Luke 7: The First Tenet of Christian Faith - Forgiveness of Sins for All - Luke's Three-Step Persuasion of Theophilus

Luke 7: The First Tenet of Christian Faith - Forgiveness of Sins for All - Luke's Three-Step Persuasion of Theophilus

3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.

4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this,

5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue."

6 So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.

7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'"

22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me."

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.

38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."

48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

The centurion's servant was near death due to illness. The centurion sent people to Jesus to heal his servant. However, the centurion suddenly decided not to invite Jesus to his house. Is it because the servant was not a blood relative that the centurion changed his mind? Luke suggests that it was a spiritual decision by the centurion. If we compare the centurion's actions to an Eastern proverb, he knew himself well and understood Jesus accurately (知彼知己). He was humble in the reality of being a Gentile and knew that Jesus' healing power had no barriers. Jesus praised him, saying, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." This is the first step in Luke's persuasion of Theophilus.

Luke's second step is to compare the centurion with John the Baptist. In the comparison between John, who struggled with faith, and the Roman centurion, who made a spiritual decision, the centurion comes out better, despite John having done more work for God. Verse 28, which states that the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John, is Luke's ultimate persuasion aimed at Theophilus. Luke encourages Theophilus by suggesting that he too can be like the centurion in the story.

Now, Luke delivers the decisive blow to Theophilus. A woman, labeled a sinner by the people, poured perfume on Jesus. Amidst the murmurs of people who criticized Jesus for associating with sinners, Jesus declared forgiveness of sins to the woman. This happened in a Pharisee's house. Luke uses the time, place, characters, and atmosphere to stage a perfect drama to persuade Theophilus. In the scene where Jesus declares forgiveness to a woman deemed a sinner in the house of a Pharisee, the epitome of Jewish exclusion of Gentiles, Theophilus cannot help but be convinced. This is Luke's third step. Luke's attention to detail is evident! This is why Luke was able to send the second letter, the Acts of the Apostles, to Theophilus.

But why are there so many healing miracles among Jesus' works? Why does Jesus list examples of healing to the questioning John the Baptist? Is it because healing was the most dramatic way to lead people to confess Jesus as the Son of God and Savior? That might be part of it, but let's approach it from a more collective and social perspective. As long as disease was seen as divine punishment for sin, Jesus had to focus on healing the sick. Jesus came to call sinners. Tired from healing and curing the sick, Jesus might have wanted to end it all in one go. Those who noticed this saw Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection as the "once for all" (Hepapax, ein fuer alle mal) act of forgiveness. Karl Barth is a notable figure in this tradition of confession. The double predestination doctrine by John Calvin, the author of "Institutes of the Christian Religion," which Barth kept on his desk like a dictionary, might have been a result of considering Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection based on God's omnipotence. In our reality, where figures like King Saul or Judas Iscariot, who fell from grace, are common, the only way to avoid tarnishing God's omnipotence and Jesus Christ's crucifixion is to attribute their downfall to God's absolute predestination. Calvin, using all his knowledge and logic, managed to preserve both God and Jesus. Whether you follow Calvin's logic or another's argument, what remains unchanged in Scripture is Jesus' declaration of forgiveness for all past, present, and future sins of all people. This is the absolute tenet of Christian faith.