Luke 7: Do You Have the Right Attitude?

The theme of the seventh chapter of Luke can, once again, be found at the end of the chapter. If we start there, we can see how every subsequent interaction Jesus has relates to the point Luke is establishing: This attitude allows us to receive from God.

Chapter seven closes with the narrative of Jesus being invited to dine with the Pharisees in the courtyard of their home, which was most likely open to the street, much like a bistro. As they reclined at the table, a woman approached, weeping so much that she threw herself at His feet, soaking them with her tears, as she displayed her remorse. Using her hair, she cleansed His feet, then poured some costly perfume on them. This was an extravagant show of honor and respect.

At that time, people walked everywhere in sandals through dusty streets where animals pooped. Water had to be hauled from a well or stream. This woman used her hair to clean Jesus’ feet! How did the Pharisees respond to this humble display of honor and gratitude?

Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw it, he said to himself, “If this Man were a prophet, He would surely know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him—for she is a notorious sinner (a social outcast, devoted to sin).” (Luke 7:39 AMPC)

The Pharisee was concerned about his social standing and how the interaction would appear to others. He didn’t even want someone who had been “put out” of the congregation to touch him, thinking that was how it should be. The Holy Spirit revealed to the Lord what was in the Pharisee’s heart, so Jesus began teaching him just like they did in the Old Testament, using a parable that applied to the situation to demonstrate His point:

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now, which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.”

And He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then, turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7:41-47 ESV)

Cleaning a guest's feet when they arrive would not only remove the grime from the road but also provide a refreshing coolness for tired feet. Giving guests a kiss on the cheek was a common sign of affection. The Pharisee didn’t do any of that, while the sinful woman’s actions went beyond the social norms.

Her actions showed a tremendous amount of humility. She understood how great her sins were and how much she needed forgiveness. This caused her to love Jesus with complete abandon as she fell at His feet with abject humility. Because of the state of her heart, she was able to receive from Jesus.

The opposite of humility is self-righteousness. Pharisees studied the Law of Moses, carefully followed traditions, and criticized anyone who didn’t. We see these actions of the Pharisees throughout the Gospels, and in this particular account, where the leader was more concerned with a person’s position within society than with anything else. Our attitude determines what we receive from God, as Jesus confirms in Luke’s final verses within this chapter:

And He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Then those who were at the table with Him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48-50 ESV)

Jesus didn’t give the Pharisee anything, but He gave the woman the most precious gifts from God: Forgiveness and peace. According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, peace is the blessed state of devout and upright men after death. She received salvation!

Every account in this chapter of Luke is about receiving from God because of the attitude of love, gratefulness, and humility. You may think you are grateful and humble where God is concerned, but by examining this chapter, we can see the true signs of having the right attitude.

1. The Centurion

A centurion had a faithful servant whom he valued. When he heard about Jesus and the miracles associated with Him, the military commander took action.

When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to Him elders of the Jews, asking Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have You do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” (Luke 7:3-5 ESV)

The commander of the Roman army knew about God and loved Him. His attitude was evident in the way he honored God by contributing to the building of a synagogue or church. That is one way the right attitude is displayed: contributing to God’s work.

If we receive from God, we should want to give back to Him. This applies to Christians as well as Israel:

So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead). But someone will say [to you then], You [say you] have faith, and I have [good] works. Now you show me your [alleged] faith apart from any [good] works [if you can], and I by [good] works [of obedience] will show you my faith.

Are you willing to be shown [proof], you foolish (unproductive, spiritually deficient) fellow, that faith apart from [good] works is inactive and ineffective and worthless? Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his [own] son Isaac? You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works. (James 2:17-18, 20-22 AMPC)

If you do not have works in agreement with faith, then your faith is dying: it is growing weaker rather than stronger. The Book of Revelation, which is the prophecy of John, supports this in two different scriptures. This prophecy is about Jesus’ return, so this prophecy will apply until He is ruling and reigning from Jerusalem.

And to the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things said he that has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know your works, that you have a name that you live, and are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found your works perfect before God. (Revelation 3:1-2 AKJV)

This church thinks it is alive, but really, it’s dead. Why is it dead? There are no perfect works before God. Works isn’t only about bringing God the tithe or tenth part of your income to acknowledge that He is the one who is providing for you, it is also about listening to the Holy Spirit so that you can do “perfect works” of God. This is what it takes to be part of the Bride of Christ.

Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Revelation 19:7-8 ESV)

The perfect or righteous deeds, which are actions for God, are where we get the bridal gown, making us ready for the wedding with the Lord. Righteous works are the result of our faith, and they will not go unnoticed by God, as we see with the centurion.

And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to You. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed Him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well. (Luke 7:6-10 ESV)

When we receive the Holy Spirit through Jesus, a measure of faith is deposited in us. That faith grows as we learn about Him and start walking in His ways, and doing the works of God. The centurion had learned enough about God’s ways and the traditions around them to know that Jesus would be considered “unclean” if He associated with him. There was humility in his request. The soldier didn’t demand a healing because of past offerings to God. He submitted to the ways of God’s people.

The soldier also understood authority and applied that understanding to God. Through understanding and actions, the Centurion had the greatest faith Jesus had ever seen, for he knew that all Jesus had to do was speak a word and his servant would be healed, even if Jesus wasn’t physically present.

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. (Hebrews 11:1 AMPC)

Faith is the foundation of hope, through which we are convinced that Heaven, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are real, though we have not seen them. If our faith is sincere, we cannot help but act upon it! Through the example of the Centurion, we see that loving God, honoring Him with our material substance, and learning His ways bring great faith! And faith in God brings miracles into our lives.

2. The Widow

Jesus traveled south from Capernaum to Nain, where he came upon a funeral procession for the son of a widowed woman. In that day and age, women had few rights, even in Israel. The husband provided for the household, and the children took care of the parents when they were old. To lose both your husband and only child leaves a woman in dire straits. We see that many considered this an affliction from God through the story of another widow, Naomi:

And she said to them, “Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” (Ruth 1:20-21 AMPC)

Naomi lost her husband and two sons. This was considered a judgment from God. The widow Jesus encountered was feeling the pain of loss. Jesus knew His mother would lose her Son in the coming years and was moved by the situation.

And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about Him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. (Luke 7:13-17 ESV)

Can you imagine being approached by a stranger and told not to cry when you have just lost your only son? The widow didn’t respond in anger. She just listened. If we have a relationship with God, when bad things happen, we may be sad, but we won’t be angry at Him.

Naomi wasn’t mad at God; she considered that she had done something wrong and was being rightly afflicted. When Job lost his children, he was determined to prove to God that he didn’t deserve what was happening to him, and the situation got worse!

We may weep or cry out to God for help, and this is okay. If we believe that God has wronged us, well, then that places God against us. Having the right attitude of humbly accepting negative situations allows God to perform miracles; sometimes we don’t even need to ask, and God will show up in our time of need!

A miracle like this occurred in my life. At age 18, I ran from God. I won’t go into details about why; that can be found in the free book Angel’s Believe in You. Suffice it to say, when I was 30 years old and pregnant with my first child, I made a decision: I wanted her to know God. But before I could teach her, I realized that I should get to know Him first. So I rededicated my life to the Lord in a simple prayer as I sat on the edge of my bed.

I began by reading the New Testament. As a new mother of a very cranky baby, I didn’t have much time. I only spent 20 minutes a day reading the Word of God and progressing through the Gospels. I would ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom to reveal to me who Jesus is.

I found myself laughing and crying as the life of the Lord unfolded, and I saw Him both as a Man and as God. Often, the only time I had to pray was as I lay down each night. I was so excited to talk to the Lord about what I had discovered about Him that day.

A funny thing started to happen. Each time I prayed, my hands tingled: I thought they were falling asleep. I tested it out, and they fell asleep when I was in bed praying, in the shower, no matter where I was, they tingled! My mom explained that it was the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The next night, as was customary, I said my prayers silently so I wouldn’t disturb Tony. The tingling returned. Unsure what to do, I remembered what my mom had taught me as a small girl: “In everything, praise Jesus.” I tried to whisper, “Jesus, I praise you.”

When I uttered the name “Jesus,” the tingling cascaded from my head to my toes. It was like an unseen force caressed every ounce of my being. The word came out breathy, like the whisper to a lover, “Je-es-sus.”

I tried again. As I said, “Jesus,” the power poured over my body again, building in intensity. I whispered His name into the night over and over again, reveling in the feeling. I felt like I could walk straight up a wall, and that if I jumped off a roof, I would float down to earth.

I couldn’t take any more. In my mind, I asked, “What do you want me to do?”

A picture appeared in my head. I raised my hands and put them on my neck as I was shown.

Power hit me. It was like a bolt of lightning running down my entire body. Snlick. Something between a snap and a clicking noise came from inside my nose. At that moment, God healed a deviated septum and chronic allergies! I hadn’t even asked for the healing!

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8 ESV)

Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:31-33 AMPC)

When we keep our focus on God, when we trust in Him, we will not be disappointed. We must strive after and seek God’s way of doing things, consider that He is right in all matters, and try to do it His way, then He will provide all that we need! That is the right attitude: humbly seeking and acknowledging Him.

3. John the Baptist

 The news about Jesus spread to John, who, according to Matthew 11, was in prison at the time.

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Luke 7:18-19 ESV)

This question shows despite being the prophesied Witness of Jesus’ Coming, John wasn’t completely sure that his cousin, Jesus, was the Messiah. Even though he saw and proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah after baptizing Him.

What caused John to become unsure? Well, he did what he believed God wanted him to do, and now he was in prison. Have you ever found yourself in a tough situation, despite doing exactly what you thought God wanted? If you want answers from God, you need to take a lesson from John the Baptist.

John didn’t get mad at God. He didn’t demand to be rescued. He didn’t focus on his own problem by sending a message to Jesus saying, “Hey, Cousin, if you are the Messiah, can you get me out of here?”

No, John remained focused on the work he had to do for God. Did he get the job done? He asked a question, politely, humbly, without proclaiming all he had done and sacrificed for the Kingdom of God, without focusing on his problem. This is the attitude that receives miraculous answers.

In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” (Luke 7:21-23 ESV)

Jesus didn’t merely reply, “Yes, I am the Son of God, the Messiah!” No, Jesus PROVED who He was by fulfilling several prophecies about the Messiah, including this one:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. (Isaiah 35:5-6 ESV)

I’m sure that John was hoping to be miraculously released from prison; after all, the Messiah was supposed to rule the entire world and set the prisoners free. However, we now know that Jesus came to set the spiritual prisoners free, not just those physically in prison. Could this be why Jesus sent that response after prophecy-fulfilling miracles were promised? So that John would be fully convinced that He is the Messiah, even as he faced execution.

When we have the right heart, set on doing the righteous works for God, He will let us know if we are doing a good job. If trouble comes upon us, we should seek God to ask whether we’re still walking in His will or if we’ve strayed off into the weeds.

Humility is the key to receiving from God in every case, whether it is to receive a healing, comfort in the time of calamity, wisdom, or most especially salvation! Lately, I’ve been asking God to show me the difference between the wheat and the tares. In Jesus’ parable, both look like wheat: they all look like children of God. That means all must have said a prayer to receive Jesus.

But the difference lies in the heart: the original seed that was planted. Is the person like a Pharisee, relying on what they are doing to be righteous? Or like the widow, do they truly understand their deep need for Jesus? When we realize just how lost we are without Him, we will want to work for Him, to help spread the word about the only way to Heaven! We may not be called to preach or teach, but we can support those who do in so many ways. It is the humble who are filled with love and gratitude for what God has done for them that receive from Him and are truly saved!

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Luke 7: Do you Have the Right Attitude?Online Christian Church

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