So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
- KJV Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
- NKJV Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
- NASB And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and people who are poor have the gospel preached to them.
- NLT Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus tells John's disciples to report the blind seeing, lame walking, lepers cleansed, deaf hearing, dead raised, and poor hearing the gospel. These fulfill messianic prophecy and answer John's question.
Overview
Jesus answers by echoing Isaiah's prophecies of the messianic age (Isaiah 35, 61), pointing to His works as proof of His identity. The list climaxes with good news preached to the poor, highlighting the heart of His mission. These signs declare that the promised salvation has arrived in Jesus, the long-awaited Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 29
- Isa 35:5–6Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
- Isa 61:1–3The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- Isa 29:18–19On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
- Jas 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
- Acts 14:8–10In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.
- Matt 9:28–30After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked. “Yes, Lord,” they answered.
- Luke 8:53–55And they laughed at Him, knowing that she was dead.
- Matt 15:30–31Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.
- Luke 7:14–15Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. “Young man,” He said, “I tell you, get up!”
- Acts 26:18to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’
- Matt 21:14The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple, and He healed them.
- Luke 17:12–19As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance
- Mark 7:32–37Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.
- Luke 5:12–15While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
- Job 29:15I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame.
- Isa 42:16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- Luke 7:21At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind.
- Zeph 3:12But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the LORD.
- Isa 43:8Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind, and who have ears but are deaf.
- Isa 32:3–4Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Ps 146:8the LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts those who are weighed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
- Jer 31:8Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly!
- Acts 8:7With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed.
- John 1:46“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
- Acts 3:2–8And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
- Isa 42:6–7“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,
- Luke 18:35–43As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging.
- John 9:30–33“That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 7:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.