LOSING EVERYTHING
Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, show me where I can serve you today. Where can I reflect and express the love that you have shown me?
Read LUKE 7:11-17
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Think of those you know who are suffering. Has your life experience prepared you to feel any of their pain and fear? How can you pray for them?Sometimes, the circumstances of others are almost too challenging. How can anyone understand the pain of this widow losing her only son in the ancient world? After showing his authority over disease for an outsider in the earlier verses of this chapter, now Jesus goes one better. In this passage, he shows his power over death. And he does this for a nobody. Obviously, this widow in Nain was not a nobody. But after previously losing her husband, now she had lost her only son. This tragedy meant that effectively she had no future: no support, no security, and no family. Her prospects were bleak, but Jesus’ heart went out to this poor woman.
The miracle Jesus performed in Nain was really a resuscitation from the dead. The boy was not resurrected, never to die again, as Jesus would be later on in Luke. He was brought back to life—a notable miracle, nonetheless. The crowd certainly noticed it. They declared that Jesus was a great prophet (v 16), and they saw in this miracle the evidence that God was at work in their midst. They spoke better than they knew, for God physically had come to help his people that day!
Apply
How does Jesus’ power impress you in this story? How does his compassion for the widow stir your heart? Tell him—with words or even a song.
Closing prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for your love and compassion shown so often in the New Testament. Thank you, too, for the evidence I see of your love in my own life, my family, within my church.
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