Luke 7

1 Now when he had ended all his words in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

2 And a certain centurion’s slave, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die.

3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and free his slave.

4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he is worthy that this should be done for him,

5 for he loves our nation and he has built us a synagogue.

6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou should enter under my roof;

7 therefore neither did I think myself worthy to come unto thee but say the word, and my slave shall be healed.

8 For I also am a man set under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say unto one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.

9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him and turned about and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you that not even in Israel have I found such great faith.

10 And those that had been sent, returning to the house, found the slave that had been sick whole.

11 And it came to pass the day after that he went into a city called Nain, and many of his disciples went with him, and many people.

12 Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and many people from the city were with her.

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not.

14 And he came and touched the bier, and those that bore him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

15 And he that was dead sat up and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

16 And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us, and, That God has visited his people.

17 And this word of him went forth throughout all Judaea and throughout all the region round about.

18 And the disciples of John showed him of all these things.

19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight.

22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go and tell John the things ye have seen and heard: how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached;

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

24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

25 But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those that are gorgeously apparelled and live delicately are in kings’ courts.

26 But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

27 This is he of 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 those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist, but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

29 And all the people that heard him and the publicans justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

31 And the Lord said, Unto whom then shall I compare the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

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

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

34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking, and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.

36 And one of the Pharisees asked him if he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down to food.

37 And, behold, a woman who had been a sinner in the city, when she knew that Jesus sat at food in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

38 and stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash his feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner.

40 And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have something to say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on.

41 There was a certain creditor who had two debtors: the one owed five hundred denarius, and the other fifty.

42 And when they had nothing to pay, he released them both from their debt. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44 And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house, thou didst give me no water for my feet; but she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45 Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet.

46 Thou didst not anoint my head with oil; but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment.

47 Therefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.

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

49 And those that sat at food with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgives sins also?

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!