Luke 7:1–17

Bible Studies for Life
Instructor of Church Music and Worship Leadership, School of the Arts, Samford University

Hope Discovered
Luke 7:1–17
Our studies this month focus on Jesus Christ’s miracles, what they reveal about the promised Messiah and the hope they offer in our pursuit of God’s Kingdom. This week, our attention turns to two stories: the healing of the centurion’s slave (Luke 7:1–10) and the raising of the widow’s son (Luke 7:11–17).

Chapter 7 initiates a new section in Luke that identifies Jesus as the Messiah greater than a prophet (7:1–9:50). Luke illustrates that Jesus is like a prophet and fulfills prophecy. But Luke also shows that Jesus is much greater than a prophet. The two stories from Chapter 7 point to Jesus’ authority over sickness and death and establish themes that will be developed throughout this section of Luke.

Jesus Has Authority (1–10)
The story about the healing of the centurion’s slave begins upon Christ’s return to Capernaum after teaching His disciples. Capernaum was a minor trade center near Galilee and home to the centurion, a government official responsible for soldiers. In this story, the centurion sent two separate groups of men with requests to Jesus. The first group consisted of Jewish elders, likely synagogue leaders, to request Jesus’ presence and healing power. The leaders vouched for the centurion’s character and contributions before making their diplomatic request.  

As Jesus approached the house, the centurion sent another group — this time friends — to tell Him that he was unworthy of His presence in his midst. While the Jewish elders spoke highly of his character, his friends’ words show that the centurion was also humble. They also acknowledge that the centurion was willing to admit it was unacceptable for Jesus, a Jew, to enter his home because he was a Gentile. The centurion compared his status to Jesus’ status, highlighting his expectation that He could only speak a command and something would happen. This amazed Jesus and His affirmation of the centurion’s faith becomes more important than the healing that occurred in this story.  

Two events are significant in this story: The centurion came to Christ with great faith and humility, and Christ crossed racial and national barriers to demonstrate His love. Just as the centurion was willing to trust Christ and ask for help, so also was Christ willing to provide help with the power of His spoken word.

Jesus Shows Compassion (11–15)
The next scene in Luke 7 further raises the expectations upon and abilities of Christ. In this episode, Christ becomes more than a healer; He becomes the One who gives new life. It is difficult to read this story without considering its Old Testament parallel (1 Kings 17:10, 17–24), which forms the backdrop for Luke’s account of raising the widow’s son. Similar to 1 Kings 17, Luke tells the story of Christ’s compassion for the death of a widow’s son that parallels Elijah’s compassion and response. Christ touched the coffin and told the boy to rise and he began to speak.  

When confronted with a plague of the human condition — death, Christ had compassion for a woman who had lost her husband and only son. Furthermore Christ demonstrated deep care for this widow in a time of distress, confronting all Christians with the reality that we are to care for the widows among us. James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.” One scholar adds to this, “If religion has nothing to say to a grieving widow, it has nothing to say.” In many ways, the hope of resurrection and new life is grounded in Christ’s compassion that was the ultimate victory over death.

Jesus Deserves Praise (16–17)
The crowd’s recognition of Christ’s compassion is evident. In both 1 Kings and Luke, the people acknowledged the work of the prophet (Elijah and Christ) and more generally acknowledged the work of God. Jesus is a great prophet, but He is greater than all the prophets. Just as those who witnessed Jesus’ raising of the widow’s son recognized God’s presence and glorified Him, so are we to do the same when He works in our lives.