Day 51 – Wednesday, March 12, 2025

One Year Journey Through the New Testament

Luke 7

Welcome to our journey through the New Testament!

A Centurion’s Servant is Healed

Matt. 8:5-13

1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. ² And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. ³ So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, ⁵ “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

⁶ Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

⁹ When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” ¹⁰ And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick. 

(Luke 7:1–10, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Like in Matthew, Luke shares the story of Jesus’ going into Capernaum and being asked to heal the servant of a well-respected centurion. This centurion had the synagogue for the Jews.
• In the images below, you can see part of the ruins of the synagogue, and then the church in the distance is built over the ruins of Peter’s house.
• The centurion was humble and did not feel worthy of Jesus’ coming to his house, but simply requested that Jesus speak the word and his servant would be healed.
• Jesus honored his faith and gave him his request.

A Widow’s Son is Raised

¹¹ Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. ¹² And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵ So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

¹⁶ Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” 

(Luke 7:11–16, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• This story, unique to Luke, recounts Jesus’ raising from the dead the only son of a widow.
• There was a large crowd at this city, Nain. The widow had lost her son, the last man of her family, and was to be without a protector.
• Jesus saw her and told her not to weep, which must have seemed quite ridiculous to her and the crowd. Then He did something totally unexpected and even considered unclean: He touched the open coffin.
• He then spoke to the young man and told him to arise. He sat up and began to speak, and Jesus presented him to his mother.
• Fear came upon everyone and they were amazed. They glorifies God and called Jesus a great prophet.

John’s Questions are Answered

Matt. 11:2-6

¹⁷ And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

¹⁸ Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. ¹⁹ And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

²⁰ When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” ²¹ And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

²² Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” 

(Luke 7:17–23, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Matthew records this same story.
• John wanted assurance that Jesus was truly the Messiah. Although he had known this already, John was in prison and facing execution at some point. His faith needed just a little boost.
• Jesus told them to tell John was they had seen and heard, and then gave them a starting list of great miracles.

Jesus Praises John

Matt. 11:7-15

²⁴ When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written:

‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.’

²⁸ For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

²⁹ And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. 

(Luke 7:24–30, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus then praise John for his ministry and life.
• He called John a prophet, God’s messenger, the forerunner.
• Those who knew him agreed, but the religious leaders rejected this praise, and the ministry of John
• They missed it.

Jesus Criticizes His Generation

Matt. 11:6-19

³¹ And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

‘We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not weep.’

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ But wisdom is justified by all her children.” 

(Luke 7:31–35, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Luke, like Matthew, records Jesus’ rebuke of the generation in which He lived.
• They criticized the ones truly sent from God. They found fault, no matter what the preachers did. They faced judgment if they did not turn to Christ.

A Woman Anoints Jesus’ Feet

³⁶ Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” 

(Luke 7:36–39, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• This story has no absolutely direct parallel in the other gospels, although it is similar to the story of Mary anointing Jesus for burial.
• A woman came with an alabaster box of ointment as in other stories. The difference is, though, that this woman washed Jesus feet with her tears as she wept, kneeling behind Him. She then anointed His feet with the oil.
• The Pharisee criticized Jesus in his thoughts for allowing this, for this woman was a sinner.

The Parable of the Two Debtors

⁴⁰ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

⁴¹ “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” ⁴⁴ Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. ⁴⁵ You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” 

(Luke 7:40–50, NKJV)

Points to Ponder:

• Jesus responded with a similar retort to that in other gospels.
• He talked about two men who owed a creditor different amounts of money, one much and the other a little.
• Jesus asked which would love the creditor more if his debt was forgiven.
• The Pharisee answered rightly that it would be the one who owed more. Jesus said that he had answered correctly.
• Then Jesus praised this woman’s actions, pointing out that she had done what the Pharisee should have had done for Him. She washed Jesus feet. She kissed His feet. She anointed Him with oil. She showed more love.
• Then Jesus turned to her and forgave her sins, eliciting questions about His authority. He then dismissed her and called her saved.

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All Scriptures from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Join us this afternoon at 5:00 pm for a discussion of this chapter live online. Live@5 with Dr. Greg Sloop can be found on Facebook on the Dr. Greg Sloop page or on the Kannapolis Church of God Facebook page or Youtube page. Another blog will be posted each weekday at 6:00 a.m.