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| Chapter 7 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ Now when He had ended all His sayings in the audience of the people, He entered into Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and ready to die. 3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent the elders of the Jews unto Him, beseeching Him that He would come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus they besought Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was worthy, 5 "for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." 6 And Jesus went with them. And when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying unto Him, "Lord, trouble not Thyself, for I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof. 7 Therefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee. But say the word, and my servant shall be healed. 8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And I say unto one, ‘Go,’ and he goeth; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he cometh; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he doeth it." 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned about and said unto the people who followed Him, "I say unto you, I have not found so great a faith, no, not in Israel." 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole who had been sick. 11 ¶ And it came to pass the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and many people. 12 Now when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And many people of the city were with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said unto her, "Weep not." 14 And He came and touched the bier, and those who bore him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say unto thee, arise." 15 And he that was dead sat up and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet is risen up among us" and, "God hath visited His people." 17 And this report of Him went forth throughout all Judea and throughout all the region round about. 18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. 19 ¶ And John, calling unto him two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus asking, "Art thou He that should come, or look we for another?" 20 When the men had come unto Him, they said, "John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, asking, ‘Art thou He that should come, or look we for another?’" 21 And in that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits, and unto many who were blind He gave sight. 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard: how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached. 23 And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in Me." 24 And when the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak unto the people concerning John: "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that are gorgeously appareled and live luxuriously are in kings’ courts. 26 But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he, of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee.’ 28 For I say unto you, among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he." 29 And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized by him. 31 And the Lord said, "Where unto then shall I liken the men of this generation? And to what are they like? 32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another and saying, ‘We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.’ 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, ‘He hath a devil.’ 34 The Son of Man is come eating and drinking, and ye say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children." 36 ¶ And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee’s house and sat down to meat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and began to wash His feet with tears and 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 bidden Him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is who toucheth him, for she is a sinner." 40 And Jesus answering said unto him, "Simon, I have something to say unto thee." And he said, "Master, say on." 41 "There was a certain creditor that had two debtors. The one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?" 43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, "Thou hast rightly judged." 44 And He turned to the woman and said unto Simon, "Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house: Thou gavest Me no water for My feet, but she hath washed My feet with tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 Thou gavest Me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." 48 And He said unto her, "Thy sins are forgiven." 49 And those who sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves, "Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" 50 And He said to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace." |
Luke now records a number of events showing the acts of Jesus and His teaching. Luke seems to like to record miracles of healing and associated teaching. Following the choosing of the disciples and their initial teachings Jesus returns to Capernaum. v1-10 The centurion’s servant healed. Matt 8:5-13. v2 The centurions were the main officers of the Roman army, they often came up through the ranks to reach their position. A centurion was responsible and in charge of one hundred soldiers. This centurion’s attitude seems to be different to the normal centurions attitude, he cared for his servants and seems to have a genuine love of the Jewish nation, because of this he was respected by the local religious leaders. v3-5 Jesus is approached by the Jewish elders to come and heal the centurion’s servant. The Centurion probably felt that Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, would not want to have dealings with a Gentile Roman. This centurion had a very good relationship with these elders as they told Jesus that he had built them a synagogue and felt he was worthy of help by Jesus. v6 Though this man was a Gentile Jesus was willing to go and help his servant. We are not told whether the servant was a Jew or Gentile. As the group approach the home of the centurion he sends a message to Jesus, "Lord, you do not need to come to my house, I am not good enough to be with you. This is why I did not come personally to you, you only need to say the words and my servant will be healed." He went on to say that as a centurion he had the power to order his men to come and go as he wished, as a centurion he had this authority from Rome. He understood the authority of Jesus, he could see that Jesus had His authority from God. v9 When Jesus heard these words He was amazed, he turns to the crowd and said "This man has the most faith I have seen anywhere, even in Israel." What a statement for Jesus to say, the pagan has more faith than the chosen people of God. The messengers then returned to the house of the centurion and find the servant healed. Luke does not mention that Jesus said or did anything to carry out the healing. v11-18 The widows son raised. v11,12 Nain, about ten miles southeast of Nazareth. On the road from Capernaum to Nain are a number of rock tombs, it is possible then that Jesus met the funeral party as they left the city. v12 Widows often had a hard time as they would have had to depend upon their male relatives for support. The death of a widows son would be a great disaster for her. v13 It was common practice for Eastern/Jewish funerals for loud crying, wailing to be made, often professional criers were hired. Therefore a complete stranger approaching a funeral and asking them to stop weeping could be considered an insult. v14,15 Jesus approaches the ‘bier,’ a stretcher to carry a dead body, Jesus touches the bier "Young man, get up," and life returns to the body. This event was witnessed by the many people who were at the funeral. v16 The unexpected return to life of the man caused great fear and then they gave praise and glory to God. The people were saying "A great prophet is risen up among us," this statement great significance, importance, for there had been no prophets in Israel for many years. v18-23 John the Baptist ask questions. Matt 11:2-6. v18-23 The ministry of John was slowly being taken over by the ministry of Jesus. It would appear that what Jesus was doing did not come up to the behaviour of the Messiah that John had expected and he was beginning to wonder if Jesus was the Messiah. To find out he sends some of his followers to observe Jesus and then ask Him the question "Are you the One who is coming, or should we wait for another?" Jesus does not immediately answer the question. v21 Luke tells us that He demonstrated His power as He healed many people. At the end Jesus turns to the disciples of John, who have been watching and listening, "tell John not to be offended, or disappointed with His actions. Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached. Just as prophesied Isaiah 61:1-3." v24 Jesus tribute to John. After the disciples of John had departed Jesus gives praise for John’s work by asking the crowd three questions. v24-26 What did you go to see in the wilderness :- 1) - a reed being blown by the wind? Reeds live by the water side and move how the wind blows, John knew what he was preaching and meant it. 2) - a man in rich clothes just like a king. John was not this, John showed the hardship he was willing to suffer for the message he had. 3) - a prophet. A prophet to the Jews was an important man, sent by God. v27,28 John is the messenger of God preparing the way for the Messiah, Malachi 3:1. John was more than a prophet. John was the last and most important prophet ever, yet because John never saw the final act of God as He killed His Son on the cross as payment for sin, anyone who accepts this grace of God lives in a greater position than John the Baptist. v29,30 The ordinary people were prepared to accept the message of John, the condemnation for their sins and turn back to God. But the religious leaders and people who were teaching the scriptures could not see their evil hearts and rejected the message. v31-35 Jesus tries to show the minds of these people, they are like children playing games. Someone suggests we play "weddings" but no one wants to dance or join in. Another suggests "play funerals", but know one is willing to be the mourners. What ever is suggested they are not pleased. John came without any luxuries, expensive living, and the leaders rejected him, yet the same people complained because Jesus attended the feasts with what they considered wrong people. v36-50 Jesus in Simon the Pharisee’s home. v36 A Pharisee invites Jesus to have a meal in his house, we are not told what motives the man had for this action, it may have been good but he may have wanted to test or catch out Jesus. v37 A woman now enters the house without an invitation, this must have been somewhat unacceptable to the law abiding Pharisee, because of her reputation of evil and he had not invited her. Alabaster is a very fine semi transparent stone, used to make decorations or hollowed out into containers for valuable ointments etc. This box and contents brought by the woman must have been very valuable. v38 Tables were not used for eating at this time, people usually stretched out on a mat on the floor or a low couch, a long, low seat, with possibly a headrest at one end. The woman approaches Jesus in this laying position and kneels at His feet. She now washes the feet of Jesus with her tears, wipes them with her hair and anoints, rubs them, with the ointment. v39 The Pharisee now thinks how bad this was, the Pharisee would have expected a wise rabbi, teacher like Jesus to have rejected this woman. Religious leaders and teachers would have considered a woman of this sort untouchable. Jesus can read Simons mind and knows what he is thinking. Instead of making a comment on the thoughts Jesus tells a parable. v41-42 The creditor and two debtors. Being a Pharisee Simon may have been wealthy, but he would understand owing another person money. One man owes five hundred pence, the other fifty pence, the creditor who was owed money by both of these men forgives them both of their debt. Jesus asks Simon, " Which man would have greatest love for the creditor?" Simon, not realizing that Jesus had read his thoughts and cannot at first see the reason for this story, answers with care. "The one who received the greatest forgiveness I suppose." There is only one real answer and he gave it. Jesus now, pointing to the woman, reminds Simon of how he had failed in his treatment of a guest. It was normal practice to wash a guests feet on their arrival, to not do so was a terrible insult, however, Jesus had ignored this failure to remain with Simon. But the woman had done this in love for Jesus. v45 In addition Simon had failed to give Jesus the normal greeting of friendship in the East, a kiss. This woman had not stopped kissing Jesus. See Rom 16:16; 1 Cor 16:20; 1 Thess 5:26. v46 Again it was common practice at the beginning of a feast to anoint the guest with oil, Simon had again failed to do this simple and cheap action, the woman had used a very expensive oil to do this. v47 This woman had many sins and lived a wrong life, therefore to be forgiven means much to her. Anyone who is forgiven a little has very little love. Did this mean that Simon still had not understood his relationship with God and needed forgiveness? v48 Jesus now turns to the woman and tells her that her sins are forgiven. A direct statement to the crowd who would have been watching and listening. v49 This statement again causes many to question this action, "Who can forgive sins except God?" Luke 5:21. v50 "Saved" could mean ‘made whole’ physically and spiritually, in this case it would appeared to be spiritually, all due to her faith. |
Easy English Translation
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