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.
Comment: From a compassionate point of view this is a ‘tear jerking’ passage. A widowed mother has just lost her only son, who was her provider, to death. She proceeds to the funeral weeping and wailing with a whole lot of the townspeople, no doubt showing their sorrow in a similar fashion. I have seen and heard this scenario many times in Africa. Jesus shows his humanity in his deep concern and involvement. He would know what sort of life this may well lead the lady into with loneliness and poverty. But for most of us we can show sympathy and empathy but there it must end. Jesus shows His relationship to God, which relationship the whole crowd saw as we can hear in their words ‘a great prophet has arisen’ and ‘God has visited His people’.
Our society is pretty skeptical of this type of story but what if it is true? Has God visited us, showing his empathy and power?
Prayer: Help me to realize that I don’t know everything and discern if this is more proof of both Jesus’ divine and human natures.
As I read it! 