Luke 7:11-17: A funny thing happened on the way to Nain

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.

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.”

Happy Easter

“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:38-40)

It is not possible to overstate the importance of the Resurrection. It is the lynchpin of Christianity. Without the Resurrection, there is no Christian faith. The Apostle Paul said, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor 15:14). 

The significance of the Resurrection is two-fold.  First, the Resurrection secures our hope for eternal life. Christ promised that those who believe in Him will never perish (John 3:16). Yet what good is His promise if Jesus Himself is dead in the ground? If Jesus died and did not rise, then His promise for our eternal life died with Him.

But the real significance of the Resurrection goes far beyond our hope in the afterlife. When the Pharisees and scribes questioned the authority of Jesus, they asked for a sign so that Jesus could prove He spoke in the name of God. Jesus promised them only one sign – the Resurrection! Everything that Jesus said and did is validated by His Resurrection: Every promise He made, every commandment He gave, and every doctrine that He taught us were all proven true on that first Easter Sunday.

Some people say that Jesus was a great teacher. Yet if He did not rise, everything He taught would be a lie.

Some people say that Jesus was a prophet. Yet if He did not rise from the dead, then His prophecies were all false.

Some people say that He is the Son of God. Yet if He did not rise from the dead, then He was just a man like every other.

Jesus was a teacher, and a prophet, and the Son of God only because He rose from the dead. To believe in Jesus, you must believe He rose from the dead for there is no salvation in a dead Jesus. The Bible tells us that a belief in the Resurrection prerequisite to salvation.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

The Apostle Thomas said that unless he saw the risen Jesus himself, he would not believe in His Resurrection. When Jesus appeared to Thomas, He said, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27).

The words of Jesus are my prayer this Easter. Consider the Risen Savior. Know that everything He said was proven true by His Resurrection. Be not faithless, but believing!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

He is not here, but is risen!

Luke 24:1-6

A Synopsis of the Events on Resurrection Morning

In an effort to discredit the Bible, critics often point to seeming contradictions in the various gospel accounts of the events on the Resurrection Morning. Who went to the tomb? When did they go? What did they see? When comparing the accounts given in each gospel, we see that the events are described differently – but are they contradictory? Of course they are not.

So who went to the tomb? Matthew 28:1 says, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.” Mark 16:1 says, “Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome.” Luke 24:10 says it was, “Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them.” Finally, John 20:1 says only, “Mary Magdalene.” These are not contradictory in the slightest. The simple answer is that all of these women (including some unnamed women mentioned by Luke) went to the tomb. John may have mentioned only Mary Magdalene because she is the main character but the Synoptic Gospels make it clear that other women went to the tomb also. If I were to attend a ball game with my brother, I might tell my co-workers that “I went to the game.” I might not mention my brother at all since my co-workers don't know my brother and my point is that I attended the game, not necessarily who I attended it with. However, if I were to describe the same event to my mother, I would likely mention that I went with my brother. My different accounts do not contradict each other; They just each included different (factual) details.

The next question is, “when did the women visit the tomb?” Was it while it was still dark (John 20:1), at early dawn (Luke 24:1 ASV, Matthew 28:1), or when the sun had risen (Mark 16:2)? It hardly needs pointing out that these times are relatively close together. We also know that the tomb was outside of the city (John 19:41-42). How long would it take the women to walk to the tomb? If they left for the tomb while it was dark, and arrived as it began to dawn, either description of the time could still be accurate. Also, since we know there were several women going to the tomb, they likely all left their homes at different times and arrived at the tomb at different times.

Finally, “what did the women see at the tomb?” Matthew 28:2 says there was an “angel” who rolled away the stone and then sat on it. Mark 16:4-5 says the stone was already rolled away and there was a “young man,” clothed in white, sitting inside the tomb. Luke 24:2-4 also says the stone was already rolled away and there were two “men” dressed in white inside the tomb. John describes two events: In John 20:1 we see that Mary saw the stone rolled away and then ran to tell the disciples. When she returned (John 20:10-11) she saw two “angels” sitting inside the tomb. So were there angels or men at the tomb? This is a very weak criticism of the Bible. The description given of the “men” in the various accounts reveals that they aren't ordinary men. They are always described as wearing white. Luke 24:4 further describes their garments as “shining” (KJV, Darby), “dazzling” (NASB, ESV, ASV), “glittering” (Young's), or “like lighting” (NIV). These were obviously not ordinary “men” but were indeed angels.

To the question of, “how many angels were there?” This is yet another weak criticism. If there are two men somewhere, there is also one man there as well. If I were at a party with many people, I might later say, “there was a man there handing out balloons.” I might tell another person, “there were two men handing out hot dogs.” Once again, both of my statements can be true and not contradictory. And remember that different women arrived at the tomb at different times. One or more of them might have arrived and saw the angel who rolled away the stone. Others arrived a little later and saw the stone already moved and now saw angels inside. In my party example above, another person who was at the party might say, “I was at the party and only saw one man handing out hotdogs.” If I were at the party earlier and he at the party later, one of the hotdog peddlers might have already left. Or maybe they were still both there and he only “saw” one of them. Or maybe yet, he might have seen two men handing out hotdogs and still say, “A man was there handing out hotdogs and he gave me one.”

The supposed contradictions of the Resurrection accounts are very superficial. People who raise these objections usually have not given even a moment of thought on how to resolve them. Yet this is the nature of critics – they choose not to believe. I have no doubt that if the accounts agreed perfectly, down to the very last detail, critics would object saying that the accounts sound contrived and rehearsed.