Luke 7:11-17 The Widow's Son

Luke 7:11-17 Jesus Raises a Widow’s Sun

I. Outline

            A. Jesus goes to a town, Nain, and a large crowd follows him (v.11)

            B. Jesus comforts a weeping widow (vv.12-13)

                        1. Her only son had passed away v.12
                        2. A large crowd was with her v.13

            C. Jesus commands the dead son to rise (vv.14-15)

                        1. Jesus touched the coffin and told the young man to get up v.14

                        2. The dead man sat up and began to talk to his mother v.15

            D. Mother and crowd are amazed (vv.16-17)

                        1. People scatter and proclaim the good news of God throughout Judea                                     v.17

II. Exegetical Issues

            A. Boundaries, Placement, Function of the Passage in its Context

1. This passage immediately follows the story of the Roman centurion (Luke 7:1-9). After this healing story, Jesus went into another city, so the momentum of healing, testimony, and power evangelism is growing. The centurion’s servant was healed on account of his faith and not necessarily through the power of Jesus. Jesus was not an active player in the episode since this previous story focuses on the heart of the centurion versus the heart of Jesus (“he had compassion for her…” v.13). This story is concluded by the message/word going out into the whole of Judea and the neighboring counties (eventually reaching the ear of John the Baptist in the desert).

2. This specific passage is marked off between the immediate passages of the faith of the Roman centurion and followed by a narrative about John the Baptist’s disciples. It is distinct because it piggybacks off the Roman centurion story with the same Jesus of Nazareth performing miracles. However, the difference lies in the fact that the first passage in chapter seven deals primarily with Jesus as the sole protagonist, but vv11-17 then add disciples and a crowd to Jesus’ followers. All this to point out that the story of Jesus and his great works are beginning to develop momentum reaching all the way to the great prophet, John the Baptist, who sends disciples to see if this is the true messiah.

3. The connecting phrase between the centurion story and the widow is “Soon afterwards…” in the NRSV, but it could be rendered as ‘next, next day, or soon after these things had come to pass’. Another concept that is extremely prevalent in Lukan tradition, evident in this chapter, is faith leading to healing. It is the faith of the centurion, widow, and sinful woman that brings about miracles. Jesus definitely is involved, to be sure, but it seems to also point out a “holy expectation” of the receiving party.

            B. Textual Problems

  1. Luke 7:11- other ancient authorities read ‘Next day’

            C. Issues of Interpretation

1. Luke 7:12-χήρα: Chera, Greek for widow, is used twenty-six times in the New Testament. Luke uses this word twelve times in his gospel and in Acts. This word is used more in his gospel than the others, and it is only in 1st Timothy that it is used in such frequency. The first instance in Luke’s gospel of a widow occurs with the prophetess, Anna, in 2:36-38 who rejoices in the presence of Jesus and tells others about the redemption of Jerusalem. Then in Luke 4:14-28, Luke uses the passage from Isaiah to tell how Jesus has a special mission for the oppressed, especially the widows.

2. 7:12-ἐγγίζω: Engizo, Greek for near, approached, or came near. It is used forty-two times in the New Testament, and it can either be said for a physical drawing near or metaphorical/allegorical. In Matthew’s Gospel, it is used to describe people coming to a place and for the Kingdom of God/heaven. Luke tends to describe this primarily as a physical act of approaching, so this is probably meant as Jesus came to the town gate.

3. 7:14-ἐγείρω: Egeiro, Greek for raise up, get up, lift up, stand up, wake up, or appear. This is a pretty common verb in the New Testament being used 144 times. What is interesting is that Luke uses this verb twice in this passage in v.14 and v.16 and with different meanings. One is directed at the young man to rise up physically and v.16 is of a prophet rising up from them. This verb is also used in all the Easter stories of Jesus’ resurrection, so it is a powerful verb. There is ongoing debate about the difference between this verb and ἀνίστημι which also means to raise up. These two verbs describe to be raised up from the dead. To me, it looks pretty inconclusive; they mean essentially the same thing. The biggest thing is not the verb used but what follows: from the dead. This dead person is no longer dead but has been raised up. It is an imperative that is a command, and it is also passive meaning that it is not the young man doing the action. The young man is dead, and the only person that can perform the miracle is Jesus.    

 4. 7:15-ἀνακαθίζω: Anakathizo, Greek for sat up, is only used twice in the New Testament. The only other time is in Acts 9:40 where a poor disciple named Tabitha was also raised from the dead.

5. 7:16-δοξάζω: Doxazo, Greek for glorify, give glory, praise, honor, or make much of. It is used sixty-one times in the New Testament, and Luke uses it primarily in his miracle accounts. A healing occurs and the people rejoice praising God (Luke 2:20, 5:26, 7:16, 13:13, 17:15, 18:43, 23:47, Acts 4:21, 13:48, 21:20). It is where we get the word doxology. It is interesting because Luke decided to use this verb instead of θαυμάζω which is to marvel or wonder. Doxazo is a more impacting verb because it renders the glory towards God instead of just mere bewilderment.

6. 7:17-λόγος: Logos, Greek for word, message, saying, teaching, or news in this verse. Everyone knows the importance of logos for the Gospel of John, and it cannot be iterated enough how often this word is used throughout the New Testament. Jesus is often described as the Word (John 1:1, 1^st John 1:1) or the Word of Truth (Colossians 1:5, James 1:18). “καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ λόγος οὗτος ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ περιχώρῳ” or this word concerning him went out into all of Judea and in all of the area around. This word about Jesus, about His healing ministry, His ability to raise someone from the dead, spread out into the entire region. Jesus is not only the Word of God, a conceptual identity defined in John’s Gospel; Jesus’ ministry was also the word, actively going throughout the land.

            D. Use of Other Texts or Traditions

1. Luke makes a serious allusion to the prophet, Elijah, who did the exact same healing story in 1 Kings 17. Luke wants this idea in his readers’ minds especially in Peter’s proclamation in Luke 9:20 that Jesus is greater than Elijah being the Messiah of God. Elijah and Enoch are the two people of the Hebrew Bible who never died but went straight to heaven. We are not told much about Enoch other than that he was an ancestor of Noah (Genesis 5:22) who suddenly disappeared from earth. We are told much more about Elijah who had a reputation for being a great prophet (1-2 Kings). Malachi prophesies that Elijah would return “…before the terrible day of the Lord” (4:1-5). Whether Malachi is indicative of the entire Jewish community does not seem to matter; there was a sense that another great prophet would come. Luke uses the archetype of Elijah with the expectation of a prophet to show his readers that Jesus was the one they were waiting for.

2. “When the Lord saw her…”v.13 compare to Lamentations 3:32. In this Old Testament story, Jeremiah (the presumed author) writes about the compassion and unfailing love of God.

3. Elisha raises a widow’s son in 2 Kings 4:1-37. It is pretty much the same story as the Elijah’s. Elisha was also a great prophet in the Old Testament, maybe not to the extent that Elijah was, but was trained by Elijah (1 Kings 19:19).

            E. Relation to Other New Testament Texts

1. This miracle story is unique to Luke’s Gospel, but the themes presented are nothing new when discussing Christ, namely his compassion. It is the compassion of Christ to raise this widow’s son up from the dead, but compassion is only explicitly mentioned in six healing stories in the Gospels (Matt 14:14, 15:32, 20:34, Mark 1:41, 5:19, Luke 7:13). Compassion is definitely part of Jesus’ repertoire, but it is mentioned as the driving force in these miracle stories. After all, Jesus is the most sympathetic human that ever lived (Hebrews 4:15).

2. There are three resurrection stories, besides the greatest one in the Easter account, in the gospels. Jesus raises Jairus' daughter (Matthew 9:18-25, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56), this widow’s son, and Lazarus (John 11:1-44).

            F. Historical Issues

1. In respect to Sitz im Leben of the Lukan society, it is important to note that it was heavily built upon males. Widows were to be cared for by the son, and this widow’s only son had just passed away. Her entire placement in society hinged upon her son’s ability to provide for her. When he dies, so too does her ability to remain in Nain. Maybe this is why the large crowd went with her out from the city, as they would soon be her helper? Jewish communities always made widows priorities (see the instructions for caring for a widow in legal texts of Exodus and Deuteronomy). The Pauline instructions in 1st Timothy 5 also place a high emphasis on widows.

2. The funeral practices vary from culture to culture, but in Numbers 19:13 it discusses how unclean it can be to touch a dead body. Also, there are strict rules to abide by for Jewish priests, if Jesus is to be considered a person of the law, in Leviticus 21:1. This move by Jesus to touch the coffin breaks cultural norms, not to mention the health norms he goes against.

III. Significance for Theology and Preaching

1. In this text, it is important to note that Jesus is always working. Even at funerals, Jesus is all about flipping the switch, turning a really awful situation into something greater. Jesus is the great reconciler and redeemer.

2. Jesus is full of compassion. He responded to the pain and suffering of the widow and felt it was best for her, the community, and ultimately his divine plan to restore this man to life. Jesus did not simply offer his condolences to the widow and the community. He made the obvious move to put the widow back into her previous standing. She is still husbandless, but she has a son to provide for her. Ultimately, Jesus is capable of feelings and can be stirred into action.

3. Luke’s gospel has more mentions of women than all the other gospels combined. The widow is at the forefront of this narrative, but Jesus gives this woman back her son. It is the resurrection of the son that restores the widow’s place in society, not Jesus convincing the community to care for her.

4. Jesus’ ministry is beginning to take off by this point in Luke’s gospel. He not only has his main disciples but others are following him too. This healing story happens two chapters before Jesus sends his disciples into neighboring cities to “heal the sick” (9:2). This passage serves as, for a lack of a better term, a lesson in healing for the disciples in their practical theology. They use this knowledge and the power of the Spirit to do what Jesus did and to evangelize.

5. Unfortunately for us, we can only read this story and not see the main actors living it out. We do not know the reaction of the mother, like how her face was when Jesus essentially told her to ignore her feelings of grief. But given the information that we have, we can infer that this widow had extreme faith in Jesus. She does not ask any questions before Jesus acts. She listens to what he has to say, and gets to experience a big time miracle. She does not have to rationalize or reason with Jesus. She just takes him for what he says.

IV. Questions for Discussion

1. Relating to what I had mentioned earlier, what is stopping us from praying “big prayers?” What is holding us back from asking Jesus from raising someone from the dead? We can pray for discernment, wisdom, help on an exam, to make a headache go away, but when it comes to praying over the dead, we kind of shy away from these scary situations.

2. In my Interpretation of Job class, we talked a bunch about ways to help others with grief, and the crowd offers a good example of how to care for someone in pain: by being with her. What other ways could the crowd respond to her grief? How do we respond to someone who has already experienced such loss and is now going through it again? She has already lost her husband and has now lost her son. What words can we give to someone going through grief? What actions can we show as a community of believers? (Especially in light of what Jesus says in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”)
3. Follow up to question 1 would be what do we do when our big prayers are not answered? What kind of theological conclusion can we make solely from Luke 7:11-17 about Jesus’ ministry?