Luke 7
Centurion recognizes Jesus’s authority to heal from afar
When he had finished his speech, he went to Capernaum.
There was a centurion whose prized slave was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask Jesus to save his slave’s life. When they reached Jesus, they begged him sincerely saying “He’s a good man: he loves our country, and he was the one who built us our church building.” So Jesus went with them. When he got closer to the house, the centurion sent friends saying,
“Ruler, there’s no need to trouble yourself any further, because I am not even worthy to have you in my house. That’s why I didn’t want to approach you myself. All you need to do is just say the word, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am both under authority and have soldiers who are under my own authority. I tell one to ‘go’ and he goes. I tell another to ‘come’ and he comes. I tell my slave ‘do this’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him, turned to his crowd of followers and said,
“I assure you that I haven’t seen trust like this even in Israel.”
When the messengers returned to the house, the slave was perfectly healthy.
Jesus wakes a dead man
Soon after that, he went to the city of Nain with his squad and a large crowd of followers. As he approached the city gate, there was a decent sized crowd carrying out a man’s corpse. The man was the only son of a woman who was also a widow. When the Ruler saw her, he said “Don’t cry,” and then went ant touched the coffin. The people carrying the coffin stopped, and Jesus said, “Young man, I tell you to wake up!” The dead man sat up and began talking. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother. Everyone was struck with terror, and they began magnifying God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has visited his people!” The account of this event circulated all throughout Judea and the surrounding district.
John asks if Jesus is the Expected One
John’s students told him about these things, so John summoned 2 of his students and sent them to the Ruler, asking,
“Are you the one we’ve been expecting? Or are we supposed to keep waiting for someone else?”
Right when they asked that, Jesus cured lots of people of diseases, afflictions, and rotten lifeforces while also giving sight to many who were blind. He answered them saying,
“Go tell John what you just witnessed: the blind are seeing, the lame are walking, the diseased are purified, the deaf are listening, the dead are awake, the poor are hearing reasons to be glad. Whoever isn’t offended by me will be glad.”
God’s dominion is more important than the present
After John’s messengers left, he started talking to the crowds about John,
“What did you go to the wilderness to see? A plant blowing in the wind? A man wearing fancy clothes? People who wear expensive clothes and live in luxury can only be found in royal palaces! Or did you hope to see a prophet? Yes, that’s more like it, except this is someone more than prophet. This is the one scripture writes about when it says,
‘I send my messenger ahead of you who will pave the road in front of you.’
I assure you, that out of all of humanity there is no one more significant than John, yet even the most insignificant person in God’s dominion is more significant than he is.”
Humanity is fickle
When everyone heard this, even the tax collectors recognized how right God is since they had been immersed by John. But the church leaders and studiers of the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves by refusing to be immersed by John.
“What should I compare this generation of humanity to? What are they like? They’re like children who sit at the market and say:
‘When we played the flute for you, you refused to dance, and when we sang a sad song you refused to cry.’
When John the immerser comes not eating bread or drinking wine, you say, ‘He’s carrying a demon!’ Yet when the Culmination of All of Humanity comes eating and drinking, you say, ‘Look at this drunk pig, befriending the corrupt and the perverted!’ True wisdom will be found by her rightful children.”
Those forgiven of much will love much
One of the church leaders invited Jesus to dinner with him, so he went to his house and sat at the table. There was a corrupt woman who found out about this, so she went to the church leader’s house and brought a really expensive vial of lotion. She was crying and got down to his feet, watering them with her tears, rubbing them with the lotion, and wiping them with her hair. When the host saw this he said to himself,
“If this man really was a prophet, he would know how rotten this woman really was.”
Jesus answered him,
“Simon, I have something to tell you:
A man lent money to two people: he lent 500 days wages to one, and 50 days wages to the other. When neither of them was able to pay him back, he generously canceled both their debts. So my question is: which one of them will love him more?”
Simon answered, “I assume the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” Jesus said, “That’s right” then nodded to the woman saying,
“Do you see this woman? When I came to your house, you didn’t offer me anything to wipe my feet, but she has been wiping them with her own tears and hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but since the moment I got here, she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet. You didn’t offer to anoint me with oil, but she has been anointing my feet with lotion. Even though she has committed a ton of offenses, they have been released, because she has shown a ton of love. Meanwhile, people who are forgiven of less also love less.”
Then he told her, “Your offenses have been sent away.”
Everyone at that table started asking themselves, “Who is this guy who even sends away offenses?”
He told the woman, “Your conviction has saved you. Live in peace.”