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Luke 7:1. When He finished all His words to the listening people, He entered Capernaum. Luke 7:2. One centurion's servant, whom he treasured, was sick and dying. Luke 7:3. Hearing about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to Him to ask Him to come and heal his servant. Luke 7:4. And they came to Jesus and besought Him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that You should do this for him. Luke 7:5. for he loves our people and has built us a synagogue. Luke 7:6. Jesus went with them. And when He was not far from home, the centurion sent friends to Him to tell Him: Do not toil, Lord! for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; Luke 7:7. That’s why I didn’t consider myself worthy to come to You; but say the word, and my servant will be healed. Luke 7:8. For I am a subordinate man, but having soldiers under my command, I say to one: go, and he goes; and to another: come, and he comes; and to my servant: Do this, and he does. Luke 7:9. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the people following Him, “I tell you that even in Israel I have not found such faith.” Luke 7:10. The messengers returned to the house and found the sick servant recovered. This centurion is one and the same as the one mentioned by the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 8:5-10). Although Matthew does not say that the centurion sent the Jews to ask and plead with Jesus, but so what? For it is very likely that he first sent the Jews, and then he himself went. So, what Matthew left out, Luke says. It may also be that the Jews, consumed by envy, would not have allowed the centurion to come to the feet of Jesus, for this would have brought glory to Jesus if he, forced by extremity, had come to Jesus himself. But perhaps someone will ask again: how does Matthew say that the centurion, through the messengers, asked Jesus not to come? To this we can say that there is nothing special about whether to send others or to come and say it yourself, that is, to ask not to come. But the faith of the husband, who called himself unworthy of visiting Jesus, is worthy of surprise. That is why the Lord says: I “did not find... such faith” among the people of Israel. For the centurion was a pagan, perhaps from the Roman troops. The centurion is also every mind that, having many things to do in life, prevails over many evils, but has a sick slave - the unreasonable part of the soul, I mean anger and lust; for these are appointed to be slaves. He calls Jesus, sending the Jews to Him as intermediaries, that is, thoughts and words of confession; for Judas means confession. For is it not confession and humility that are expressed by the words: “I am not worthy for You to come under my roof” and so on? So, when he believes in Jesus, he will soon heal his servant, that is, anger and lust. Luke 7:11. After this Jesus went to a city called Nain; and with Him went many of His disciples and a great multitude of people. Luke 7:12. When He approached the city gates, they carried out the dead man, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and many people went with her out of the city. Luke 7:13. Seeing her, the Lord took pity on her and told her: don’t cry. Luke 7:14. And, approaching, he touched the bed; those carrying them stopped, and He said: young man! I'm telling you, get up. Luke 7:15. The dead man got up, sat down and began to speak; and Jesus gave him to his mother. Luke 7:16. And everyone was seized with fear, and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited His people. Having restored the centurion’s servant to health, even in absentia, the Lord performs another new miracle. Lest anyone say: what new thing did He do to the servant? perhaps the slave would not have died? - for this, the Lord resurrects the dead who have already been carried out. Not only does the Lord perform a miracle with a word, but He also touches the bed, so that we know that His Body is the Body of life. Since His Flesh was the own Flesh of the Word, which gives life to everything, therefore it itself gives life and destroys death and corruption. “The dead man got up, sat down and began to speak,” so that no one would think that he had been resurrected ghostly. And the fact that he sat down and began to speak was a sign of a true resurrection. For a body without a soul can neither sit nor speak. By widow you can also mean a soul who has lost her husband, that is, the Word of God, which sowed good seeds. Her son is the mind that died and was carried outside the city, Jerusalem on high, which is the land of the living. Then the Lord, having mercy, touches the bed. The bed of the mind is the body. For the body is truly a bed, a coffin. The Lord, touching the body, resurrects the mind, making it young and courageous. The young man, that is, this mind, sits down and, resurrected from the grave of sin, begins to speak, that is, to teach others, because as long as he is obsessed with sin, he cannot teach and speak. Because who will believe him? Luke 7:17. This opinion about Him spread throughout Judea and throughout the surrounding area. Luke 7:18. And his disciples told John about all this. Luke 7:19. John, calling two of his disciples, sent to Jesus to ask: Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? The rumor about the miracle performed in Nain spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. He also reached the disciples of John. While praising the Lord, they, as still imperfect, were annoyed. Therefore, John, wanting to show them the greatness of Christ and how far he (John) is from Him (Christ), arranges the following: he does not give any feedback to the disciples about Jesus, but, appearing to be ignorant, sends them so that, having seen miracles, from the very works they would believe that the distance between the Lord - Jesus and the servant - John is very great. For do not think that John really did not know about Christ and therefore sent his disciples with a question. Even before birth, in his mother’s womb, He leapt as one who knew Him and on the Jordan testified about Him as the Son of God. Luke 7:20. They came to Jesus and said: John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask: Are you the one who should come, or should we expect someone else? So he sends out the disciples, telling them to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come?” . Do you see how deeply John leads the disciples to believe that Jesus is God? For prophets are called “sent,” and John himself, as the evangelist says, was a man “sent” from God (John 1:6). And the Lord is the Coming One, for He came with authority, and not against the will. And so he says: Are you the One whose coming into the world is expected? Luke 7:21. And at this time He healed many from diseases and illnesses and from evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people. Luke 7:22. And Jesus answered them: Go, tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor are preached to the gospel; Others by the words: “Who must come” mean a descent into hell, as if it were said: Do you have to come to hell? What about the Lord? Knowing with what intention John sent the disciples, namely, so that they would see His works and from them come to faith, He says to those sent: declare what you see. Then he lists the miraculous actions that were foretold by the prophets. For the words: “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will jump up like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing” is also found in Isaiah (Is. 35:5-6). Luke 7:23. and blessed is he who is not offended because of Me! Then he says: “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me,” as if saying to them: you too are blessed if you are not offended because of Me. Luke 7:24. After those sent by John had departed, he began to speak to the people about John: “What did you go into the wilderness to see?” Is it a cane shaken by the wind? Since many could easily be offended about John, as he had previously testified so much about Christ, and now he sent with the question: “Are you the one who is about to come?” - therefore Christ says to the people: do not suspect anything like this about John. He is not a reed, to lean first to this side, then to the other, and to testify about Me at one time, and not know Me at another. For if he were like that, then why would you go out into the desert to see him? Luke 7:25. What did you go to see? a person dressed in soft clothes? But those who dress magnificently and live luxuriously are in the courts of kings. He by no means corrupted his mind with sensual pleasures, for his clothing shows that he is above all pleasure; Moreover, he would live in chambers if he loved pleasure. Luke 7:26. What did you go to see? a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. Luke 7:27. This is the one about whom it is written: Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who will prepare Thy way before Thee. But do you yourself consider him a prophet? Truly “I say to you, he is greater than a prophet.” For other prophets only predicted about Christ, but he saw Him and pointed out, saying: “Behold the Lamb of God” (John 1:29,36); Moreover, other prophets prophesied after they had already left the wombs of their mothers, but he recognized the Lord and leaped even before he left the womb. Then he gives evidence: “Behold, I send My angel” (Mal. 3:1). John is called “Angel,” perhaps because his life is almost ethereal and angelic, and perhaps because he announced the coming of the Savior. Luke 7:28. For I tell you, among those born of women there is not one prophet greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Luke 7:29. And all the people who heard Him, and the tax collectors, gave glory to God, being baptized with the baptism of John; Luke 7:30. and the Pharisees and lawyers rejected God’s will for themselves by not being baptized by him. “I tell you, among those born of women there is not a single prophet greater than John.” Places the Forerunner above all others. Then, as if someone said: “And You, Christ, John is greater”? adds: but I, the least of him, am the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven; for although I am considered lesser than him in nobility, and in age, and in glory, nevertheless, in the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, in everything Divine and spiritual, I am greater than him. So, all the people who listened to John justified God, that is, they honored God by accepting His prophet. But the Pharisees did not honor God because they did not accept John. Some understood the words differently: “of those born of women”; namely: the Lord said well: “of those born of women,” thus excluding Himself. For He was born of a Virgin, and not of a wife, that is, not of a married woman. The expression “least in the Kingdom of God” was also understood differently; namely: the lesser in the Christian life is more than the righteous according to the Law. For example, John is blameless in legal righteousness. But if someone is baptized and has not yet done anything good or evil, then although he is very small in the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, in Christian preaching, he is, however, greater than an unbaptized person, even if he is righteous according to the Law. And differently: since John, although almost incorporeal and immaterial, is still in the flesh, then the least in the resurrection, which he calls the Kingdom of Heaven, is greater than him. For then, having received perfect incorruption, we will no longer act in the carnal way, and the little one then is greater than the righteous one now, but still bearing the flesh. Luke 7:31. Then the Lord said: With whom shall I compare the people of this generation? and who are they like? Luke 7:32. They are like children who sit on the street, calling each other and saying: we played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang lamentable songs to you, and you did not cry. The Jews had a kind of game like this: a large number of children were divided into two parts, and, as if in mockery of life, some on one side cried, while others on the other played the flute, and neither those playing agreed with those crying, nor those crying with those playing. Luke 7:33. For John the Baptist came, neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and say: he has a devil. Luke 7:34. The Son of Man came: eating and drinking; and say: Here is a man who loves to eat and drink wine, a friend of publicans and sinners. Luke 7:35. And wisdom is justified by all her children. The Lord imagines the Pharisees doing something similar. For they neither mourned nor imitated John, who led a mournful life and introduced repentance, nor did they obey and agree with Jesus, who showed a pleasant life, but they distanced themselves from both, showing no sympathy either to John who weeps, or to Jesus who plays and lets go. And finally, the wisdom of God was justified, that is, it was honored not by the Pharisees, but by her children, that is, by those who accepted the teachings of John and Jesus. Luke 7:36. One of the Pharisees asked Him to eat food with him; and He entered the house of the Pharisee and lay down. This Pharisee, who called the Lord, seemed to have wrong thoughts, but was cunning and full of hypocrisy. He says: “if He were a prophet” (Luke 7:39); obviously he did not believe when he said that. Although the Lord knows his indirectness, he nevertheless goes to him and dines with him, of course, through this teaching us to behave simply and directly even with those who are treacherous towards us. Luke 7:37. And so, a woman of that city, who was a sinner, having learned that He was reclining in the house of a Pharisee, brought an alabaster flask of ointment Luke 7:38. and, standing behind His feet and weeping, she began to wet His feet with tears and wipe them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet and anointed them with myrrh. Many are interested in the question: how many wives were there who anointed the Lord with chrism? Some say that there were two of them: one - mentioned in the Gospel of John, the sister of Lazarus (John 12:3), and the other - the one mentioned by the evangelists Matthew (Matthew 26:6-7) and Mark (Mark 14:3), and in the present place Luke. But I believe those who say that there were three of them (the wives who anointed the Lord with chrism): one is the sister of Lazarus, mentioned in John, who anointed the Lord six days before Easter, the other, mentioned in Matthew and Mark, who anointed two days before Easter, and the third is this one, now mentioned by Luke, who anointed the Lord in the middle of the Gospel sermon. And there is nothing strange that she did this before the time of suffering had come, and they did the same near the time of suffering, out of imitation of her or for another motive. Luke 7:39. Seeing this, the Pharisee who invited Him said to himself: if He were a prophet, He would know who and what kind of woman was touching Him, for she was a sinner. If the Pharisee mentioned in Matthew, who called the Lord, is called Simon, as in Luke, then what is surprising in the coincidence of names? Since the one Matthew speaks of was a leper, but this one (in Luke) was not; after being healed of leprosy, he invited the Lord as a sign of gratitude, but this one was not a leper and did not express gratitude; he says nothing, but this one grumbles and condemns at the same time Jesus and this wife as a sinner, and Him as a lover of mankind. Oh madness! The man is truly a Pharisee. Luke 7:40. Turning to him, Jesus said: Simon! I have something to tell you. He says: tell me, Teacher. Luke 7:41. Jesus said: A certain creditor had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty, Luke 7:42. but since they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both. Tell me, which of them will love him more? Luke 7:43. Simon answered: I think the one to whom he forgave more. He said to him: you judged correctly. But the Lord, asking him in parables and bringing two debtors into the middle, imperceptibly expresses that he too is a debtor, although he considers himself less indebted, but still a debtor. So, neither you, who owe less, can repay the debt (for, possessed by pride, you have no confession), nor can your wife. Therefore, both will be released. And who will love more? Without a doubt, the one who has been given a lot. Having said this, He stops the mouth of the proud. Luke 7:44. And turning to the woman, he said to Simon: Do you see this woman? I came to your house, and you did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head; Luke 7:45. You did not give Me a kiss, but she, since I came, has not stopped kissing My feet; Luke 7:46. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with ointment. Luke 7:47. Therefore, I tell you: her many sins are forgiven because she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. The Lord discovers in Simon a proud man and a fool: a proud man because he, being a man himself, condemned a man for his sins; - a madman, because he did not understand that a wife who showed such signs of faith and love should have been accepted and not rejected. Therefore, the Lord accuses him of the fact that he in vain condemned his wife, who did as much as he himself did not do, did not even do much lower in comparison with her. For example, you didn’t even give water to your feet, which is the most common thing, but she washed them with tears; You did not kiss Me on the face, but she kissed My feet; You didn’t even pour out the oil, but she poured out the ointment. Since you said that I am not a prophet, since I did not discern that she is a sinner, then I reprove the thoughts of your heart so that you know that I know both what is hidden in you, and even more I know what pertains to her, which many others also know. So, her sins are forgiven, because “she... loved a lot,” that is, she discovered great faith. Luke 7:48. He said to her: Your sins are forgiven. Luke 7:49. And those reclining with Him began to say to themselves: Who is this that even forgives sins? Luke 7:50. He said to the woman: Your faith has saved you; go in peace. “Those who reclined with Him,” and, moreover, murmurers, did not realize that what He said to Simon very appropriately applied to them. The Lord, pacifying their grumbling and wanting to show them that everyone is saved by his faith, did not say: wife, I am saving you, so that they would not boil with greater envy, but: “your faith.” He said this, as I have already noted, partly in order to calm their envy, and partly in order to introduce them to faith, letting them know that faith, it is she, that saves. “Go in peace,” that is, in righteousness. For righteousness is peace with God, just as sin is enmity against God. Look: having forgiven her sins, the Lord did not leave her only with the remission of sins, but also gave her the productive power of good. For you should understand the words: “go in peace” as follows: go, do what will restore you to peace with God.