7:1ff This passage marks a turning point in Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry. Up to this point, Jesus has dealt exclusively with the Jews; here he begins to include the Gentiles. Notice who the main characters are in this short drama: the Jewish elders, a Roman centurion, and the centurion’s servant—very different racial and religious backgrounds, and vastly different standings on the social ladder. Jesus broke through all those barriers, all the way to the sick man’s need. The gospel travels well across ethnic, racial, national, and religious barriers. Are you willing to work through them as well? Jesus was no respecter of artificial divisions, and we should follow his example. Reach out to those whom Jesus came to save.
7:2 This Roman officer was a centurion, meaning he was a captain in charge of 100 men. The centurion had heard about Jesus, and obviously also had heard about Jesus’ healing power. He sent a request through some of the Jewish elders on behalf of his servant. He may have heard about the healing of the nobleman’s son (which probably occurred earlier, see John 4:46-54). He knew Jesus had the power to heal his servant.
7:3 Matthew 8:5 says the Roman centurion visited Jesus himself, while Luke 7:3 says he sent Jewish elders to present his request to Jesus. In those days, dealing with a person’s messengers was considered the same as dealing with the one who had sent them. Thus, in dealing with the messengers, Jesus was dealing with the centurion. For his Jewish audience, Matthew emphasized the Roman centurion’s faith. For his Gentile audience, Luke highlighted the good relationship between the Jewish elders and the Roman centurion. This army captain daily delegated work and sent groups on missions, so this was how he chose to get his message to Jesus.
7:9 The Roman centurion didn’t come to Jesus, and he didn’t expect Jesus to come to him. Just as this officer did not need to be present to have his orders carried out, so Jesus didn’t need to be present to heal. The officer’s faith was especially amazing because he was a Gentile who had not been brought up to know a loving God. Hence Jesus’ comment.
7:11-15 The widow’s situation was serious. She had lost her husband, and now her only son had died—her last means of support. The crowd of mourners would go home, and she would be left penniless and alone. The widow was probably past the age of childbearing and would not marry again. Unless a relative came to her aid, her future was bleak. She would be an easy prey for swindlers, and she would likely be reduced to begging for food. In fact, as Luke repeatedly emphasizes, this woman was just the kind of person Jesus had come to help—and help her he did. Jesus has great compassion on your pain, and he has the power to bring hope out of any tragedy.
7:11-17 This story illustrates salvation. The whole world was dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1), just as the widow’s son was dead. Being dead, we could do nothing to help ourselves—we couldn’t even ask for help. But God had compassion on us, and he sent Jesus to raise us to life with him (Ephesians 2:4-7). The dead man did not earn his second chance at life, and we cannot earn our new life in Christ. But we can accept God’s gift of life, praise God for it, and use our lives to do his will.
7:12 Honoring the dead was important in Jewish tradition. A funeral procession, with relatives of the dead person following the body that was wrapped and carried on a kind of stretcher, would make its way through town, and bystanders would be expected to join the procession. In addition, hired mourners would cry aloud and draw attention to the procession. The family’s mourning would continue for 30 days.
7:16 The people thought of Jesus as a prophet because, like the Old Testament prophets, he boldly proclaimed God’s message and sometimes raised the dead. Both Elijah and Elisha raised children from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37). The people were correct in thinking that Jesus was a prophet, but he is much more—he is God himself.
7:18-23 John was confused because the reports he received about Jesus were unexpected and incomplete. John’s doubts were natural, and Jesus didn’t rebuke him for them. Instead, he responded in a way that John would understand: Jesus explained that he had accomplished what the Messiah was supposed to accomplish. God can handle our doubts, and he welcomes our questions. Do you have questions about Jesus—about who he is or what he expects of you? Admit them to yourself and to God, and begin looking for answers. Only as you face your doubts honestly can you begin to resolve them.
7:20-22 The proofs listed here for Jesus being the Messiah are significant. They consist of observable deeds, not theories—actions that Jesus’ contemporaries saw and reported for us to read today. The prophets had said that the Messiah would do these very acts (see Isaiah 35:5, 6; 61:1). These physical proofs helped John—and will help all of us—to recognize who Jesus is.
7:28 Of all people, no one fulfilled his God-given purpose better than John. Yet in God’s Kingdom, all who come after John have a greater spiritual heritage because they have clearer knowledge of the purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection. John was the last to function like the Old Testament prophets, the last to prepare the people for the coming messianic age. Jesus was not contrasting the man John with individual Christians; he was contrasting life before Christ with life in the fullness of Christ’s Kingdom.
7:29, 30 The common people, including the publicans (tax collectors who embodied evil in most people’s minds) heard John’s message and repented. In contrast, the Pharisees and lawyers—religious leaders—rejected his words. Wanting to live their own way, they justified their own point of view and refused to listen to other ideas. They “rejected the counsel of God.” They were so close to Jesus, and yet so far away. The truth stood before them, and they rejected it. What have you done with the truth you read in God’s Word?
7:31-35 The religious leaders hated both John and Jesus, but they did not bother to be consistent in their faultfinding. They criticized John the Baptist because he fasted and drank no wine; they criticized Jesus because he ate heartily and drank wine with publicans and sinners. Their real objection to both men, of course, had nothing to do with dietary habits. What the Pharisees and lawyers couldn’t stand was being exposed for their hypocrisy.
7:33, 34 The Pharisees weren’t troubled by their inconsistency toward John the Baptist and Jesus. They were good at justifying their “wisdom.” Most of us can find compelling reasons to do or believe whatever suits our purposes. If we do not examine our “wisdom” in the light of God’s truth, however, we may be just as obviously self-serving as the Pharisees.
7:36ff A similar incident occurred later in Jesus’ ministry (see Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-11).
7:38 Although the woman was not an invited guest, she entered the house anyway and knelt behind Jesus at his feet. In Jesus’ day, it was customary to recline while eating. Dinner guests would lie on couches with their heads near the table, propping themselves up on one elbow and stretching their feet out behind them. The woman could easily anoint Jesus’ feet without going up to the table.
7:44ff Again Luke contrasts the Pharisees with sinners—and again the sinners come out ahead. Simon had committed several social errors in neglecting to wash Jesus’ feet (a courtesy extended to guests because sandaled feet got very dirty), anoint his head with oil, and offer him the kiss of greeting. Did Simon perhaps feel that he was too good for Jesus? Was he trying to give Jesus a subtle put-down? Whatever the case, the contrast is vivid. The sinful woman lavished tears, expensive perfume, and kisses on her Savior. In this story it is the grateful immoral woman, and not the religious leader, whose sins were forgiven. Although God’s grace through faith is what saves us, and not acts of love or generosity, this woman’s act demonstrated her true faith, and Jesus honored her.
7:47 Overflowing love is the natural response to forgiveness and the appropriate consequence of faith. But only those who realize the depth of their sin can appreciate the complete forgiveness that God offers them. Jesus has rescued all of his followers, whether they were once extremely wicked or conventionally good, from eternal death. Do you appreciate the wideness of God’s mercy? Are you grateful for his forgiveness?