Become a Person Who Is Loved

(Luke 7:1–10)                                                                                       Pastor. Song Soo Park

When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.

There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.

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

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

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

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.

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

For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

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."

Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

 

Dear brothers and sisters, being loved by someone is a blessing—it brings happiness. Isn’t that right?                                                                      

When you are sick and someone stays up all night to care for you…When you face hardship and there is someone who helps you overcome it and prays for you…That person is truly a happy person.

In today’s passage, we are introduced to someone who received such special love. Let us look at Luke 7:2–3:

“A centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.”

The one who was deeply loved was an unnamed slave—a servant.
Yet his master was a Roman centurion, a commander in charge of a hundred soldiers stationed in Israel at the time. This Roman officer showed extraordinary love toward his Jewish servant.

What kind of love was it? He did everything he could to save his servant who was sick and dying.

This servant was a slave from a conquered nation. If he became sick or died, he could simply be discarded or replaced. Historical records show that slaves were considered nothing more than property—objects to be replaced if sick and thrown away if dead.

But what does the centurion do when his servant is dying? Does he command Jesus to heal him? No—he asks him.

Sending Jewish elders to Jesus meant laying aside all his pride and honor as a Roman officer. If it had been his wife or daughter who was sick, we might understand such humility. But whose sake caused him to abandon all his pride? A slave.

A slave who had lost all human value, treated like baggage. Yet for this slave, the Roman centurion humbled himself and moved Jewish elders to approach Jesus, who was being mocked by many at the time. This was no easy thing.

Therefore, rather than focusing only on the servant, we need to look more closely at who this centurion was—the man who laid down all his pride to save his servant.

Let us read Luke 7:4–5: “When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, ‘This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.’”

The Jewish people hated the Romans for one simple reason:
Rome had conquered Israel by force and taken much from them.
Some emperors even persecuted them religiously, placing pork in the Jerusalem temple and threatening that only those who kissed it could enter. Jews, of course, regarded pork as unclean.

So even if a powerful centurion gave an order, the Jewish elders would have had every reason to feel offended and angry. Yet what they say to Jesus is the complete opposite of what we might expect:

“Jesus, you must grant this centurion’s request. He loves our people and even built a synagogue for us. No matter what, you should help him.” In other words, the elders did not come reluctantly because of his authority; they came sincerely, with gratitude and respect.

As Jesus goes with them toward the centurion’s house, the centurion hears that Jesus is coming. What does he do next? He sends his friends.

Luke 7:6–8: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me…”

The centurion believed that Jesus did not need to enter his house—just a word would be enough.

Jesus is deeply moved. Verse 9 says: “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.’” And Jesus healed the servant immediately.

Now let me ask you a question: Among all the people in this passage, who received the most love? Not the servant—but the centurion.

The servant was loved by only one person, but the centurion was loved by the Jewish elders, his friends, and even by Jesus.

Do you know the characteristic of people who are loved? They know how to care for others. They know how to love. Of course—how can we expect to be loved if we never give love?

In verse 5, what did the elders say about the centurion? “He loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”

The centurion had no need to win Jewish favor. In fact, it would have been more advantageous for him to rule them strictly to prevent rebellion. His sole purpose in Israel was to suppress uprisings by force.

From a political standpoint, he should have kept his distance—maintaining dominance and avoiding emotional ties. Showing compassion or love could even be dangerous.

But the centurion genuinely loved the Jewish people. The elders recognized this sincerity. It was not merely because he built a synagogue; it was because they knew his love was real.

If building religious structures alone earned love, then King Herod—who renovated the Jerusalem Temple magnificently—should have been praised. Instead, he was despised. Why? Because Herod acted out of political calculation, while the centurion loved unconditionally.

In Luke 7:1, before Jesus met the centurion, what had he just done? “He finished speaking to the people and entered Capernaum.”

Jesus had just preached the message recorded in Luke 6:20–49—the Beatitudes and teachings on how a person of faith should live. At the heart of that teaching was unconditional love.

Luke 6:32–36 says: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? … But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend without expecting to get anything back… Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Children of God are those who love without conditions. And who is practicing this love? Not the Jews—but a Gentile Roman officer.

That is why some scholars suggest this centurion might be Cornelius from Acts 10, who is described as devout, God-fearing, generous, and prayerful.

Whether or not they are the same person is unclear. But what matters is this: They had love in their hearts—the agape love Jesus desired.

Dear brothers and sisters, in Exodus chapter 2 we read that as the population of Israel increased, Egypt felt threatened and ordered that every baby boy who was born should be thrown into the Nile River.

When Moses was born, how could his parents possibly throw their own child into the river? So they hid him and raised him in secret. But when they could no longer do so, they bound together reeds, coated them with tar, and placed Moses in the Nile River.

Who was it that discovered Moses at that time? Pharaoh’s daughter came down to the Nile to bathe and found Moses in a basket among the reeds.
Do you know who this daughter of Pharaoh was? She is believed to have been Princess Hatshepsut, whose mummy was discovered in modern times.

Hatshepsut’s father was Thutmose II, a strict nationalist. He did not tolerate other peoples living in Egypt. The reason was that earlier, the Hyksos people had invaded from the east and ruled Egypt for more than a hundred years. The key figure who drove out the Hyksos was the very father of this princess.

Moreover, Thutmose II had no sons—only one daughter. That daughter was Hatshepsut, the princess who had come to bathe in the Nile. Therefore, Pharaoh had to eliminate every element that might threaten Egypt’s security and royal authority. His daughter knew this as well.

Later, research on this princess’s mummy at the British Museum revealed that Hatshepsut eventually became Pharaoh herself. She ruled Egypt dressed as a man, wearing a false beard, because if she appeared weak, her authority would always be threatened. As a result, she later led some of the greatest conquest campaigns in Egyptian history.

Now, it was this very princess, with such a background, who found Moses—the Hebrew child abandoned in the Nile. What should she have done? Obviously, she should have killed him. She was expected to follow her father’s policy, and in reality, she was in a position where she had to act decisively and harshly.

But the Bible shows us an action completely opposite to what we would expect.

Exodus 2:5–6 says: “Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt compassion for him. ‘This is one of the Hebrew babies,’ she said.”

Pharaoh’s daughter knew that the baby was a Hebrew child and that he was supposed to be killed. Yet what took hold of her heart at that moment was compassion.

Brothers and sisters, this was not merely a human emotion. In the original Hebrew, the word used is ḥemlāh (חֶמְלָה)—the compassion and mercy that come from God Himself.

God gives grace to everyone. Some grace—like sunlight, air, and water—is given to all. Another gift God gives is the heart: moments when love, compassion, mercy, patience, and self-control arise within us.

But when this gracious heart appears, a struggle begins. Our sinful nature seeks comfort and self-interest. Yet when God’s grace touches us, the image of God within us stirs.

At that moment, when we choose God’s heart over our selfish desires and act on it, God’s grace is revealed through us.

Paul explains this well in Romans 2:14–15.                                                     

“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law (the word nature here refers to that very heart which, before the fall into sin, had not yet lost the image of God),       they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law.

They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.”

Yes, when God’s grace touches the human heart, a conflict inevitably arises within—between the fleshly self and the spiritual self. And when a person overcomes that inner struggle and conflict, even a Gentile—even someone who does not know Jesus and does not believe—can act in ways that God desires.

John Wesley called this prevenient grace—grace that goes before salvation. When we respond to it, God’s heart remains longer within us, eventually leading us to recognize our sin and our need for salvation through Jesus Christ (Romans 7).

“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

With these words, Paul cries out, realizing why he is a sinner and how desperate his condition is. And through this anguish, he comes to understand how salvation from sin is possible—namely, that this salvation is accomplished through Jesus Christ, as revealed in the gospel.

The centurion was the same. God touched his heart, and though he struggled within his harsh Roman context, he held on to that divine compassion. Over time, his heart changed. Hearing only rumors of Jesus was enough for him to believe.

Jesus praised his faith as greater than any in Israel. And he was loved—by people and by Jesus. That is the joy of faith: becoming a person who is loved.

Believing in Jesus means becoming like Jesus. Luke 2:52 shows this clearly: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Dear brothers and sisters, become people who are loved. Like the centurion in today’s passage, be loved by God and by others.

I believe that true joy and happiness in faith are found when we remain in that love.