PENnED

Luke 7:11-17 (NIV)

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
¹¹ Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” ¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

What did the dead man say? 

To this question we normally answer, Nothing. He’s dead.

But this “dead man” in Luke’s gospel is no longer dead. He’s alive! Jesus raised him from the dead. Then, “The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother” (v. 15).

I wonder what he said. Perhaps, Why did you raise me up? If so, that’s a tough question for Jesus to answer. The reason: Jesus brought him back to life not really for him but his mother.

Why did Jesus perform a miracle for the dead man’s mother?

In the preceding narrative (7:1-10) Luke tells about the centurion whose faith was so great. Jesus “was amazed at him and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’” (v. 9).

As to this high ranking Roman soldier, it’s easy to see why we might think that Jesus granted his request and healed his servant: because of his faith.

How about this woman? Nothing is said about her faith or lack of it. All we know about her is that she is a widow and she just lost her only son.

In the Jewish society during that time, a woman’s source of support was solely her husband. If her husband was dead, then her son. Very sadly, however, they’re both dead! Her helplessness and need, not her worthiness, is why Jesus “gave him back” (v. 15) to her.

Like any other biblical narrative, this story is not really about the son, nor the mother, but about Jesus who has a heart of compassion. Jesus gives–and does so generously–not really because of who we are but because of who he is: a compassionate Savior and Lord.

So, what did the dead man say?

What did he who was perhaps already quite all right “up there” (but whose mother was not “down here”) said? I would like to think that he said something like this:

Thank you, Lord, for bringing me back to life for the sake of my mother. Thank you for seeing her and her need. Thank you for your heart of compassion.