Knowing The Word in Luke 7:11-17

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

7:11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Comments

The story of the widow’s son is only found in Luke. Nain, a day’s journey south-east of Capernaum is only mentioned here in the Bible. The “great crowd” shows Jesus’ popularity. Seeing the widow, now all alone without a male protector or provider and a family line that has come to an end, Jesus had great compassion on her. There was irony that she had a “considerable crowd” around her but was alone. She had hired professional mourners who played flutes and wailed. Even the poor spent their money for this ritual.

Luke calls Jesus “the Lord” for the first of several times in his gospel. Matthew and Mark rarely use it and John only occasionally. It is fitting here as Jesus proves himself to be the Lord over death. The widow was walking in front of the bier, so Jesus encountered her first. He took the initiative to bring the son back to life. No one asked him to do anything. Compassion for the widow seems to be his motivating concern. When Jesus touched the corpse, he made himself ceremonially unclean, but he does not seem to care as the man came immediately to life. Was Jesus, then, clean or unclean at this moment?

Unfortunately, the young man’s words were not recorded just as Lazarus’ words in John were not recorded after Jesus raised him from the dead. Interestingly, the people recognize the hand of God but not the true identity of Jesus.

Application

Jesus asked neither the widow about raising her son from the dead nor the sisters of Lazarus to bring him back to life. Instead, he resuscitated both men for his purposes and out of his compassion. Jesus, we could say, gave neither man free will. He simply brought them back to life, eventually to die again—which is why we do not call it resurrection from the dead. Has Jesus ever acted in your life without permission? Looking back, do you see his compassion overriding your prior agreement to an action?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you are Lord of life and Lord over death. Through your cross you have promised to be my Lord for all eternity. Help me to walk this day as your subject, knowing that your love and compassion will see me through each day, be they difficult or easy. And when night comes, may your Spirit put words of praise upon my lips as I drift off to sleep, awaiting a new day to dawn.