A Great Prophet Has Risen

Elijah and Elisha

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The people of Nain knew old stories about God bringing a boy back to life. Both stories happened long ago, through prophets God had sent to Israel.

A widow at Zarephath. The prophet Elijah stayed with a widow and her son in the town of Zarephath. God kept her flour and oil from running out, day after day (1 Kings 17:8-16).

A terrible day. Then her son became sick, and “his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him” (1 Kings 17:17).

A hurting mother. She cried to Elijah, “Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” (17:18). Her words show she was afraid God was punishing her.

Bring him to God. Elijah did not argue with her. He said, “Give me your son” (17:19). He carried the boy upstairs to the room where he was staying.

Elijah prayed. “And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord” (17:21). He asked God to let the child's life come back.

God answered. “Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived” (17:22). To revive means to come back to life.

“See, your son lives!” Elijah brought the boy down and “gave him to his mother” (17:23). She said, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God” (17:24).

A mother at Shunem. Years later, a kind woman in the town of Shunem made a little room for the prophet Elisha. God gave her a son (2 Kings 4:8-17).

Elisha prayed too. When the boy died, Elisha “shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord” (2 Kings 4:33).

Warm again. Elisha stretched himself out on the child, “and the flesh of the child became warm” (4:34). Then “the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes” (4:35).

“Pick up your son.” Elisha called for the mother and said, “Pick up your son” (4:36). She bowed to the ground in thanks and held her boy again (4:37).

Close to Nain. Shunem was only a few miles from Nain. The people there had probably heard Elisha's story all their lives.

Jesus told it too. In His hometown, Jesus reminded people that God sent Elijah to care for a widow at Zarephath (Luke 4:25-26). God's care reached people others forgot.

What it shows. Life belongs to God, and He hears prayer. These two boys were signs that pointed ahead to Jesus, who would one day beat death forever.

What to do. Like Elijah and Elisha, bring your hardest problems to God in prayer. He hears you, and He is never too busy to listen.

Twice in Israel's history, a grieving mother received her son back from death through a prophet. The crowd at Nain had these two events in mind when they praised God for a great prophet.

The widow's fear (1 Kings 17:18). She asked Elijah, “Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” Grief often makes people wonder if God is against them. Is every death a punishment for a person's sin? No. Elijah did not blame her; he carried her son to God.

An honest prayer (17:20). Elijah cried, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” Prophets prayed honestly. You may tell God exactly how you feel.

The soul came back (17:22). The Hebrew word nephesh (say: NEH-fesh) means soul or life, the breath of life God gives. “The soul of the child came back to him.” Life is God's gift, and only He can give it back.

“The word of the Lord” (17:24). The widow said, “The word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” The miracle proved that Elijah's message came from God.

Elisha at Shunem (2 Kings 4:32-35). Elisha prayed behind a shut door and stretched himself out on the child, with “his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands.” The boy grew warm, sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. The sneezes showed the boy was breathing again.

Shunem and Nain. Shunem sat on one side of a low hill in the Jezreel Valley and Nain on the other, only a few miles apart. The crowd at Nain stood very near where Elisha's miracle had happened.

The same words. In the Greek Old Testament, 1 Kings 17:23 says Elijah “gave him to his mother.” Luke 7:15 uses exactly the same Greek words: “He presented him to his mother.” Jesus did what Elijah did, and more.

Prayer and command. Elijah stretched himself out three times and cried to the Lord. Elisha prayed, stretched himself out on the child twice and waited. Jesus touched the bier and spoke one sentence. The prophets asked for life; Jesus gave it.

Luke 4:25-26. In Nazareth, Jesus reminded His listeners that Elijah was sent to a widow at Zarephath, outside Israel. God's mercy has always reached further than people expect.

Signs pointing ahead. Both boys, and the young man at Nain, would one day die again. Their raisings were signs. They pointed to Jesus' own resurrection, after which death has no power over Him.

Application. Prophets brought their grief and fear to God in honest prayer. Which hard thing in your life do you need to bring to Him this week? Name it to Him plainly.

Who Is This Prophet?

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The crowd at Nain called Jesus “a great prophet” (Luke 7:16). They were right, but they did not yet see all of who He is.

What a prophet is. A prophet is someone God sends to speak His words. Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah and Jeremiah all spoke God's message to His people.

Many guesses. King Herod heard about Jesus, and people told him many things. Some said “that John had risen from the dead,” and some said “that Elijah had appeared” (Luke 9:7-8).

Herod wondered. Herod could not work it out. He wondered who this Man could be, and he wanted to see Him (Luke 9:9).

Elijah again? Others said “one of the old prophets has risen again” (Luke 9:19).

Who do you say? Jesus asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God” (Luke 9:20). Christ means the Anointed One, the King God promised.

John's question. Soon after Nain, John the Baptist sent two men to ask Jesus, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Luke 7:20).

Jesus' answer. Jesus said, “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” (Luke 7:22). What happened at Nain was part of His answer.

Do not stumble. Jesus added, “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Luke 7:23). To be offended here means to trip over who Jesus is and turn away.

People wondered. After Jesus fed thousands of people, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14).

Mighty in deed and word. After Jesus rose, He walked beside two sad followers on the road to Emmaus. Not knowing who He was, they described Jesus as a Prophet who was mighty in what He did and what He said (Luke 24:19).

That very hour. While John's messengers were there, “that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight” (Luke 7:21). Jesus let His works answer the question.

A city asks. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the whole city asked who He was. The crowds answered that He was Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee (Matthew 21:10-11).

Asking and giving. Elijah and Elisha prayed and waited for God to give life. Jesus spoke, and the dead man sat up. Only God can give life like that.

What to do. Jesus still asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Tell Him in prayer what you believe about Him this week.

“A great prophet has risen up among us” (Luke 7:16) was high praise. Jesus is a prophet, but the rest of Luke shows that He is far more than any prophet.

Luke 9:7-9. Herod was perplexed, “because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.” Herod asked who this could be and wanted to see Him. Everyone had a guess.

Luke 9:18-20. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and then, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” The Christ is the Anointed One, the promised King. Opinions about Jesus are not enough; each person must answer for himself.

Luke 7:19-22. John asked, “Are You the Coming One?” Jesus pointed to His works: “the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” These works match what the prophets promised for the days of the Messiah. Nain was part of the evidence.

Luke 7:23. “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Jesus did not fit everyone's expectations, not even John's in prison. Blessing comes to those who trust Him anyway.

John 6:14. After the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” People were watching for God's promised Prophet.

Luke 24:19. On the road to Emmaus, two disciples called Jesus a Prophet mighty in deed and word, but they thought the cross had ended their hope. That same day they discovered He was alive. A prophet's story ends at his grave; Jesus' story did not.

Matthew 21:10-11. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the city asked who He was, and the crowds answered that this was Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Within a week the same city saw Him crucified, and then risen.

Messenger and Lord. A prophet passes on what the Lord has said. Jesus said, “I say to you, arise” (Luke 7:14). He speaks as the Lord Himself, not only as a messenger.

Luke 7:21. While John's messengers watched, “that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.” Jesus did not send John an argument. He let John's friends see and hear for themselves.

Application. People called Jesus John, Elijah or a prophet. Jesus still asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Answer Him honestly in prayer, and ask Him to help you follow what He says.

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