the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 4 of 5
Luke 7:1-17
What noble feelings are to be found in the centurion from Capernaum: what great affection for an ordinary servant; what kindness towards Israel; what humility ("I am not worthy . . ." he says; cf. v. 4); what a recognition of authority and sense of duty his military training had taught him (v. 8)! But it is not these moral qualities which the Lord admires; it is the faith of this stranger. The Lord Jesus makes his faith an example to all. Faith only exists as it is centred on a particular object: here it is the infinite power of the Lord. As the greatness of the object becomes known, the more faith will increase. May Christ therefore become greater in each of our hearts!
As the Lord and the crowd that followed Him draw near to Nain they meet another company. It is a funeral procession, like those we see in our streets (Ecclesiastes 12:5 : solemn reminder that the wages of sin is death). But this one is particularly sad because a widow has lost her only son. Moved with compassion, the Lord Jesus begins by comforting the poor woman. Then He touches the bier (just as He had touched the leper in Luke 5:13, without being defiled; cf. Numbers 19:11). And then the dead man sits up and begins to talk!
Let us not forget that confession with the mouth is a necessary proof of the life which is in us (Romans 10:9).
