Daily Bible Reading (Monday, March 12th)

10

Luke 7 (ESV)

 

Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant[a] who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion[b] heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with 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.” When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

11 Soon afterward[c] he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[d] gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers[e] are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus[f] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell 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 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just,[g] having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

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

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among[h] themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Footnotes:

  1. Luke 7:2 Or bondservant; also verses 3810
  2. Luke 7:3 Greek he
  3. Luke 7:11 Some manuscripts The next day
  4. Luke 7:15 Greek he
  5. Luke 7:22 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
  6. Luke 7:24 Greek he
  7. Luke 7:29 Greek they justified God
  8. Luke 7:49 Or to

10 Comments

The fact that the centaurion understood who Jesus was (God) and in turn, what that meant for him (that he had authority) is amazing considering the fact that he had no New Testament to tell him this. We have the complete revelation from God and still many do not understand the implication of the reality of who Jesus really was. I pray that we will be clear in proclaiming the truth to a world that needs to understand it.

Jesus gave the good news to the woman: "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." How wonderful to have peace with God the Father! No matter what my circumstances, it is well with my soul!

The disciples of John the Baptist returned from Jesus to John with a message of good (GREAT, FANTASTIC, dare I say beyond our imagination!) news concerning the results of the words and work of Jesus. Jesus has done marvelous deeds . . . "Blessed are is the one not offended by (Jesus) me." Let us share the great news to those who need to hear (everyone)!

"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” The depth of our love for Christ matches the depth of our understanding of our sin. When we understand how much we have been forgiven then our love is greater. Good religious people don't have this love because they don't see themselves as terrible sinners. I must have an accurate understanding of myself and the depth of the Savior's love for me if I am to honor Him with an appropriate love.

I have to say, I have heard the story of the sinful woman my whole life. This time, I read it and could totally see it playing out in my head like a movie. And wouldn't you know, I ended up I tears!! What humble boldness to love the untouchables and forgive the most obscene. My challenge for today...

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

How often do we judge the outward actions of others like the pharisees? 'They don't do this, so maybe they aren't a christian', or 'they did that so maybe they aren't a christian'. In both situations, the hearts and actions of John the Baptist and Jesus were righteous, although their actions were seemingly opposites. Let us not focus on the actions, but on the heart! The last sentence here is profound; the Holy Spirit prompts some to abstain, while others to imbibe, working out in all ways His glory!

The story of the woman who washed Jesus' feet loved him much. I pray that would be ever more true of me, that I love Jesus much and more each day. He is worthy of our love for he has forgiven us much.

"(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John."

I think this verse contains a helpful phrase regarding repentance as we look to bring others to Christ. "They declared God just", in partaking in John's baptism of forgiveness. We want to see others declare God just in His judgements of themselves and ultimately in His wrath which He was pleased to lay upon our Lord.

"Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

It's helpful to continually recall past sins, and meditate on present sins that I may transfer mourning and lowliness to happiness through faith in Christ. Loving the Lord our God with all our strength, as commanded. I think that means extending some effort to that end, and certainly recalling the depths of sin from which I have been forgiven is a helpful practice.

Amen, Colin!
v2-10: As a centurion myself, this story has deep meaning. I don’t think the Jewish elders got it; they thought he was worthy because of his love for the nation of Israel expressed in the building of their synagogue, but Jesus didn’t marvel at that (although the respect of the elders makes me think this centurion likely met the qualifications to be an elder in the church since he had a good reputation with the Jews). But God in flesh marveled at the faith of this Gentile centurion! Father, please give me, a Gentile centurion, a marvelous faith for your glory.

I would say the two things that struck me most about this passage were the first and last story. Jesus marveled at the faith of the centurion and because of his faith he (Jesus) saw fit to save the centurion’s servant. Being a military member, I am encouraged to begin my work week with an example of humble faith. In the last story Jesus says in v. 47, “...he who is forgiven little, loves little.” My perspective must radically change and I am thankful for the faith that saved the sinful woman. God I pray for my faith to be evident in my workplace, give me courage to live out the gospel. Increase my faith, Lord, and help me to love greatly because I have been forgiven greatly!

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