Luke 7:11–17 | Jesus Raises the Widow's Son

Jesus has an interchange of discourse between three individuals that share one thing in common. They were not a part of the socially accepted crowd. In Lk 7:1–10 Jesus speaks with a centurion—a gentile. In these Lk 7:11–17, Jesus encounters a widow. Then in the closing of the chapter (Lk 7:36–50), probably the most powerful encounter, Jesus speaks with another woman that is labeled as a “sinner.” These three encounters tell us that Jesus is not afraid to deal with the rejects of society. Jesus reaches out to those outside the race of Jews, to the woman that is weeping, and to the woman that is called a “sinner.” I pray that we never prideful enough that we never are willing to help those that are in need. Even the individuals that are rejected by the rest of society. Bock elaborates, “In the last two pericopes, the major subjects are women, showing that Jesus' work has no gender gap. And in the first pericope of the section, a Gentile has faith, showing that there is no racial gap either. Jesus comes for all.”[1] Therefore, we should make no excuse for never reaching to any demographic with the gospel. Jesus came to save from every economic status. Jesus came to save from every race. Jesus came to save from every kind of sin.

Each of these exchanges with the outcasts of society also tells us about the ontology of Jesus Christ. We see that His character reaches out to the rejects but the fact that He makes wondrous claims and performs wondrous miracles tells something about who Jesus is. We first see that He Jesus exercises authority over illness, even without any encumbrance due to distance. Then we see His authority over death by speaking to corpse, and it responds! Then we see His authority over sin itself by declaring the sinful woman to be forgiven.

All of this is proven to be significant because of Jesus' answer to the disciples of John the Baptist. They came asking, “Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?” (Lk 7:19). Jesus answer was that the Scriptures are being fulfilled because of the miracles that were being done by Jesus Christ. Those miracles pointed to Him as being the Messiah—the promised one of the Old Testament.

Preface (1 Ki 17:17–24)

Before we move too far into the text of today’s message, we need to be informed of another narrative that is going to be alluded to in these verses. We need to be familiar with story of Elijah raising the widow’s son. Elijah was dwelling the widow’s during a time of extreme drought. The LORD was even providing miraculously for the Elijah, the widow, and her son by not allowing the oil or the meal run out. But then the son became sick and his life left him.

After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” (1 Ki 17:17–24 ESV).

We will not see an exact parallel but allusions will be made. Elijah was seen as one of the greatest prophets that ever lived, mainly because of the miracles he performed and the acts he committed against the false prophets of Baal.

Setting of the Miracle (Lk 7:11–12)

We have a story that is unique to the Gospel of Luke. He explains that the day after dealing with the Centurion Jesus and His disciples traveled from Capernaum to a village called Nain. Luke is continuing to give an orderly account (Lk 1:1–4). Capernaum is on the Northern shore on the Sea of Galilee and Nain is located about 25 miles from Capernaum in a South Westerly direction.[2]

While this account is unique to the Gospel of Luke, the miracle was not done in a corner. Luke may have come to know the story from the disciples or the crowd that was traveling with Jesus, or from the anyone there in the procession.

Lk 7:12. Luke explains that Jesus come upon a sad scene. Typically, such individuals were seeking Jesus out. He witnesses a funeral procession. The funeral procession is following the normal Jewish custom by carrying the dead out of the city to be buried as according to the Law. The body was seen as unclean.

The emotion of the scene is heightened for two reasons. First, the mother of the deceased is a widow. Being a widow in those days was extremely tough. It was difficult for a woman to provide for herself on her own. A widow would typically cling to her former husband’s family and depend on them or the kindness of others in order for her needs to be met. Ruth is the perfect example of this. She depended on what was left behind in the field for food (Ru 2:2). The widow in Luke’s narrative, however, had a son. We could assume the son provided an income for himself and his mother. Now she has definitely lost any means of an income. Also, for this poor woman, this is the second time she has dealt with heartache. She first had to deal with losing her husband, and now she has to deal with losing her only son.

Jesus Healing with Compassion (Lk 7:13–15)

Something that may be overlooked is that the author is referring to Jesus as “Lord.” The author, Luke, wants his audience to understand that Jesus is Lord, that He is God in flesh walking amongst men. Luke sets us up to for Jesus to act as God. No one is going to display the mercy of God better than Jesus. Jesus acts exactly as God. He displays the concern that God always had for the widow.

In the OT various laws are given which ease the condition of the widow: her clothes should not be taken in a pledge (Dt 24:17); in the third year the tithe should be for her benefit (Dt 14:29; 26:12f.). The gleanings of the field etc. should be left for widows (Dt 24:19ff; cf Ruth 2:2). It is explicitly stated that widows are to be invited to the sacrificial meals and to the feasts (Dt 16:11, 14) and thus have their place in the congregation. According to Le 22:22f. the widowed daughters of priests have a share of the offering if they return childless to their fathers.[3]

Jesus continues with that same love and concern for this woman. He sees her need and He is moved with compassion. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Heb 4:15 ESV). We have a God that was willing to take on flesh and suffer every vile, hostile, hurting, gross, and heart-breaking passion as we have. He is one that is moved by our sadness. He is concerned enough that God put provisions of protection for the widow in the Law. And now God in flesh has compassion on this widow of Nain. He will not allow such pain to continue. He approaches and states, “Weep not.” Hard words for a woman to follow at such a moment. Hard words to have fall on the ear at that hour. Hard words to obey at such a time. Yet Christ plans to act, not only to have compassion, but to act.

Lk 7:14. Jesus now approaches the bier. “The term for bier, σορός, is used only her in the New Testament and refers to an open coffin, a plank, where the shrouded and anointed corpse lay.”[4] This single act would have caused a normal person to become unclean (Nu 19:11). Yet this is not a normal person. Jesus does not become defiled but will rather impart life. Rather than Jesus becoming defiled because of sin’s curse upon the world, He instead reverses its curse.

What Jesus does next would put us all in the insane asylum. Jesus speaks to a corpse. He commands a dead person to get up. We would be thrown right out of the funeral home if we tried something like this. He tells a corpse, laying on a burial plank, wrapped in shroud, to get up! Yet God is able to make the inanimate animate.

Lk 7:15. The man was dead. The son was not breathing. But Jesus speaks to a corpse and it sits upright (ἀνεκάθισεν). “And the reference to ἀνεκάθισεν makes use of a term that appears elsewhere in the NT only at Acts 9:40, where it refers to Tabitha's resuscitation by Peter. In fact, this medical term is often used extra-biblically to describe the sitting up of someone who was formerly incapacitated by illness.”[5] Next, the formerly dead man begins to speak. This demonstrates that he had an immediate recovery. He was sitting up and cogent. The man is clearly alive.

The next phrase, “And he delivered him to his mother (καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὸν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ),” is an exact quotation of 1 Kings 17:23 in the LXX. “The comment that Jesus gave him to his mother serves to remind the readers of the Elijah typology and also to indicate Jesus’ concern for the widow.”^[6] Hearing that Jesus had raised the widow’s son would have been enough for people to call to mind the story of Elijah. Luke takes it further by pulling a quotation from the familiar story so we do not miss the connection. We also should not miss the differences between the accounts. While Elijah was a great prophet, he still needed to pray to God and try to restore the boy’s life three times. Jesus simply spoke and it happened. Elijah was great prophet, Jesus is greater.

Public Confession of a Great Prophet (Lk 7:16)

The audience responds in a natural way—with fear followed by praise to God. The crowd that saw Jesus heal the man sick of palsy and forgive his sins had the same reaction. The murmur among the crowd was two things. The first is that a great prophet is risen among the people. Very few prophets raised people from the dead. Yet Jesus did this with what seemed to be ease. The second murmur was that God had visited His people. This is an Old Testament phrase that speaks of God’s action being made manifest on earth. In this case, it has overtones of deliverance like in Exodus 4:31, “And the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.”

Report in Judea and the Region (Lk 7:17)

The word of Jesus’ actions spread throughout all Judea and the surrounding regions. His fame is spreading even further than it had before. The word of Jesus’ actions had spread far enough that the disciples of John the Baptist caught word and told John about it (Lk 7:18). This sets us up for the next pericope in chapter 7.

Jesus’ raising the widow of Nain’s son in Luke 7:11–17 demonstrates two essential qualities. First, Jesus demonstrates his compassion and willingness to reach out and meet the needs of those in distress. He takes the initiative in this account; he comforts the widow; he restores the boy to health. Second, great power is displayed with great ease. The comfort that he offers the widow is real, because you can overpower deaths nullifying effects. The extent of his authority each as to the limits of personal existence. This account, then, represents a Jesus’ most powerful display of his connection with God.[7]

We will soon these questions answered by Jesus Himself when John’s disciple start asking questions on John’s behalf.

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[1] Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), 629.

[2] This is the only time the city is mentioned in Scripture. For information on geography see Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 649; Robert H. Stein, Luke, NAC 24 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 222; I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 284.

[3] NIDNTT, 3:1074.

[4] Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 652; cf. n11; BDAG, 934; Marshall, Gospel of Luke, 286.

[5] Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 652; cf. BDAG, 64.

^[6] Marshall, Gospel of Luke, 286.

[7] Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 654–5.

Luke 7:1–10 | Such Great Faith

Luke 6:46–49 | Characteristics of a Disciple, Part 10

Today we will finally get to finish our study of the Sermon on the Mount as it is recorded in the Gospel of Luke. The conclusion of the sermon gives a strong warning for all the disciples that are listening. The conclusion can be boiled down to this simple statement: “If you are truly a disciple of Christ, then you will obey His commandments.” I have been making this point over and over again. There is no such thing as a Christian that is not a disciple of Jesus Christ. You cannot be a believer in Jesus’ work on the cross and resurrection as the only means necessary for salvation, and then say that His commandments too heavy to bear (1 John 5:3). And now Christ, God in flesh, is calling us to obey the commandment that He has stated for us in this sermon. If we do not do them, they we cannot call ourselves disciples.

Before we begin this conclusion, let us look at the commandments that are stated in this sermon. (Words in the imperative voice are italicized.) “Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets” (Lk 6:23). Then later,

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. 29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise (Lk 6:27–31).

And again later,

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; (Lk 6:35–38).

And finally, “Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.” (Lk 6:42). There is a total of 21 imperatives in this sermon. (There is some repetition.) There are some commandments that are really hard to follow. It is not easy to love one’s enemy, nor to pray for him. We would certainly want our possessions back after they have been taken from us. However, I have said before that Jesus is advocating a lifestyle that is contrary to the flesh. He calls us to display the love of God and God has extended His love towards sinners. Therefore, we must do the same. Also, I will emphasize that Christ is not giving simple suggestions for the life of a believer. He is not persuading them to follow a higher code of conduct. He is commanding them to do the impossible. He is commanding them to display the love of God in the worst scenarios possible. When everyone hates you for being a disciple of Jesus Christ, that is the greatest moment in which the world needs to see the love of God. When the courts call to impose fines, and seizure of property, that is when we need to be ready the mercy of God. Do not be confused. Jesus is laying out commandments. These words mentioned above are written in the imperative mood in the Greek meaning they are not simple statements but commandments.

This a message for those who want to call themselves disciples. The sermon provides a litmus test to show if one truly is a Christian. If you look at the commandments of Christ and try to reinterpret them to fit a more comfortable lifestyle for yourself, then you need to reconsider if you are truly one of His disciples.

Lk 6:46. Jesus points out the need for obedience with a very simple rhetorical question. It can be summed up as, “Why do you not do what I say?” There should be a solid connection between hearing the Word of God, recognizing its authority, and obeying its commandments. Even James, the brother of Jesus, explains,

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing (Jas 1:22–25 ESV).

Hearing God’s word but not doing God’s word is at best foolishness and at worst hypocrisy. What would be the point of reading the instructions if they are only going to be ignored? What would be the point of reading a book if it is only going to be ignored? God’s commandments are meant for our good and God’s glory.

In the rhetorical question, Jesus asks what is the point of calling Him “Lord, Lord?”. We are more familiar with using the word “Lord” as equating to the Name of God in the Old Testament. Here, the title may only simple mean one of authority.[1] The word “lord” can also mean “master” which is more appropriate for this context. A parallel example of this would be understanding our authority in the workplace to be our boss or manager but never doing anything that the boss/manager tell us to do. How do you think the boss will feel when he finds out that you have not completed your assigned task but spent the whole shift in the break room? What will the manager say? I would start to think that your employment may be on the verge of termination with such behavior. Yet, how do think our Savior would respond to such disobedience while we claim that we are His disciples and He is our greatest Master? When we disobey a minor authority, we will receive minor discipline. If we are to disobey our greatest authority, then we will surely receive a greater discipline. Matthew Henry explained the hypocrisy when we fail to do what He commands.

It is putting an affront upon him to call him Lord, Lord, as if we were wholly at his command, and had devoted ourselves to his service, if we do not make conscience of conforming to his will and serving the interests of his kingdom. We do but mock Christ, as they that in scorn said, Hail, King of the Jews, if we call him ever so often Lord, Lord, and yet walk in the way of our own hearts and in the sight of our own eyes.…It is putting a cheat upon ourselves if we think that a bare profession of religion will save us, that hearing the sayings of Christ will bring us to heaven, without doing them.[2]

Allow me to be blunt. If you call Him Lord, then you must obey His commandments. Let me be more blunt, if you do not obey His commandments, then you do not love God. John recorded the words of Christ saying this same idea to His twelve disciples in the upper room.

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me (Jn 14:21–24 ESV).

We must understand that it is hypocrisy to claim to be a Christian but never to follow any of the commandments. The same phrase is used over in Matthew, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21 ESV). The context centers on the final day of judgment but the application is the same. Only those who do the Word are truly the disciples of Jesus.

Lk 6:47. Jesus moves into a parable to illustrate what the outcomes of obeying or disobeying the commandments of Christ. Matthew makes a greater contrast by claiming that the doer of the word is the wise man while the one who does not the words of Christ is a fool (Mt 7:24–26). Like He did earlier, He communicates an important concept through simple illustration that is familiar to the audience.

Lk 6:48. The first example is of the man that does the sayings of Jesus Christ. He is likened to a man that built his house correctly. Perhaps he was familiar with the trade. Perhaps he took the time to ask how it should be properly done. Whatever manner his knowledge was acquired; he did what was necessary in order to properly build his home.

Luke emphasizes the amount of work it took in order to build the home. He does this with using three verbs to describe the work. He first dug the ground (ἔσκαψεν), then he dug deep (ἐβάθυνεν), then he finally placed the foundation upon the rock (ἔθηκεν θεμέλιον ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν).[3] The builder did it correctly. He listened and did it to how it was supposed to be done. It takes a lot of work, as emphasized by Luke, but when he was done, the house was properly laid upon a solid foundation. The sayings of Christ are not always the easy way of getting things done. We would like to take the easy way—the way that gets us out of our responsibilities. There are many times when it would be easier to tell a lie or cheat so what we desire comes more quickly to us. But God commands that things are done correctly, honestly, and without shortcuts. For the disciples, it seems like would make more sense in their fleshly mind to retaliate against their persecutors; to strike back when they have been stricken for the Son of Man’s sake. But Christ commanded that we must be ready to offer the other cheek also (Lk 6:29).

Then Jesus speaks of how the man’s house, that was built correctly, stands strong against the flood. The imagery is of a single river that has overflowed its banks. Matthew’s account speaks of when the rivers are filled due to the rainy season.[4] The description shows that the flood was not mild by any means. Luke’s record is that the waters burst (προσέρηξεν) upon the house. However, even though the flood was raging upon the house, the river did not have the strength (ἴσχυσεν) to break down the house. The builder’s hard work paid off. His correctly built house was stronger than the floods that came up against it.

It is hard to say if Jesus is equating the flood in the parable with difficulties that come in life or with the final judgment to come. Either could fit. The application is still the same. Jesus never promised that we not have any difficulties in this life. Jesus instead tells us that if we follow His sayings then we will be prepared for the trials that come our way. We must remember that the man’s house stood because it was laid upon a rock. God’s laws are fixed, immutable, and steadfast. Trust and follow the Word of God. Man’s advice is hollow and always changing. You will never find security in the advice of the latest well-respected man.

Lk 6:49. The contrast is against the man that does not do the sayings of Jesus Christ. You will see that the man took a shortcut. His house is without a foundation because he never took the time to dig, then dig deep, then lay the foundation upon a rock. The man cheated and simply laid his house upon the earth. There is nothing solid about dirt. Sure, it can be packed tightly and pressed into shape but it will not be able to hold up under burden or stress. This is a man that is meant to look like a disciple but is not. Both men have houses. They could both build a house so that the layout of the rooms matches the other. The color of the exterior could match. The shingles can match. Both could look equally appealing from the curb.

But then the flood comes and we see one house is better than the other. Only one has a strong foundation. Jesus states for us that the destruction of the house without a foundation is both immediate and great. The house fell. Fell is from συμπίπτω which means “to fall together in a heap, fall in, collapse.”[5] The image is complete destruction. The house did not stand a chance to stand against the flood and the ruin of the house was great. We will not see how devastating the consequences can be of poor choices until it is too late.

This also helps to illustrate the point that God’s commandments are not intended to keep us from having fun. They are made so that we might continue to function properly. Jesus gives us His commandments because He does not want our house to fall flat. He does not desire that undergo destruction. One made was obedient to building codes and his house survived a flood. The other man did not listen to building codes and the flood immediately destroyed the house. God does not want to see your house collapse. God does not want to see your family in ruins because they were not prepared in obedience to His commandments. When judgment happens, everything will be revealed. It will show if you truly believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus for salvation. When trials hit, it will show whether you are a disciple. When persecution comes, the real disciples will continue to love, continue to pray, and continue bless them that curse them for the Son of Man’s sake.

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[1] See Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), 618; I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 274; Robert H. Stein, Luke, NAC 24 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 215; BDAG 578.2.a.γ.ב.

[2] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1844.

[3] Most English translations have ἔσκαψεν καὶ ἐβάθυνεν as a hendiadys and translate the phrase as simply “dug deep.” This misses the original emphasis from the author.

[4] K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT, 6:603; Marshall, Gospel of Luke, 275; Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 621–2; Stein, Luke, 215.

[5] BDAG, 959.1.