Luke 7
English Standard Version Anglicised
Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant
7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, (A)he 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, (B)he 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, (C)“He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us (D)our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, (E)do 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 (F)say 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, (G)he marvelled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such (H)faith.” 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 afterwards[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, (I)the 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, (J)he had compassion on her and (K)said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched (L)the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, (M)arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[d] (N)gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and (O)they glorified God, saying, (P)“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and (Q)“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 (R)(S)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 (T)who is to come, or (U)shall 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 (V)who is to come, or (W)shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour (X)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and (Y)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: (Z)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, (AA)lepers[e] are cleansed, and (AB)the deaf hear, (AC)the dead are raised up, (AD)the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is (AE)not 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 (AF)into the wilderness to see? (AG)A 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? (AH)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
(AI)“‘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 ((AJ)When all the people heard this, and (AK)the tax collectors too, they declared God just,[g] (AL)having been baptized with (AM)the baptism of John, 30 (AN)but the Pharisees and (AO)the lawyers (AP)rejected (AQ)the 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 market-place 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 (AR)eating no bread and (AS)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come (AT)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, (AU)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet (AV)wisdom is justified by all her children.”
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 (AW)One 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 (AX)And 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 (AY)wiped 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 (AZ)this man were (BA)a prophet, he (BB)would 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 money-lender had two debtors. One owed five hundred (BC)denarii, and the other fifty. 42 (BD)When they could not pay, he (BE)cancelled 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 towards the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; (BF)you gave me no water for my feet, but (BG)she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 (BH)You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to (BI)kiss my feet. 46 (BJ)You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, (BK)which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, (BL)“Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among[h] themselves, (BM)“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, (BN)“Your faith has saved you; (BO)go in peace.”
Luke 7
The Message
A Place of Holy Mystery
7 1-5 When he finished speaking to the people, he entered Capernaum. A Roman captain there had a servant who was on his deathbed. He prized him highly and didn’t want to lose him. When he heard Jesus was back, he sent leaders from the Jewish community asking him to come and heal his servant. They came to Jesus and urged him to do it, saying, “He deserves this. He loves our people. He even built our meeting place.”
6-8 Jesus went with them. When he was still quite far from the house, the captain sent friends to tell him, “Master, you don’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m not that good a person, you know. I’d be embarrassed for you to come to my house, even embarrassed to come to you in person. Just give the order and my servant will get well. I’m a man under orders; I also give orders. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9-10 Taken aback, Jesus addressed the accompanying crowd: “I’ve yet to come across this kind of simple trust anywhere in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know about God and how he works.” When the messengers got back home, they found the servant up and well.
11-15 Not long after that, Jesus went to the village Nain. His disciples were with him, along with quite a large crowd. As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman’s only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, “Don’t cry.” Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, “Young man, I tell you: Get up.” The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother.
16-17 They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, “God is back, looking to the needs of his people!” The news of Jesus spread all through the country.
Is This What You Were Expecting?
18-19 John’s disciples reported back to him the news of all these events taking place. He sent two of them to the Master to ask the question, “Are you the One we’ve been expecting, or are we still waiting?”
20 The men showed up before Jesus and said, “John the Baptizer sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the One we’ve been expecting, or are we still waiting?’”
21-23 In the next two or three hours Jesus healed many from diseases, distress, and evil spirits. To many of the blind he gave the gift of sight. Then he gave his answer: “Go back and tell John what you have just seen and heard:
The blind see,
The lame walk,
Lepers are cleansed,
The deaf hear,
The dead are raised,
The wretched of the earth
have God’s salvation hospitality extended to them.
“Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves fortunate!”
24-27 After John’s messengers left to make their report, Jesus said more about John to the crowd of people. “What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A messenger from God? That’s right, a messenger! Probably the greatest messenger you’ll ever hear. He is the messenger Malachi announced when he wrote,
I’m sending my messenger on ahead
To make the road smooth for you.
28-30 “Let me lay it out for you as plainly as I can: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer, but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. The ordinary and disreputable people who heard John, by being baptized by him into the kingdom, are the clearest evidence; the Pharisees and religious officials would have nothing to do with such a baptism, wouldn’t think of giving up their place in line to their inferiors.
31-35 “How can I account for the people of this generation? They’re like spoiled children complaining to their parents, ‘We wanted to skip rope and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk but you were always too busy.’ John the Baptizer came fasting and you called him crazy. The Son of Man came feasting and you called him a boozer. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
Anointing His Feet
36-39 One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.”
40 Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
41-42 “Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”
43-47 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”
“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”
48 Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”
49 That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!”
50 He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson