Luke 7
Luke 7 (NKJV)

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

1Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.

2And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.

3So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant.

4And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving,

5“for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

6Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.

7Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

8For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

10And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

Jesus Raises the Son of the Widow of Nain

11Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.

12And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.

13When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

14Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

15So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

16Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”

17And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus

18Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things.

19And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

20When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ”

21And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.

22Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.

23And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

24When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

25But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.

26But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.

27This is he of whom it is written:
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

28For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

29And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

31And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?

32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:
‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not weep.’

33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’

34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

35But wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.

37And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,

38and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

39Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

40And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.”

41“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

42And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

43Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”

44Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.

45You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.

46You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.

47Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

48Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

John 8:36
John 8:36 (NKJV)

36Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

Scripture readings

Devotional 📖

Jesus’ ministry was one of reconciliation.

Sin is the biggest obstacle preventing a person’s relationship with God. It blinds a person from seeing their depravity and need for God, and distorts their view of Him. Jesus came to earth for many reasons, one of them being to free humankind from the bondage of sin.

The scriptures say in Hebrews 12:14 - 'Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:’.

It also says in Matthew 5:8 - 'Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

In both scriptures we see that the requirement for deep intimacy with God and seeing Him accurately is holiness. The presence of sin in our lives stop us from walking in the holiness that is necessary to see God. God is holy and those who come to Him must regard Him as holy. He dwells with those who are pure in heart and walk in holiness. He is not found in the congregation of sinners, and yet extends His hand of reconciliation to them so that they can be in relationship with Him once more. 

Jesus coming to Earth was God’s outstretched hand of reconciliation to sinful humanity. He possessed the power to forgive men of their sins because of His ministry of reconciliation. If He couldn’t remove humankind’s biggest obstacle to God, His mission would have been unsuccessful. 

What we see in Luke chapter 7 is Jesus revealing His deity and showing that even before the cross, He had the power to forgive sins. 

So if He could always forgive sins, why did He need to die?

In the Old testament, the Israelites would come with their offerings and sacrifices every year to atone for their sins and God would forgive them. However, Hebrews 10:2-4 says:

'For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.'

Though the Israelites were forgiven of their sins, they had to remember them every year in order to bring the right sacrifice. God set up the levitical system in order to allow the people to stay in close relationship with Him through forgiving them of their sins and making them holy, however, the blood of bulls and goats could never take away the consciousness of sins.

Jesus is not only the forgiver of our sins, but His blood removes us of the consciousness of sin. This means that not only can we live free from guilt and shame, because He has atoned for us once and for all, but also that He has done such a deep inward work, through the cross, that our nature is no more one of sin. Every sin is now under the blood, forgotten by God and does not get unconvered. It’s already been paid for!

2 Corinthians 5:17 - 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. '

Christ has created a new nature in us and set us free from being a slave to sin. This means that if we live habitually in sin, it’s no longer because we are slaves to sin but because we have chosen to sin. Jesus died and gave us a choice. We now have the power within us, the precious Holy Spirit, to resist temptation and live holy lifestyles. Everyone makes mistakes, we all fall short sometimes, but Jesus set us free from living in sin. A mistake is different from a choice. We may have fallen short, but we can choose to get back up again, repent and turn completely away from that sin and into deeper relationship with God! His grace is not a license to sin but the empowerment to do His will.

The truth is Jesus is the forgiver and cleanser of our sins. You are no longer enslaved to sin. You have been set free by the blood of the Lamb and now we can live in peace with God. 

Prayer 🙏

Jesus, I repent for all my sins. I ask that you wash me clean with your blood and give the grace to live a holy life. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for setting me free from the bondage of sin. Thank you that you have wiped away the consciousness of my sins and purged me of all desire to sin. Thank you that the sins of the past cannot plague me anymore because you have made me a new creation! I am new in Christ Jesus, the old has passed away!

Help me to make better choices and bring me into deeper intimacy with you.

Thank you Jesus

In Jesus name,

Amen