A Widow's Son

Articles

Lance Byers
03/22/25 - Text Study

A Widow’s Son

“Come and see!” ~Nathaniel

The miracles of Jesus are not well documented, as stated at the end of John’s gospel. The few that we do have, though, are more than enough proof of His power and authority. One such example is the story of the resurrection of the widow’s son at Nain recorded in Luke 7:11-17.

Luke 7:11-17: Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Jesus, in what would seem like an absurd gesture in Jewish society, goes up and touches the bier of a boy who is dead. To do so would have made Him unclean according to the law. To compound the awkwardness of the situation, He tells the grieving widow not to weep for her only son, now dead. Jesus had a completely different agenda, though. He was about to perform the greatest of miracles and demonstrate His authority over something no man could ever hope to accomplish.

The enemy of man is the devil. In the garden, the devil introduced man to sin, and man was, therefore, required to leave the garden let he continue to eat of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever. (Genesis 3:22) As a result of man’s introduction to sin, death must take place, making it a product of the deceit of Satan. Death is an adversary of man as a result, and according to I Corinthians 15:26, death will fall as the final enemy. Verse 27 continues that, “God has put all things in subjection under His feet,” citing Psalm 8:6. God’s savior for man would show that He had power and authority over death; that death was no longer an opposing force, but a loyal subject to the power of the Messiah.

“Arise,” says Jesus to the young man in Luke. Jesus was not unclean, because He did not touch the bier of a dead man, but a young man who simply needed to be recalled to life as if he had been sleeping. Jesus was not being inconsiderate for the widow telling her not to weep for her tears of sorrow very quickly became tears of joy. Those present could clearly see that, “God has visited His people.”

Furthermore, Jesus’ authority over death is even so that He could bring Himself back from the dead in His resurrection. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (I Corinthians 15:55) It no longer exists for Jesus has conquered you, and you shall torment us no longer for so long as we have Christ.

Lance Byers

March 22, 2025