Luke 7

A Centurions Servant is Healed

1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.2 And a certain centurions servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,5 for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

A Widows Son is Raised

11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep. 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, Young man, I say to you, arise. 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has risen up among us; and, God has visited His people.

Johns Questions are Answered

17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things.19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?20 When the men had come to Him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.22 Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.

Jesus Praises John

24 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings courts. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

Jesus Criticizes His Generation

31 And the Lord said, To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon. 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.

A Woman Anoints Jesus Feet

36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisees house, and sat down to eat.37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisees house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.

The Parable of the Two Debtors

40 And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. So he said, Teacher, say it.41 There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?43 Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave more.44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.48 Then He said to her, Your sins are forgiven.49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins?50 Then He said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.

LUKE 7

Jesus Heals //an Army Officer's Servant

(Matthew 8.5-13; John 4.43-54)

1 After Jesus had finished teaching the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 In this town an army officer's servant was sick and about to die. The officer liked his servant very much.

3 And when he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish leaders to ask him to come and heal the servant.
4 The leaders went to Jesus and begged him to do something. They said, “This man deserves your help! 5 He loves our nation and even built us a synagogue.”

6 So Jesus went with them.
When Jesus wasn't far from the house, the officer sent some friends to tell him, “Lord, don't go to any trouble for me! I am not good enough for you to come into my house. 7 And I am certainly not worthy to come to you. Just say the word, and my servant will get well.

8 I have officers who give orders to me, and I have soldiers who take orders from me. I can say to one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes. I can say to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I can say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he will do it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, he was so surprised that he turned and said to the crowd following him, “In all of Israel I've never found anyone with this much faith!”

10 The officer's friends returned and found the servant well.

A Widow's Son

12 As they came near the gate of the town, they saw people carrying out the body of a widow's only son. Many people from the town were walking along with her.

13 When the Lord saw the woman, he felt sorry for her and said, “Don't cry!”
14 Jesus went over and touched the stretcher on which the people were carrying the dead boy. They stopped, and Jesus said, “Young man, get up!”

15 The boy sat up and began to speak. Jesus then gave him back to his mother.

16 Everyone was frightened and praised God. They said, “A great prophet is here with us! God has come to his people.”

17 News about Jesus spread all over Judea and everywhere else in that part of the country.

John the Baptist

(Matthew 11.1-19)

18-19 John's followers told John everything that was being said about Jesus. So he sent two of them to ask the Lord, “Are you the one we should be looking for? Or must we wait for someone else?”

20 When these messengers came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the one we should be looking for? Or are we supposed to wait for someone else?’ ”
21 At that time Jesus was healing many people who were sick or in pain or were troubled by evil spirits, and he was giving sight to a lot of blind people. 22 t Jesus said to the messengers sent by John, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard. Blind people are now able to see, and the lame can walk. People who have leprosyt are being healed, and the deaf can now hear. The dead are raised to life, and the poor are hearing the good news.

23 God will bless everyone who doesn't reject me because of what I do.”

24 After John's messengers had gone, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John:
What kind of person did you go out to the desert to see? Was he like tall grass blown about by the wind? 25 What kind of man did you really go out to see? Was he someone dressed in fine clothes? People who wear expensive clothes and live in luxury are in the king's palace. 26 What then did you go out to see? Was he a prophet? He certainly was! I tell you that he was more than a prophet. 27 t In the Scriptures, God calls John his messenger and says, “I am sending my messenger ahead of you to get things ready for you.”

28 No one ever born on this earth is greater than John. But whoever is least important in God's kingdom is greater than John.
29  t Everyone had been listening to John. Even the tax collectorst had obeyed God and had done what was right by letting John baptize them.

30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the Law of Moses refused to obey God and be baptized by John.

31 Jesus went on to say:
What are you people like? What kind of people are you?

32 You are like children sitting in the market and shouting to each other,
“We played the flute,
but you would not dance!
We sang a funeral song,
but you would not cry!”
33 John the Baptist did not go around eating and drinking, and you said, “John has a demon in him!” 34 But because the Son of Man goes around eating and drinking, you say, “Jesus eats and drinks too much! He is even a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

35 Yet Wisdom is shown to be right by what its followers do.

Simon the Pharisee

36 A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him. So Jesus went to the Pharisee's home and got ready to eat.t
37  t When a sinful woman in that town found out that Jesus was there, she bought an expensive bottle of perfume.

38 Then she came and stood behind Jesus. She cried and started washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. The woman kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.

39 The Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this and said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him! He would know that she is a sinner.”

40 Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Teacher, what is it?” Simon replied.
41 Jesus told him, “Two people were in debt to a moneylender. One of them owed him 500 silver coins, and the other owed him 50.

42 Since neither of them could pay him back, the moneylender said that they didn't have to pay him anything. Which one of them will like him more?”

43 Simon answered, “I suppose it would be the one who had owed more and didn't have to pay it back.”
“You are right,” Jesus said.
44 He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Have you noticed this woman? When I came into your home, you didn't give me any water so I could wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn't even pour olive oil on my head, t but she has poured expensive perfume on my feet.

47 So I tell you that all her sins are forgiven, and that is why she has shown great love. But anyone who has been forgiven for only a little will show only a little love.”

48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 Some other guests started saying to one another, “Who is this who dares to forgive sins?”
50 But Jesus told the woman, “Because of your faith, you are now saved.t May God give you peace!”