Matthew paired the healing of the centurion’s servant with the cleansing of the leper to show their similarities. Likewise, Luke pairs it with the raising of the widow’s son. In both accounts a precious “child” is raised up when an unlikely candidate receives the Lord’s attention.

This is the first of three people Jesus raised from the dead. The other two were Jairus’s daughter (Mt 9:18–26; Mk 5:22–43; Lk 8:49–56) and Jesus’ friend Lazarus (Jn 11). As Elijah raised a widow’s son (1 Kgs 17:17–24; cf. Elisha, 2 Kgs 4:32–37), so also does Jesus. Thus, Jesus’ ministry looks like the great prophet Elijah’s.

Lk 7:11–13 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.”

The raising of this widow’s son at Nain took place shortly after the healing of the centurion’s servant, likely on the very next day. The little village of Nain (“The Pleasant”) is about twenty-five miles southeast of Capernaum just over the hill from Shunem where Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman. Surely this was a significant memory for the local residents. The only thing that remains of Nain today are the tombs just outside the city, cut into the sides of the hills. The people of Nain are heading toward one such tomb this particular afternoon.

This poor woman has lost both her husband and her son. She is now left without adequate financial support. The whole village must feel for her. A large crowd follows the funeral procession out of the city. It is met by another large crowd going into the city. The first, according to Galilean funeral customs, was led by the woman with her outer garment torn in grief (Jer. Moed. K. 83 d). The second crowd, having traveled all day from Capernaum, was led by Jesus. It seems somewhat awkward and almost inappropriate to have this traffic jam interfere with the funeral.

Jewish funerals were often surrounded by elaborate rituals such as a trumpet signal to announce the death, melancholy flutes, and the plaintive tinkle of cymbals. Even the poorest Jews were expected to provide at least two flute players and one mourning woman (Kethub. iv. 4). The body would have its hair cut and nails trimmed. It would be washed, anointed and wrapped in linen. Then it would be placed face up on a wickerwork bier with the arms folded across the chest.

Friends and family would carry the body through the town, taking turns so that as many people as possible could share the honor of carrying the dead. The people of Nain would have joined the procession as it passed them “for it was deemed like mocking one’s Creator not to follow the dead to his last resting-place” (Edersheim, I:556). If a person was unable to follow, they would at least stand up while the procession passed. Funerals were treated with the greatest reverence partially out of reverence for God and partially due to Jewish superstitions such as the idea that “the spirit of the dead hovered about the unburied remains” (Edersheim, I:554).

Jesus experiences the human emotions of the event and was not left untouched. He hurt for the woman (splanchnizomai). He says to her, literally, “Stop crying.” These words, in this situation, would normally be harshly insensitive. But no doubt, Jesus’ tone and demeanor assure her of better things.

Lk 7:14–17 14 Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it 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.

Under normal circumstances, no Jew would do what Jesus just did. There was no greater defilement for the Jew than touching a dead body (Num 19:11, 16). But do the rules apply when the corpse comes back to life? Needless to say, there was no rabbinic regulation to cover such a circumstance. The pallbearers are so shocked that they just stop in their tracks.

At Jesus’ command, the young man sits up and begins to talk. Morticians can tell some eerie stories about a body sitting up or moving due to gases in the corpse. But none can tell of any talking. Couldn’t our imaginations run wild with what he said? “Where am I? What do you guys think you’re doing?!” Or perhaps he said, “Boy, that was a good nap. I have never felt better!”

The crowd’s reaction is classic. It is the typical response to one of Jesus’ miracles. They are filled with awe, literally, “Fear seized them all.” That makes sense. Now their fear gives way to praise. They realize that Jesus is a great prophet with power rivaling even Elijah. Through him God has paid them a visit. That is, God has come to care for their needs. This declaration is thick with Messianic implications (Mt 1:23; Lk 1:68, 78; 19:44; Ps 8:4; Isa 29:6; Zeph 2:7; Acts 15:14; Heb 2:6). And the news spread throughout the Jewish territory.

What does a scientific society do with this passage? Can we actually accept it as a historical event? It seems that aside from a preconceived prejudice against miracles, there is no literary, historical, or theological reason to reject the reality of this event. There is good reason, however, to accept Luke’s testimony of Jesus’ power to raise the dead (Edersheim, I:558–560):

1. It is not reasonable to view this story as exaggeration, nor is it possible to explain it by natural causes. Thus, we are left with two options. Either it is true or it is a designed fiction.
2. Although Luke alone records the raising of the widow’s son at Nain, the other three Gospels also record Jesus raising someone from the dead. So Luke is not alone in his witness to Jesus’ power over death.
3. There was no Jewish expectation for the Messiah to raise people from the dead. Therefore, there is no clear motive to invent such a story.
4. While this event looks a lot like Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:8–24, esp. vv. 10 & 23 LXX),109 there are enough differences to conclude that the account of Jesus’ raising the widow’s son is not based on Elijah raising the widow’s son.
5. Had such a story been invented, an insignificant place like Nain would probably not have been chosen as the setting for such a notable miracle.
6. The event took place in the presence of two great crowds. In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 4:3, Quadratus claims that some of these witnesses were still alive and could testify before the Emperor.
7. Raisings were not unknown to the early church, and were, in fact, an integral part of the faith for which the Apostles were willing to die (cf. Mt 10:8; Acts 9:40; 20:9–10).

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(7:11-17) Introduction—Resurrection, The: the most phenomenal event in all history is the resurrection of the dead. It may be the fact of Jesus Himself being resurrected, or the promise of believers someday being raised, or of Jesus raising the dead—some men just have enormous difficulty believing such claims. Luke knew this, so he wanted to help unbelieving minds. In this event Luke shared the great compassion and power of Jesus to raise the dead.

1. Jesus entered Nain—many were present to witness the conquest of death (v.11).
2. The great compassion of Jesus: He was touched (v.12-13).
3. The great power of Jesus (v.14-15).
4. The great fear of the people (v.16-17).

(7:11) Jesus Christ, Following—Seeking, Reasons: Jesus entered Nain. This is the only time this city is named in the Bible. It was only about six miles from Nazareth and a day’s journey from Capernaum. Note two facts.

1. It is the same area where Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:18-37). Therefore, it became an area where the great compassion and power of God had been manifested.
2. Many were present to witness the great conquest of death. There were many of His disciples present, and there were multitudes of other people, those who did not believe. The unbelievers were following Him for any number of reasons:

We can only marvel at the providence of God when we see Jesus meet that funeral procession just as it was heading for the burial ground. He lived on a divine timetable as He obeyed the will of His Father (John 11:9; 13:1). The sympathetic Saviour always gives help when we need it most (Heb. 4:16).

What a contrast between the crowd that was following Jesus and the crowd following the widow and her dead son. Jesus and His disciples were rejoicing in the blessing of the Lord, but the widow and her friends were lamenting the death of her only son. Jesus was heading for the city while the mourners were heading for the cemetery.

Spiritually speaking, each of us is in one of these two crowds. If you have trusted Christ, you are going to the city (Heb. 11:10, 13-16; 12:22). If you are “dead in sin,” you are already in the cemetery and under the condemnation of God (John 3:36; Eph. 2:1-3). You need to trust Jesus Christ and be raised from the dead (John 5:24; Eph. 2:4-10).

One was alive but destined to die, the other dead but destined to live. The term only begotten as applied to Jesus means “unique,” “the only one of its kind.” Jesus is not a “son” in the same sense that I am, having been brought into existence by conception and birth. Since Jesus is eternal God, He has always existed. The title Son of God declares Christ’s divine nature and His relationship to the Father, to whom the Son has willingly subjected Himself from all eternity. All the Persons of the Godhead are equal, but in the “economy” of the Trinity, each has a specific place to fill and task to fulfill.

Jesus, “the Man of Sorrows,” could easily identify with the widow’s heartache. Not only was she in sorrow, but she was now left alone in a society that did not have resources to care for widows. What would happen to her? Jesus felt the pain that sin and death have brought into this world, and He did something about it.

Jesus faced death, “the last enemy” (1 Cor. 15:26). When you consider the pain and grief that it causes in this world, death is indeed an enemy, and only Jesus Christ can give us victory (see 1 Cor. 15:51-58; Heb. 2:14-15). Jesus had only to speak the word and the boy was raised to life and health.

The boy gave two evidences of life: he sat up and he spoke. He was lying on an open stretcher, not in a closed coffin; so it was easy for him to sit up. We are not told what he said, but it must have been interesting! What an act of tenderness it was for Jesus to take the boy and give him to his rejoicing mother. The whole scene reminds us of what will happen when the Lord returns, and we are reunited with our loved ones who have gone to glory (1 Thes. 4:13-18).

The response of the people was to glorify God and identify Jesus with the Prophet the Jews had been waiting for (Deut. 18:15; John 1:21; Acts 3:22-23). It did not take long for the report of this miracle to spread. People were even more enthusiastic to see Jesus, and great crowds followed Him (Luke 8:4, 19, 42).

(7:12-13) Compassion: the great compassion of Jesus is seen in that He was touched. Note four points.

1. Jesus was touched by death. Apparently, the sight of death always touched Him. The fact that men die is what brought Him to earth. Probably the whole scene of sin and death flashed across His mind—the scene of…

• man’s sin and death (Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:27).
•  the great cost of sin and death, that is, His own death in bearing the sins and death of the world (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:1-2).

2. Jesus was touched by a broken heart, the broken heart of the mother. Note her situation. She was a widow, apparently somewhat up in years with only one child, a grown son. He had just died, and now she was all alone in the world—a world that was harsh and rough on women, offering them little chance for earning a living and little help on a permanent basis. Hereafter, the woman would be without any permanent companion, provider, or protector; and there was no one to carry on the family line. The family name would die out with her death. She was broken-hearted, full of hurt and pain, without understanding and hope. Jesus saw all this and He was touched and moved with compassion.
3. Jesus was touched by a loving and caring woman, a woman who was much beloved. Note that “many people of the city was with her.” This indicates that she had been a woman who loved and cared for others throughout the years. Therefore, others loved and cared for her. She was a beloved person. Jesus is always touched and moved to help those who have helped others (Luke 6:38).

Now note a fact: in this particular need, no one asked Jesus for help. He initiated the help Himself, acted purely out of His own compassion. Why did He not always do this? The woman seemed to be the difference. Her life was apparently so filled with love and care for others that she just stood out as a glorious example of what love for God is all about (Matthew 22:38-39; John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:7).

4. The Lord saw and had compassion and assured the woman. Note three striking facts.
5. It was “the Lord” who saw her. This is the first time Luke uses the title “the Lord” by itself and it is striking. The point Luke is making is that “the Lord,” the Sovereign Power of the universe, saw this woman who was utterly heartbroken. “The Lord” of all power actually saw her.
6. It was “the Lord” who had compassion upon her. The fact is shocking, for the sovereign power of the universe actually felt compassion for a simple woman. He was not just the sovereign power of a vast universe who was way off in outer space someplace, unattached and disinterested in this earth and its inhabitants. Contrariwise, He was vitally interested, interested enough to be looking and seeing; and He was concerned about what He saw, full of compassion for the heartbroken (see note—^ Luke 7:13).
7. It was “the Lord” who spoke and gave assurance. Again, the fact was shocking, for the sovereign power of the universe actually spoke and gave assurance to a simple woman. Luke is definitely stressing the staggering thought: “the Lord,” the sovereign majesty of the universe speaks to men, and His Word gives great assurance. The Lord is vitally interested in the affairs of men, even in the plight of a simple woman.

In this passage, as in the one immediately preceding, once again Luke the doctor speaks.  In verse 10 the word we translated completely cured is the technical medical term for sound in wind and limb.  In verse 15 the word used for sitting up is the technical term for a patient sitting up in bed.

Nain was a day’s journey from Capernaum and lay between Endor and Shunem, where Elisha, as the old story runs, raised another mother’s son (2 Kings 4:18-37).  To this day, ten minutes’ walk from Nain on the road to Endor there is a cemetery of rock tombs in which the dead are laid.

In many ways this is the loveliest story in all the gospels.

(i)  It tells of the pathos and the poignancy of human life.  The funeral procession would be headed by the band of professional mourners with their flutes and their cymbals, uttering in a kind of frenzy their shrill cries of grief.  There is all the ageless sorrow of the world in the austere and simple sentence, “He was his mother’s only son and she was a widow.”

“Never morning wore to evening But some heart did break.”

In Shelley’s Adonais, his lament for Keats, he writes, “As long as skies are blue, and fields are green, Evening must usher night, night urge the morrow, Month follow month with woe, and year wake year to sorrow.”

(ii)  To the pathos of human life, Luke adds the compassion of Christ.  Jesus was moved to the depths of his heart.  There is no stronger word in the Greek language for sympathy and again and again in the gospel story it is used of Jesus (Matthew 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 8:2).

To the ancient world this must have been a staggering thing.  The noblest faith in antiquity was Stoicism.  The Stoics believed that the primary characteristic of God was apathy, incapability of feeling.  This was their argument.  If someone can make another sad or sorry, glad or joyful, it means that, at least for the moment, he can influence that other person.  If he can influence him that means that, at least for the moment, he is greater than he.  Now, no one can be greater than God; therefore, no one can influence God; therefore, in the nature of things, God must be incapable of feeling.

Here men were presented with the amazing conception of one who was the Son of God being moved to the depths of his being.

“In ev’ry pang that rends the heart. The Man of sorrows has a part.”

For many that is the most precious thing about the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(iii)  To the compassion of Jesus, Luke adds the power of Jesus.  He went up and touched the bier.  It was not a coffin, for coffins were not used in the east.  Very often long wicker-work baskets were used for carrying the body to the grave.  It was a dramatic moment.  As one great commentator says, “Jesus claimed as his own what death had seized as his prey.”

It may well be that here we have a miracle of diagnosis; that Jesus with those keen eyes of his saw that the lad was in a cataleptic trance and saved him from being buried alive, as so many were in Palestine.  It does not matter; the fact remains that Jesus claimed for life a lad who had been marked for death.  Jesus is not only the Lord of life; he is the Lord of death who himself triumphed over the grave and who has promised that, because he lives, we shall live also (John 14:19).

(7:14-15) Jesus Christ, Power—Resurrection, The: the great power of Jesus. Three surprising acts are seen here.

1. The power of Jesus to by-pass traditional beliefs. The people of that day believed that a person became polluted by touching a corpse. The person became ceremonially unclean, unacceptable to God. By touching the bier or body Jesus was showing that He possessed the right and power to override religious laws and beliefs. He was the Sovereign Power even over religious beliefs and over death and life.
2. The power of Jesus to stop the death processional. Note the pallbearers stopped; they “stood still.” They obeyed His touch.
3. The power of Jesus to raise the dead. It was the command, the simple yet powerful Word of Jesus that raised the dead.

(7:16-17) Jesus Christ, Response—God, Fear of: the great fear of the people. The word “fear” (phobos) means a fear of reverence and of awe. Seeing the dead man sit up and speak struck the fear of God in their hearts.

1. They glorified God (edoxazon ton theon). The tense is imperfect active, “they began to glorify God” and continued to glorify God.
2. They believed Jesus to be a great prophet.
3. They acknowledged that God was dealing with them. There was a widespread revival going on throughout all Israel. The message of John the Baptist had been heard by multitudes, and Jesus was affecting the lives of scores of people. The people felt that God was now visiting and dealing with Israel once again.
4. They bore witness everywhere.