jesus seeking truth. Ask the Holy
Spirit to reveal any areas of doubt in your heart. Maybe you have unbelief
regarding some biblical truth. Confess this to God and ask Him to reveal the
truth to you through the Word.
3. Pray
for your family today. Ask God to reveal His compassion to them in the midst of
their circumstances. Ask that they would be given a greater measure of faith.
