How to Know if You Value Christ

The Centurion's Faith

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” And Jesus went with them.

When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Luke 7:1-10

Jesus Raises the Widow's Son

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Luke 7:11-15

The Right Response to Jesus

Why would they reject being baptized by John? They don't think they need repentance. Jesus demonstrated to the wretches of society, the tax collectors, that they declare God is just. They declare God is in the right. They declare God is equitable, that God is fair because they trusted who John the Baptist was pointing them to—Christ.

Now the Pharisees and the lawyers, who should have known Deuteronomy 19, who have just now had two witnesses confirm the fact of Jesus, they now have been indicted by God. That's all that's going on within this context.

Jesus is in fact who we should be focused on. The testimony that John had given, his disciples had given, and all that we've just seen of Jesus raising somebody from the dead, healing a centurion's servant, are an abnormal amount of confirmation and proof that Jesus is the Messiah. We need to trust him.