Luke 7

1 And when he had completed all his words in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

2 And a certain centurion's bondman who was dear to him was ill and about to die;

3 and having heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, begging him that he might come and save his bondman.

4 But they, being come to Jesus, besought him diligently, saying, He is worthy to whom thou shouldest grant this,

5 for he loves our nation, and himself has built the synagogue for us.

6 And Jesus went with them. But already, when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent to him friends, saying to him, Lord, do not trouble thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof.

7 Wherefore neither did I count myself worthy to come to thee. But say by a word and my servant shall be healed.

8 For *I* also am a man placed under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this [one], Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bondman, Do this, and he does [it].

9 And Jesus hearing this wondered at him, and turning to the crowd following him said, I say to you, Not even in Israel have I found so great faith.

10 And they who had been sent returning to the house found the bondman, who was ill, in good health.

11 And it came to pass afterwards he went into a city called Nain, and many of his disciples and a great crowd went with him.

12 And as he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she a widow, and a very considerable crowd of the city [was] with her.

13 And the Lord, seeing her, was moved with compassion for her, and said to her, Weep not;

14 and coming up he touched the bier, and the bearers stopped. And he said, Youth, I say to thee, Wake up.

15 And the dead sat up and began to speak; and he gave him to his mother.

16 And fear seized on all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has been raised up amongst us; and God has visited his people.

17 And this report went out in all Judaea concerning him, and in all the surrounding country.

18 And the disciples of John brought him word concerning all these things:

19 and John, having called two of his disciples, sent to Jesus, saying, Art *thou* he that is coming, or are we to wait for another?

20 But the men having come to him said, John the baptist has sent us to thee, saying, Art *thou* he that is coming, or are we to wait for another?

21 In that hour he healed many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and to many blind he granted sight.

22 And Jesus answering said to them, Go, bring back word to John of what ye have seen and heard: that blind see, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf hear, dead are raised, poor are evangelized;

23 and blessed is whosoever shall not be offended in me.

24 And the messengers of John having departed, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken by the wind?

25 But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in delicate garments? Behold, those who are in splendid clothing and live luxuriously are in the courts of kings.

26 But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and [what is] more excellent than a prophet.

27 This is he concerning whom it is written, Behold, *I* send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee;

28 for I say unto you, Among them that are born of women a greater [prophet] is no one than John [the baptist]; but he who is a little one in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

29 (And all the people who heard [it], and the tax-gatherers, justified God, having been baptised with the baptism of John;

30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rendered null as to themselves the counsel of God, not having been baptised by him.)

31 To whom therefore shall I liken the men of this generation, and to whom are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another and saying, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

33 For John the baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, He has a demon.

34 The Son of man has come eating and drinking, and ye say, Behold an eater and wine-drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners;

35 and wisdom has been justified of all her children.

36 But one of the Pharisees begged him that he would eat with him. And entering into the house of the Pharisee he took his place at table;

37 and behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, and knew that he was sitting at meat in the house of the Pharisee, having taken an alabaster box of myrrh,

38 and standing at his feet behind [him] weeping, began to wash his feet with tears; and she wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed [them] with the myrrh.

39 And the Pharisee who had invited him, seeing it, spoke with himself saying, This [person] if he were a prophet would have known who and what the woman is who touches him, for she is a sinner.

40 And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. And he says, Teacher, say [it].

41 There were two debtors of a certain creditor: one owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty;

42 but as they had nothing to pay, he forgave both of them [their debt]: [say,] which of them therefore will love him most?

43 And Simon answering said, I suppose he to whom he forgave the most. And he said to him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44 And turning to the woman he said to Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house; thou gavest me not water on my feet, but *she* has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with her hair.

45 Thou gavest me not a kiss, but *she* from the time I came in has not ceased kissing my feet.

46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but *she* has anointed my feet with myrrh.

47 For which cause I say to thee, Her many sins are forgiven; for she loved much; but he to whom little is forgiven loves little.

48 And he said to her, Thy sins are forgiven.

49 And they that were with [them] at table began to say within themselves, Who is this who forgives also sins?

50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace.

Luke 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

The centurion's servant healed. (1-10) The widow's son raised. (11-18) John the Baptist's inquiry concerning Jesus. (19-35) Christ anointed in the house of the Pharisee The parable of the two debtors. (36-50)

Verses 1-10 Servants should study to endear themselves to their masters. Masters ought to take particular care of their servants when they are sick. We may still, by faithful and fervent prayer, apply to Christ, and ought to do so when sickness is in our families. The building places for religious worship is a good work, and an instance of love to God and his people. Our Lord Jesus was pleased with the centurion's faith; and he never fails to answer the expectations of that faith which honours his power and love. The cure soon wrought and perfect.

Verses 11-18 When the Lord saw the poor widow following her son to the grave, he had compassion on her. See Christ's power over death itself. The gospel call to all people, to young people particularly, is, Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light and life. When Christ put life into him, it appeared by the youth's sitting up. Have we grace from Christ? Let us show it. He began to speak: whenever Christ gives us spiritual life, he opens the lips in prayer and praise. When dead souls are raised to spiritual life, by Divine power going with the gospel, we must glorify God, and look upon it as a gracious visit to his people. Let us seek for such an interest in our compassionate Saviour, that we may look forward with joy to the time when the Redeemer's voice shall call forth all that are in their graves. May we be called to the resurrection of life, not to that of damnation.

Verses 19-35 To his miracles in the kingdom of nature, Christ adds this in the kingdom of grace, To the poor the gospel is preached. It clearly pointed out the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, that the messenger he sent before him to prepare his way, did it by preaching repentance and reformation of heart and life. We have here the just blame of those who were not wrought upon by the ministry of John Baptist or of Jesus Christ himself. They made a jest of the methods God took to do them good. This is the ruin of multitudes; they are not serious in the concerns of their souls. Let us study to prove ourselves children of Wisdom, by attending the instructions of God's word, and adoring those mysteries and glad tidings which infidels and Pharisees deride and blaspheme.

Verses 36-50 None can truly perceive how precious Christ is, and the glory of the gospel, except the broken-hearted. But while they feel they cannot enough express self-abhorrence on account of sin, and admiration of his mercy, the self-sufficient will be disgusted, because the gospel encourages such repenting sinners. The Pharisee, instead of rejoicing in the tokens of the woman's repentance, confined his thoughts to her former bad character. But without free forgiveness none of us can escape the wrath to come; this our gracious Saviour has purchased with his blood, that he may freely bestow it on every one that believes in him. Christ, by a parable, forced Simon to acknowledge that the greater sinner this woman had been, the greater love she ought to show to Him when her sins were pardoned. Learn here, that sin is a debt; and all are sinners, are debtors to Almighty God. Some sinners are greater debtors; but whether our debt be more or less, it is more than we are able to pay. God is ready to forgive; and his Son having purchased pardon for those who believe in him, his gospel promises it to them, and his Spirit seals it to repenting sinners, and gives them the comfort. Let us keep far from the proud spirit of the Pharisee, simply depending upon and rejoicing in Christ alone, and so be prepared to obey him more zealously, and more strongly to recommend him unto all around us. The more we express our sorrow for sin, and our love to Christ, the clearer evidence we have of the forgiveness of our sins. What a wonderful change does grace make upon a sinner's heart and life, as well as upon his state before God, by the full remission of all his sins through faith in the Lord Jesus!

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'cure,' 'make perfectly well:' see Matt. 14.36.
• [b]. Or 'on the following [day]:' see ch. 9.37.
• [c]. See Note, Matt. 11.3.
• [d]. Mal. 3.1.
• [e]. As Matt. 11.11.
• [f]. See Note, Matt. 11.19.
• [g]. Or 'ardently kissed,' 'covered with kisses;' so ver. 45: cf. ch. 15.20; Acts 20.37.
• [h]. As ch. 1.29.
• [i]. As 'show grace,' 2Cor. 2.7.