Jesus heals a centurion's servant from afar, marveling at the centurion's great faith. He then raises a widow's only son from the dead in Nain, demonstrating his power over death and showing compassion. Later, Jesus answers John the Baptist's query about his identity by pointing to his miracles and then praises John, while also rebuking the generation that rejects both of them. Finally, a sinful woman anoints Jesus' feet at a Pharisee's house, and Jesus forgives her sins, highlighting that great love stems from great forgiveness.
So Yeshua went with them. He had not gone far from the house, when the officer sent friends who said to him, "Sir, don't trouble yourself. I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof --
For I too am a man set under authority. I have soldiers under me; and I say to this one, `Go!' and he goes; and to another, `Come!' and he comes; and to my slave, `Do this!' and he does it."
Yeshua was astonished at him when he heard this; and he turned and said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Isra'el have I found such trust!"
As he approached the town gate, a dead man was being carried out for burial. His mother was a widow, this had been her only son, and a sizeable crowd from the town was with her.
When the men came to him, they said, "Yochanan the Immerser has sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who is to come? Or should we keep looking -- for someone else?'"
So he answered them by saying, "Go, tell Yochanan what you have been seeing and hearing: the blind are seeing again, the lame are walking, people with tzara`at are being cleansed, the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised, the Good News is being told to the poor --
When the messengers from Yochanan had gone, Yeshua began speaking to the crowds about Yochanan: "What did you go out into the desert to see? Reeds swaying in the breeze?
I tell you that among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than Yochanan the Immerser! Yet the one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he!"
They are like children sitting in the marketplaces, calling to one another, `We made happy music, but you wouldn't dance! We made sad music, but you wouldn't cry!'
A woman who lived in that town, a sinner, who was aware that he was eating in the home of the Parush, brought an alabaster box of very expensive perfume,
stood behind Yeshua at his feet and wept until her tears began to wet his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her own hair, kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.
When the Parush who had invited him saw what was going on, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who is touching him and what sort of woman she is, that she is a sinner."
Then, turning to the woman, he said to Shim`on, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house -- you didn't give me water for my feet, but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair!
Because of this, I tell you that her sins -- which are many! -- have been forgiven, because she loved much. But someone who has been forgiven only a little loves only a little."
But he said to the woman, "Your trust has saved you; go in peace."
Study Notes for Luke 7
Verse 1
Jesus enters Capernaum, the center of his Galilean ministry, immediately following the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6).
Verse 5
This Roman centurion, a Gentile military officer, was unusual in his devotion to Judaism, demonstrated by financing the local synagogue. This identifies him as a 'God-fearer' who respected Jewish faith.
Verse 6
The centurion’s subsequent message, preventing Jesus from entering his house, reflects deep humility. He understood that Jewish teachers avoided entering Gentile homes to maintain ritual purity.
Verse 8
The centurion employs a military analogy to express his faith. He understood that Jesus’ authority, like his own, did not require physical presence but could be exercised simply through a command.
Verse 9
Jesus marvels at the depth of this Gentile’s faith, highlighting that true, powerful faith is not limited to ethnic Israel. This anticipates the future inclusion of the Gentiles in salvation.
Verse 11
This miracle, unique to Luke, demonstrates Jesus’ sovereign power over death. Luke often emphasizes Jesus' profound compassion toward the vulnerable.
Verse 13
Luke emphasizes Jesus’ deep emotional response ('had compassion'). Losing an only son meant social and economic destitution for a widow in the ancient world.
Verse 16
The crowd recognizes Jesus as a great prophet, comparing him perhaps to Elijah or Elisha, who also raised the dead. The phrase 'God hath visited his people' is a recognition of divine intervention.
Verse 19
John, imprisoned by Herod (Luke 3:20), sends disciples to confirm Jesus’ identity. John may have been seeking reassurance or encouraging his followers to transfer their allegiance to Jesus.
Verse 22
Jesus responds by listing his miraculous works, which directly fulfill prophetic expectations of the Messiah (e.g., Isaiah 35:5-6). The preaching of the gospel to the poor is central to Luke’s understanding of the messianic mission.
Verse 23
This warning cautions John and his followers against stumbling over Jesus’ non-traditional, non-military messianic role, which did not immediately overthrow Roman power.
Verse 27
Jesus identifies John as the prophetic fulfillment of Malachi 3:1, affirming John’s critical, divine role as the forerunner who prepared the way for the Messiah.
Verse 28
John is the culmination of the Old Covenant prophets. The least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he because those in the Kingdom participate directly in the new age inaugurated by Christ's death and resurrection.
Verse 29
The common people and tax collectors responded positively to John's message of repentance, acknowledging God's righteousness in providing this path to cleansing.
Verse 30
The religious establishment (Pharisees and lawyers) rejected John’s baptism, thereby rejecting God's plan (counsel) for them. Luke frequently contrasts the responsiveness of the common people with the hardness of the elite.
Verse 31
This parable illustrates the stubbornness of those who refuse to accept God's messengers regardless of their approach, finding fault with both John’s asceticism and Jesus’ sociability.
Verse 34
Jesus contrasts his ministry style with John's. Because Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners, he was falsely accused of being gluttonous and immoral.
Verse 36
Feasting in the house of a Pharisee (Simon) was a typical setting for Jesus, often leading to confrontation over ritual purity and social boundaries.
Verse 37
This woman was publicly known as a 'sinner,' likely a prostitute. Her presence in a Pharisee’s private home was highly scandalous, demonstrating her desperate need for forgiveness.
Verse 38
Washing the feet with tears and wiping them with unbound hair (a sign of deep distress or immorality) was an act of extreme humility and extravagant devotion, risking severe social contamination for Jesus.
Verse 39
Simon judges Jesus based on ritual purity laws: a true prophet should know this woman is a sinner and avoid defilement by contact. This reveals Simon’s self-righteousness.
Verse 41
The parable of the two debtors sets up the theological principle: the magnitude of one's love and gratitude is proportional to the magnitude of forgiveness received.
Verse 47
The woman’s great love is not the *cause* of her forgiveness, but the *evidence* that her many sins have already been forgiven. Forgiveness (received by faith) precedes and produces love.
Verse 50
Jesus affirms that her salvation comes through faith, not through her impressive acts of devotion. Her loving actions were the outward fruit of her inner saving faith.
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The Calling of Disciples
19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
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