Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. (Luke 7:11-17 NRSV)
If you are a part of a tribe that follows the Revised Common Lectionary you have read and heard this story before. Jesus raised a young man from the dead. It’s a miracle!
You see Jesus and the disciples are headed for Nain and they come across a funeral procession. Jesus tells the guys to stop, He goes over the the dead man and says get up. The man rises up and the crowd goes wild! That is the whole story right?
If you said yes, you missed the forest for the trees. You see, unlike other gospel stories where the motivation of Jesus is not revealed here we have a clear indication of what made Him do this.
You see the man was the woman’s only son. Yes there is a woman in the story. And not only is the dead man her only son but she is also a widow. She now has no means to provide for herself. She is fully dependent on the men in her life and since her son is dead she has no men in her life. Jesus sees this and is moved BH compassion to heal her son. Luke wants us to get this that in verse 13 be uses the 3rd person feminine pronoun 3 times!
Jesus is moved by the injustice of the system that will now leave this woman destitute. He has to do something. Yes He is moved to allow the man to live but the motivation is for the mother not the son.
What else do we miss because we focus on the big thing and miss the wonderful details that paint the full picture?
aSacredRebel 