The Faith of the Centurion
7 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Jesus and John the Baptist
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
21 At that very time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy [The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’[Mal. 3:1]
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves because they had not been baptized by John.)
31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, [A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2).] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
NOTES:
7:1–8:3 The episodes in this section present a series of
reactions to the Galilean ministry of Jesus and reflect some of Luke’s
particular interests: the faith of a Gentile (Lk 7:1–10); the prophet Jesus’
concern for a widowed mother (Lk 7:11–17); the ministry of Jesus directed to
the afflicted and unfortunate of Is 61:1 (Lk 7:18–23); the relation between
John and Jesus and their role in God’s plan for salvation (Lk 7:24–35); a
forgiven sinner’s manifestation of love (Lk 7:36–50); the association of women
with the ministry of Jesus (Lk 8:1–3).
7:1–10 This story about the faith of the centurion, a
Gentile who cherishes the Jewish nation (Lk 7:5), prepares for the story in
Acts of the conversion by Peter of the Roman centurion Cornelius who is
similarly described as one who is generous to the Jewish nation (Acts 10:2).
See also Acts 10:34–35 in the speech of Peter: “God shows no partiality…whoever
fears him and acts righteously is acceptable to him.” See also notes on Mt
8:5–13 and Jn 4:43–54.
7:2 A centurion: see note on Mt 8:5.
7:6 I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof: to
enter the house of a Gentile was considered unclean for a Jew; cf. Acts 10:28.
7:11–17 In the previous incident Jesus’ power was displayed
for a Gentile whose servant was dying; in this episode it is displayed toward a
widowed mother whose only son has already died. Jesus’ power over death
prepares for his reply to John’s disciples in Lk 7:22: “the dead are raised.”
This resuscitation in alluding to the prophet Elijah’s resurrection of the only
son of a widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 7:8–24) leads to the reaction of the crowd:
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst” (Lk 7:16).
7:18–23 In answer to John’s question, Are you the one who is
to come?—a probable reference to the return of the fiery prophet of reform,
Elijah, “before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day” (Mal
3:23)—Jesus responds that his role is rather to bring the blessings spoken of
in Is 61:1 to the oppressed and neglected of society (Lk 7:22; cf. Lk 4:18).
7:23 Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me: this
beatitude is pronounced on the person who recognizes Jesus’ true identity in
spite of previous expectations of what “the one who is to come” would be like.
7:24–30 In his testimony to John, Jesus reveals his
understanding of the relationship between them: John is the precursor of Jesus
(Lk 7:27); John is the messenger spoken of in Mal 3:1 who in Mal 3:23 is
identified as Elijah. Taken with the previous episode, it can be seen that
Jesus identifies John as precisely the person John envisioned Jesus to be: the
Elijah who prepares the way for the coming of the day of the Lord.
7:31–35 See note on Mt 11:16–19.
7:36–50 In this story of the pardoning of the sinful woman
Luke presents two different reactions to the ministry of Jesus. A Pharisee,
suspecting Jesus to be a prophet, invites Jesus to a festive banquet in his
house, but the Pharisee’s self-righteousness leads to little forgiveness by God
and consequently little love shown toward Jesus. The sinful woman, on the other
hand, manifests a faith in God (Lk 7:50) that has led her to seek forgiveness
for her sins, and because so much was forgiven, she now overwhelms Jesus with
her display of love; cf. the similar contrast in attitudes in Lk 18:9–14. The
whole episode is a powerful lesson on the relation between forgiveness and
love.
7:36 Reclined at table: the normal posture of guests at a
banquet. Other oriental banquet customs alluded to in this story include the
reception by the host with a kiss (Lk 7:45), washing the feet of the guests (Lk
7:44), and the anointing of the guests’ heads (Lk 7:46).
7:41 Days’ wages: one denarius is the normal daily wage of a
laborer.
7:47 Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown
great love: literally, “her many sins have been forgiven, seeing that she has
loved much.” That the woman’s sins have been forgiven is attested by the great
love she shows toward Jesus. Her love is the consequence of her forgiveness.
This is also the meaning demanded by the parable in Lk 7:41–43.
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