Luke 7

http://www.esvbible.org/Luke+7/

The next story is that of a centurion, whose favorite servant falls ill. He sends Jewish elders to Jesus to ask Him to save the man's life. They pleaded with Jesus because the man was wellcrespected in Israel. Jesus went back to the man's house, but before He got there, the man sent out more people. They delivered a message from the centurion saying that he is not worthy to have Jesus in His house. He is not even worthy to go to Him, which is why the centurion sent others to ask. The centurion says he also is under authority and commands soldiers. He tells them to come and go, and they listen. In the same way, the centurion knows that Jesus does not even need to go inside to heal the man. Jesus is amazed by the man's faith, and when He sends the others back to the centurion, they find the servant is well again. This man, who was not Jewish, knew that Jesus was Lord, and he knew he was undeserving of the Lord's healing, but he asked anyway because he had faith that Jesus would come through for him. Jesus was amazed by this faith and provided healing. None of us is worthy of the Lord's healing, but He heals us anyway if we just have faith enough in Him to ask.

As He was traveling with many followers, Jesus came across a funeral procession in which the only son of a widow had died. When Jesus saw this, He had compassion on her and stopped the procession to raise the boy to life and give him back to his mother. Sometimes, God does great miracles in our lives even without us asking. Most of the healing Jesus does is from people who ask Him, but this mother never asked. Jesus stopped this funeral procession already in motion to bring the boy back to life. Jesus does this all the time. People heading off to their graves already playing their funeral songs are interrupted by Jesus and brought back to life. And here again Jesus sets an example of compassion for us to follow. He has compassion and goes to the woman. He doesn't stay on the other side of the street. Compassion requires action. When we see someone, and our hearts go out to them, we need to take compassion through an action.

John the Baptist heard about all the thigs Jesus has done, so he sent to of his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the Messaiah. Jesus healed many people in their prescence and told the servants to tell John to report what they had seen. The blind see, deaf hear, lame walk, dead live, and good news proclaimed to the poor. After they had left, Jesus spoke about John the Baptist. He said that John is the greatest man who has ever lived, yet even the least in Heaven is greater than Him. Jesus says that John the Baptist is more than a prophet. He has been prophesied about as the messenger who comes before Jesus. Many people there believed in Jesus then because they had been baptized by John, but the Pharisees still maintained their unbelief because they had not been baptized by John. Jesus told them that John came neither eating nor drinking, and they called him possessed, and Jesus came eating and drinking and they called Him a glutton and a drunkard who hung out with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus compares them to children because God has offered them so much, and they have rejected it all.

Jesus goes to eat a a Pharisee's house. A sinful woman hears of this and takes her bottle of perfume to go see Him. She washes Jesus' feet with her tears and wipes them with her hair. Then, she pours the perfume on them. The Pharisee thinks to himself that Jesus would not be so pleased if He knew who the woman was and what she'd done. Jesus, knowing this, tells the Pharisee a story of a moneylender who had two men owe him money. One owed five hundred and the other fifty. The moneylender forgave both debts. Then Jesus asked the Phariseemwhich person loved the moneylender more. The Pharisee correctly guesses the one with the bigger debt. Jesus then says that the Phariseemgave Jesus no water for His feet, but the woman washed them with her tears and hair. He did not pour perfume on His head, but the woman poured it on His feet. The Pharisee did not kiss Jesus, but the woman repeatedly kissed His feet. Jesus tells the woman that because of her great love for Jesus, her sins are forgiven. The people are amazed and ask Amon themselves who Jesus could be to even forgive sins.