The One filled with compassion and power

Let’s expect a new encounter with Jesus through today’s passage. Just outside the town of Nain, two processions met. One was a joyful procession centered around Jesus; the other, a sorrowful procession centered around a dead man lying in a coffin. Life and death, light and darkness, collided in that moment. Jesus showed deep compassion to the widow who had lost her only son. In first-century Palestine, it was extremely difficult for a woman with no family to survive. “When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not go on weeping’” (v 13). Who could possibly say “Do not go on weeping” to a mother grieving the death of her son? Jesus said it because He held the solution. Let us take note that Luke uses the title “the Lord” here instead of “Jesus.” Jesus is the Lord who gives life. Touching a coffin signified defilement, yet Jesus, without any hesitation, laid His hand on it and said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Turning tragedy into joy

A young man once full of life became silent and was laid in a coffin. His death brought deep sorrow to his mother and those around her. Then Jesus appeared. In the eyes of the people, His presence likely seemed like the return of the Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha. Elijah raised the son of the widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 17), and Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4). It is understandable that the people said, “A great prophet has appeared among us.” Yet we know that Jesus is more than a prophet. Jesus is the Son of God. Have you recently lost your true radiance? Have you found yourself in a spiritually dying state, lying in a coffin of bondage? Jesus is full of compassion and power. He is the One who can turn tragedy into joy. Let Him touch you now. If you recognize that you have already been raised with Christ, you can rise up (Ephesians 2:4-6).