Jesus Raises the Widow of Nain's Son
He stops a funeral, touches the bier, and gives a mother back her only son.
At the town of Nain, Jesus meets a funeral procession for the only son of a widow. Moved with compassion, he tells her, weep not, touches the bier, and says, young man, arise. The dead man sits up and speaks, and Jesus delivers him to his mother.
What happened
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak.
What it means
This miracle is prompted by nothing but compassion. No one asks Jesus to act; no faith is expressed; the widow does not even know who he is. He simply sees a grieving mother following the coffin of her only son — a woman about to be left utterly alone and destitute — and his heart moves him to act.
A widow who has lost her only son has lost everything: her companion and her security in one blow. Jesus interrupts the funeral, an act as bold as it is tender, and the first word he speaks is to her, not to the dead man: weep not. Then he addresses the corpse as though it could hear, because to him it can.
The detail that Jesus delivered him to his mother reveals the point of the miracle: not a display of power for its own sake, but the restoration of a broken family and a comforting of grief. The crowd's response — that God hath visited his people — is exactly right. In the compassion of Jesus for a weeping widow, God himself had drawn near.