Luke · chapter 7 of 24
Updated on
Luke 7 shows Jesus' power and compassion: he heals a centurion's servant, whose faith amazes him, and raises the only son of a widow at Nain. He answers John's question from prison and praises John. In a Pharisee's house a sinful woman anoints his feet, and Jesus forgives her sins because she loved much.
After the Sermon on the Plain, Luke shows that Jesus' words have power. This chapter gathers four scenes that show whom he came to reach: a foreigner, a widow, a doubting prophet and a despised woman. Everything turns on the question of who Jesus is and how people respond to him.
In Capernaum, a Roman centurion has a servant who is sick and near death. He sends some Jewish elders to ask for help and then friends to say he does not feel worthy to have Jesus in his house: it is enough for Jesus to say a word, because he too understands authority. Jesus is amazed and says he has not found such faith even in Israel. The messengers find the servant well.
The next day, near the town of Nain, Jesus meets a funeral procession: the only son of a widow is being carried out for burial. Moved with compassion, Jesus touches the bier and commands the young man to rise. The dead man sits up and speaks, and Jesus gives him back to his mother. The people glorify God and the news spreads.
John the Baptist, in prison, sends two disciples to ask whether Jesus is the one who was to come. Jesus answers by pointing to what he does: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and good news is preached to the poor. He then praises John as more than a prophet, the promised messenger, and criticizes the generation that rejected both John and himself.
Jesus is invited to dinner by a Pharisee named Simon. A woman known as a sinner comes in, weeps at his feet, wipes them with her hair, kisses them and anoints them with perfume. Simon thinks Jesus cannot be a prophet. Jesus tells the parable of two forgiven debtors: the one forgiven more loves more. He tells the woman her sins are forgiven, her faith has saved her, and to go in peace.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus is amazed at the centurion's faith and says he has not found such faith even in Israel. A foreigner understands the authority of Jesus' word better than those raised with the promises.
Jesus feels compassion for the widow, tells her not to weep, touches the bier and commands the young man to rise. God cares about the concrete grief of a woman who has lost everything, and life overcomes death at his word.
Jesus answers John by pointing to his works: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and good news reaches the poor. These are the signs Isaiah had linked to the Messiah's time.
Jesus says the woman's many sins are forgiven, which is why she loves much, and that the one forgiven little loves little. Her love is the response to forgiveness received, not the price paid to obtain it.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That Jesus say a word, because he himself was under authority and his orders were obeyed. — Luke 7:6-8
Answer: He was amazed and said he had not found such faith even in Israel. — Luke 7:9
Answer: The only son of a widow, who was being carried out for burial. — Luke 7:12-15
Answer: Whether Jesus was the one who was to come or whether they should wait for another. — Luke 7:19-20
Answer: She wet them with tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them with perfume. — Luke 7:37-38
Answer: That her sins were forgiven, her faith had saved her, and she should go in peace. — Luke 7:48-50
Luke 7 invites us to see Jesus as the one who draws near to those who need him most: the foreigner, the widow, the despised woman. In a class you can ask whom we are treating as too far from grace, and how we might approach them with compassion.
The woman with the perfume reminds us that love for Jesus is born of forgiveness received. Someone who thinks they have no debts loves little. Recognizing how much God has forgiven us frees us from Simon's pride and makes us grateful. We can also learn from John: it is fine to doubt sincerely and bring our questions to Jesus, who answers patiently.
Luke 7 ends with the peace Jesus gives a forgiven woman, and with the dinner table asking who this is that forgives sins. In Luke 8 Jesus keeps going through towns, and his parable teaching and his authority over the storm answer that question.
The text does not explain his reasons. John was in prison and may have expected a Messiah who would bring judgment sooner; Jesus' works were works of mercy. Jesus does not rebuke him and praises him afterward, showing that one can have honest questions and still be faithful.
Luke does not give her name; he says only that she was known in the city as a sinner. She should not be identified with Mary Magdalene, who first appears in Luke 8. What matters is her attitude: humility, repentance and love.
There is discussion about the sense. The parable of the debtors indicates that her love is the proof she has already been forgiven, not the cause. Jesus then tells her that her faith has saved her, so salvation comes by grace received through faith.