Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

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. Luke 7: 11-17

I somehow overlooked this for so long. Here in the South we often grow up hearing Bible stories and learn about the various miracles of Jesus. Yet a few years ago, it was as if I heard this one for the first time. 

The healing at Nain is a bit different than the other miracles of Jesus. One of the main differences is that whereas many of the others have seekers coming to Jesus and requesting healing, here, at Nain, nobody asked. 

As we read the text we see Jesus coming upon a funeral procession. He is aware of the situation, He sees the woman and has compassion on her, He speaks to her. And then He acts, breaking so many social norms in the process. 

Jesus was most likely dressed as a Rabbi. We see this in other text where his garments are described and in how people address Him. Although much has changed through the years, back then it was still culturally awkward to stop a funeral, however how Jesus did it was even more shocking to the crowd. In “the law” if you touch something dead, you are considered to be unclean. So here, Jesus, dressed as a rabbi, steps through the crowd and touches the coffin/bier. No doubt people stood still. Their jaws probably dropped. This was unthinkable. Yes He stopped the funeral, but now by the standards of “the law” He is unclean. 

Why?

Why would He do this?

I believe it is because “the Lord saw her”.

He saw her pain.

He saw her sorrow.

He saw her need. 

With the death of her only son, already being a widow, her life would be hard. 

She would be seen as a burden. 

With the death of her son, her hope died as well. 

But then Jesus saw her.

And He broke all the rules. 

He went to her.

Despite circumstances.

Despite what “the law” said. 

He was unasked.

He acted.

He restored.

It was an overflow of who He was and a response to the work that God had given Him to do. 

Love in action, regardless of circumstance. 

PRAYER

Father, give us eyes to see. Teach us to love. Give us strength to act. Help us to bring life in the midst of death, unasked and regardless of recognition. 

NEXT STEPS

Take some time to look around and “see” those around you. What are some of the needs that you see?