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Luke 7

KJV · Chapter 7/24

1Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.

2And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.

3And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.

4And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:

5For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

6Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now 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:

7Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

8For 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.

9When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

10And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

11And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

12Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

13And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

14And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

15And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

16And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

17And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about.

18And the disciples of John shewed him of all these things.

19And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

20When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

21And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.

22Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.

23And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

24And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

25But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts.

26But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

27This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

28For 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.

29And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

31And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

32They 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.

33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.

34The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!

35But wisdom is justified of all her children.

36And 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.

37And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

38And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

40And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

41There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

42And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?

43Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

44And 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 hairs of her head.

45Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

46My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

47Wherefore 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.

48And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

49And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus heals a Roman centurion's servant from a distance, raises a widow's son in Nain, and answers John the Baptist's doubt by confirming that he is the Messiah. A sinful woman anoints his feet with tears and perfume, and he praises her faith and forgives her.

Explanation

The centurion's faith ('just say the word,' v.7) impresses Jesus because it comes from a pagan foreigner, showing that genuine faith does not depend on ethnicity or religious standing. The raising of the young man in Nain, moved by Jesus' compassion for the widowed mother (who would be left without support), foreshadows his power over death. The scene with the sinful woman, in contrast to the coldness of the Pharisee host, illustrates that whoever is forgiven much, loves much. Today's lesson is that genuine gratitude is born from recognizing how much one has been forgiven.

Fun facts

  • A widow with no son in first-century Jewish society was left without any economic safety net, which explains the intensity of Jesus' compassion in the scene at Nain.
  • The woman's gesture of wiping Jesus' feet with her own hair was considered extremely intimate and even scandalous, since respectable women kept their hair covered in public.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Luke 7:1This verse bridges the long discourse of the previous chapter and the next episode: Jesus finishes speaking to the people and enters Capernaum.
  2. Luke 7:2The servant especially valued by the centurion was gravely ill, near death — the text already signals that the relationship between the two went beyond the usual bond between master and slave.
  3. Luke 7:3It is significant that a Roman officer asks for help through Jewish elders as intermediaries — a sign that he had a good relationship with the local Jewish community.
  4. Luke 7:4The elders plead earnestly, arguing that the centurion deserves this favor — they speak up for him with genuine conviction.
  5. Luke 7:5A centurion was an officer in the Roman army, normally a Gentile — not part of the Jewish people. That he himself had paid for the local synagogue’s construction shows he was the kind of foreigner who admired and supported the Jewish faith without formally converting, what the Jews called a God-fearer.
  6. Luke 7:6Despite being a Roman officer with authority, the centurion considers himself unworthy to receive Jesus in his house — an unusual gesture of humility from someone with so much power.
  7. Luke 7:7He does not even consider himself worthy to go to Jesus in person; he asks only for a word from a distance, trusting that this is enough to heal the servant.
  8. Luke 7:8The centurion understands well how a military chain of command works: he gives an order and it is carried out, without him lifting a finger. So it seems natural to him that Jesus, too, would not need to come to his house — a word from a distance would be enough to heal the servant.
  9. Luke 7:9This is one of the rare moments when Jesus is said to marvel — and the reason stands out: the strongest faith He had ever seen did not come from within Israel, but from a Roman foreigner.
  10. Luke 7:10The messengers return and find the servant already healed, without Jesus having to go to the house — the healing happens by word alone, exactly as the centurion had believed.
  11. Luke 7:11Another episode begins here: Jesus goes to Nain, a town in Galilee, accompanied by disciples and a large crowd.
  12. Luke 7:12Losing an only son meant, for a widow of that time, also losing her support and the only social protection she still had — without a husband and without a son, she was left essentially helpless. It is this total helplessness, not just the pain of loss, that moves Jesus to act.
  13. Luke 7:13Unlike other healings, no one asks Jesus for anything here — it is His own compassion, seeing the widow’s situation as she lost her only son, that moves Him to act on His own initiative.
  14. Luke 7:14Touching the bier of a dead man would make anyone ritually unclean, but Jesus does it anyway, directly commanding the dead young man to get up.
  15. Luke 7:15The detail of Jesus giving the young man back to his mother echoes the same scene of Elijah returning to the widow of Zarephath the son he had raised from the dead, in 1 Kings 17.
  16. Luke 7:16The crowd’s reaction — “a great prophet is risen up among us” and “God hath visited his people” — uses the same language of “visiting” that already appeared in Zechariah’s song in chapter 1.
  17. Luke 7:17News of this resurrection spreads through all of Judea and the surrounding regions.
  18. Luke 7:18John’s disciples, since he was in prison, bring him a report of everything Jesus had been doing.
  19. Luke 7:19Even though he had recognized Jesus at the baptism, John, now in prison, sends word to ask directly whether He is really the one who was expected — perhaps because Jesus’s ministry did not look like the political liberation many expected from the Messiah.
  20. Luke 7:20John’s disciples repeat the question exactly as it was sent, word for word, when they arrive before Jesus.
  21. Luke 7:21Jesus answers first with action, not words: He heals many people right there, on the spot, in front of John’s own messengers.
  22. Luke 7:22Jesus’s answer lists signs that point directly to Isaiah’s prophecies about the time of the Messiah — the blind seeing, the lame walking, the dead being raised — letting John draw his own conclusions from the evidence.
  23. Luke 7:23This blessing acknowledges that Jesus’s way of acting might not match what many people expected of the Messiah, and it asks that this not become a stumbling block to faith.
  24. Luke 7:24Jesus asks the crowd what they expected to see in the wilderness: a reed shaken by the wind is an image of something weak and unstable — clearly not a description of John.
  25. Luke 7:25He did not wear fine clothing either — that kind of luxury belonged to those who lived in palaces, far from John’s austere lifestyle in the wilderness.
  26. Luke 7:26Jesus confirms that John really was a prophet, and even more than that — raising his role above that of any ordinary prophet.
  27. Luke 7:27Jesus identifies John as the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy about a messenger sent ahead to prepare the way — the same role the angel had already announced to Zechariah in chapter 1.
  28. Luke 7:28The statement is deliberately paradoxical: no one born of woman is greater than John, yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than him — it contrasts greatness by the old standards with the new status that comes from belonging to the kingdom.
  29. Luke 7:29The common people and the tax collectors, by accepting John’s baptism, acknowledged in practice that God’s plan was right.
  30. Luke 7:30The Pharisees and the teachers of the law, however, by refusing the baptism, rejected that same plan of God for themselves — a direct contrast with those who accepted John’s message.
  31. Luke 7:31Jesus introduces a comparison to describe that generation’s fickle attitude toward both John and Himself.
  32. Luke 7:32The image of children in the marketplace, complaining because no one dances to the music or mourns with the wailing, describes people who are pleased by no approach at all, whatever it is.
  33. Luke 7:33John lived in total fasting, neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and for this they said he had a demon — rejected for the austere extreme of his lifestyle.
  34. Luke 7:34Jesus, by contrast, ate and drank normally, and for this they called Him a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners — the same generation rejecting both opposite styles.
  35. Luke 7:35This statement suggests that, in the end, the true worth of both John and Jesus will be recognized by the results of their lives, despite the criticism of the moment.
  36. Luke 7:36Eating reclined at the table, as was customary at banquets of the time, rather than sitting as we do today, is the setting for this meal in the house of the Pharisee who invited Jesus.
  37. Luke 7:37The alabaster jar was a common container for storing expensive perfume — the woman brings an item of significant value for this gesture.
  38. Luke 7:38A woman letting her hair down in public was, on its own, a shocking gesture by the customs of the time — respectable women kept their hair bound or covered. Combined with the jar of expensive ointment, the whole scene is an act of extravagant devotion that exposes the woman to everyone’s judgment there, which is exactly what the Pharisee takes note of.
  39. Luke 7:39The Pharisee thinks to himself that if Jesus were really a prophet, He would know what kind of woman is touching Him and would not allow it — not realizing that Jesus knows exactly who she is and still accepts the gesture on purpose.
  40. Luke 7:40Jesus calls Simon by name, showing that He knows more than the Pharisee supposed, and offers a parable in answer to his silent judgment.
  41. Luke 7:41A denarius was roughly a day’s wage for common labor. Five hundred denarii represented almost two years’ pay — an enormous debt next to the fifty — and it is this difference in scale that supports Jesus’s argument about gratitude in proportion to the forgiveness received.
  42. Luke 7:42Neither debtor can pay, and the creditor forgives both their debts — Jesus’s question aims exactly at the issue of gratitude in proportion to the size of the forgiveness.
  43. Luke 7:43Simon correctly answers that he would love more the one who had the larger debt forgiven, and Jesus confirms that he judged rightly.
  44. Luke 7:44Jesus contrasts Simon’s lack of basic hospitality — not even water for His feet, a common courtesy for travelers tired from the road — with the woman’s extravagant devotion, as she washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
  45. Luke 7:45Simon did not give Jesus the customary kiss of greeting between host and guest, while the woman never stopped kissing His feet from the moment she arrived.
  46. Luke 7:46Simon did not anoint Jesus’s head with oil, an ordinary gesture of hospitality, while the woman anointed even His feet with expensive ointment — each contrast widens the gap between the two.
  47. Luke 7:47Jesus sums up the lesson: her many sins are forgiven, and that is why she loved much; whoever is forgiven little loves little — linking gratitude to the size of the debt that was forgiven.
  48. Luke 7:48Jesus personally declares forgiveness to the woman, not as an abstract idea from the parable but as something said directly to her.
  49. Luke 7:49The other guests at the table wonder among themselves who this is who even forgives sins — the same doubtful reaction that already appeared at the healing of the paralytic in chapter 5.
  50. Luke 7:50Jesus closes by telling her that it was her faith, not the costly gesture itself, that saved her, and He sends her away in peace.

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