The Good News by Luke 7

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He Heals the Servant of an Officer

1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 An officer was there whose rank was captain of a hundred.* He had a servant who was sick and on the verge of death. His master [the officer] valued him greatly. 3 The officer heard about Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to ask him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “He deserves to have you help him, 5 for he loves our people, and he is the one who built the house of worship for us.” 6 So Jesus went with them. When he approached the home, the officer sent some friends to say to him, “Sir, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. 7 That's why I didn't consider myself qualified to come to you. But it's sufficient for you to order it, and you will cause my servant to be healed. 8 For I myself am under authority, and I also have soldiers under me. I say to this 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 this, he was impressed with him. He turned to the crowd which was following him and said, “I tell you, I have not found anyone among the Children of Israel who has such faith!” 10 Then the officer's messengers returned to the house, and they found that the servant had been healed.

Jesus Raises a Dead Man

11 After this, Jesus went to a town called Nain.* He was accompanied by his disciples and a huge crowd of people. 12 As he approached the town gate, there was a dead man being carried out, and he was the only son of his widowed mother. With her was a large crowd from the town. 13 When our Lord Jesus saw her, he had compassion on her and said, “Don't cry!” 14 Then he stepped forward and touched the bier,* and those carrying it stopped. He said, “Young man, get up.” 15 Then the dead man sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him to his mother.

16 All of them felt awe and praised God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us. God has come to the aid of his people.” 17 And this news about Jesus spread throughout the land of Judea and the neighboring regions.

John's Question

18 John* heard about all these things from his disciples. So he called two of them 19 and sent them to our Lord Jesus, asking him, “Are you the one whose coming we've been expecting*, or should we wait for someone else?” 20 So the two men went to Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist* sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one we've been expecting to come, or should we wait for another?’” 21 Within that hour, Jesus cured many people of diseases, painful ailments, and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people. 22 Then he answered, saying to them, “Go and tell John what you have heard and seen: Blind people are gaining their sight, lame people are walking, people with leprosy are being cured, deaf people are hearing, dead people are rising up [alive], and poor people are receiving the good news.* 23 How fortunate for anyone who is not disappointed in me.”

24 When John's disciples departed, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John. He said, “When you went out to him in the desert, what did you see? A stalk which the wind was shaking? No. 25 So when you went out, what did you see? A man dressed in fancy clothing? No, for people who wear fancy clothing and live in luxury are in palaces. 26 But when you went out, what did you see? A prophet? Yes, for sure — and even greater than a prophet. 27 He is the one of whom the Scriptures say, ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you to prepare for you the way before you.’* 28 And I tell you, there does not exist among all humankind anyone greater than John. Yet the least significant person in the Kingdom of God is greater than him.”

29 All those who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged that God is good, for they had gone to John to be immersed by him. 30 But as for the Pharisees and the experts in religious law, they had rejected God's will for them and did not let [John] immerse them.

31 Jesus said, “To whom shall I compare these people? Who do you think they might be like? 32 They are like children sitting in the public square, some of them shouting to the others, saying, ‘We played the flute for you, but you didn't dance; we sang a lament to you, but you didn't cry.’ 33 John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you said, ‘There is a demon in him!’ 34 Then the One Who Became Man came eating and drinking, and you said, ‘This man is a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and nonobservant [Jews]!’ 35 But true wisdom is evident in those who follow it.”

An Immoral Woman Repents

36 One of the Pharisees invited [Jesus] to dine at his place, so he entered the Pharisee's home and sat down at the dinner table.* 37 Now in that town, there was a woman of bad character, and she learned that Jesus had sat down to eat in the Pharisee's home. So she brought an alabaster bottle of perfume 38 and stood behind him at his feet, weeping. She began wetting his feet with her tears, wiping them off with her hair, kissing them, and anointing them with perfume.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him and what type of woman she is, that her behavior is bad!” 40 So Jesus responded to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” Simon replied, “Go ahead, Teacher.” 41 So he said, “Two men owed money to a man of means; one was in debt to him for five hundred dinars* and the other for fifty. 42 They were both unable to repay the debt, so he forgave them both. Now which of them would love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he forgave the larger amount.” Jesus said, “You have spoken correctly.”

44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your home, but you didn't offer me water to wash my feet. She, on the other hand, has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them off with her hair. 45 You didn't kiss me, but as for her, from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You didn't anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. 47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven her, so she has displayed this great love. But a person who is forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 But those sitting with him said to themselves, “Who is this that he even forgives sins?” 50 Then he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”*

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 *7:2 captain of a hundred: Or centurion. This was a Roman military officer.

 *7:11 Nain: a town about 10 kilometers south of Nazareth. It was about 30 kilometers southwest of Capernaum, so a day's journey by foot.

 *7:14 bier: a stretcher or frame on which a dead body is carried to the grave. According to the Torah at Numbers 19:11-13, if a person touched a dead body it made him unclean, but when Jesus the Messiah touched a dead body, he restored the person to life.

 *7:18 John: the prophet John son of Zechariah. At this time he was in prison because he spoke the truth.

 *7:19 the one whose coming we've been expecting: the Messiah, whom the prophets had said God would send to rescue people. At this time John was in prison and may have hoped that Jesus would rescue him.

 *7:20 John the Baptist: the prophet John son of Zechariah. The word baptist means one who immerses believers in water for the forgiveness of their sins.

 *7:22 good news: the message of God which Jesus proclaimed by what he said, by how he lived, and by what he did to save those who believe in him.

 *7:27 See the Book of the Prophet Malachi 3:1. Malachi was a prophet in Jerusalem from around 440 BC to 430 BC.

 *7:36 sat down at the dinner table: At that time, when a host invited guests to a formal dinner, he and they reclined side-by-side on mats or couches that circled a low table or mat. They leaned on their left elbows and took food with their right hands. Their feet extended out away from the food and off the side of the couch or mat. See the illustration.

 *7:41 dinars: A dinar was a silver coin equivalent in value to a day's wage for a common laborer. In Latin it was called a denarius, plural denarii.

 *7:50 Go in peace: Have no fear or shame, because God has forgiven you for your sins. This is one meaning of the phrase, but the word سَلَامَة alone would normally be translated as safety or blamelessness.