Luke 7

CHAPTER 7THEME: Jesus heals the centurion’s servant; Jesus restores to life the son of the widow of Nain; Jesus commends John the Baptist; Jesus goes to dinner at a Pharisee’s house; Jesus gives parable of two debtorsThis chapter opens with another meticulous record of healing. In this case it is the centurion’s servant. Although Jesus had no personal contact with the servant, he was made well. Dr. Luke alone records the raising from the dead of the son of the widow of Nain. He is the only Gospel writer who records Jesus raising from the dead two persons (the other was Jairus’ daughter, Luk_8:54-55). Also in this chapter is the first of eighteen parables that Luke alone records. It grew out of Jesus’ visit to the home of a Pharisee where a woman anointed His feet with ointment. The simple parable of the two debtors revealed that this woman of the street was better than Simon, the Pharisee.

Luke 7:1

JESUS HEALS THE CENTURION’S SERVANTThere were many Roman soldiers in this city. A centurion was a Roman officer who commanded one hundred men. Apparently this officer was a man of faith. His love for the Jewish nation was evidenced by his building a synagogue for them at Capernaum. In his position he was an officer with authority. He could say to a soldier, “Do this,” or “Go there,” and the soldier would obey. He recognized that Jesus had that kind of power and that He had only to speak the word in order that his servant might be healed. Jesus marveled at the faith of this man. It is recorded that only on two occasions Jesus marveled. He marveled at the faith of the centurion and at the unbelief of Israel.

Luke 7:11

JESUS RESTORES TO LIFE THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAINOnly Dr. Luke records this incident. It concerns a restoration to life or, as some would call it, a resurrection. The instances recorded of Jesus raising people from the dead technically are not resurrections as we think of them. All the Lord did was restore life back into old bodies. Tradition says that after the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus asked Him if he would have to die again. Our Lord told him he would have to die again, and Lazarus never smiled from that day on. Whether or not that tradition is accurate, I can imagine that going through the doorway of death once would be enough! Up to this day only one Person has been raised from the dead in resurrection, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the firstfruits of them that sleep. He is the only one raised from the dead in a glorified body. One of these days, in the event we call the Rapture, the dead in Christ and the living believers will be changed into resurrected and glorified bodies, and will be caught up to be with the Lord. That resurrected body will never die. The account of the dead son of the widow of Nain is indeed sad. He was the only son of a widowed mother which made his death twice as tragic. While passing through the village of Nain, the Lord met the funeral procession. Someone has said that He broke up every funeral He met. I am of the opinion that He raised from the dead more than the three people who are recorded in the Bible. These three instances are examples, probably from three age groups: a child, a young man, and an adult man. Jesus raised this young man from the dead for the sake of this lonely mother. He had compassion for this woman and her situation. He touched the casket in which the young man lay and spoke to him. He always used the same method in raising people from the dead. He spoke directly to them. Also at the Rapture, it will be His voice.

Scripture tells us, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Th_4:16-17). He is coming for us with a shout. His voice will be like the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. His one solo voice will call His own back from the dead. He always used the same method in restoring life. He did not, however, use the same method in other miracles.

But to raise the dead He always spoke directly to them.

Luke 7:19

JESUS COMMENDS JOHN THE BAPTISTAt this juncture John the Baptist sent some of his disciples to the Lord Jesus to ask a few questions because John was puzzled. We have met John the Baptist before in Matthew and Mark. His dress was quite picturesque and unusual. There are those today who adopt a peculiar dress which may indicate a religious crank or a religious nut. While it is true that John the Baptist used an unusual dress, that is not what made him unusual. It was his message and ministry that set him apart. He was called of Godand we had better be sure we are called of God if we are going to wear religious garb. Many people think that by adopting the outward trappings of Christianity they will become Christians. Not long ago a young woman was in front of our radio headquarters, taking a survey, and asked me what my occupation was. I told her that I was a minister and then asked her what a person had to do to become a Christian. She replied that to be a Christian you had to be good to your neighbors, not criticize anyone, and be friendly rather than harsh. She went on with quite a list of things that one should do to become a Christian. I told her, “You think Christianity is something you do on the outside. It is not. Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is more than trying to imitate Christ, or wearing certain religious garb. You must be born again. To be a Christian means to have an experience with Christ. ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation’” (see 2Co_5:17). John the Baptist seems to be misplaced in the New Testament; he does not belong in the New Testament at all. He is the last of the illustrious Old Testament prophets. He is the bridge over the yawning chasm between the Old and New Testaments. He ranks with such notables as Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Christ told that generation to whom He preached, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets” (Mat_23:29-31). They proved themselves genuine children who inherited the nature of their fathers because John the Baptist, last of the Old Testament prophets, was at that time in prison, and his voice was soon to be silenced in death. While John was in prison, doubt had captivated his mind. There are those who try and give a psychological explanation for the question John the Baptist asked, “Art thou he that should come?” John was looking for the Messiah and wanted to know if Christ was the one. To try and psychologically explain it away is rather amusing. They say that because he was in prison, he was depressed, discouraged, and dejected. I don’t believe a word of it. John had announced the Kingdom and denounced the nation. He had pronounced the coming of the King.

He was a highway builder for the King. John identified the Messiah and said, “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable” (Luk_3:16-17). This is strong language. John was not expecting a Sunday school picnic. John was expecting Christ to establish the Kingdom in all of its glory and power. Since this had not happened, John sent some of his disciples to ask if Christ was the One they were looking for, or were they to look for another? Notice that the Lord Jesus received the messengers cordially, but He kept them waiting.

Luke 7:21

Jesus kept John’s disciples waiting while He performed many miracles so that they could go back to tell John that they had seen the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the Messiah. Isa_35:5-6 predicts His first coming: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing….” Jesus told John’s disciples to tell him that they had seen the credentials of the Messiah. Actually John had fulfilled his mission. And Jesus realized that He was not moving as fast as John wanted Him to, but in the presence of intellectual difficulties, He is asking John to trust Him. He is asking the same thing of you and me. He asks for our faith when we cannot understand. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1Co_1:18). Doubts are not a sign that you are smart. On the contrary, they are a sign that you are very foolish and do not know everything. They signal the fact that you belong to a group which is perishing. Many learned professors sit in swivel chairs in dusty, musty libraries, far removed from life and human need, and write about the intellectual difficulties of accepting the Bible, the deity of Jesus Christ, and redemption by the blood of Christ. I believe the Word of God, friend, and I hope you do.

Luke 7:24

Was John the Baptist a reed shaken with the wind? Indeed, he was not. John was rough and rugged. He was unshakable.

Luke 7:26

This is a quotation from Mal_3:1 and establishes John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah.

Luke 7:28

This is a tremendous tribute that Jesus gives to John the Baptist.

Luke 7:30

In other words, they were like a bunch of spoiled brats. A lot of folks are that way. I was a pastor for almost forty years, and a great deal of that time was spent as a wet nurse, burping spiritual babieswhich is what these religious rulers were in Christ’s day. The Lord said they were like children playing in a marketplace. One of the children says, “Let’s play wedding.” The others say, “No, that’s too jolly.” “Then let’s play funeral.” No, they don’t want to play funeral because it is too sad. Our Lord said these petulant children were exactly like that religious generation. And I wonder if this is an accurate picture of the average church today.

Luke 7:33

I hear people say, “I do not like that preacher because he is too intellectual, and his tone is monotonous.” And the same folk say, “I do not like that preacher because he pounds the pulpit and yells at the top of his voice.” The problem is not with these two types of preachers. The problem is with the spoiled baby who complains. That is what the Lord said in His day, and it is still applicable today.

Luke 7:36

JESUS GOES TO DINNER AT A PHARISEE’S HOUSEThis is one of the notable occasions when the Lord Jesus Christ went out to dinner. When He went out to dinner, it was never a dull affair. Remember, He had been denouncing these Pharisees. He called them spoiled brats; so it is difficult to believe that the invitation to dinner from this Pharisee was a friendly one. The Pharisee invited Him to dinner so that he could spy on Him and find something wrong with Him.

Luke 7:37

While Christ was in the home of the Pharisee, a woman came. She brought an alabaster box of ointment and entered the house of the Pharisee. When you had guests in that day, your neighbors had a perfect right to come in and stand along the wall or sit on their haunches and watch. They did not come to comment, only to watch. This woman came in and took her place behind the Lord Jesus. In those days they didn’t sit on chairs at the table; they reclined on couches.

So Jesus was reclining on a couch, with His feet sticking out in back, leaning on His arm, as He talked across the table to His host. As she stood by the feet of the Lord Jesus, weeping, because her sins had been forgiven, she began to wet His feet with tears and wipe His feet with the hairs of her head. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the costly ointment. Now this old Pharisee would not have spoken to this type of woman on the street. He might have done business with her after dark when no one could see, but he would not have anything to do with a woman of her reputation during daylight hours. When he saw her wiping and kissing the Lord’s feet, he thought, He must not be a prophet or he would know the kind of woman she is and have nothing to do with her.

Luke 7:40

JESUS GIVES PARABLE OF TWO DEBTORSJesus said, “Simon, I want to talk to you.” Simon said, “Go ahead.” This is one of the delightful parables Dr. Luke records. You can see from the content of this story the direction the Lord Jesus is taking.

Luke 7:44

For the first time the Lord acknowledges this woman. He has not paid a bit of attention to her up to this time, but now He turns and looks at her. While He is looking at her, He says to Simon, who is on the other side of the table, “Seest thou this woman?” Simon had already said within himself that he did not think the Lord knew what kind of woman she was or He would not have permitted her to touch Him. Now our Lord says, “Simon, do you really know this woman? Look at her. You think you see her but you do not at all.” The Lord is really rubbing this Pharisee the wrong way. This is the reason I believe that the Lord was not invited to dinner as a friendly gesture, but so that the Pharisee could spy upon Him. Now the Lord Jesus says:

Luke 7:45

The Lord is saying, “You did not even exercise the common courtesies of the day.” The Lord declares he did not have good manners. If Simon had been the proper kind of host, he would have washed the Lord’s feet. He would have anointed the Lord’s head and kissed Him. That was the custom of the day, but Simon did none of these things. (Unfortunately, the same thing could be said about a lot of Christians; they may read Emily Post, but they do not have good manners.) I wish I had been present at this dinner. Our Lord was tops as an after-dinner speaker! What he said blanched the soul of Simon. This poor woman from the streets, without hope, wanted forgiveness. The God of heaven is there and He has forgiven her. Now He tells Simon, “You have judged correctly. You said that the one who owed the most would naturally be the one who would love him most. Well, she was a great sinner and has been forgiven a whole lot. But you, because you don’t think you are a sinner, have not even asked for forgiveness.” And that hypocritical old Pharisee sat therean unforgiven sinner.

Luke 7:49

This is very pertinent for our day. If you are a church member and have never asked the Lord Jesus for forgiveness, you are lost. This woman did not have any good works to her credit, but she believed in the Lord, she trusted Christ, she asked for forgiveness.