Read Luke 7
Before his death, Steve Jobs was known both inside and outside of Apple for his exacting standards. He involved himself in the design details of Apple products and frequently lambasted employees when their vision and execution fell short of his genius. Jobs may have been a brilliant CEO, but he was also a difficult boss.
As a boss himself, the Roman centurion in today’s story understood the dynamics of power. When he told his servants to come or to go, they obeyed him immediately for fear of reprisal. Strangely, however, though the centurion noted that he had the ability to give orders to his servants, he described himself as “under authority” (v. 8). He seemed to understand his authority less as self-derived power and more as delegated power. Others with greater authority (namely, the emperor) had invested him with his authority to command others.
Jesus is also invested with power. In some of the stories included in today’s reading, it’s clear that Jesus has been sent to fulfill prophetic responsibilities as the greater Elijah. Recall that in our reading from Luke 4, Jesus infuriated the crowds when He reminded them that a Gentile widow, not a Jewish one, had fed Elijah during the time of famine. In that same story, Elijah had raised to life the widow’s son when he had suddenly died. Here, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus assumes an Elijah-like role, ministering to a Gentile (the Roman centurion) and also raising a widow’s son, just as Elijah had once done in the village of Zarephath (vv. 9, 16).
Both acts are radical claims to power. Jesus is introducing a new regime and affirming that Gentiles will be included in God’s kingdom. Furthermore, He is introducing new economics: the poor (in this case the widow) will indeed celebrate the good news He brings.
APPLY THE WORD
In recent centuries, we have tended to think of salvation in individual terms, a private affair between us and God. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus isn’t just saving people to get them into heaven. He is reversing the fallen fortunes of creation: sin and sickness and sadness are dealt an eternal blow by Christ’s death and resurrection. What great news!
DAILY DEVOTIONS, NEWS AND INFORMATION 