Luke 6:49

Disaster For Those Who Hear the Words of Jesus and Do Not Do Them (6:49).

f f But he who hears, and does not (Luke 6:49 a),

h h Is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation (Luke 6:49 b),

j j Against which the stream broke, and straightway it fell in (Luke 6:49 c),

k k And the ruin of that house was great (49d).

Having analysed His words we must now reverently consider the detail.

But he who hears, and does not,

Is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation,

Against which the stream broke, and straightway it fell in,

And the ruin of that house was great.

But the one who hears Jesus' words and does not do them is like the man who builds his house without a foundation. And when the floods come his house collapses. There is no reason for talking about wadi beds here. Where there are mountains, and valleys, and rain floods are common to life in most parts of the world in one form or another, and equally so in Palestine.

Chapter 7 The Centurion's Servant, The Widow of Nain, The Concerns of John the Baptiser Are Met, The sinful Woman.

Following the proclamation of the law of the new Kingly Rule of God, Luke now presents us with a number of incidents which reveal the breadth and depth of that Kingly Rule. It reaches out to the believing Gentiles with a word of power, it reaches out to a weeping widow of Israel with the offer of life, it affects the dead and restores them to life, it encourages imprisoned John who is raised to his true status, an incident which, however, also bring out the greatness of that Kingly Rule. It reaches down to a ‘sinful woman' and makes her whole. And it will be followed by a further address in which Jesus makes clear the provision for the advancement of His Kingly Rule.

The Centurion's Servant (Luke 7:1). Jesus' Kingly Rule over Disease

In this incident Jesus is true to His own teaching and ‘gives to him who asks of him' (compare Matthew 10:8 where giving is related to healing). The incident gains in importance in that it reveals to Christians the might of Rome submitting itself as unworthy even to come to Jesus, with Jesus then sending there His word (which is how Acts ends). Jesus as the great Prophet and King is seen as superior to Rome. Yet it is a clear indication that the grace of God through Jesus is available to those Gentiles who humbly seek it. It also indicated to non-Christians that Rome approved of Jesus Christ.

The very way in which Jesus heals the servant is an indication of the Kingly Rule of God. All nature is under His control, and He has but to speak and it is done. Just as in the beginning He spoke and the worlds came into being, now He speaks and one part of that world, which has been corrupted, is restored.

The passage may be analysed as follows:

a After He had ended all His sayings in the ears of the people Jesus entered into Capernaum (Luke 6:1).

b A certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and at the point of death. And when he heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking Him that He would come and save his servant (Luke 6:2).

c They, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you should do this for him, for he loves our nation, and himself built us our synagogue' (Luke 6:4)

d Jesus went with them. And when He was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come under my roof” (Luke 6:6)

c That is why I did not think myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant shall be healed, for I also am a man set under authority, having under myself soldiers. And I say to this one, “Go”, and he goes; and to another, “Come”, and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this”, and he does it' (Luke 6:7)

b And when Jesus heard these things, He marvelled at him, and turned and said to the crowd who followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (Luke 6:9).

a And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole (Luke 6:10).

Note how in ‘a' Jesus enters into Capernaum, and in the parallel the people return to the centurion's home with the servant healed. With the King comes healing. In ‘b' the centurion exercises his faith and in the parallel Jesus marvels at his faith. In ‘c' the elders say that the centurion is worthy, in the parallel the centurion says that he is not worthy. In ‘d' the might of Rome confesses its unworthiness before Jesus.