Jesus Heals a Servant

7   ¹Jesus finished saying all these things to the people. Then Jesus went into Capernaum.* ²In Capernaum there was an army officer.* The officer had a servant that was very sick; he was near death. The officer loved the servant very much. ³When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some older Jewish leaders to him. The officer wanted the men to ask Jesus to come and save the life of his servant. ⁴The men went to Jesus. They begged Jesus [to help the officer]. They said, "This officer is worthy to have your help. ⁵He loves our people and he built the synagogue* for us." ⁶So Jesus went with the men. Jesus was coming near the officer's house when the officer sent friends to say, "Lord, you don't need to come into my house. I am not good enough to be with you. ⁷That is why I did not come to you myself. You only need to give the order and my servant boy will be healed. ⁸[I understand your authority]. I am a man under the authority (power) of other men. And I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes. And I tell another soldier, 'Come,' and he comes. And I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and my servant obeys me." ⁹When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Jesus turned to the people that were following him. Jesus said, "I tell you, this is the most faith I have seen anywhere, even in Israel.* " ¹⁰The group that was sent to Jesus went back to the house. There they found that the servant was healed.

Jesus Brings a Man Back to Life

¹¹The next day Jesus went to a town called Nain. Jesus' followers and a large group of people were traveling with him. ¹²When Jesus came near the town gates, he saw a funeral. A mother, who was a widow,* had lost her only son. Many people from the town were there with the mother while her son was being carried out. ¹³When the Lord (Jesus) saw her, he felt very sorry for her in his heart. Jesus said to her, "Don't cry." ¹⁴Jesus walked to the coffin* and touched it. The men that were carrying the coffin stopped. Jesus said to the dead son, "Young man, I tell you, get up!" ¹⁵Then the son sat up and began to talk. Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶All the people were amazed. They were praising God. They said, "A great prophet* has come to us!" And they said, "God is taking care of his people." ¹⁷This news about Jesus spread into all Judea and into all the places around there.

Capernaum A town in Galilee where Jesus taught. army officer A centurion, a Roman army officer who had authority over 100 soldiers. synagogue(s) Synagogues were places where Jews gathered for prayer, study of the Scriptures, and other public meetings. Israel The Jewish nation (people). widow A widow is a woman whose husband has died. coffin A wooden box used for burying dead bodies. prophet A person that spoke for God.