11 Jan. Jesus brings a dead son back to life
"Soon afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his followers and a large crowd travelled with him. When he came near the town gate, he saw a funeral. A mother, who was a widow, had lost her only son. A large crowd from the town was with the mother while her son was being carried out."
"When the Lord saw her, he felt very sorry for her and said, 'Don't cry'. He went up and touched the coffin, and the people who were carrying it stopped."
"Jesus said, 'Young man, I tell you, get up!' And the son sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother."
"All the people were amazed and began praising God, saying, 'A great prophet has come to us! God has come to help his people'. This news about Jesus spread through all of Judea and into all the places around there."
(Luke 7:11-17)
Have you noticed how often the extreme plight of widows and orphans is mentioned in the Bible? In a modern welfare state like the UK, with its central government, local authorities and charities helping vulnerable members of the community, it's hard to realise just how precarious life could be for widows and orphans in Jesus's day - and what a desperate plight it STILL is today for widows and orphans in so many poorer countries in Africa and Asia.
In Luke 7:11-17, Jesus raised the only son of a widow from Nain from the dead. Her son was probably the widow’s only source of financial support, so his death was a terrible blow. Jesus felt acute pity for her, and took the amazing step of halting the funeral cortege before raising her son back to life. Truly amazing!
As a result of this dramatic miracle, people were filled with awe and praised God. They recognised that, through the person of Jesus, "God has come to help his people". And in due course, many of these people came to realise that Jesus was not ONLY "a prophet" from God, but was - in some miraculous way - God himself, here on earth, living among us and helping God's people to become truly ALIVE!
The photo (by Ilana Shkolnik) shows the Jezreel Valley from Tel Yisreal where Nain (meaning ‘pleasant’) was situated to the south-east of Nazareth. Its name aptly describes the area and the views from Nain across the low-lying plain.
You can read more about Jesus's healing miracles on The Bible Journey website @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/jesus-performs-healing-m…/.