Luke 7

This devotional is written by Nicole Adamides.

The faith of the centurion 
When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was ill and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, 'This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.' 6 So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: 'Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, "Go", and he goes; and that one, "Come", and he comes. I say to my servant, "Do this", and he does it.'

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, 'I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.' 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Jesus raises a widow's son 
11 Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don't cry.'

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. 'A great prophet has appeared among us,' they said. 'God has come to help his people.' 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Jesus and John the Baptist
18 John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, 'John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"

21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, illnesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, 'Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.'

24 After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: 'What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

'"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you."

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.'

29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptised by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptised by John.)

31 Jesus went on to say, 'To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling out to each other:

'"We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry."

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, "He has a demon." 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.'

Jesus anointed by a sinful woman 
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner.'

40 Jesus answered him, 'Simon, I have something to tell you.'

'Tell me, teacher,' he said.

41 'Two people owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?'

43 Simon replied, 'I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.'

'You have judged correctly,' Jesus said.

44 Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.'

48 Then Jesus said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'

49 The other guests began to say among themselves, 'Who is this who even forgives sins?'

50 Jesus said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.'

This chapter is packed with stories of miracles, faith as well as an answer on who Jesus is. It starts with a centurion, a Roman, non-Jew, part of the hated occupying force in Israel and ends with the story of a woman, of dubious reputation, anointing Jesus with tears and oil. Both of these people recognised their unworthiness and received God's mercy through Jesus.

These are the things that stood out to me:
-When Jesus was being questioned by John's disciples, he reminded them of what the prophecies foretold about the Messiah. Surely they should recognise that he was Him because of all the miracles? What more proof do they need?

And yet, to be clear, Jesus didn't do all these miracles to fulfil these prophecies. He did it because he saw the needs of the people he met; he saw the pain they were in and was stirred to do something about it. In verse 13, looking at the widow who had just lost her son:
-When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

-How wonderful that Jesus reached out to acknowledge the pain of loss, to bring comfort and then to perform a miracle of bringing the son back to life!

As human beings we look at situations and people on the outside and make a judgement about who they are, their motivation and whether they are "worthy".  Jesus didn't and doesn't.

-Despite all the authority that the centurion had, he still didn't feel worthy enough to approach Jesus. He recognised that Jesus could heal his servant, all He had to do was say the word. He didn't feel worthy but knew who Jesus was and what he could do. Jesus healed the servant from afar.

In the first book of Samuel, chapter 16 verse 7, God says: The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

Jesus entered humanity and was fully human. He knows us intimately and He sees us. You are seen and known.

In the book of Micah, chapter 6, verse 8, it says: He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

PRAY
Lord, help us to walk humbly with you and to see people and situations around us with mercy and compassion, as you do. Help us to be your "hands and feet", loving those who need to know your love and mercy. Help us to have faith that you will meet needs miraculously. Amen.