Luke 7

Listen to Luke 7

Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant

1 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, ¹he entered Capernaum.

2 Now a centurion had a servant^[a] who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.

3 When the centurion^[b] heard about Jesus, ²he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ³"He is worthy to have you do this for him,

5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us ⁴our synagogue."

6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, ⁵do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But ⁶say the word, and let my servant be healed.

8 For I too am a man set under authority, with 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, ⁷he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ⁸faith."

10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

11 Soon afterward^[c] he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.

12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, ⁹the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.

13 And when the Lord saw her, ¹⁰he had compassion on her and ¹¹said to her, "Do not weep."

14 Then he came up and touched ¹²the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, ¹³arise."

15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus^[d]¹⁴gave him to his mother.

16 Fear seized them all, and ¹⁵they glorified God, saying, ¹⁶"A great prophet has arisen among us!" and ¹⁷"God has visited his people!"

17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,

19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are you the one ¹⁸who is to come, or ¹⁹shall we look for another?"

20 And when the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you the one ²⁰who is to come, or ²¹shall we look for another?'"

21 In that hour ²²he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and ²³on many who were blind he bestowed sight.

22 And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ²⁴the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, ²⁵lepers^[e] are cleansed, and ²⁶the deaf hear, ²⁷the dead are raised up, ²⁸the poor have good news preached to them.

23 And blessed is the one who is ²⁹not offended by me."

24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus^[f] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out ³⁰into the wilderness to see? ³¹A reed shaken by the wind?

25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts.

26 What then did you go out to see? ³²A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

27 This is he of whom it is written, ³³"'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

29 (³⁴When all the people heard this, and ³⁵the tax collectors too, they declared God just,^[g]³⁶having been baptized with ³⁷the baptism of John,

30 ³⁸but the Pharisees and ³⁹the lawyers ⁴⁰rejected ⁴¹the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

31 "To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?

32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.'

33 For John the Baptist has come ⁴²eating no bread and ⁴³drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'

34 The Son of Man has come ⁴⁴eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ⁴⁵a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

35 Yet ⁴⁶wisdom is justified by all her children."

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 ⁴⁷One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.

37 ⁴⁸And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,

38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and ⁴⁹wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If ⁵⁰this man were ⁵¹a prophet, he ⁵²would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner."

40 And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."

41 "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred ⁵³denarii, and the other fifty.

42 ⁵⁴When they could not pay, he ⁵⁵cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

43 Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."

44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; ⁵⁶you gave me no water for my feet, but ⁵⁷she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

45 ⁵⁸You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to ⁵⁹kiss my feet.

46 ⁶⁰You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, ⁶¹which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."

48 And he said to her, ⁶²"Your sins are forgiven."

49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among^[h] themselves, ⁶³"Who is this, who even forgives sins?"

50 And he said to the woman, ⁶⁴"Your faith has saved you; ⁶⁵go in peace."

PREVIOUS Luke 6 NEXT Luke 8

Videos for Luke 7

Why Was Jesus so Impressed with the Faith of the Roman Centurion?

How is John the Baptist the Least in the Kingdom (Luke 7:24-30)?

Why Did John the Baptist Ask the Disciples if Jesus Was the Son of God?

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!

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 65

1. For ver. 1-10, see Matthew 8:5-13
2. [Matthew 8:5]
3. [Acts 10:22]
4. Luke 4:31, 33
5. Luke 8:49; Mark 5:35; [Matthew 9:36(Gk.)]
6. Psalms 107:20; [Matthew 8:16]
7. [Mark 6:6]
8. See Matthew 9:2
9. [Luke 8:42; Luke 9:38; Judges 11:34; Hebrews 11:17]
10. Matthew 20:34
11. Luke 8:52
12. 2 Samuel 3:31
13. Luke 8:54; Mark 5:41; [ver. 22; Matthew 11:5; John 11:43; Acts 9:40]
14. [1 Kings 17:23; 2 Kings 4:36; Hebrews 11:35]
15. Luke 2:20; Matthew 9:8; Matthew 15:31; Acts 11:18; Acts 21:20; [Matthew 5:16]; See Luke 13:13
16. ver. 39; See Deuteronomy 18:15; Matthew 21:11
17. See Luke 1:68
18. John 4:25; John 6:14; John 11:27
19. [Luke 3:15]
20. [See ver. 19 above]
21. [See ver. 19 above]
22. Mark 1:34
23. Luke 18:42; Matthew 9:30; Matthew 12:22; Matthew 15:31; Matthew 20:34; Matthew 21:14; Mark 8:25; John 9:7
24. Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 35:5, 6; Matthew 15:30
25. Luke 17:14
26. Mark 7:35
27. See ver. 14
28. Luke 4:18; [Matthew 5:3; James 2:5]
29. Isaiah 8:14, 15; John 6:61
30. Luke 1:80; Luke 3:2
31. [Ephesians 4:14; James 1:6]
32. Luke 1:76; Luke 20:6; Matthew 14:5
33. Mark 1:2; Cited from Malachi 3:1; [Luke 1:17, 76]
34. [Luke 20:6]
35. Luke 3:12; Matthew 21:32
36. Luke 3:12; Matthew 21:32
37. Acts 18:25; Acts 19:3
38. [Matthew 21:25, 32; Matthew 23:13]
39. Luke 10:25; Luke 11:45, 46, 52; Luke 14:3; Matthew 22:35
40. See Mark 7:9
41. Acts 2:23; Acts 13:36
42. Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6
43. Luke 1:15
44. ver. 36; Luke 14:1; Matthew 9:10; John 2:1; John 12:2
45. Luke 15:2; Luke 19:7; Matthew 9:11
46. [Luke 11:49; Proverbs 8:1-36]
47. Luke 11:37; Luke 14:1
48. For ver. 37-39, [Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8]
49. ver. 44; John 11:2
50. [Luke 15:2]
51. ver. 16; John 4:19
52. [Luke 22:64]
53. See Matthew 18:28
54. Matthew 18:25
55. [Romans 8:32(Gk.)]
56. 1 Timothy 5:10; See Genesis 18:4
57. ver. 38
58. 2 Samuel 15:5; 2 Samuel 19:39; 2 Samuel 20:9
59. ver. 38
60. Psalms 23:5; Psalms 141:5; Ecclesiastes 9:8; Matthew 6:17
61. [ver. 39]
62. Luke 5:20; Matthew 9:2; Mark 2:5; James 5:15; 1 John 2:12; [John 20:23]
63. Luke 5:21
64. ver. 9; [ver. 47; 1 Timothy 1:14]; See Mark 10:52; Ephesians 2:8
65. Luke 8:48; 1 Samuel 1:17; Mark 5:34