Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
Nain is a small village in Galilee about six miles southeast of Nazareth.
Was Jesus led to Nain by the inspiration of the Spirit?As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her.
This funeral procession crowd would include, besides his mother, relatives and neighbors, also professional mourners and musicians.
Luke emphasizes that the mother was a widow and her dead son was her only immediate family. This implies that she will be facing great hardships without the support of her son, who cared and provided for her.When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep."
When Luke calls Jesus, Lord, he is reflecting the post resurrection faith of the Church. This is the first time Luke uses it in reference to Jesus.
Here, we also see the mercy of Jesus towards one of the poorest of people, a widow.
He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!"
Jesus does something that, in the eyes of the crowd, would make him ritually impure. He touched the stretcher on which the dead body lay. Mosaic Law warned that contact with the dead renders one unclean for an entire week.
Jesus, by word of command, orders life back into the dead body.The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
This is one of the three resurrection accounts in the ministry of Jesus: the daughter of Jairus and Lazarus.
Previous in Luke, we are told that Jesus healed the dying servant of a Gentile Roman Officer. In the case of the daughter of Jairus, she had just died. Here, he heals one who has already died and is being taken to the burial site. Lazarus was dead for four days.Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, crying out "A great prophet has arisen in our midst, " and "God has visited his people." This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.
Saying that Jesus was a great prophet was in reference to Elijah and Elisha, both of whom raised the dead to life.
If Jesus could do this in the life of this young man, what can he do in your life. Notice it wasn’t the faith of the widow or of the crowd that moved Jesus. It was his faith in the power the Father had given him in the Holy Spirit to bring the Father’s love and mercy into the lives of the people. Does he not want to do the same in each of us?
About the Author
Jesus said that we are to go to the ends of the world, proclaiming the Gospel of Salvation. Our recent Holy Fathers have urged us to use the social media to accomplish this task. This is just one attempt to respond to both calls. Join me in this effort.
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