71 After he had come to the end of all his words in the hearing of the people, he went into Capernaum. 2 And a certain captain had a servant who was very dear to him; this servant was ill and near to death. 3 And when news of Jesus came to his ears, he sent to him rulers of the Jews, requesting that he would come and make his servant well. 4 And they, when they came to Jesus, made their request warmly, saying, 5 It is right for you to do this for him, because he is a friend to our nation, and himself has put up a Synagogue for us. 6 And Jesus went with them. And when he was not far from the house, the man sent friends to him, saying, Lord, do not give yourself trouble: for I am not important enough for you to come into my house: 7 And I had the feeling that I was not even good enough to come to you: but say the word only, and my servant will be well. 8 For I, myself, am a man under authority, having men under me; and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. 9 And when these things were said to Jesus, he was surprised, and, turning to the mass of people coming after him, said, I have not seen such great faith, no, not in Israel. 10 And when those who were sent came back to the house they saw that the servant was well.
11 And it came about, after a little time, that he went to a town named Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great number of people. 12 Now when he came near the door of the town, a dead man was being taken out, the only son of his mother, who was a widow: and a great number of people from the town were with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had pity on her and said to her, Be not sad. 14 And he came near, and put his hand on the stretcher where the dead man was: and those who were moving it came to a stop. And he said, Young man, I say to you, Get up. 15 And the dead man got up, and words came from his lips. And he gave him to his mother. 16 And fear came on all, and they gave praise to God, saying, A great prophet is among us: and, God has given thought to his people. 17 And this story about him went through all Judaea and the places round about.
18 And the disciples of John gave him an account of all these things.
19 Then John sent two of his disciples to the Lord, saying, Are you he who is to come, or are we waiting for another? 20 And when the men came to him they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you he who is to come, or are we waiting for another? 21 At that time, he made a number of people free from their diseases and their pains, and from evil spirits; and to others who were blind he gave back the use of their eyes. 22 And answering them he said, Go back and give news to John of what you have seen, and the things which have come to your ears; the blind now see, those who had no power in their legs are walking, lepers are made clean, those who had no hearing now have their ears open, dead men come to life again, and the poor have the good news given to them. 23 And a blessing will be on him who has no doubts about me. 24 And when the men who were sent by John had gone away, he said to the people, about John, What did you go out into the waste land to see? a tall stem moving in the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? a man in soft clothing? See now, those who have beautiful clothing and delicate food are in kings' houses. 26 But what did you go out to see? a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it has been said, See, I send my servant before your face, who will make ready your way before you. 28 I say to you, Among all the sons of women, not one is greater than John: but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 (And all the people, and the tax-farmers, to whom John had given baptism, when they had knowledge of these things, gave glory to God. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were against the purpose of God for themselves, not having had his baptism.)
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 7:1-30
Commentary on Luke 7:1-10
(Read Luke 7:1-10)
Servants should study to endear themselves to their masters. Masters ought to take particular care of their servants when they are sick. We may still, by faithful and fervent prayer, apply to Christ, and ought to do so when sickness is in our families. The building places for religious worship is a good work, and an instance of love to God and his people. Our Lord Jesus was pleased with the centurion's faith; and he never fails to answer the expectations of that faith which honours his power and love. The cure soon wrought and perfect.
Commentary on Luke 7:11-18
(Read Luke 7:11-18)
When the Lord saw the poor widow following her son to the grave, he had compassion on her. See Christ's power over death itself. The gospel call to all people, to young people particularly, is, Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light and life. When Christ put life into him, it appeared by the youth's sitting up. Have we grace from Christ? Let us show it. He began to speak: whenever Christ gives us spiritual life, he opens the lips in prayer and praise. When dead souls are raised to spiritual life, by Divine power going with the gospel, we must glorify God, and look upon it as a gracious visit to his people. Let us seek for such an interest in our compassionate Saviour, that we may look forward with joy to the time when the Redeemer's voice shall call forth all that are in their graves. May we be called to the resurrection of life, not to that of damnation.
Commentary on Luke 7:19-35
(Read Luke 7:19-35)
To his miracles in the kingdom of nature, Christ adds this in the kingdom of grace, To the poor the gospel is preached. It clearly pointed out the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, that the messenger he sent before him to prepare his way, did it by preaching repentance and reformation of heart and life. We have here the just blame of those who were not wrought upon by the ministry of John Baptist or of Jesus Christ himself. They made a jest of the methods God took to do them good. This is the ruin of multitudes; they are not serious in the concerns of their souls. Let us study to prove ourselves children of Wisdom, by attending the instructions of God's word, and adoring those mysteries and glad tidings which infidels and Pharisees deride and blaspheme.