Luke 7:36-8:25

Evangelical Heritage Version

Jesus Is Anointed by a Sinful Woman

³⁶ A certain one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. Jesus entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ Just then a sinful woman from that town learned that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, ³⁸ stood behind him near his feet weeping, and began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she began to wipe them with her hair while also kissing his feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would realize who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, because she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

He said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. The one owed five hundred denarii,^[a] and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the larger debt forgiven.”

Then he told him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴ Turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, but you did not give me water for my feet. Yet she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but she, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that is why she loved so much. But the one who is forgiven little loves little.” ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

⁴⁹ Those reclining at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Preaching the Gospel

8 Soon afterward Jesus was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him ² and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; ³ Joanna, the wife of Cuza, Herod’s household manager; Susanna; and many others who provided support for them^[b] out of their own possessions.

The Parable of the Sower

⁴ As a large crowd was gathering and people from one town after another were making their way to him, he spoke using a parable. ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path. It was trampled, and the birds of the sky devoured it. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky ground. As soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ Other seed fell into good soil. It grew and produced fruit—one hundred times as much as was sown.” As he said these things, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”

⁹ His disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰ He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest I speak in parables so that ‘even though they see, they may not see, and even though they hear, they may not understand.’^{[c] 11} This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who hear it, but then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts to keep them from believing and being saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root. So they believe for a while, but then fall away in a time of testing. ¹⁴ The seeds that fell into the thorns are the ones who hear the word, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of life, so they do not mature. ¹⁵ And the seeds in the good ground are the ones who hear the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it tightly, and produce fruit as they patiently endure.

¹⁶ “No one lights a lamp and then hides it under a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand so that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known and come to light. ¹⁸ So listen carefully, because whoever has will be given more, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

¹⁹ Jesus’ mother and brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd. ²⁰ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and brothers are those who are hearing and doing the word of God.”

Jesus Calms the Storm

²² One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and told them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they set out. ²³ As they were sailing, he fell asleep. A powerful windstorm came down on the lake, the boat was filling up with water, and they were in danger.

²⁴ They went to him and woke him, saying, “Master, master, we’re going to die!”

He woke up, rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they stopped. Then it was calm.

²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?”

They were afraid and amazed and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”