The Son of the Widow of Nain

Two crowds. Jesus came to Nain with “many of His disciples” and “a large crowd” (Luke 7:11). At the gate they met another crowd coming out of the town (7:12). A widow's only son. The young man who had died was “the only son of his mother; and she was a widow” (7:12). A widow is a woman whose husband has died. In Bible times, a widow usually needed a grown son to take care of her. Now she had lost both her husband and her son. Jesus saw her. “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her” (7:13). Compassion means feeling someone's hurt so much that you want to help. Nobody asked Jesus to stop. He saw her, and He came to her. “Do not weep.” Jesus told her to stop crying (7:13). Anyone can say those words. Only Jesus could also take away the reason for her tears. The Lord who stops. Jesus was on His way into the town with a big crowd. He still had time for one hurting mother. What we learn. Jesus notices people who are hurting. He sees you on your sad days too. You never have to hide your tears from Him. Tell Him how you feel, and trust Him to care for you.

Two processions (7:11-12). A crowd following the Lord of life met a crowd following a coffin. Jesus' crowd was coming into Nain, and the funeral was going out through the gate. Everything lost (7:12). The man was “the only son of his mother; and she was a widow.” With her husband and her only son gone, she most likely had no one left to provide for her or protect her in old age. Her sorrow was for her son, and her future looked empty too. “The Lord” (7:13). Verse 13 calls Jesus “the Lord.” The Greek word is kyrios (say: KOO-ree-os), the same word the Greek Old Testament used for God's own name. The One who stopped at the gate is the Lord of life. Compassion (7:13). “He had compassion on her.” The Greek word splanchnizomai (say: splangkh-NID-zoh-my) comes from the word for a person's inner parts. Jesus was moved from deep inside. Grace first. The widow did not ask Jesus for anything. He came to her first. That is grace: help we did not ask for and could never earn. “Do not weep.” From anyone else these words would be empty. Jesus spoke them because He was about to remove the cause of her tears. He is also “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). He knows what tears feel like. For you. “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). You can bring your grief to Him honestly.

Two crowds met at the gate of Nain. One crowd was following Jesus. The other crowd was very sad. A widow had lost her only son. Now she had no husband and no son. In those days, life was very hard for a widow like that. Who would take care of her now? Jesus saw her. He did not walk past her. His heart was filled with love for her. Then He said, “Don't cry.” Jesus could say that because He was going to help. Jesus sees you too. He cares when you are sad. You can always talk to Him about it.

Jesus saw the sad mother. He felt very sorry for her. Jesus sees you when you are sad. He cares about you.

He came and touched. “Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still” (7:14). The open coffin was most likely a bier, a wooden frame used to carry a body to the grave. Not afraid to touch. God's law said that touching the dead made a person unclean for a while (Numbers 19:11). Jesus was not made unclean. Instead, His touch brought life. His own word. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, arise” (7:14). He did not stop to pray and ask God to raise him. He spoke with His own authority. Authority means the right and the power to give orders. Death obeyed. Nobody can talk to a person who has died and be heard. But the young man heard Jesus. Death had to let him go. The last enemy. The Bible calls death “the last enemy that will be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15:26). At Nain, Jesus showed that He is stronger than that enemy. What we learn. Jesus is the Lord of life. Nothing is too hard for Him. When you feel weak or afraid, you can trust the One whose word is stronger than death.

The bier (7:14). The “open coffin” was probably a bier, an open frame carried on the shoulders, with the body wrapped in cloth. Jewish families usually buried their dead on the same day, so this mother's loss was most likely only hours old. Clean and unclean. Under the law, contact with the dead made a person unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:11). At Nain the direction is reversed. Uncleanness does not flow into Jesus; life flows out of Him. He did the same when He “stretched out His hand and touched” a leper (Mark 1:41). “I say to you.” Elijah and Elisha prayed and stretched themselves out on the boys God raised through them (1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:33-34). Jesus simply spoke. His authority over death is not borrowed. It is His own. Arise (7:14). The Greek word egeirō (say: eh-GAY-roh) means to wake up or raise up. The same word is used for Jesus' own resurrection: “But now Christ is risen from the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:20). A sign of more to come. This young man would one day die again. His raising was a sign pointing ahead to Jesus' own victory over the grave and to the day when “in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). For you. The same Lord speaks life to people who are dead in sin. Faith begins when we hear His voice and trust Him.

Jesus did not just feel sorry for the mother. He walked up and touched the coffin. Then He spoke to the young man. Jesus said, “I tell you.” Long ago, God's prophets prayed and asked God for help. Jesus spoke with His own power. That is because Jesus is God's Son. Even death has to obey Jesus. Death had to let the young man go. He is stronger than sickness, sadness and death. One day Jesus will raise everyone who belongs to Him. You can trust Him with anything. When you feel scared, you can pray to Him.

Jesus touched the coffin. He said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!” The young man lived again! Jesus is stronger than death.

He sat up. “So he who was dead sat up and began to speak” (7:15). He did not slowly get better. Jesus' word worked at once. A gift for the mother. “And He presented him to his mother” (7:15). Jesus gave the son back to her as a gift. Her tears turned to joy. Her future. Without her son, the widow probably had no one to care for her. Now her son could work and look after her again. Jesus cared about her whole life, not only her sadness that day. Life to the full. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus does not only stop bad things. He gives good things. A happy meeting. One day Jesus will bring His people together again. Paul wrote that “God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Sleep is the Bible's gentle word for believers who have died. What we learn. Jesus gives good gifts. He cares about the people you love. You can pray for your family and trust Him with them.

Signs of life (7:15). “He who was dead sat up and began to speak.” Sitting up and speaking are two plain signs that he was fully alive, not slowly recovering. Given back (7:15). “He presented him to his mother.” Jesus' first act after the miracle was for the widow. The young man was given back to his family, and the mother was given back her future. Whole care. Jesus' healings often returned people to the ones they belonged to. He cared about the whole person: body, family and daily needs. Sorrow turned to joy. Jesus later told His disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Tribulation means trouble and hardship. Nain was a small picture of that victory. Hope, not denial. Paul did not tell believers never to grieve. He said, “lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Christians cry at funerals, but they cry with hope. The reunion ahead. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The mother at Nain received her son back for a time; believers will receive one another back forever. For you. Every good gift you have, including the people you love, comes from the Lord. Thank Him for them by name.

The young man sat up and began to talk. He was really alive! Then Jesus did something very kind. He gave the young man back to his mother. Jesus knew she needed her son. Now she had someone to love and help her again. Her tears turned into joy. She had come to the gate crying. Now she went home with her son! Jesus cares about our families. He knows who takes care of us. He cares about big things and small things too. We did nothing to earn His kindness. Jesus gives good gifts because He loves us.

The young man sat up and talked! Jesus gave him back to his mother. Jesus gives good gifts.

Holy fear. “Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God” (7:16). This fear was awe, the feeling of standing close to God's great power. It made them praise God. “A great prophet.” The people said, “A great prophet has risen up among us” (7:16). A prophet is someone God sends to speak His message. Long ago, God used Elijah and Elisha to raise two boys back to life (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:32-37). The people probably remembered those stories. More than a prophet. The crowd was right that Jesus is a prophet. But He is far more. He is the Son of God, and life obeys His voice. God visited. They also said, “God has visited His people” (7:16). That was more true than they knew. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The news spread. “And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region” (7:17). People could not keep quiet about what Jesus had done. What we learn. When we see what Jesus has done, the right answer is to praise God. Then we tell others about Him, just as the people of Nain did.

Fear and glory (7:16). “Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God.” Holy fear and praise belong together. When people see God's power up close, they are filled with awe, and awe turns into worship. Two sayings. The crowd said two things: “A great prophet has risen up among us” and “God has visited His people.” Both were true, and the second was truer than they knew. Elijah and Elisha. God had raised a mother's son through Elijah at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24) and through Elisha at Shunem (2 Kings 4:32-37). Shunem lay only a few miles from Nain, so the crowd most likely knew that story well. “Risen up.” The crowd said a prophet had “risen up.” In Greek this is egeirō again, the word Jesus had just spoken to the young man. God had raised up a Prophet, and the Prophet had raised the dead. Visited (7:16). The Greek word episkeptomai (say: eh-pee-SKEP-toh-my) means to look upon with care and come to help. Zacharias used the same word when he praised God, “For He has visited and redeemed His people” (Luke 1:68). The report (7:17). The news went “throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.” Even John the Baptist heard it (7:18). For you. Worship and witness go together. Praise God for what Jesus has done for you, and then tell someone about it.

Everyone was amazed and filled with fear. They knew that God had done this. So they praised God. They probably remembered Elijah and Elisha from long ago. God used those prophets to bring two boys back to life. The people said, “A great prophet has come to us!” Jesus is even greater than a prophet. He is God's own Son. God Himself had come to help them in Jesus. Soon the news about Jesus spread everywhere. People could not stop talking about what Jesus did. We can tell others about Jesus too.

The people praised God. They said, “God is taking care of his people.” Jesus came to help us. We can praise God too!

The Son of the Widow of Nain

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