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.