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. ~Luke 7:11-17
The theme of the entire Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we come to a story of a man being raised from the dead. But, this story isn't really about the man. No, this story is about his mother. This widow who had lost her only income maker was herself broken which is the true beginning place of a personal relationship with God.
In v.11 we read, "Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him." This story took place soon after the healing of the Centurion's servant and it was witnessed by a large crowd who had made it their habit to follow the Lord Jesus around.
"Jesus went to a town called Nain" which is about twenty miles from Capernaum. It would be a full day's walk to this city that was south of Capernaum. It was about six miles southwest of Nazareth so that Capernaum, Nazareth and Nain, kind of in a triangle. Nain means "green pastures."
Everything within the plan of God is guaranteed. In Jeremiah 29:11, we read, "I know the thoughts that I have toward you." There are no random thoughts in God's mind. He doesn't have to remember anything, nor does He forget anything except the believer's sin. Everything in our lives has purpose and is meaningful.
In our text, we discover the Lord Jesus was not alone. His disciples were with Him. According to v.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."
It just so happened as the Lord Jesus and His disciples arrived in Nain, a funeral procession was going by. Perfect timing. Providential timing. The man dies at the right moment. They get him ready for the funeral at the right moment. They have the funeral and the procession just so happens to intersect with the Creator of all worlds. From a human viewpoint, this is a coincidental event. From the viewpoint of God, it is exactly on schedule.
The funeral was over. The people were carrying the corpse of the once alive man on a stretcher through the gate of the city. The burial place was outside of town. The dead man was the only son of his mother. And, the one thing a mother in Israel wanted was a son.
We read in v.13, "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” In the funeral procession, the widowed mother was alone going ahead of the dead body of her son. She's leading the procession to the town's graveyard. The Lord Jesus recognizes that this is not just an only son, but that this woman is a helpless widow. God has always had a special spot in His heart for widows. She had lost her financial security, and hopelessness was winning the day.
The experience of this woman breaks the heart of the Lord Jesus. Seeing her in such pain moves Him to act on her behalf. Her pain taps in to His compassion which drives Him to her tearful condition.
In v.14, we read, "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!" He touched the dead body of the son of the widowed woman. But, He, according to the Old Testament scriptures was instructed to touch not a dead body. His compassion elevated the woman's value to such a place that the Lord Jesus valued her more than His teachings regarding protection from disease.
After touching the dead young man, the Lord Jesus tells him to "get up.'" In a split second life surged into the corpse of the once dead man. And, no one asked the Lord Jesus to raise this man from the dead. No one knew He could do this.
Faith is not always necessary for God to do His most powerful work. Many claim that the reason people don't get healed is that they don't have enough faith. It is never faith itself that activates God's power. He doesn't need our faith to do what He wants to do. There are times when the Lord Jesus responds to our faith, but it isn't always necessary, as illustrated in this story. In fact, in most of His healings that are recorded in the Gospels, no faith is indicated.
In v.15 we read, "The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother." The dead man sat up speaking. He didn't have to learn how to talk all over again, even though he had been dead for quite a bit of time. And then, the Lord Jesus "gave him back to his mother." That was the point. The Lord Jesus was highlighting the broken heartedness of the mother. And, then, He did what was necessary.
In v.16, we read, "They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said." The onlooking people were afraid because they knew they were in the presence of someone very special. There was no other explanation. Whenever God makes appearances in Scripture, you have this kind of reverential fear. When God's power is put on display like this, we come to see God in a new light, and we are filled with awe and praise.
It had been four hundred years since there had been a visit from God. There had been no miracles. There hadn't been any words from heaven. God had been silent for centuries. And there was this longing for God to visit His people. The problem is this: for all of the places for Him to show up, Nain? Obscure Nain? Such are the ways of God to reveal Himself to the weak and insignificant.
In 1 Corinthians 1:28-29 we read, "God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important … so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God."
Those who witnessed this miracle were terrified, and it catapulted them into sharing this news about Jesus throughout Judea and the surrounding country. They had realized that God had visited them because there was no explanation for the dead man coming back to life, except that the Creator did it. And, this type of story spreads, it spreads rapidly and everywhere.
