Jesus’ Answer to John: This section consists of three parts that are loosely related to Jesus’ answer to the messengers of the imprisoned John the Baptist. Another factor uniting these stories together are the parallels with the Elijah/Elisha stories in 1 and 2 Kings. The first of Luke’s episodes is about the healing of the officer’s servant (7:1–10); the second is about the raising of the widow’s son (7:11–17); and the third is John’s question and Jesus’ answer (7:18–35).

7:18–35 This section may be subdivided into: (1) the question of John the Baptist (vv. 18–20), (2) Jesus’ answer, both in action and in word (vv. 21–23), (3) Jesus’ brief discourse about John (vv. 24–28), (4) the response of different groups of people (vv. 29–30), and (5) Jesus’ response to those who have not heeded the B…