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Jesus Heals a Centurion's Slave

^1 (C1)After He had finished all that He had to say in the hearing of the people, ^(C2)He went to Capernaum. ^(VR1)

² Now a Roman ^(F1)centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and on the verge of death.³ When the centurion heard about Jesus, ^(C1)he sent some Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.⁴ When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly to come, saying, "He is worthy for You to do this for him,⁵ because he loves our nation and he built us our synagogue at his own expense."⁶ And Jesus went with them. But when He was near the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof.⁷ "Therefore I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You. But just speak a word, and my slave will be healed.⁸ "For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, ^(C1)not even in Israel have I found such great faith as this man's."¹⁰ When the messengers who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain near Nazareth, and His disciples and a large crowd accompanied Him.¹² Now as He approached the city gate, 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 in the funeral procession.¹³ When ^(C1)the Lord saw her, He felt great compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep."¹⁴ And He came up and touched the bier on which the body rested, and the pallbearers stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise from death!"¹⁵ The man who was dead sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.^16 (C1)Fear and profound awe gripped them all, and they began ^(C2)glorifying and honoring and praising God, saying, "A great ^(C3)prophet has arisen among us!" and, "God has visited His people to help and care for and provide for them!"^17 (C1)This news about Him spread through all of Judea and in all the surrounding countryside. ^(VR1)

A Delegation from John

^18 (C1)John's disciples brought word to him in prison of all these things. ^(VR1)19 John called two of his disciples and sent them to ^(C1)the Lord, saying, "Are You the ^(F1)Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else?"²⁰ So the men came to Jesus and said, "John the Baptist sent us to You to ask, 'Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else?'"²¹ At that very hour Jesus ^(C1)healed many people of sicknesses and ^(C2)infirmities and evil spirits; and He gave the gracious gift of sight to many who were blind.²² So He replied to them, "Go and tell John about everything you have seen and heard: the ^(C1)BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the ^(C2)POOR HAVE THE GOOD NEWS (gospel) PREACHED TO THEM. ^(VR1)23 "Blessed joyful, spiritually favored is he who does not take offense at Me."

²⁴ When John's messengers left, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: "What did you go out to the wilderness to see? ^(F1)A reed shaken by the wind?²⁵ "But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing entirely unsuited for the harsh wilderness? Those who wear splendid clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces!²⁶ "But what did you really go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one ^(F1)far more eminent and remarkable than a prophet who foretells the future.²⁷ "This is the one of whom it is written by the prophet Malachi,

'^(C1)BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU,
WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.' ^(VR1)

³¹ "To what then shall I compare the people of this generation who set aside God's plan, and what are they like?³² "They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, and saying, 'We played the flute for you pretending to be at a wedding, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge pretending to be at a funeral, and you did not weep so nothing we did appealed to you.'³³ "For John the Baptist has come ^(C1)neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!'³⁴ "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a man who is a glutton and a heavy wine-drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners including non-observant Jews.'³⁵ "Yet wisdom ^(C1)is vindicated and shown to be right by all her children by the lifestyle, moral character, and good deeds of her followers."

The Anointing in Galilee

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house in the region of Galilee and reclined at the table.^37 (C1)Now there was a woman in the city who was known as a ^(F1)sinner; and ^(F2)when she found out that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume;³⁸ and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began wetting His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and respectfully kissed His feet as an act signifying both affection and submission and ^(F1)anointed them with the perfume.³⁹ Now when Simon the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this Man were ^(C1)a prophet He would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, that she is a notorious sinner an outcast, devoted to sin."

Parable of Two Debtors