Luke 7–8

Jesus Heals a Roman Officer’s Servant

7When Jesus had finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ²A Roman officer there had a servant who was very dear to him; the man was sick and about to die. ³When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant. ⁴They came to Jesus and begged him earnestly, “This man really deserves your help. ⁵He loves our people and he himself built a synagogue for us.”

⁶So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, “Sir, don’t trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, ⁷neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. ⁸I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; I order that one, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and I order my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

⁹Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned round and said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, I have never found faith like this, not even in Israel!”

¹⁰The messengers went back to the officer’s house and found his servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

¹¹Soon afterwards^e Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. ¹²Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart was filled with pity for her, and he said to her, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴Then he walked over and touched the coffin, and the men carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man! Get up, I tell you!” ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶They all were filled with fear and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us!” they said; “God has come to save his people!”

¹⁷This news about Jesus went out through all the country and the surrounding territory.

The Messengers from John the Baptist

¹⁸When John’s disciples told him about all these things, he called two of them ¹⁹and sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”

²⁰When they came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask if you are the one he said was going to come, or if we should expect someone else.”

²¹At that very time Jesus cured many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people. ^22*He answered John’s messengers, “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean,^f the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. ²³How happy are those who have no doubts about me!”

²⁴After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds: “When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind? ²⁵What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that and live in luxury are found in palaces! ²⁶Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. ^27*For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’ ²⁸I tell you,” Jesus added, “John is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John.”

^29*All the people heard him; they and especially the tax collectors were the ones who had obeyed God’s righteous demands and had been baptized by John. ^30*But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves and refused to be baptized by John.

³¹Jesus continued, “Now to what can I compare the people of this day? What are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the market place. One group shouts to the other, ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn’t cry!’ ³³John the Baptist came, and he fasted and drank no wine, and you said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ ³⁴The Son of Man came, and he ate and drank, and you said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ ³⁵God’s wisdom, however, is shown to be true by all who accept it.”

Jesus at the Home of Simon the Pharisee

³⁶A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him, and Jesus went to his house and sat down to eat. ^37*In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume ^38*and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them. ³⁹When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!”

⁴⁰Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Teacher,” he said, “tell me.”

⁴¹“There were two men who owed money to a moneylender,” Jesus began. “One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. ⁴²Neither of them could pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?”

⁴³“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are right,” said Jesus. ⁴⁴Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ⁴⁵You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. ⁴⁶You provided no olive oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. ⁴⁷I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”

⁴⁸Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Women Who Accompanied Jesus

8Some time later Jesus travelled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him, ^2*and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had been driven out; ^3*Joanna, whose husband Chuza was an officer in Herod’s court; and Susanna, and many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.

The Parable of the Sower

⁴People kept coming to Jesus from one town after another; and when a great crowd gathered, Jesus told this parable:

⁵“Once there was a man who went out to sow corn. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it up. ⁶Some of it fell on rocky ground, and when the plants sprouted, they dried up because the soil had no moisture. ⁷Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up with the plants and choked them. ⁸And some seeds fell in good soil; the plants grew and produced corn, a hundred grains each.”

And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

The Purpose of the Parables

⁹His disciples asked Jesus what this parable meant, ^10*and he answered, “The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to the rest it comes by means of parables, so that they may look but not see, and listen but not understand.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower

¹¹“This is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. ¹²The seeds that fell along the path stand for those who hear; but the Devil comes and takes the message away from their hearts in order to keep them from believing and being saved. ¹³The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who hear the message and receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them; they believe only for a while but when the time of testing comes, they fall away. ¹⁴The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear; but the worries and riches and pleasures of this life crowd in and choke them, and their fruit never ripens. ¹⁵The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit.

A Lamp under a Bowl

^16*“People do not light a lamp and cover it with a bowl or put it under a bed. Instead, they put it on the lamp-stand, so that people will see the light as they come in.

^17*“Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be found and brought to light.

^18*“Be careful, then, how you listen; because those who have something will be given more, but those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they think they have.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

¹⁹Jesus’ mother and brothers came to him, but were unable to join him because of the crowd. ²⁰Someone said to Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

²¹Jesus said to them all, “My mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

²²One day Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they started out. ²³As they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. Suddenly a strong wind blew down on the lake, and the boat began to fill with water, so that they were all in great danger. ²⁴The disciples went to Jesus and woke him up, saying, “Master, Master! We are about to die!”

Jesus got up and gave an order to the wind and the stormy water; they died…