Luke 7–8

A Centurion’s Slave Healed

7After he had finished all his statements in the hearing of the people, he entered into Capernaum. ²Now a certain centurion’s slave, who was esteemed by him, was sick^a and^* was about to die. ³So when he^* heard about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to him, asking him that he would come and^* cure his slave. ⁴And when they^* came to Jesus, they began imploring^b him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you grant this for him, ⁵because he loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us.” ⁶So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, and^* the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof. ⁷For this reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my slave must be healed. ⁸For I also am a man placed under authority, who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another one, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”^*

⁹And when^* Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning around to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith!” ¹⁰And when they^* returned to the house, those who had been sent found the slave healthy.

A Widow’s Son Raised

¹¹And it happened that on the next day he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. ¹²And as he approached the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³And when^* the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep!” ¹⁴And he came up and^* touched the bier, and those who were carrying it^* stopped. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. ¹⁶And fear seized them all, and they began to glorify^* God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us!” and “God has visited to help his people!” ¹⁷And this report about him went out in the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

A Question from John the Baptist

¹⁸And his disciples reported to John about all these things. And summoning a certain two of his disciples, John ¹⁹sent them^* to the Lord,^c saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” ²⁰And when^* the men came to him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’ ” ²¹In that hour he healed many people of diseases and suffering and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people. ²²And he answered and^* said to them, “Go and^* tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear;^d the dead are raised, the poor have good news announced to them.^{* 23}And whoever is not offended by me is blessed.”

²⁴And when^* the messengers of John had departed, he began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are in splendid clothing and luxury are in the royal palaces. ²⁶But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and even more than a prophet! ²⁷It is this man about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I am sending my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’^e

²⁸I tell you, there is no one greater among those born of women than John, but the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. ²⁹(And all the people, when they^* heard this^*—even the tax collectors—affirmed the righteousness of God, because they^* had been baptized with the baptism of John, ³⁰but the Pharisees and the legal experts rejected the purpose of God for themselves, because they^* had not been baptized by him.)

³¹“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, who say,

‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance;

we sang a lament and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come not eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a man who is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵And wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Anoints Jesus’ Feet

³⁶Now one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he entered into the house of the Pharisee and^* reclined at the table. ³⁷And behold, a woman in the town who was a sinner, when she^* learned that he was dining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of perfumed oil, ³⁸and standing behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and was wiping them^* with the hair of her head and was kissing his feet and anointing them^* with the perfumed oil. ³⁹Now when^* the Pharisee who invited him saw this,^* he spoke to himself, saying, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰And Jesus answered and^* said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Teacher, say it.”^{* 41}“There were two debtors who owed a certain creditor. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. ⁴²When^* they were not able to repay him,^* he forgave the debts^* of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon answered and^* said, “I suppose that it is the one to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them^* with her hair. ⁴⁵You did not give me a kiss, but from the time I entered, she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶You did not anoint my head with olive oil, but she anointed my feet with perfumed oil. ⁴⁷For this reason^f I tell you, her sins—which were many—have been forgiven, for she loved much. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” ⁴⁸And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹And those who were reclining at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Some Women Accompany Jesus

8And it happened that afterward^a also he was going about from one town and village to another preaching and proclaiming the good news concerning the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him, ²and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, ³and Joanna the wife of Chuza (Herod’s household manager), and Susanna, and many others who were helping to support them from their possessions.

The Parable of the Sower

⁴And while^* a large crowd was gathering and they were going to him from town after town, he spoke by means of a parable: ⁵“The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, some seed^b fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. ⁶And other seed fell on the rock, and when it^* came up, it withered, because it did not have moisture. ⁷And other seed fell in the midst of the thorn plants, and the thorn plants grew up with it^* and^* choked it. ⁸And other seed fell on the good soil, and when it^* came up, it produced a hundred times as much grain.” As he^* said these things, he called out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Reason for the Parables

⁹And his disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are in parables, so that

‘Seeing they may not see,

and hearing they may not understand.’^c

The Parable of the Sower Interpreted

¹¹Now the parable means this: the seed is the word of God, ¹²and those beside the path are the ones who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and^* be saved. ¹³And those on the rock are those who receive the word with joy when they hear it,^* and these do not have enough root, who believe for a time and in a time of testing fall away. ¹⁴And the seed that fell into the thorn plants—these are the ones who hear and as they^* go along are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and they do not bear fruit to maturity. ¹⁵But the seed on the good soil—these are the ones who, after^* hearing the word, hold fast to it^* with a noble and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

The Parable of the Lamp

¹⁶“And no one, after^* lighting a lamp, covers it with a jar or puts it^* under a bed, but puts it^* on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. ¹⁷For nothing is secret that will not become evident, and nothing hidden that will never be known and come to light. ¹⁸Therefore consider how you listen, for whoever has, to him more will be given, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away from him.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

¹⁹Now his mother and brothers came to him, and they were not able to meet with him because of the crowd. ²⁰And it was reported to him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to see you.” ²¹But he answered and^* said to them, “These are my mother and my brothers—the ones who hear the word of God and do it.^*

Calming of a Storm

²²Now it happened that on one of the days both he and his disciples got into a boat, and he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they set sail, ²³and as^* they were sailing, he fell asleep. And a storm of wind came down on the lake,…