CHAPTER 8

After Jesus’ teaching he walked back into the town of Capernaum.

In Capernaum a Roman military officer heard about Jesus and sent some Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his servant who was about to die. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him saying, “This Roman deserves to have you heal his servant because he loves our nation, and he is the one who built our synagogue.” Then the military leader came and begged Jesus for his help saying, “Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed, and he is in great suffering. Jesus said to him, “Should I come and heal him?” The military leader said, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come into my house. Instead, just give a com- mand, and my servant will be healed. For I work under the authority of military leaders, and my soldiers work under my command. And I tell a soldier under me to ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell a soldier to ‘Come,’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth: I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I tell you that many people will come from the east and the west to take their places at the final banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God. But many people in Israel will be thrown out into the darkness, where people will be weeping and grinding their teeth.” Then Jesus said to the military leader, “Go! Let your servant be healed as you believed he would.” And his servant was healed that very moment.

After healing the servant of the military officer, Jesus left Capernaum and walked to a small town called Nain that was located six miles southeast of Nazareth. His disciples and a large crowd of people followed him.

As Jesus approached the town gate of Nain, he saw a dead man being carried out of the town. The man was the only son of his mother, who was a widow. And a large crowd was walking with her. When the Lord saw the woman, his heart was filled with compassion for her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then Jesus went up and touched the wooden board on which they were carrying her son. Those carrying him stopped. And Jesus said, “Young man, I tell you to get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. All the people who saw this were filled with awe and praised God and declared, “A great prophet has walked among us today; God has come to help his people.”

The news about Jesus raising the dead man at Nain spread everywhere in the land of the Jews and the surrounding country.

After hearing Jesus’ teaching and seeing his miracles, the disciples of John the Baptist went and told John in prison about all that Jesus was teaching and doing. John had been imprisoned for about one year at the Fortress Machaerus in the region of Perea, located on the eastern side of the Dead Sea.

After John the Baptist heard what Jesus was doing, he called two of his disciples and sent them to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect and look for someone else?” When they came to Jesus they said, “John sent us to ask you, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ At that very time Jesus was healing many people who had diseases, sicknesses, and were blind. He was also casting demons out of people. Jesus told John’s disciples, “Go back and tell John what you see and hear: The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the good news of God is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is everyone who does not stumble or fall away because of me.”

After the two disciples of John the Baptist had left, Jesus said this to the crowd of people about John: “What did you go out to see in the Wilderness of Judea? A weak and fragile desert reed blowing in the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in expensive clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury live in the palaces of kings. Then what did you go to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you the truth: He is much more than a prophet. For John is the one written about in Malachi 3:1, ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there is no one who is greater than John; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of God is greater than John. From the days of John until now, the kingdom of God has advanced in power and people of strong faith enter it. For the entire Old Testament foretold of all these things until the coming of John. And if you are willing to accept it, John is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear!”

When all the people and the tax collectors heard Jesus’ teaching, they confessed that God’s way was right, for they had been baptized by John. But the Jewish religious leaders rejected God’s plan for them, for they had not been baptized by John.

Then Jesus said, “John the Baptist did not come eating bread or drinking wine, and the religious leaders say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating bread and drinking wine and they say, ‘Look at him! He is a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

At that time a Jewish religious leader named Simon invited Jesus to have dinner with him. Simon’s house also served as a synagogue for the community. Jesus entered into the house and reclined at the table. And a woman in that town who lived a life of sin came to the house with an alabaster jar filled with expensive fragrant oil because she heard that Jesus was eating at the house.

As she stood at his feet weeping, her tears dripped onto his feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. When Simon saw this, he said to himself, “If Jesus was a true prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him—for she is a sinner.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have a story to tell you.” Simon said, “Tell me, teacher.” Jesus said, “Two men were in debt to a moneylender; one man owed him 500 coins and the other 50 coins. Neither of these men had the money to repay the loan, so the moneylender forgave their debts. “Now tell me, which man will have a greater love for the moneylender?”

Simon said, “The man who was forgiven the largest debt.” Jesus said to him, “You are correct.” Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman. I came into your house and you did not give me water to wash my feet, but she washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured fragrant oil on my feet. Therefore, I tell you the truth: For her many sins have been forgiven, she has shown me great love. But whoever has been forgiven little shows little love.” Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests said to one another, “Who is this Jesus who forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Go in peace, for your faith has saved you.”

Then Jesus declared, “Come to me, all you who are tired of carrying the heavy burdens of life, and I will give you rest. Live the way I live and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will experience rest within your inner life. For my way of life is easy and my burden is light.”

After this Jesus walked through the villages and towns of Galilee proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The apostles were with him, and also some women who had been healed of demons and diseases: Mary Magdalene, who had seven demons cast out of her; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the house manager of Herod Antipas; Susanna; and a large number of other women. These women were helping to support them out of their own possessions.

Then the people brought to Jesus a demon-possessed man who could not see or talk. Jesus healed the man by casting the demon out. All the people were amazed. They said to one another, “Could this be the Son of David, the Messiah?” Some Jewish religious leaders came down from Jerusalem. When they heard that Jesus healed a demon-possessed man they said, “He is possessed by Satan! He casts out demons by Satan, the ruler of demons.” Other people tested Jesus by asking him to show them a miraculous sign from heaven.

Jesus knew what the religious leaders were thinking, so he called them over and said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, it will fall into ruin. Every city divided against itself cannot stand. Every family divided against itself cannot stand. How can Satan cast out demons? If Satan fights himself and is divided, he cannot stand and that would be his end.

Jesus said to the religious leaders, “I tell you this because you accuse me of casting demons out of people by the power of Satan. But I cast out demons by God’s power, and so the kingdom of God has already come upon you. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Because the religious leaders were saying that Jesus was possessed by Satan, he said to them, “I tell you the truth: People will be forgiven of all their sins and every blasphemous and slanderous word they say. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. For they will be guilty of an eternal sin.”

The eternal sin that will not be forgiven is attributing to Satan what is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. This sin is committed by unbelievers who deliberately reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit in calling them to salvation.

Then Jesus said to the religious leaders, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. You are a group of snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? For what a person says comes out of what fills his heart. A good person speaks good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil person speaks evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. I tell you the truth: On the day of God’s judgment, ev- eryone will give an account for every false word they have said. For by your words you will either be set free or condemned.”

Then some of the religious leaders said to Jesus, “Teacher, we want to see you do a miraculous sign.” As the crowd of people got bigger, Jesus said, “You are a wicked generation in Israel because it seeks a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give is the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was a sign to the people of Nineveh, and the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation of Israel. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of a large fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus was speaking about his burial.

Jesus said, “The non-Jews of Nineveh will stand up at God’s judgment and condemn this generation of Israel, for the people of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now someone greater than Jonah is here! The Queen of Sheba will stand up at God’s judgment and condemn this generation in Israel, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wise teaching of Solomon, and now someone greater than Solomon is here!

Then Jesus condemned the religious leaders saying, “This is how it will be with this evil generation of religious leaders. When a demon comes out of a person, it goes through dry and waterless places seeking rest, but does not find any. Then it says, ‘I will go back inside the house where I used to live.’ When the demon returns, it finds the house empty, swept clean, and put in order. Then the demon goes and brings back seven other demons more evil than itself, and they go live inside the house.”

Jesus went into Peter’s house in Capernaum, and once again a large crowd gathered so he and his disciples were not even able to eat a meal.

When Jesus’ family in Nazareth heard what was happening in Capernaum, they went to stop Jesus because they said, “He is out of his mind.” When his mother and brothers arrived, they stood outside the house for they were not able to get near him because of the crowd of people inside the house. So they asked to talk to Jesus, and sent someone inside to tell him that they were there.

A crowd was sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers are outside and want to talk with you.” Jesus said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Then Jesus pointed to those sitting in a circle around him and said, “These are my mother and my brothers! For whoever hears God’s word and puts it into practice—doing the will of my Father in heaven—is my mother, brother, and sister.”