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Healing the Centurion's Slave

¹ After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people, he entered Capernaum. ² A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death. ³ When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they urged him earnestly, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵ because he loves our nation, and even built our synagogue." ⁶ So Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I did not presume to come to you. Instead, say the word, and my servant must be healed. ⁸ For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. 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 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!" ¹⁰ So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.

Raising a Widow's Son

¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, "Do not weep." ¹⁴ Then he came up and touched the bier, and those who carried it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" ¹⁵ So the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has come to help his people!" ¹⁷ This report about Jesus circulated throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

Jesus and John the Baptist

¹⁸ John's disciples informed him about all these things. So John called two of his disciples ¹⁹ and sent them to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" ²⁰ When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?'" ²¹ At that very time Jesus cured many people of diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and granted sight to many who were blind. ²² So he answered them, "Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them. ²³ Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

²⁴ When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury are in kings' courts! ²⁶ What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' ²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is." ²⁹ (Now all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God's justice, because they had been baptized with John's baptism. ³⁰ However, the Pharisees and the experts in religious law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

³¹ "To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another,

³³ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!' ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' ³⁵ But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

Jesus' Anointing

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. ³⁷ Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner." ⁴⁰ So Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." He replied, "Say it, Teacher." ⁴¹ "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" ⁴³ Simon answered, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." ⁴⁴ Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss of greeting, but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little loves little." ⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." ⁴⁹ But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" ⁵⁰ He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."