1 After Jesus finished saying this to the people, he went with his disciples to Capernaum town. 2 There was a Roman army officer there who had a slave whom he thought highly of. This slave was so sick that he was about to die. 3 When the officer heard about Jesus, he summoned some Jewish elders. He told them to go to Jesus and ask him to come and heal his slave. 4 When they came to where Jesus was, they earnestly asked Jesus to return with them. They said, “This officer deserves that you (sg) do this for him, 5 because he loves us Jewish people, and he paid the money to build a synagogue for us.” 6 So Jesus went with them. When he was near the officer’s house, the officer decided that it was not necessary for Jesus to come to his house. So he summoned some friends. He told them to go to Jesus and tell him this: “Lord/Sir, do not bother to come. Because I am a non-Jew, I am not worthy for you (sg), a Jew, to come into my house [MTY] and associate with me. 7 I did not feel worthy to come to you, either. But please command that my servant be healed, and he will become well! 8  I believe this because, as for me, there are people who have authority over me and I obey them. I also have soldiers under my authority. When I say to one of them, ‘Go!’ he goes. When I say to another ‘Come!’ he comes. When I say to my slave, ‘Do this!’ he does it. And I believe that you speak with a similar kind of authority.” 9 When the officer’s friends arrived and told that to Jesus, he marveled at what the officer had said. Then he turned and said to the crowd that was going with him, “I tell you, I have never before found anyone who trusted in me like this non-Jewish man does. No one from Israel, where I would expect people to believe in me, has trusted in me like he has!” 10 When those men returned to the officer’s house, they found that the slave was well.

11 Soon after that, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd of other people went with him. 12 As they approached the town gate, the corpse of a young man who had just died was being carried out on a stretcher {people were carrying out on a stretcher the corpse of a young man who had just died}. His mother was a widow, and he was her only son. A large group of people from the town were accompanying them. 13 When the Lord saw her, he pitied her. He said to her, “Do not cry!” 14 Then, ignoring the Jewish laws about not coming near a corpse, he came close and touched the stretcher on which the body was lying. So the men carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The man sat up and began to talk! Jesus returned him to his mother to care for her. 16 Then everyone there was amazed/awestruck. They praised God, saying, “A great prophet has come among us!” They also said, “God has come to help his people!” 17  Then they reported what Jesus had done throughout all of Judea district and other nearby areas.

18 The disciples of John the Baptizer went to the prison where John was and told him about those things. 19 So one day John summoned two of his disciples and told them to go to the Lord and ask him: “Are you the Messiah who the prophets prophesied would come, or is it someone else that we should expect to come?” 20 When those two men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptizer sent us to ask you (sg) this: Are you the Messiah that we are expecting God to send, or shall we (exc) expect someone else?” 21 At that very time Jesus was healing many people of their diseases and other sicknesses, he was casting out evil spirits, and he was causing many blind people to be able to see. 22 So he answered those two men, “Go back and report to John what you have seen me doing and what you have heard me telling people. I am enabling blind people to see. I am enabling lame people to walk. I am healing people who have leprosy. I am enabling deaf people to hear. I am causing dead people to become alive again, and I am telling God’s good message to poor people. 23  Also tell John that God is pleased with those who do not stop believing in me because what I do is not what they expect the Messiah to do.”

24 When the men whom John had sent left, Jesus began to talk to the crowd of people about John. He said to them, “Think about what sort of person you went to see in the desolate area when you went there to see John [RHQ]. You did not go there to listen to a man who constantly changed the nature of his message [MET], like a reed that is blown back and forth by the wind [RHQ]. 25 Then what kind of man did you go there to see [RHQ]? Was he [RHQ] a man who wore expensive clothes? No! You know very well that people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are in kings’ palaces, not in the desolate areas! 26 Then what kind of person did you go to see? Did you [RHQ] go there to see John because he was a prophet? Yes! But I will tell you that John is more important than an ordinary prophet. 27 He is the one about whom these words that God said to the Messiah have been written {the prophet Malachi wrote these words} in the Scriptures: ‘Listen! I am going to send my messenger ahead of you (sg) [SYN]. He will prepare people for your coming.’

28 I tell you that from among all the people who have ever lived, God considers that no one is greater than John. However, God considers everyone who has let God rule their lives [MET] to be greater than John, even if they are insignificant people.”

29 When they heard what Jesus said (OR, what John preached), all the people, including tax collectors, whom many people despised, agreed that God’s way was right. By being baptized by John {By letting John baptize them}, they had agreed that what God required people to do in order to be saved was right. 30 But the Pharisees and the men who taught the Jewish laws were not baptized by John {did not let John baptize them} because they rejected what God wanted them to do.

31  Then Jesus also said, “Many of you people have heard what John and I have taught. ◄I will illustrate what you are like./Do you know what many of you people who have heard what John and I have taught are like?► [RHQ] 32 You are like children who are playing games in an open area. Some of them are calling to the others, saying, ‘We (exc) played happy music for you on the flute, but you did not dance! Then we sang sad funeral songs for you, but you did not cry!’ 33  Similarly, you people are dissatisfied with both John the Baptizer and me! When John came and preached to you, he did not eat ordinary food [SYN] or drink wine, like most people do. But you rejected him, saying, ‘A demon is controlling him!’ 34 In contrast, I, the one who came from heaven, eat the same food and drink wine as others do. But you reject me, saying, ‘Look! This man eats too much food and drinks too much wine, and he associates with tax collectors and other sinners!’ 35 But those who are truly God’s children [PRS] realize that what John and I do is truly wise.”

36  One day one of the Pharisees named Simon invited Jesus to eat a meal with him. So Jesus went to the man’s house and reclined to eat. 37 There was a woman in that city who many people knew had been a prostitute [EUP]. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house. So she went there, taking a stone jar that contained perfume. 38  As the people there were reclining to eat, the woman stood behind Jesus, at his feet. As she was crying because she was sorry for her sins, her tears fell on Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped his feet with her hair, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the perfume. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw that, he thought, “Prophets know about other people’s lives, so if Jesus were a prophet, he would have known who this woman is who is touching him, and what kind of a person she is. He would have known that she is a prostitute! [EUP]” 40 Jesus said to him, “Simon, there is something I want to tell you (sg).” He replied, “Teacher, what is it?” 41 Jesus replied, “Two people owed some money to a man who earned money by lending it to others. One owed him 500 silver coins, and the other owed him 50 silver coins. 42 Neither of them was able to pay back what he owed, so the man very kindly said that they did not have to pay back anything. So, which of those two men will love that man more?” 43 Simon replied, “I think that the one who owed the most money and did not have to pay it back will love him more.” Jesus said to him, “That is correct.” 44 Then he turned toward the woman, and said to Simon, “◄Think about what this woman has done!/Do you (sg) see what this woman has done?► [RHQ] When I entered your house, you did not follow our custom of welcoming guests by giving me any water to wash my feet, but this woman has wet my feet with her tears and then wiped them with her hair! 45 You did not follow our custom of greeting by kissing me, but since I came in, this woman has not stopped kissing my feet! 46 You did not follow our custom of welcoming guests by anointing my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with fragrant perfume. 47 So I will tell you that even though this woman has sinned very much, she has been forgiven {I have forgiven her}. By what she has done she has shown that she loves me very much. But a person who has sinned just a little bit, but whom I have forgiven, will love me just a little bit.” 48 Then he said to the woman, “You have been forgiven {I have forgiven you} for your sins.” 49 Then those who were eating with him said among themselves, “◄This man must think that he is God!/Who does this man think that he is [RHQ]►, saying that he can forgive people for their sins?” 50 But Jesus said to the woman, “Because you have trusted [PRS] in me, God has saved you from the guilt of your sins. May God give you inner peace as you go!”