<p>7:4 <i>And they, when they came to Jesus, pleaded earnestly, saying: He is worthy to have you do this for him</i>- The man protested that he was <i>not</i> worthy (:6), perhaps in conscious allusion to their words. The synagogue elders considered the man &quot;worthy&quot; by his works (:5), whereas the Lord saw him as &quot;worthy&quot; by his faith in the Lord's grace. The situation is set up as a cameo of the entire argument of Romans 1-8.</p>