Who Is Worthy?

Making our way through Luke’s Gospel [see a comprehensive outline of Luke HERE], we are beginning to notice a theme. It is the theme that Jesus himself introduced in Luke 4:16-21, His introductory sermon in Nazareth. Jesus has come to bring the Ultimate Sabbath and Jubilee which means Jesus has come to bring liberty and freedom to those who are bound by Satan, idolatry, sin, and death.

This freedom that Jesus brings seems to know no bounds. In Luke 7 we encounter two very different people. One is a Roman Centurion, a wealthy leader of the occupying army in Judea, whose beloved servant is near death. The other is a woman in dire straits, a widow who has just lost her only son.

If Jesus had to pick only one to serve, who would it be? The well-connected, powerful, resourceful Gentile man or the lonely, weak, resourceless Israelite woman? Which one is more worthy of Jesus’ compassion?   

The Good News, of course, is that Jesus does not have to choose. Although neither is truly worthy of Jesus’ compassion, His compassion indeed knows no limits or bounds. Both receive what Jesus has come to give - freedom and liberty from sin and death. 

Such is the compassion you and I have received from Jesus. His death and resurrection have set us free from the eternal consequences of our sin. And it is with this lens, the overwhelming compassion of Jesus, with which He now invites us to look out into the world. None are truly worthy of Jesus’ compassion - yet by His incredible grace it is offered to all who find themselves poor, bound, and oppressed by sin. According to Jesus, the unworthy are the worthy.