Luke 7

This chapter belongs to the Galilean ministry section of the Gospel of Luke. It follows the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6 and opens with Jesus entering Capernaum.

Outline

• Verses 1–10 A centurion (the commander of a company of about a hundred soldiers in the Roman army) in Capernaum sends Jewish elders and then friends to ask Jesus to heal his servant, asking Him to "say in a word" so that the servant may be healed. Jesus commends his faith, and the servant is healed.
• Verses 11–17 At the gate of the town of Nain, Jesus raises a widow's only son, and the people say, "a great prophet is risen up among us."
• Verses 18–23 John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to ask, "Art thou he that should come?" Jesus answers by telling them to report to John what they have seen and heard.
• Verses 24–35 Jesus describes John as "much more than a prophet" and compares the present generation, which accepts neither John nor Himself, to children in the marketplace.
• Verses 36–50 In the house of Simon the Pharisee, a sinful woman washes Jesus' feet with her tears and anoints them with ointment. Jesus tells the parable of two debtors, one forgiven five hundred denarii and the other fifty, and says to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace."

Key Verses

• Luke 7:9 "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" — Jesus' commendation of a Gentile's faith.
• Luke 7:22 "The blind see … to the poor the gospel is preached" — Jesus points to His works in answer to the question of whether He is the Messiah.
• Luke 7:50 "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" — a verse that binds together forgiveness, faith, and salvation.

People and Places

• The centurion: a Gentile soldier who had built a synagogue for the Jewish community.
• The widow of Nain: a woman who had lost her only son.
• Simon: the Pharisee who invited Jesus to a meal.
• The sinful woman: she is not named.
• Nain: a town in Galilee.

Notes for Readers

• The account at Nain is often compared with 1 Kings 17, where Elijah raises the son of the widow of Zarephath.
• Verse 22 echoes Isaiah 61:1–3, and verse 27 quotes Malachi 3:1.
• Interpreters have long differed over whether the words "for she loved much" in verse 47 present her love as the ground of forgiveness or as its result. Protestant commentators often read it as the result, based on the logic of the parable in verses 41–43.
• In the Western church, a tradition identifying this woman with Mary Magdalene spread from the Middle Ages onward. The text, however, does not name her. The detail of the alabaster box being "broken" belongs to the anointing at Bethany in Mark 14 and does not appear in this chapter.
• The account of the centurion has a parallel in Matthew 8, and John's question has a parallel in Matthew 11.

In the Korean Church

The centurion's request that Jesus "say in a word" is frequently cited in sermons on faith.