Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant
1After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, bhe entered Capernaum. 2Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, che sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, d“He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us eour synagogue.” 6And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, fdo not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But gsay the word, and let my servant be healed. 8For I too am a man set under authority, with 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, hhe marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ifaith.” 10And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Jesus Raises a Widow's Son
11Soon afterward3 he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, jthe only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13And when the Lord saw her, khe had compassion on her and lsaid to her, “Do not weep.” 14Then he came up and touched mthe bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, narise.” 15And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus4 ogave him to his mother. 16Fear seized them all, and pthey glorified God, saying, q“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and r“God has visited his people!” 17And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Messengers from John the Baptist
18stThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?” 20And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another?’” 21In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ythe blind receive their sight, the lame walk, zlepers5 are cleansed, and athe deaf hear, bthe dead are raised up, cthe poor have good news preached to them. 23And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.”
24When John's messengers had gone, Jesus6 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out einto the wilderness to see? fA reed shaken by the wind? 25What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26What then did you go out to see? gA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27This is he of whom it is written,
h“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
28I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29(iWhen all the people heard this, and jthe tax collectors too, they declared God just,7 jhaving been baptized with kthe baptism of John, 30lbut the Pharisees and mthe lawyers nrejected othe purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
31“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
33For John the Baptist has come peating no bread and qdrinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34The Son of Man has come reating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, sa friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35Yet twisdom is justified by all her children.”
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36uOne of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37vAnd behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wwiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If xthis man were ya prophet, he zwould have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
41“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred adenarii, and the other fifty. 42bWhen they could not pay, he ccancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; dyou gave me no water for my feet, but eshe has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45fYou gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to gkiss my feet. 46hYou did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47Therefore I tell you, her sins, iwhich are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48And he said to her, j“Your sins are forgiven.” 49Then those who were at table with him began to say among8 themselves, k“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50And he said to the woman, l“Your faith has saved you; mgo in peace.”
The Present Kingdom — Part One
Matthew 1:1 – John 21:25 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 37:00 • ID: 2392Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.