The Widow of Nain

The widow of Nain

"Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 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. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!" And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country." (Luke 7:11-17 ESV)

The crowds collide. One crowd, following Jesus, watching for another awesome miracle like what happened to the centurion's servant. The other crowd is mourning, following a plank of wood, on top of which lay the body of a dead son, his mother following behind and sobbing. One crowd is ecstatic, the other is brokenhearted. One crowd is full of hope, one crowd is mourning the disappearance of hope.

What was it like to be a widow in 30 A. D.? Not great, frankly. Women were bread-makers, not bread-winners, so after her husband died, the woman would have been dependent on her son to care for her. With her son gone, she would be at the mercy of the world - hopefully neighbors or the church would take pity on her, but she truly had reason to weep, not only for her son but also for her own life.

Jesus saw her and had compassion on her. What is compassion? How is compassion different from pity or sympathy?

Pity is watching the news and saying "that's awful!" Compassion is watching the news, saying "that is awful," and getting out a check-book or hopping on a plane to go help. Pity is feeling sorry for someone had a car wreck, compassion is letting them borrow your car for a week to get until they get a new one.

Have you ever shown someone pity or compassion? Which and how/why?

What are some examples of compassion in the scriptures?

The Good Samaritan

Lazarus being raised

The hemorrhaging woman

The Prodigal Son

The hungry crowds (the miracle of the loaves an fishes)

Jesus has compassion on her an says "don't weep." That's insane you know, right? If Jesus is not the son of God, this is the craziest, cruelest statement a human could ever make. Imagine you went to the funeral of the little boy who was killed at the Boston Marathon this week. You walk up to the pulpit, take the microphone, and tell his family to stop crying. Completely insane. I don't know if they would arrest you, but you would be thrown out on your ear.

No one but Jesus could tell a devastated woman to stop crying. No one but Jesus could tell the wind and waves to be still.

No one but Jesus could tell Satan to scram.

No one but Jesus could tell Lazarus to come out of the grave.

No one but Jesus could tell Peter to throw his nets over the side of the boat one more time after a fruitless night.

No one but Jesus speaks with the authority to forgive sins, to banish disease, to raise the dead.

Only Jesus could say this to the widow if Nain, and only Jesus can say this to us!

Casey, don't worry about college, I've got a plan for you. Relax, trust me.

David, the work will get finished, don't worry; enjoy it.

Arianna, don't stress about Africa, I've got it all under control. I watch over all billion people on that continent, surely I can make sure a hospital gets built. Peace, trust me. Jesus longs to speak comfort to us just as he did to the widow. Don't weep! Don't worry! Don't despair! I'm here with you, I'm on it. This is my father's world, no matter how things may appear, we have it under control.

If Jesus walked up to you right now, what insane thing would he say?

To the widow, he said "don't weep!", but to the son, he said "Young man, I say to you arise!"

"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (Ephesians 5:14 ESV)

Flashing lights, sirens, this is huge! Jesus brings dead people to life! He raises the widow's son, he raises Lazarus, he raises the little girl (talitha Koum), and most importantly he gets himself up from the dead.

"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." (1 Corinthians 15:12-32 ESV)

If the dead are not raised, let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. Why should we waste our time in church, why should we waste out time in service if Jesus is not in the midst of us raising the dead and changing lives. If the dead are not raised, I'd love to catch an extra hour of sleep because what we are doing does not really matter. If Jesus is just a nice, sweet teacher then there is no point. . .unless it is true.

The truth is, if Jesus can raise the dead guy from Nain, the he can raise us. This is the greatest news ever (unless you are the undertaker in Nain!).

The Undertaker at Nain - David Shirk

What am I supposed to do?  The men spent a solid month moving rock; digging, pounding, hauling until the tomb was the perfect size.  Could not be a more beautiful resting place if I do say so myself, right up on the side of the mountain.  Fit for royalty.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them.  And this Jesus fellow, I've never seen someone do a nicer deed in all my life.  Why if I could put on a show like him, I sure wouldn't need this job, would I?  But the work is already done, the laborers need to be paid, the storehouse is running dry; the tomb needs to be filled.

I really do feel for the lady, lost her husband, now her only son.  I would never take advantage of a widow, you see.  No, no, her money is going to be taken away anyhow.  She's a woman, can't own land or a home without a man in the family.  Terrible system we have, treats the women horrible, I'd love to see it change, I would.  But she doesn't keep the money anyway, right?  Why shouldn't some of it come to me?  The system is taking advantage or her, so I'll take advantage of the system. . .

She wants to honor the poor kid too you know.  Give him the best burial, the best honor she can.  She doesn't get to keep a dime, so why not put him in a tomb fit for a prince?

She goes all out, makes it a big show. The whole town is there following as she weeps, feeling real sorry for her. I feel for her too, like I told you, if I could do miracles, I swear to God I would help her like Jesus did.

Jesus shows up with a crowd following him as big as the crowd following the funeral.  He stops, takes a look at the woman and her dead son an tells her "stop crying".  Clearly this guy has not spent much time in the funeral business?  What kind if crazy guy tells a grieving widow to stop crying?  He'd be out of a job in a week, I tell ya.  You give them tissue, you let them cry on your shoulder, you put them on your donkey to get them home.  You have to take pity on them, it's real genuine sad this death business, you have to show a little human compassion.

But then Jesus tells the dead guy to get up.  Happened so quick I didn't know what to do.  One second there's a funeral for this fellow, the next he's climbing off the bier and giving his mom a hug.  I've never seen such a sight.  People hugging, crying, laughing, dancing.  Jesus just smiling and smiling like he couldn't be any happier.  I couldn't help a warm feeling in my heart. . .I really am happy for them.

But what am I going to do?  How can I pay the workers?  Payment gets settled out of the estate, and there isn't going to be an estate anytime soon, far as I can see.  Jesus did a great thing for that lady and her son, but darned if he wouldn't do just another little miracle for me.