RAISING THE NAIN WIDOW’S SON
Luke 7:11-17
Introduction: Today, in our continuing series of messages through Luke, we will consider a supernatural event – a miracle: “The Dead Raised to Life,” based on the text found in Luke 7:11-17.
Illustration: You know, one of the reasons most people don’t believe in supernatural things is that the look for them in the wrong places. By the way, did you hear about the frog who went to a fortune teller to find out what his future held for him? Well, the fortune teller gazed into her crystal ball and then said to the frog, “You are going to meet a beautiful young woman. And from the moment she sets eyes on you she will have an insatiable desire to know all about you. She will be compelled to get close to you – and you will fascinate her.” The frog was all excited by this, and so he asked, “Where is all of his going to take place? At a single’s bar?” The fortune teller replied, “No! In a biology class!”
Let’s read our text in Luke 7:11-17. And I would like us to examine this miracle in terms of 1) The Setting; 2) The Sign (Miracle) Itself; and 3) What followed the miracle.
I. First, the Setting – Verses 11-12
A large crowd is following Jesus as he approaches Nain. (Slide 1) Nain is about 25 miles from Capernaum, a good day’s journey away. (Slide 5 and 6) Nain is famous for its exquisite rugs, some of the most sought after carpets in the world. Now Jesus, probably arrived at the city gate late in the afternoon on the same day the boy died. The Jews buried their dead the same day. So, two crowds met; the ones following Jesus, and the large funeral procession leaving the city and headed for the cemetery.
(Slide 3) The tiny Galilean village of Nain is remembered only because here Jesus brought back to life a widow’s son as he was being taken out through the town gate to be buried.
Jesus met the funeral procession carrying the young man’s body — “his mother’s only son, and she was a widow” — and had compassion for her (Luke 7:11-17).
The place where the miracle occurred is 7km south-west of Mount Tabor, up a steep road. The village (also known as Naim) looks out on to the Plain of Jezreel.
Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, identified the location in the 4th century, noting that it was not far from Endor, where King Saul of Judah consulted a medium before his final encounter with the Philistines, described in the book of 1 Samuel.
(Slide 4) The first recorded account of a pilgrim’s visit is anonymous (probably by Egeria, who visited the Holy Land as a pilgrim around AD 380). It says: “In the village of Nain is the house of the widow whose son was brought back to life, which is now a church, and the burial place where they were going to lay him is still there to this day.”
After the fall of the Latin kingdom in the 12th century, Nain became a Muslim village (as it remains).
A French monk who visited the place in 1664 related: “In the village are one hundred Arab families, wild as leopards, and therefore only few Christians come. And there is no sign of the house of the widow.”
1. In our culture, if you are driving along and you see a funeral procession you are supposed to pull over out of respect and let the whole procession pass. I don’t think many people observe that anymore – unless there is a police escort for the procession, and even then not always.
In places like Mexico, these processions can be long with several elegant black carriages, one of which is the hearse, and several others for family members and friends, followed by mourners, and musicians on foot.
2. According to Jewish custom, if you came upon a funeral procession you were obliged to join it. So here, then, we have a meeting of two crowds. What a contrast between the crowd that was following Jesus, and the crowd following the widow and her dead son! Jesus and his disciples were rejoicing in the blessing of the Lord, but the widow and her friends were lamenting the death of her only son. Jesus was heading for the city while the mourners were heading for the cemetery.
Spiritually speaking, each one of us is in one of these two crowds. If you have trusted Christ, you are going to that city described in Hebrews 11:10, “which has foundations, whose builder and make is God.” If you are “dead in sin” you are already in the cemetery and under the condemnation of God like it says in John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, but he who does not believe in the Son of God will not see life; but the wrath of God remains on him.”
Ephesians 2:1-3 says, “And you He made alive, or quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit which now works in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” (NKJV)
You need to trust Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, and be raised from the dead. John 5:24 where Jesus says, “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life; and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.” (HCSB)
II. The Miracle Itself (Verses 13-14)
1. His Compassion – This woman was already a widow and had now lost her only son and means of support. She was now at great social risk and embarrassment, because there was no one that would be able to care for her. So Jesus felt great compassion for her. The Greek word “splaknizo’mai” translated here as “compassion” is only used of Jesus and the Good Samaritan. And each time it is used, the result of the compassion is not just detached concern or kind words, but always involvement and action. Jesus tells the woman not to cry, and then He raises he son from death. We cannot raise anyone from death! But we can call upon the One who can – Jesus! And if someone is dead spiritually – we can introduce him/her to Jesus, the Life Giver!
2. His Touch – According to Hebrew custom, touching a corpse meant defilement, which necessitated ceremonial cleansing. So, in deference to the sensitivities of those present, Jesus did not touch the corpse, but the coffin instead. The Greek word “hap’tomai”, translated “touch”, is a strong word in the Greek, meaning to “lay hold of.” It literally means to have touched or attached oneself to someone or something in such a way as to transmit or kindle fire, life, or strong feelings. So as Jesus firmly grabbed hold of the coffin, this undoubtedly stopped the procession.
3. His Command – He spoke and things happened! Isn’t this exciting! Listen He is the action verb Word in John 1:1-3. He created all things. He was there at the creation of the world. And when God said, “Let there be light” Jesus made it so! He said, “Young man, I tell you GET UP!” (vs 14) And the young man heard! And he obeyed! He immediately sat up, and began to speak! Now I don’t know if the man said Hallelujah, but I sure would have!
So then what happened?
III. What Followed the Miracle – Luke 7:15-17
1. A live son in place of a dead corpse!
1. A poor widow who had lost her only son to death now has her son alive and well, delivered to her by no less a person than Jesus Christ, God in the flesh!
Two Sufferers met, Jesus and the widow. Jesus, “the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” could easily identify with the widow’s sorrow, but she was not left alone in a society that did have resources to care for widows. What would happen to her? Jesus felt the pain that sin and death have brought into this world, and He did something about it.
Since she had not been permitted to touch her son’s body, because of the perceived defilement of doing so, the wido was most likely some distance away from the coffin, surrounded by other grieving women. But can you imagine her joy when Jesus presents her son to her alive, and he says “Mom!” (Ame- Hebrew. “mater” in Greek)
2. Effect on the Crowd -
1. The immediate effect on the crowd was that fear came upon them all, and that’s certainly understandable in the presence of such awesome power. But their fear quickly turned to joy and they glorified God!
They conclude that Jesus is a great prophet – like Elijah, of whom the same phrase “delivered him unto his mother,” is found in 1 Kings 17:17-23, following the restoration of life to the son of the woman of Zarephath, who had provided food and lodging to Elijah; and later in 2 Kings 4, we find Elisha being used in the same way by God to raise up the son of a Shunamite widow, also not far from Nain. So we can readily see how those present might associate both events and location with Elijah and Elisha and call Him a prophet. Their conclusion is not far from wrong, because Jesus is the great prophet spoken of in Deut. 18:15. But, their understanding was incomplete! Jesus was and is the only-begotten Son of God. He Was and Is in fact, Emanuel, God with Us!
3. Remote Effects extending beyond the immediate area. Luke 7:17
I can only imagine the mother and the young man who was raised from death didn’t stop talking about this event for a long, long time!
CONCLUSION: So, what does all of this mean to us today? Well, Jesus demonstrated His power over death and that He was even greater than the Old Testament prophets. He fulfilled the imagery of Elijah, Elisha, and Moses- BUT SO MUCH MORE! He didn’t go through any rituals – He didn’t stretch Himself out over the body of the dead son, etc. HE JUST SPEAKS AND A MIRACLE HAPPENS! ONLY GOD HIMSELF COULD DO THAT – AS IN THE CREATION OF THE WORLD! So what do we learn?
First, in addition to divine power, Jesus demonstrated divine compassion. He was truly concerned about the plight of an obscure widow and her son. AND HE IS CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR PLIGHT – AND MINE!
Second, even though we believe in the resurrection of the dead, there is still room for sorrow when a loved one dies! And we need to grieve with those who have lost loved ones! Sometimes, because we believe that the saved person is going to Heaven, we are perceived as being callous about death.
Third, the providence and sovereignty of God works His plans and program out in life. Jesus meeting that funeral procession coming out of Nain was no accident! It was all part of God’s plan.
Fourth, the timing was right. He could have gotten there sooner and healed the widow’s son. Or He could have not raised him up at all, and still have shown compassion on her. You and I need to understand that if the Lord heals or does not heal – or if He tarries a day or a thousand years in coming again – it doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care or that He is not coming again – or that He is not in control! HIS TIMING IS ALWAYS RIGHT!
Finally, we need to understand that HE CARES FOR US – HE CARES FOR YOU! He wants to raise YOU up to a new life in Him! If as a Christian, you are weak and sick, spiritually He wants to take care of that also! He wants you restored to fellowship and power!
If He can raise a woman’s dead son to life, HE CAN DO EVERYTHING THAT YOU OR I NEED! WILL YOU LET HIM DO IT TODAY?
ONLY TRUST HIM!
