The Misery Of The Widow Of Nain And Her Final Joy

Uplook – May 2022 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The Misery Of The Widow Of Nain And Her Final Joy

And it came to pass afterwards He went into a city called Nain, and many of His disciples and a great crowd went with Him. And as He drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she a widow, and a very considerable crowd of the city was with her. And the Lord, seeing her, was moved with compassion for her, and said to her, Weep not; and coming up He touched the bier, and the bearers stopped. And He said, Youth, I say to thee, Wake up. And the dead sat up and began to speak; and He gave him to his mother. And fear seized on all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has been raised up amongst us; and God has visited His people. And this report went out in all Judaea concerning Him, and in all the surrounding country. — Luke 7:11-17 JND

This story is unique to Luke’s gospel – the gospel of widows (see 2:37, 4:25-26, 18:3, 20:47, 21:2). Luke presents Christ with human sympathies. The True Man came face to face with man in all his troubles and sorrows. Our story occurred in an insignificant village in Issachar. Commentators in the 1800s noted that it was a squalid little place. Yet, being the location of the Lord’s first recorded raising of a person from among the dead makes it stand out in history. It was there that the Lord of glory deigned to come. He brought the love and light of God into the dark recesses of human society.

Wherever there was misery and need, He addressed the situation with fullest grace and power. The Lord was the constant and ready servant of all who were in need. His love and compassion for the fallen, suffering children of Adam and Eve was unsurpassed, and unmitigated by any compromising selfish motives. He was on a mission to please His Father, and He went about doing good.

Two Processions
We are introduced to two processions: the one full of animated conversation and discussion and the other marked by the gravity suited to a funeral. The former was headed by a remarkable Teacher and His learners, along with a crowd of curious people hoping to catch something of the Teacher’s words or perhaps just a glimpse of Him. “A great crowd” describes how popular He was at this time.

They were evidently unaware of the bereavement that had taken place in Nain, and therefore none appealed to the Lord, or interceded, on behalf of the widow. No one asked Him to do anything. Yet the Lord knew what He would do. The Lord of life was entering into a scene affected by death. He was coming, uninvited but in the liberty of His own love, to meet mankind in its utter ruin and to replace mourning with joy unspeakable.

The other group was headed by a widow woman, deeply pained by her loss, and a company of sympathetic mourners on their way to the cemetery. The widow was a lonely figure, bereft of all but happy memories of the childhood of her now deceased son. Without a male protector in that time, she would be in very real difficulties. She was desolate and deeply engaged in her sorrows. Her only begotten son had died, and she must continue alone. All her hopes had been in him, and now these were dashed.

Besides the hardships of life she would now face, her husband’s family line had come to an end. There was no social provision for her welfare, no one to support her, and few prospects of employment. She had lost everything and was without hope. It was a tragedy! A mother does not expect to lose her children before she dies.

The situation brings Proverbs 27:1 before us: “Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth.” Life is short, death is eternal, and eternity is long. The realities of sin and its inevitable consequence had been brought home to the widow, but we do not hear her complain, “Why has God allowed this to happen to me?” Undoubtedly He permitted this disaster in order to bring glory to His Son and to teach her the truth given in Ecclesiastes 7:1-3, that “it is better to go into the house of mourning” (v.2). In this, she would learn about abundant and gracious blessing for her.

Christ Knew
Christ knew well the cost of the woman’s loss, for He too was an only begotten Son (Jn. 3:16), and His sympathies were not only divine but also arose out of His perfect manhood. His followers probably did not have the slightest indication of what was about to happen, but the Lord* Jesus trod forward with purpose. He felt her grief and shared her tears. When He saw her His heart was touched, and He had compassion. That is, He felt with her.

It is not recorded that He wept then, but He would weep like no other when He banished sin and death forever by His work on the cross. He uttered words of simple and purest kindness: “Weep not.” These words were undoubtedly a comfort to her, but they would be backed up by a work of unequalled power. One day He will eradicate all tears from the eyes of the redeemed (Rev. 21:4). But now we see Him truly interested in the woman’s case, in her grief and loss. Likewise today, whenever we sorrow and weep, He feels our grief. His sympathetic sufferings are not yet complete.

His heart moved His hand, and He touched the coffin. This act did not defile Him, for He bore the same relationship to death and sin as God. He cannot be defiled. The Lord had no need to go to the priests for cleansing.

Upon touching the bier, He spoke. We are not told what effect these words had on the mother. They would have been vain words, meaningless ones, on the lips of others. The result – the resurrection of a dead person – declared Him to be the Son of God. This, of course, was supremely shown by His own resurrection. Every demonstration of such power corroborated, or confirmed, that He was not only the Son of Man but also the Son of God (consider Rom. 1:4).

“Wake up!” There was no prolonged praying or beating of the breast. The voice of Supreme Authority had expressed His will. The young man got up; he who had been dead sat up. Being a Jew, he had been subject to the law and had tasted its condemning power in death, but when he was dead he was no longer subject to the law (Rom. 7). Furthermore, his hopeless condition exactly paralleled our own spiritual condition when we were dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).

When awakened from death, the young man spoke. No record is given of what he said, but it was audible evidence that he was alive. When we have trusted the Savior we make confession with our mouths as to the new life and hope that is within us. The only possibility for the sinner is for God’s mercy and grace to be applied to those who are spiritually dead – there is no other remedy for anyone. This is an astounding work.

His Interest
The Lord is the God of widows and chooses to identify Himself with them in their sad circumstances. Therefore, He continued His special interest in this widow, dispensing His grace and favor toward her. He did not bargain with her, saying, “If you give me your life, I will reward you with a miracle” or, “If I raise your son from death you must promise to devote him to Me.” The Lord delivered the youth to his mother without any conditions. He showed her pure grace. Although the Lord was surely entitled to claim the young man, He gave him back to his mother. The Lord Jesus cared for the widow: she had suffered the loss and her son was restored to her. The Lord always sought God’s glory; He sought nothing for Himself.

The Response
The multitude responded by glorifying God. Perhaps they had recalled such miracles from their history in the distant days of Elijah and Elisha. But these great men were only dependent servants who had to implore God for mercy. Elijah had to bow low, stretching himself over the son of the widow of Zarephath before he was raised (1 Ki. 17:17-24). But now, the Lord gave the command of authority, and death had to release its prey. God had indeed visited His people. The aged priest Zacharias had observed that God “has visited and wrought redemption for His people, and raised up a horn of deliverance [salvation] for us in the house of David His servant” (Lk. 1:68-69).

Of course the people’s description of the Lord as being “a great prophet” was inadequate, but His fame spread to a very considerable area in the surrounding country. One day all Israel will clearly recognize their Messiah: “They shall look on Him whom they pierced” (Jn. 19:37). For now, today, all may know the grace of Christ and His power to save. By disobedience, Adam brought death into the world; the Second Man has power to deal with sin and its fearful consequence (Rom. 5:12-21). “The wages of sin is death; but the act of favor [the gift] of God, [is] eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (6:23). Thereby, man’s deep need is fully met! What joy we can have in Him.

ENDNOTE
* For the first time, Luke calls Jesus “the Lord,” and it is certainly appropriate as He showed Himself Lord over death.

By Edwin N. Cross