Soon
afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a
large crowd went along with him. 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. When
the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t
cry.”
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!” The dead man sat up and began to talk,
and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
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.”
This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding
country.
Luke
7:11-17
Besides
His own resurrection, there are three other times recorded in the
Bible where Jesus raised someone from the dead. The resurrection of
Lazarus usually gets the most press but it's hard to say that one
resurrection could somehow be more “impressive” than any other.
As far as life lessons, it's my opinion that this account, where
Jesus raised the widow's son at Nain, paints the most remarkable
picture of a relationship with Jesus.
In the
early, first century, being a widow was especially difficult. The
usual trades of people in this area – fishing, farming, and
shepherding – were often too physically demanding for an older
woman. What's worse, Roman and Jewish laws concerning property
rights favored men. Women often could not defend themselves against
aggressive creditors nor thieves.
When a man died, the role of leadership would fall to the oldest son. Since this woman is identified as a widow, she certainly would have already come to rely on her son. Now her son – her only son – had died also. She had virtually lost everything. As she led the procession to bury him, she not only mourned the loss of someone she loved, she also must have been worrying about her own fate.
When a man died, the role of leadership would fall to the oldest son. Since this woman is identified as a widow, she certainly would have already come to rely on her son. Now her son – her only son – had died also. She had virtually lost everything. As she led the procession to bury him, she not only mourned the loss of someone she loved, she also must have been worrying about her own fate.
Then
Jesus came along.
Just
as the widow had a large crowd following her, Jesus also had a large
crowd following Him. It's very likely, too, that in the crowd that
followed Jesus, there were some widows. There were probably also
some people who had lost sons and daughters. In many ways, the
crowds resembled each other. They would have both had men and women,
old people and young, and widows and orphans. The primary difference
between the two groups is that one followed Jesus and the other
didn't.
It's
hard to not compare these two groups to the saved and the lost. In
most ways, Christian's lives are not significantly different than
unbelievers'. Matthew 5:45 affirms that God sends rain on both the
righteous and the unrighteous. When we become saved, we're not
promised a life of ease. We face all the same trials that the lost
face. The difference is, we now have Jesus.
Look
at the differences Jesus made at Nain:
One
group was sad; the other group was happy.
One
group mourned someone who had lost everything; the other group
celebrated the One who had made everything.
One
group had seen sick people die; the other group had seen sick people
healed.
One
group was on their way to a tomb; the other group was on their way to
a resurrection!
What a
difference Jesus makes! The widow was on her way to bury her son and
Jesus was on His way to raise him to life again.
When
we face trials, we should never despair because we don't face them
alone. I'll leave you with the words of John 16:33:
“I
have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world.”
3 comments:
Good stuff!
Hey I would like to use the picture of the Widow at Nain in a PPT that I'm going to share for a church. Is it copyrighted?
Jacques,
The pic isn't mine originally. I don't remember where I copied it from. I get most of my pics off Google Images.
For the record, I do not claim copyright to any material on my blog. I want people to share it freely.
God bless.
RKBentley
Post a Comment