Luke 7:1–35

Jesus Heals a Soldier’s Servant

7When Jesus finished saying all these things to the people, he went to Capernaum. ²There was an army officer who had a servant who was very important to him. The servant was so sick he was nearly dead. ³When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. ⁴The men went to Jesus and begged him, saying, “This officer is worthy of your help. ⁵He loves our people, and he built us a synagogue.”

⁶So Jesus went with the men. He was getting near the officer’s house when the officer sent friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, because I am not worthy to have you come into my house. ⁷That is why I did not come to you myself. But you only need to command it, and my servant will be healed. ⁸I, too, am a man under the authority of others, and I have soldiers under my command. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant does it.”

⁹When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, this is the greatest faith I have found anywhere, even in Israel.”

¹⁰Those who had been sent to Jesus went back to the house where they found the servant in good health.

Jesus Brings a Man Back to Life

¹¹Soon afterwards Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his followers and a large crowd traveled with him. ¹²When he came near the town gate, he saw a funeral. A mother, who was a widow, had lost her only son. A large crowd from the town was with the mother while her son was being carried out. ¹³When the Lord saw her, he felt very sorry for her and said, “Don’t cry.” ¹⁴He went up and touched the coffin, and the people who were carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” ¹⁵And the son sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶All the people were amazed and began praising God, saying, “A great prophet has come to us! God has come to help his people.”

¹⁷This news about Jesus spread through all Judea and into all the places around there.

John Asks a Question

¹⁸John’s followers told him about all these things. He called for two of his followers ¹⁹and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?”

²⁰When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?’ ”

²¹At that time, Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and he gave sight to many blind people. ²²Then Jesus answered John’s followers, “Go tell John what you saw and heard here. The blind can see, the crippled can walk, and people with skin diseases are healed. The deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. ²³Those who do not stumble in their faith because of me are blessed!”

²⁴When John’s followers left, Jesus began talking to the people about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed ⁿ blown by the wind? ²⁵What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, people who have fine clothes and much wealth live in kings’ palaces. ²⁶But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and I tell you, John is more than a prophet. ²⁷This was written about him:

‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare the way for you.’

²⁸I tell you, John is greater than any other person ever born, but even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.”

²⁹(When the people, including the tax collectors, heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good, because they had been baptized by John. ³⁰But the Pharisees and experts on the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.)

³¹Then Jesus said, “What shall I say about the people of this time? What are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace, calling to one another and saying,

‘We played music for you, but you did not dance;

we sang a sad song, but you did not cry.’

³³John the Baptist came and did not eat bread or drink wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon in him.’ ³⁴The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine, and he is a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵But wisdom is proved to be right by what it does.”