Women in the Life of Jesus: The Widow of Nain

  

Where her story is found:

 Luke 7:11-17

Her Story:  

"Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.  And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man 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. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her,“Do not weep.”  Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”  So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother."-Luke 7:11-17(NKJV)

Background:  Nain was located about 5 miles southeast of Nazareth in the region of Galilee.  (Youngblood)

My Thoughts: 

I think it was interesting at the amount of people that were there that day.  There were two large groups of people meeting at once, Jesus’ disciples plus the crowd following them, and the funeral process coming out of the gate of the city. 

Although there were a lot of people, Jesus focused in on the woman, the mother.  He told her, “Do not weep.” That is an odd thing to say to someone who has just lost a child, unless Jesus knew something she didn’t, which He did. 

In this instance of healing, Jesus touched the open coffin, and then spoke to the young man.  When he did, the young man sat up and started talking!  Wow!  As a mother, my heart would have been overcome at that moment.  In an instant she went from having no one to having the most important human being in her life restored to her.

As women, Jesus cares about our every need.  He still sees our tears and longs to restore the things we have lost.

To read more posts in this series, go here to Women in the Life of Jesus.

Works Cited

Youngblood, Ronald F. Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2014.