Matthew 8:5–13; Matthew 11; Luke 7

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Matthew 8:5–13

The Faith of a Centurion

kWhen he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly. And he said to him, I will come and heal him. But the centurion replied, Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but lonly say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man 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,1 Do this, and he does it. 10 When Jesus heard this, mhe marveled and said to those who followed him, Truly, I tell you, with nno one in Israel2 have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, omany will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 pwhile the sons of the kingdom qwill be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place rthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, Go; let it be done for you sas you have believed. tAnd the servant was healed at that very moment.


Matthew 11

Messengers from John the Baptist

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

eNow when John heard fin prison about the deeds of gthe Christ, he sent word by hhis disciples and said to him, Are you ithe one who is to come, or shall we jlook for another? And Jesus answered them, Go and tell John what you hear and see: kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and lthe poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who mis not offended by me.

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: What did you go out ninto the wilderness to see? oA reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man2 dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? pA prophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

qBehold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.

11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13 rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is sElijah who is to come. 15 tHe who has ears to hear,5 let him hear.

16 But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17  We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.

18 For John came uneither eating vnor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. 19 The Son of Man came weating and drinking, and they say, Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, xa friend of ytax collectors and sinners! Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.6

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

20 zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 aWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on dthe day of judgment for bTyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 cBut I tell you that git will be more tolerable on dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

25 hAt that time Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, iLord of heaven and earth, that jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and krevealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your lgracious will.7 27 mAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son nexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 pCome to qme, all who labor and are rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and slearn from me, for I am tgentle and lowly in heart, and uyou will find rest for your souls. 30 For vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.


Luke 7

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, bhe entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion2 heard about Jesus, che sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, dHe is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us eour synagogue. And 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. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But gsay the word, and let my servant be healed. For 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. When 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. 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

11 Soon afterward3 he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As 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. 13 And when the Lord saw her, khe had compassion on her and lsaid to her, Do not weep. 14 Then he came up and touched mthe bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say to you, narise. 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus4 ogave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and pthey glorified God, saying, qA great prophet has arisen among us! and rGod has visited his people! 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 stThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling 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? 20 And 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? 21 In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And 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. 23 And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.

24 When 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? 25 What 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. 26 What then did you go out to see? gA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

hBehold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.

28 I 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, 30 lbut 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? 32 They 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.

33 For John the Baptist has come peating no bread and qdrinking no wine, and you say, He has a demon. 34 The 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! 35 Yet twisdom is justified by all her children.

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 uOne of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 vAnd 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, 38 and 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. 39 Now 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. 40 And 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. 42 bWhen they could not pay, he ccancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? 43 Simon answered, The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt. And he 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; dyou gave me no water for my feet, but eshe has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 fYou gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to gkiss my feet. 46 hYou did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, iwhich are many, are forgivenfor she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. 48 And he said to her, jYour sins are forgiven. 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among8 themselves, kWho is this, who even forgives sins? 50 And he said to the woman, lYour faith has saved you; mgo in peace.