Read or listen The Gospel of Luke, chapter 7 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

Great Faith – Luke 7:1-10

The centurion in the account was a soldier of Herod Antipas. He was a Gentile (verses 5 and 9), but apparently a so-called God-fearing man (Acts 10:2) because he was interested in Judaism. A new synagogue was built on the site of the synagogue he built in the late 1st century, the ruins of which can still be seen. Perhaps some of the ruins are from this synagogue in Jesus’ time.

The centurion teaches us a lesson about how to apply the truths of everyday life to the life of faith (verses 6-8). Many people think that cultivating a life of faith requires no work. However, we see, for example, in the garden, that if it is not taken care of, it soon goes wild and valuable plants die as weeds take over the area.

The centurion's words are the source of one of the confessions of sin in our worship service: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter the unclean chamber of my heart..." (compare verse 6)

What is great faith like (verse 9)? It does not think great things of itself, but it expects great things from Jesus.

Lord of Death – Luke 7:11-17

Nain was located about three miles southeast of Nazareth. The Jews buried the dead on the same day. The fact that the deceased was his mother's only son deprived the widow of a guardian: after this she was dependent on the help of more distant relatives.

Only Luke records this resurrection. John records the most famous resurrection: the raising of Lazarus in John 11:38-44. Matthew and Mark only record the raising of Jairus' daughter (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43), which Luke also records (Luke 8:40-56). We do not know whether there were other resurrections besides these.

There are two resurrections in the Old Testament: those done through Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37).

The dead were buried outside the city (verse 12). Both Jesus and the deceased were followed by large crowds (verses 11 and 12). The deceased was carried in an open coffin (note the sitting up in verse 15), as Jewish sources of the time also report.

Jesus stopped the pallbearers and postponed death for the second time. The centurion’s servant was not yet dead, but he was already near death (verse 2). The widow’s son had already passed away by this time, but as God, Jesus had the power to bring him back.

In verse 13, Jesus is called Lord for the first time in the Gospel of Luke, which is used as the name of God in the Septuagint.

In the Pharisee's house, parables, miracles – Luke 7:18 - 8:56

John the Baptist’s Question to Jesus – Luke 7:18-23

The Jewish historian Josephus reports that Herod held John the Baptist prisoner in the castle of Macerus, east of the Jordan (Luke 3:19-20). News of Jesus’ activities had spread far and wide. John sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was “the one who was to come,” the Messiah. If Jesus was the Messiah, John had done his part as a forerunner of the Messiah.

Did John doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah? Some scholars want to see John's question as being asked only for the sake of his disciples. John wanted to give his disciples one last witness to Jesus' messiahship before he died. At the same time, he also gave his disciples a sign that his time was over and that his disciples should also follow Jesus. The Reformer Martin Luther also interprets this text in this way.

Another explanation for John's question is that during his imprisonment John had begun to doubt whether Jesus was the promised Messiah after all. John had proclaimed that the Messiah would come to judge the wicked (Luke 3:15-18). But Jesus had not begun to punish the wicked. And God had not even avenged John's imprisonment.

It is understandable that in difficult circumstances, even the faith of great heroes of faith (compare, for example, Elijah, 1 Kings 19:1-4) may begin to waver. There is nothing unusual about doubts, you just need to know how to deal with them correctly. In other words, do as John did: go to Jesus.

It is impossible to know whether John doubted or not. Both options have their own lessons to teach.

When the two disciples sent by John came to Jesus, Jesus did not answer them with words, but with deeds. It is worth noting that the miracles did not make Jesus the Messiah, but they were an indication, a proof, that the Messianic era had begun.

In all, the Gospels tell of three resurrections. The most famous is the raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-44), the next most famous is the raising of Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:40-56), and the third is the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, which Luke recounts just before John's question (Luke 7:11-17).

The greatest sign of the Messianic age, however, is that the gospel will be preached to the poor. Luke is not referring so much to the economically poor as to the spiritually poor, one example of whom is the sinful woman at the end of chapter seven (Luke 7:36-50). We could say that the "gospel to the poor" is the same as the "gospel of grace": It is a message of salvation for those who, in themselves, are unable to enter the kingdom of God.

Blessed is the one who does not reject the gospel of grace (verse 23).

Jesus' question about John the Baptist - Luke 7:24-35

Who was John the Baptist? Jesus presented three options:

1. John was nothing (verse 24). But he would not have attracted such crowds to the Jordan as John did!

2. John could have been an ordinary great man (verse 25). But John was not in the royal palace, but in the king’s prison.

3. John was a prophet (verse 26). And not just any prophet, but the last prophet of the Old Covenant, the forerunner and preparer of the way of the Messiah (Mal 3:1).

Even though John was the greatest man in the old covenant, he was still less than the least man in the new covenant of grace. Grace surpasses the law! (Romans 5:20-21) Even the best fulfillment of the law is always incomplete, but grace is perfect because it is the work of God. Verse 28 should not be interpreted as meaning that John was not also a member of the kingdom of God.

Jesus and John were very different. John was accused of being too strict, too legalistic. Jesus was accused of being too liberal. But John and Jesus had something in common: neither of them was good enough for the Pharisees and scribes, but sinners followed both of them.

The end of verse 32 is a reminder that man can always find an excuse not to hear God's call and follow His will. For some, the call is too dark, for others too joyful, etc.

One example of such a person who deliberately and coolly left himself out was Simon the Pharisee, whom Luke tells about next (Luke 7:36-50).

Already in the Old Testament, Wisdom was one of the names of God (for example, Proverbs 1:20-21).

Jesus sees into a person's heart - Luke 7:36-50

This story has been called one of the most beautiful gems of the Gospels. Jesus dined with sinners (Luke 5:30), but also with Pharisees. It was honorable to offer a meal to a visiting teacher in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The fact that Simon did not act with normal politeness shows that he either despised Jesus or, more likely, invited Jesus to a meal to test him.

While Jesus was at the meal, a sinful woman came into the room and wet Jesus' feet with her tears, dried them with her hair and anointed them with precious oil. At the table, people sat on low couches. They leaned on their left elbows and their feet were out from the table, not under the table.

In Jewish society at that time, the woman's act was anything but acceptable; it included three offenses: first, the woman came into the company of men, second, she spread her hair in public - such a thing was even grounds for divorce - and third, she touched the man in public.

Pharisee - Simon, the host of the meal - began to think that Jesus could not be a prophet because he allowed such a thing to happen, and especially by a sinful woman. If Jesus had been a prophet, he would have known that he was being touched by a sinful woman. Simon did not see or accept the woman's repentance.

But Jesus saw not only the woman's heart, but also Simon's. Jesus saw the woman's sins, but he had come specifically to save sinners (Luke 5:31-32). It is likely that Jesus and the woman had met before. The woman's action was an expression of gratitude that Jesus had already forgiven her sins (compare verse 47, where the Greek is in the perfect tense: "...her sins, which are many, are forgiven").

Jesus also saw into Simon’s heart. Although Simon had invited Jesus to the meal, he had avoided being too friendly so that he would not have been considered a disciple of Jesus (verses 44-46).

Jesus asked Simon a question: if one debtor were forgiven a debt of 50 denarii (about two months’ earnings) and the other a debt of 500 denarii (almost two years’ earnings), who would be more grateful? Simon had to admit that forgiving the larger debt would produce greater gratitude. Jesus then applied his question and Simon's answer to the sinful woman and Simon. Simon felt he needed forgiveness only a little, so he loved little. In contrast, the woman knew she needed forgiveness of many sins, so she loved much.

God's grace does not consider whether sins are many or few and what kind of sins they are. In fact, it is always a question of "original sin", man's separation from God (compare John 1:29 "who takes away the sin of the world!"). The problem arises from man's unwillingness to accept the forgiveness of sins!

Jesus declared the woman’s sins forgiven (verse 48). In Greek, the verb is in the perfect tense, which means completed action: sins are and remain forgiven. However, there is no mention of Simon’s sins being forgiven!

Once again the forgiveness of sins provoked outrage (v. 49). Only God can do that!

This story reminds us that we should not be so concerned with where people come from, but with where they are going. No one is a "hopeless case" to God.