Soon
afterwards, he went to a city called Nain. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him. Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.” He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.
Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!” This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea, and in all the surrounding region.
Luke 7:11-17
Luke 7 [9.] When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude who followed him, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel.” Those who were sent, returning to the house, found that the servant who had been sick was well.
Luke 7 [11.] Soon afterwards, he went to a city called Nain. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him. Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.” He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.
Luke 7 [16.] Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!” This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea, and in all the surrounding region.
Luke 7 [18.] The disciples of John told him about all these things. John, calling to himself two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?” When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptizer has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?’”
Meaning:
Only Luke records this miracle. Jesus had just healed a centurion’s servant who was at the point of death (Luke 7:1-10). Now he meets a funeral procession and raises a young man who has already died. The scene prepares for Jesus’ answer to John the Baptizer a few verses later: “the dead are raised up” (Luke 7:22).
- “He went to a city called Nain”
Nain was a small town in southern Galilee, on the slope of the hill of Moreh, about a day’s walk from Capernaum. Just over the hill lay Shunem, where centuries before the prophet Elisha had raised a woman’s only son (2 Kings 4:32-37). Two crowds meet at the town gate: the large crowd following Jesus, the giver of life, and the mourners following a coffin out to the tombs, which were always outside the town.
- “The only son of his mother, and she was a widow”
Luke draws the depth of her loss in a few words. She had already buried her husband, and now her only son. In that society a widow without a son had no one to provide for her or protect her rights. She had lost her family, her future and her security in one day. Jewish custom required burial on the day of death, so her grief was very fresh.
- “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her”
Luke calls Jesus “the Lord” here, one of the first times he does so in his own narration. The Lord of life sees the widow before anyone asks him for help. No one in this story expresses faith or makes a request. The miracle springs entirely from Jesus’ compassion. His first words are tender: “Don’t cry.” From anyone else those words would be empty, but Jesus is about to remove the cause of her tears.
- “He came near and touched the coffin”
The “coffin” was an open bier, a wooden frame carrying the wrapped body. To touch it made a person ceremonially unclean under the Law. Jesus is not made unclean; instead his touch brings life. The bearers stop, and Jesus speaks directly to the dead man: “Young man, I tell you, arise!” Elijah and Elisha prayed and stretched themselves on the dead child. Jesus simply commands, and death obeys his word.
- “He gave him to his mother”
These words echo Elijah, who raised the son of the widow of Zarephath and “delivered him to his mother” (1 Kings 17:22-23). The people make the connection at once: “A great prophet has arisen among us!” Moses had promised that God would raise up a prophet like him (Deuteronomy 18:15). Their second cry goes further: “God has visited his people!” Zacharias had used the same words of the coming Saviour: “he has visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68). More than a prophet was there; God himself had come.
The Significance of Luke 7:11-17
- Jesus sees our grief
Jesus noticed a grieving widow in a crowd and was moved with compassion. He is not distant from our sorrows. He sees them before we speak.
- Death is not the final word
Jesus would later say, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies” (John 11:25). This raising was a sign of the resurrection he would win for all who trust him.
- God visits his people
The crowd rightly praised God. In Jesus, God came close to share our sorrows and to defeat death. The right response is wonder, praise and telling others.
Cross-References:
1 Kings 17:22-23: "Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother" Elijah raises a widow’s son.
2 Kings 4:36: "Take up your son." Elisha raises the Shunammite’s son near Nain.
Luke 1:68: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people" The visit of God foretold.
John 11:25: "I am the resurrection and the life." Jesus’ power over death.
Conclusion: At the gate of Nain Jesus met the funeral of a widow’s only son. Moved with compassion, he told her not to cry, touched the coffin and commanded the young man to arise. The dead man sat up and spoke, and Jesus gave him back to his mother, as Elijah had once done. The people glorified God, saying that a great prophet had arisen and that God had visited his people. In Jesus, God came in compassion to conquer death.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible