New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Luke 7
1
Jesus finished saying all those things to the people. Then he entered Capernaum.
2
There the servant of a Roman commander was sick and about to die. His master thought highly of him.
3
The commander heard about Jesus. So he sent some elders of the Jews to him. He told them to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant.
Reference
References Jesus
Matthew 8:5
5
He loves our nation and has built our synagogue."
6
So Jesus went with them. When Jesus came near the house, the Roman commander sent friends to him. He told them to say, "Lord, don't trouble yourself. I am not good enough to have you come into my house.
Reference
7
That is why I did not even think I was fit to come to you. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
Reference
8
I myself am a man who is under authority. And I have soldiers who obey my orders. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes. I tell 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. He turned to the crowd that was following him. He said, "I tell you, even in Israel I have not found anyone whose faith is so strong."
Reference
10
Then the men who had been sent to Jesus returned to the house. They found that the servant was healed.
Reference
11
Some time later, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went along with him.
📍 Nain
12
He approached the town gate. Just then, a dead person was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother. She was a widow. A large crowd from the town was with her.
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 8:42
13
When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. So he said, "Don't cry."
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 63:9
Hebrews 4:15
Luke 8:52
Hebrews 2:17
Mark 8:2
John 20:15
References Lord
Psalm 103:13
Psalm 86:15
Jeremiah 31:20
Psalm 86:5
14
Then he went up and touched the coffin. Those carrying it stood still. Jesus said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"
Reference
Parallel theme
John 5:25
1 Kings 17:21
Psalm 33:9
Job 14:14
Romans 4:17
Resurrection
John 11:25
Isaiah 26:19
Job 14:12
John 5:21
15
The dead man sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16
The people were all filled with wonder and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people."
Reference
Glory
Matthew 9:8
Matthew 15:31
Parallel theme
Exodus 4:31
Luke 1:65
Prophecy
Matthew 21:11
References God
Luke 1:68
Psalm 65:9
Luke 2:20
Resurrection
Luke 7:39
Jeremiah 33:9
17
This news about Jesus spread all through Judea and the whole country.
18
John's disciples told him about all these things. So he chose two of them.
19
He sent them to the Lord. They were to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who was supposed to come? Or should we look for someone else?"
20
The men came to Jesus. They said, "John the Baptist sent us to ask you, 'Are you the one who was supposed to come? Or should we look for someone else?' "
21
At that very time Jesus healed many people. They had illnesses, sicknesses and evil spirits. He also gave sight to many who were blind.
Reference
Parallel theme
Mark 3:10
22
So Jesus replied to the messengers, "Go back to John. Tell him what you have seen and heard. Blind people receive sight. Disabled people walk. Those who have skin diseases are healed. Deaf people hear. Those who are dead are raised to life. And the good news is preached to those who are poor.
Reference
24
So John's messengers left. Then Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John. He said, "What did you go out into the desert to see? Tall grass waving in the wind?
Reference
25
If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No. Those who wear fine clothes and have many expensive things are in palaces.
27
"He is the one written about in Scripture. It says, " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you. He will prepare your way for you.' --(Malachi 3:1)
Reference
28
I tell you, no one more important than John has ever been born. But the least important person in God's kingdom is more important than he is."
Reference
29
All the people who heard Jesus' words agreed that God's way was right. Even the tax collectors agreed. These people had all been baptized by John.
Reference
30
But the Pharisees and the authorities on the law did not accept God's purpose for themselves. They had not been baptized by John.
Reference
31
"What can I compare today's people to?" Jesus asked. "What are they like?
Reference
Parallel theme
Lamentations 2:13
32
They are like children sitting in the market place and calling out to each other. They say, " 'We played a flute for you. But you didn't dance. We sang a funeral song. But you didn't cry.'
33
"That is how it has been with John the Baptist. When he came to you, he didn't eat bread or drink wine. And you say, 'He has a demon.'
Reference
34
But when the Son of Man came, he ate and drank as you do. And you say, 'This fellow is always eating and drinking far too much. He's a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." '
Reference
36
One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him. So he went to the Pharisee's house. He took his place at the table.
Reference
37
There was a woman in that town who had lived a sinful life. She learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house. So she came with a special sealed jar of perfume.
Reference
Parallel theme
John 11:2
References Jesus
Matthew 21:31
Resurrection
Luke 5:30
Sin
1 Timothy 1:9
Luke 5:32
Luke 18:13
1 Peter 4:18
Romans 5:8
38
She stood behind Jesus and cried at his feet. She began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair. She kissed them and poured perfume on them.
Reference
39
The Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this. He said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him. He would know what kind of woman she is. She is a sinner!"
Reference
41
"Two people owed money to a certain lender. One owed him 500 silver coins. The other owed him 50 silver coins.
Reference
42
Neither of them had the money to pay him back. So he let them go without paying. Which of them will love him more?"
43
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who owed the most money." "You are right," Jesus said.
44
Then he turned toward the woman. He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water to wash my feet. But she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
Reference
45
You did not give me a kiss. But this woman has not stopped kissing my feet since I came in.
Reference
46
You did not put any olive oil on my head. But she has poured perfume on my feet.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 23:5
Ecclesiastes 9:8
Matthew 6:17
Psalm 104:15
Daniel 10:3
Ruth 3:3
2 Samuel 14:2
47
So I tell you this. Her many sins have been forgiven. She has loved a lot. But the one who has been forgiven little loves only a little."
Reference
Love
1 John 4:19
1 John 3:18
Galatians 5:6
Ephesians 6:24
1 John 5:3
1 Timothy 1:14
Parallel theme
Isaiah 55:7
Sin
Isaiah 1:18
Romans 5:20
Acts 5:31
49
The other guests began to talk about this among themselves. They said, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
Reference
50
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
Reference
Faith
Mark 5:34
Luke 8:48
Matthew 9:22
Mark 10:52
Habakkuk 2:4
Parallel theme
Luke 8:42
Luke 8:18
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Salvation
Luke 18:42
Chapter Summary
Luke 7 presents a series of encounters that progressively reveal the authority, compassion, and identity of Jesus, beginning with His ability to heal from a distance and culminating in His authority to forgive sins and bring peace to a deeply broken person.
The chapter opens in Capernaum, where a Roman centurion has a servant who is seriously ill and near death.
The centurion sends Jewish elders to Jesus because he has heard about Him and believes that Jesus can heal his servant, while the elders speak positively about the officer because he has shown unusual generosity toward the Jewish community and even helped build a synagogue.
As Jesus approaches the centurion's home, the officer sends friends to explain that he does not consider himself worthy to have Jesus enter his house.
Instead, he believes that Jesus only needs to speak the word, because he understands authority from his own experience as a military commander who gives orders that are obeyed even when he is not physically present.
Jesus is amazed by this man's faith and tells the crowd that He has not found such faith even in Israel, making the centurion an important example of a Gentile who recognizes Jesus' authority with remarkable clarity.
When the centurion's representatives return home, they discover that the servant has been completely healed, demonstrating that Jesus' authority does not depend upon physical presence or ritual contact.
Jesus then travels to Nain, where He encounters a funeral procession involving a widow whose only son has died.
The situation is especially tragic because the woman has lost both her husband and her only son, leaving her vulnerable not only emotionally but potentially economically and socially.
Jesus sees her grief and is moved with compassion, telling her not to weep before approaching the funeral bier and commanding the dead man to rise.
The young man immediately sits up and begins speaking, and Jesus gives him back to his mother, restoring both life and the family relationship that had been destroyed by death.
The crowd responds with fear and praise, declaring that a great prophet has appeared and that God has visited His people.
This event strongly echoes the ministry of earlier biblical prophets such as Elijah and Elisha, while simultaneously demonstrating that Jesus possesses an authority that goes beyond ordinary teaching or healing.
The narrative then returns to John the Baptist, who is imprisoned and sends two disciples to ask Jesus whether He is truly the expected one or whether another should be awaited.
John's question is significant because his own preaching had emphasized God's coming judgment, while Jesus' ministry is currently characterized by healing, mercy, restoration, and good news to the poor.
Jesus does not simply give John a verbal answer but points to the evidence of His ministry, telling John's messengers to report that the blind see, the lame walk, those with serious diseases are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive good news.
This response draws heavily upon expectations found in Isaiah, whose prophetic ministry belongs primarily to the 8th century BC, and presents Jesus' works as evidence that God's promised restoration is taking place.
Jesus then praises John publicly, explaining that John is not merely another prophet but the messenger who prepares the way for the Lord.
He refers to the prophecy of Malachi, whose ministry is generally associated with the 5th century BC, showing that John stands at a significant transition between Israel's prophetic expectations and the arrival of God's kingdom through Jesus.
Jesus also criticizes the generation that refuses to respond properly to either John or Himself.
John lived an unusually strict life of fasting and separation, yet people accused him of having a demon, while Jesus participated in meals and social gatherings and was consequently accused of being a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of sinners.
Through this comparison Jesus exposes the deeper problem, because people who are determined not to respond to God's message can find an excuse to reject either form of ministry.
The chapter concludes with a powerful encounter involving a sinful woman and a Pharisee named Simon.
Simon invites Jesus to a meal, and during the gathering a woman known publicly as a sinner approaches Jesus carrying an alabaster jar of perfume.
She stands behind Jesus, weeps over His feet, wipes them with her hair, repeatedly kisses them, and pours perfume over them, demonstrating extraordinary humility, gratitude, and love.
Simon silently questions how Jesus could allow such a woman to touch Him if He were truly a prophet.
Jesus responds by telling Simon a short story about two debtors whose debts are both forgiven, one owing much more than the other.
When Jesus asks which debtor will love the lender more, Simon correctly answers that the person who was forgiven the greater debt will show greater love.
Jesus then contrasts Simon's limited hospitality with the woman's extraordinary actions, pointing out that Simon did not provide water for His feet, a greeting kiss, or oil for His head, while the woman has demonstrated all of these forms of respect in an unusually generous way.
Jesus explains that her great love reveals the reality of the forgiveness she has received, and then He explicitly tells her that her sins are forgiven.
The other guests immediately recognize the enormous theological significance of this statement and ask who Jesus is that He can forgive sins.
Jesus finally tells the woman that her faith has saved her and sends her away in peace, bringing the chapter to a conclusion centered on forgiveness, faith, salvation, and restored relationship with God.
Historically, Luke 7 belongs approximately to AD 27–30, during Jesus' early public ministry in Galilee, when the region was under the rule of Herod Antipas and the wider political environment was controlled by the Roman Empire.
The chapter reflects several important realities of first-century life, including Roman military authority, Jewish-Gentile relationships, synagogue patronage, poverty and widowhood, burial customs, hospitality practices, religious debates, fasting, social reputation, debt, and the strong cultural boundaries surrounding sinners and religious purity.
The chapter also connects Jesus' ministry with earlier periods of biblical history, reaching back to Elijah and Elisha in the 9th century BC, Isaiah in the 8th century BC, and Malachi in the 5th century BC, thereby placing Jesus within a much larger story of prophetic expectation and divine restoration.
Luke 7 ultimately presents Jesus as the compassionate and authoritative Messiah whose word can heal from a distance, whose presence can restore life to the dead, whose ministry fulfills prophetic expectations, whose mercy reaches beyond ethnic and social boundaries, and whose authority to forgive sins transforms those who respond to Him with genuine faith and grateful love.
The chapter opens in Capernaum, where a Roman centurion has a servant who is seriously ill and near death.
The centurion sends Jewish elders to Jesus because he has heard about Him and believes that Jesus can heal his servant, while the elders speak positively about the officer because he has shown unusual generosity toward the Jewish community and even helped build a synagogue.
As Jesus approaches the centurion's home, the officer sends friends to explain that he does not consider himself worthy to have Jesus enter his house.
Instead, he believes that Jesus only needs to speak the word, because he understands authority from his own experience as a military commander who gives orders that are obeyed even when he is not physically present.
Jesus is amazed by this man's faith and tells the crowd that He has not found such faith even in Israel, making the centurion an important example of a Gentile who recognizes Jesus' authority with remarkable clarity.
When the centurion's representatives return home, they discover that the servant has been completely healed, demonstrating that Jesus' authority does not depend upon physical presence or ritual contact.
Jesus then travels to Nain, where He encounters a funeral procession involving a widow whose only son has died.
The situation is especially tragic because the woman has lost both her husband and her only son, leaving her vulnerable not only emotionally but potentially economically and socially.
Jesus sees her grief and is moved with compassion, telling her not to weep before approaching the funeral bier and commanding the dead man to rise.
The young man immediately sits up and begins speaking, and Jesus gives him back to his mother, restoring both life and the family relationship that had been destroyed by death.
The crowd responds with fear and praise, declaring that a great prophet has appeared and that God has visited His people.
This event strongly echoes the ministry of earlier biblical prophets such as Elijah and Elisha, while simultaneously demonstrating that Jesus possesses an authority that goes beyond ordinary teaching or healing.
The narrative then returns to John the Baptist, who is imprisoned and sends two disciples to ask Jesus whether He is truly the expected one or whether another should be awaited.
John's question is significant because his own preaching had emphasized God's coming judgment, while Jesus' ministry is currently characterized by healing, mercy, restoration, and good news to the poor.
Jesus does not simply give John a verbal answer but points to the evidence of His ministry, telling John's messengers to report that the blind see, the lame walk, those with serious diseases are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor receive good news.
This response draws heavily upon expectations found in Isaiah, whose prophetic ministry belongs primarily to the 8th century BC, and presents Jesus' works as evidence that God's promised restoration is taking place.
Jesus then praises John publicly, explaining that John is not merely another prophet but the messenger who prepares the way for the Lord.
He refers to the prophecy of Malachi, whose ministry is generally associated with the 5th century BC, showing that John stands at a significant transition between Israel's prophetic expectations and the arrival of God's kingdom through Jesus.
Jesus also criticizes the generation that refuses to respond properly to either John or Himself.
John lived an unusually strict life of fasting and separation, yet people accused him of having a demon, while Jesus participated in meals and social gatherings and was consequently accused of being a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of sinners.
Through this comparison Jesus exposes the deeper problem, because people who are determined not to respond to God's message can find an excuse to reject either form of ministry.
The chapter concludes with a powerful encounter involving a sinful woman and a Pharisee named Simon.
Simon invites Jesus to a meal, and during the gathering a woman known publicly as a sinner approaches Jesus carrying an alabaster jar of perfume.
She stands behind Jesus, weeps over His feet, wipes them with her hair, repeatedly kisses them, and pours perfume over them, demonstrating extraordinary humility, gratitude, and love.
Simon silently questions how Jesus could allow such a woman to touch Him if He were truly a prophet.
Jesus responds by telling Simon a short story about two debtors whose debts are both forgiven, one owing much more than the other.
When Jesus asks which debtor will love the lender more, Simon correctly answers that the person who was forgiven the greater debt will show greater love.
Jesus then contrasts Simon's limited hospitality with the woman's extraordinary actions, pointing out that Simon did not provide water for His feet, a greeting kiss, or oil for His head, while the woman has demonstrated all of these forms of respect in an unusually generous way.
Jesus explains that her great love reveals the reality of the forgiveness she has received, and then He explicitly tells her that her sins are forgiven.
The other guests immediately recognize the enormous theological significance of this statement and ask who Jesus is that He can forgive sins.
Jesus finally tells the woman that her faith has saved her and sends her away in peace, bringing the chapter to a conclusion centered on forgiveness, faith, salvation, and restored relationship with God.
Historically, Luke 7 belongs approximately to AD 27–30, during Jesus' early public ministry in Galilee, when the region was under the rule of Herod Antipas and the wider political environment was controlled by the Roman Empire.
The chapter reflects several important realities of first-century life, including Roman military authority, Jewish-Gentile relationships, synagogue patronage, poverty and widowhood, burial customs, hospitality practices, religious debates, fasting, social reputation, debt, and the strong cultural boundaries surrounding sinners and religious purity.
The chapter also connects Jesus' ministry with earlier periods of biblical history, reaching back to Elijah and Elisha in the 9th century BC, Isaiah in the 8th century BC, and Malachi in the 5th century BC, thereby placing Jesus within a much larger story of prophetic expectation and divine restoration.
Luke 7 ultimately presents Jesus as the compassionate and authoritative Messiah whose word can heal from a distance, whose presence can restore life to the dead, whose ministry fulfills prophetic expectations, whose mercy reaches beyond ethnic and social boundaries, and whose authority to forgive sins transforms those who respond to Him with genuine faith and grateful love.