Luke 7:11-17

Butler's Comments

SECTION 2

The Sorrowing (Luke 7:11-17)

11 Soon afterward he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. 13And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep. 14And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say to you, arise. 15And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 16Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has arisen among us! and God has visited his people! 17And this report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Luke 7:11-13 Compassion: Nain is about 20 miles southwest of Capernaum; a good day's walking distance. It is about 2 miles west of Endora place famous for a temporary resurrection from the dead (Samuel) in the days of King Saul. As Jesus drew near to the gate of this village He came upon a funeral procession. A young man had died and left his widowed mother without any visible means of support, This woman was in great sorrow not only because she had lost both husband and son and was now without the companionship of those nearest and dearest on earth, but also because she would be frantic to know where to turn for physical help and sustenance. A job market for women whereby they might earn a living was unheard of in those days. Women were expected to marry and keep house. Jesus had compassion on this heart-broken, weeping widow and said, Do not weep. Then He touched the bier.

The Hebrew word for coffin is mittah (2 Samuel 3:31); the Greek word is sorou (Luke 7:14) and is translated here bier. Closed coffins as we know them were unknown among the Hebrews. The bier was an open, flat, wooden frame on which the corpse was carried from the house to the grave. Burial was usually very soon after the death of a person (less than 10 hours) because of hygienic reasons. Anyone who touched a dead body or anything which a dead body might contact, was declared by Old Testament law, unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:1-22). Jewish funeral processions were highly emotional and demonstrative. The corpse was usually dressed in clothes worn normally, stretched out on a beir with a cloth thrown over it (Acts 5:6). Sometimes burial spices were added to the body. The poor were buried in earthen graves; the rich in rock-hewn tombs. Lack of proper burial was regarded as a great indignity and a judgment of God. The funeral procession from the home to the grave was accompanied on foot by friends and relatives of the deceased, weeping, wailing and casting dust and ashes on their heads. Sometimes mourners tore their clothing near the neck of their garments as a sign of grief. Usually every funeral was attended by hired mourners paid by the family of the deceased. When the funeral procession started toward the burial place, the women would go first because, the rabbis said, as Eve, a woman brought death into the world, women should lead death's victims to the grave. Funeral processions were always noisy with graphic demonstrations of mourning (whether there was much sorrow or not). The Hebrews considered it very improper not to have loud wailing and mourning at a funeral. Flutists, playing sad music on their instruments, also accompanied these processions. When the sad rites were finished at the grave, the family would gather for a funeral meal, to eat the bread of mourning. Mourning lasted for 30 days; for the first three days, no work was done at all, and no greeting answered in the street.

The Greek word used to describe Jesus-' compassion is esplagchnisthe. There are other Greek words translated compassion, but this word connotes the feeling of psychosomatic emotions. It is the word translated bowels in the KJV. The bowels or intestines were regarded by Greeks and Hebrews as the seat of passion and affection. What Jesus felt for this widow and the mourners was intense and deeply emotional. While Jesus had compassion for the weeping widow, at the same time He commanded her (klaie, Gr. imperative mood), Weep not! A godly person knows when and what to weep about. Stoicism is no Christian virtue. Jesus weptmore than once (John 11:35; Luke 19:41; Hebrews 5:7). But believers are not to grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Perhaps Jesus is encouraging this widow and these mourners to refrain from excessive grief and to look to Him as Lord of life. Life is to be found by looking beyond death through trust in Christ. Penitence for the sin that brings death is the proper expression of mourning. This is what Jesus wept about! Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Luke 7:14-17 Celebration: Jesus raised the widow's son from the dead. This incident is one of at least three resurrections from the dead performed by Jesus recorded in the gospels (Jairus-' daughter, Luke 8:49 ff; and Lazarus, John 11:1-57). Luke alone tells of the widow's son, but his credibility is unassailable. A physician would hardly record such a story without checking out all details. The fact that Luke alone records this incident merely confirms the statement in John's gospel (John 20:30-31) that there were many miracles, teachings and events in Jesus-' life not recorded at all. He might have raised more than three!

Jesus could have raised this young man from the dead at a distance as He had healed the dying slave of the centurion; He could have walked alongside the funeral procession and brought the lad back to life without a word or a touch, but He chose to touch the bier. His objective was not merely to bring a dead man back to life but to bring the comfort of salvation to any who would believe in Him as Lord, so He must show that the power of Life resides in Him. For a Jew to touch a dead body or anything a dead body had defiled made the Jew ceremonially unclean for seven days (cf. Numbers 19:11 ff). Death is the result of sin (Genesis 2:17). When a man died, he was a symbol of sin, and his body a source of defilement to the living. Jesus was not defiled because He was without sin. He demonstrated vividly by touching the bier of the dead that He is the Lord of death and lifeHe is the solution, the cure for sin and its results. Those who trust Him will conquer death because He has conquered it for them.

Jesus spoke to the dead man. Jesus expected the dead man to hear him and respond by sitting up. Either Jesus was who He claimed or a complete maniac. Any man who would go out into a street today, stop a funeral procession, command the mourners to stop weeping, touch the casket and say to the dead person, I say to you, arise, would be called a lunatic and probably incarcerated.
The dead man sat up and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother. Unbelievers try to destroy the historicity of this event by declaring it to be a myth.

a.

Such declarations are arbitrary. No evidence is offered to prove it is a myth. Where is the testimony from the first century that what Jesus did was mythological?

b.

Such a declaration is contrary to the authenticity and credibility of the record of Luke the physician. And there is evidence from the first century to establish Luke's veracity.

c.

Such a declaration impugns the character of Jesus. The gospels portray Him as honest, trustworthy, compassionate and a doer of good. How could He be guilty of such dissimulation if He only pretended to raise a dead man.

d.

It is incredible to suppose every time Jesus sought to raise someone from the dead that He could chance upon someone only apparently dead or in a coma.

e.

Those eyewitnesses to this resurrection did not react as if it were mythological or allegorical. They were seized (Gr. elaben, taken) with fear. Something unnatural, extraordinary and amazing happened.

Moments before this whole company of people had been possessed with mourning, bitter wailing, grief and sadness. Now it is turned into a celebration of happy praise for God. Those who witnessed this awesome event testified, A great prophet has arisen among us!.. God has visited His people! The idea that God would visit His people is a Messianic expression of both the Old and New Testaments. It is particularly expressed in Isaiah 7:14 in the term Emmanuel which means God with us (see also, Matthew 1:23; Zephaniah 2:7; Isaiah 29:6; Luke 1:68; Luke 1:78; Luke 19:44; Psalms 8:4; Hebrews 2:6). The report of this miracle spread throughout the land of the Jews, reaching even down into Judea. We wonder how many believed in Jesus as a result of the report. One thing is certain, it is proof that Jesus means what He says about some day calling all the dead from their tombs (John 5:28-29, etc.), some to eternal life, others to eternal damnation.

Applebury's Comments

Raising the Widow's Son
Scripture

Luke 7:11-17 And it came to pass soon afterwards, that he went to a city called Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. 12 Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, there was carried out one that was dead, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came nigh and touched the bier: and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. 16 And fear took hold on all: and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is arisen among us: and, God hath visited his people. 17 And this report went forth concerning him in the whole of Judaea, and all the region round about.

Comments

soon afterwards.The footnote in some Bibles reminds us that many ancient manuscripts suggest that this event occurred on the next day, that is, the day following the healing of the centurion's son. Nain is some fifteen miles from Capernaum. It is possible that Jesus made the journey within the time limit. But more likely, Luke merely says that this miracle followed after the other one without specifying the exact day on which it occurred.

and a great multitude.Large numbers of people witnessed this miracle. A crowd accompanied Jesus and His disciples, and another crowd from the city of Nain was with the funeral procession. With that many people having witnessed the miracle, Luke had no difficulty verifying the facts as he was preparing to write to Theophilus.

the only son of his mother.Note the details which suggest the genuineness of this miracle: Luke tells of the exact spot where it occurredwhen He drew near the gates of the city. The dead man was young and the only son of a widowed mother.

when the Lord saw her.Luke had become convinced of the deity of Jesus and didn-'t hesitate to refer to Him as the Lord. See Romans 10:9-10.

he had compassion on her.The word signifies a deep stirring of the emotions. Jesus had pity and sympathy for the distressed mother. Literally, the word refers to the vital organs of the body: the heart, the liver, the intestines and others. We know that fear, anger, joy, anxiety affect the function of these organs. The language of the New Testament expresses it in a bold term. It means that Jesus was deeply affected by the sight that met His eyes; His pity and compassion were really felt.

Weep not.Jesus put His compassion into words when He said, Don-'t crydon-'t go on weeping. How helpless, by contrast, we often find ourselves when we try to comfort the sorrowing. Don-'t cry has little effect unless the cause of grief is removed. That's exactly what Jesus did, for He raised the son from the dead and gave him back to his weeping mother.

Don-'t go on crying can have meaning to the Christian as he looks to the resurrection when the enemy which is death shall be abolished. Paul urged the Christians at Thessalonica not to sorrow as those who have no hope. He assured them that Christ will come and that the dead in Christ will be raised and the living will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. These are indeed words of comfort. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 14:13; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; 2 Corinthians 4:16 to 2 Corinthians 5:8.

And he that was dead sat up.Luke stresses this astounding thing: at the command of Jesus the dead man sat up and began to talk. Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Fear took hold on all.The fear that held all in its grasp was not the fear that makes man a coward, but the fear that makes him bow in reverence before his God. They all praised God for what He had done, and they were all sure that God had raised up a Prophet in their midst.

God hath visited his people.He had blessed them with the presence of Jesus the Son of God. The miracle that showed His compassion prepared them to accept His deity.

Reports about Jesus-' activity quickly spread throughout all the country of Palestinehere called Judeaand the surrounding territory. These reports reached the ears of John's disciples.