Goodness, Humility and Confidence

In the town of Capernaum resided a Roman centurion. His duties were to keep the peace in that region and to make sure the Jews paid their taxes to Rome. As such Romans were hated by the Jews because they were forced to pay taxes to a false religious system and to fund a gentile nation that did not revere Jehovah.

It was against Jewish law for a Jew to have a Roman for a friend or even to go into a Romans home (Acts 10:28).

While performing the duties of an official of Rome something surprising happened to the centurion… he came to love the Jewish people and from that love built a synagogue for them out of his own pocket

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I’m assuming the centurion came to love the Jews because they were God’s people and reflected the power of God in their lives. The centurion was probably used to seeing how Romans treated each other (murder, false religiosity, perverse sexuality, extortion and idolatry) and by comparison came to love something imperfect (compared to Christianity) but far better than what he was used to.

In addition, the centurion loved his servants (probably Jewish). Imagine that… his servants weren’t just some tool for him to use and abuse. He loved and cared from them and when one of them got sick and was at the point of death he asked for a favor. He asked the Elders (of the very synagogue he had built) if they would go to Jesus and ask if he would come and heal his beloved servant.

The scriptures reveal for us why he asked the Elders this favor. He did not consider himself worthy to even approach Jesus and didn’t feel worthy for Jesus to even enter his home.

The centurion in his goodness probably did not expect anything in return from the Jews and wasn’t helping the Jews with any expectation of some kind of reward. But sometimes in life the unexpected happens and we find ourselves in a need of a power greater than ourselves.

The formula for the centurion was goodness, humility and confidence in Jesus Christ. That formula still works today

Beatitudes

Luke gives his version of the Beatitudes (Mt. 5: 3-11) in Luke 6:20-26. There are some stark differences between Matthew and Luke’s account. Matthew offers 9 blessings and no woes. Luke records 4 blessings and 4 parallel woes.

Luke offers no blessings for those who are meek, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers or those who are persecuted.

Luke’s blessings are contrasted directly with woes. The physical conditions are described as happening “now”. The blessings and woes shall occur in the future.

1. Blessed are those who are “poor” but woe to the” rich” who already have their reward. These are not the ones in some sort of spiritual poverty because if so those who are rich would have to be interpreted as possessing spiritual wealth which would not earn a “woe”. This is contrasting earthly wealth/poverty. The followers of Jesus who were poor would inherit all the “wealth” associated with a life in Heaven. Those who love money and the things money can buy have bought their way into Hell.

2. Blessed are those who “hunger” but woe to those who are “full”. Those who don’t have food on a daily basis will be filled in their new life in Heaven. Those who are full of food now and who had great feasts for their friends but who ignored the hungry will be hungry in the after-life.

3. Blessed are those who “cry or weep” but woe to those who “laugh” now. Their positions will be reversed in the after- life. There won’t be any crying in Heaven but there will be plenty of it in Hell.

4. Blessed are those who are “hated, and spoken evil of” (for Jesus’ sake) but woe to those who are “spoken well of” (like the false prophets of old). Jesus’ people would be hated and people would talk bad of them but when that happens they should be happy because that is evidence that they have become who Jesus wants them to be. However, those who reject Jesus and are favored by the enemies of Jesus will inherit the woes of eternal condemnation.

There are some differences between Matthew and Luke’s account of the Beatitudes but they both give the same message. Jesus gives great hope and encouragement to his people on earth who are spiritually minded but who live in adverse conditions. Those who live for the moment and who live like there is no after-life are in big trouble.