Luke 7:4-5 – 4When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy of having you do this for him, 5for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.”
Continuing this image, Luke 7:4-5 depicts the way the Jewish elders view and describe the centurion. First it is written that, on behalf of the centurion, the elders appealed to Jesus earnestly (Lk 7:4). They do not recommend the centurion begrudgingly, but willingly and with the intent that his request actually be fulfilled. The elders then say to Jesus that the centurion is worthy of this thing being done for him (Lk 7:4). The word translated as worthy here, άξιος or axios, can have multiple connotations. Axios and its variations are often used in contexts related to a person’s standing with God or his requirements. It can also be used to depict the value of a person’s actions, which seems to be the most likely use of the term given what the elders tell Jesus in the …show more content…
Luke writes that it is, in keeping with Jesus’ previous teachings on loving your enemy, to answer positively by following the Jewish elders back to the centurion’s residence (Lk 7:6). Yet, before Jesus even gets there, the centurion sends out another delegation, this time to stop Jesus from coming at all (Lk 7:6). It is here that the impact of two of the differences in Luke’s narrative is more fully revealed. First, there is the fact that this is the second time the centurion has sent others out to speak to Jesus rather than coming himself to meet him. As previously mentioned, Luke’s version of this story is the only one in which Jesus and the centurion never meet. Rather than depicting the centurion as thinking he is superior to Jesus or too good to speak with him personally, what Luke is communicating here is the centurion’s humility in his dealings with
Continuing this image, Luke 7:4-5 depicts the way the Jewish elders view and describe the centurion. First it is written that, on behalf of the centurion, the elders appealed to Jesus earnestly (Lk 7:4). They do not recommend the centurion begrudgingly, but willingly and with the intent that his request actually be fulfilled. The elders then say to Jesus that the centurion is worthy of this thing being done for him (Lk 7:4). The word translated as worthy here, άξιος or axios, can have multiple connotations. Axios and its variations are often used in contexts related to a person’s standing with God or his requirements. It can also be used to depict the value of a person’s actions, which seems to be the most likely use of the term given what the elders tell Jesus in the …show more content…
Luke writes that it is, in keeping with Jesus’ previous teachings on loving your enemy, to answer positively by following the Jewish elders back to the centurion’s residence (Lk 7:6). Yet, before Jesus even gets there, the centurion sends out another delegation, this time to stop Jesus from coming at all (Lk 7:6). It is here that the impact of two of the differences in Luke’s narrative is more fully revealed. First, there is the fact that this is the second time the centurion has sent others out to speak to Jesus rather than coming himself to meet him. As previously mentioned, Luke’s version of this story is the only one in which Jesus and the centurion never meet. Rather than depicting the centurion as thinking he is superior to Jesus or too good to speak with him personally, what Luke is communicating here is the centurion’s humility in his dealings with