Raising of the Widow's Son at Nain

Biblical Text and Narrative

This account appears only in the Gospel of Luke 7:11-17 and is not found in the other Gospels. It immediately follows the account of the healing of the centurion's servant in Capernaum.

As Jesus was traveling to a town called Nain with his disciples and a large crowd, he met a funeral procession near the town gate. The dead man was the only son of his mother, who was a widow. Jesus had compassion on the mother and said to her, "Weep not." He then touched the bier, bringing its bearers to a halt, and said, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise." The young man who had been dead sat up and began to speak, and Jesus delivered him to his mother. Fear came upon the people, and they glorified God, saying that "a great prophet is risen up among us" and that "God hath visited his people." The report of this spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding region.

Background

Nain was a village in southern Galilee. Its site is commonly identified with the present-day village of Nein on the northern slope of the Hill of Moreh, not far from Nazareth.

In the Jewish society of the time, burial usually took place on the day of death. Family members and townspeople formed a procession to carry the body to a burial ground outside the town. The "bier" mentioned in the text is understood to have been not a lidded coffin but something closer to a stretcher on which the body was laid and carried. Having lost first her husband and then her only son, the widow was left with no male relative to provide for and protect her. The Law regarded anyone who touched a dead body as unclean (Numbers 19:11-16), and some commentators read Jesus' touching of the bier in light of this.

The Greek verb translated "had compassion" derives from a word meaning "bowels" or "inward parts." It denotes compassion that wells up from the depths of one's being.

Significance in the Broader Biblical Context

This event recalls the stories of two Old Testament prophets. Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath and "delivered him unto his mother" (1 Kings 17:17-24), and Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:18-37). Shunem is known to have been a village on the opposite side of the Hill of Moreh from Nain. The words of Luke 7:15, "And he delivered him to his mother," are nearly identical to the wording of 1 Kings 17:23. The crowd's acclamation of Jesus as "a great prophet" is likewise understood against this background.

Shortly afterward, Jesus replies to the disciples sent by John the Baptist that "the dead are raised" (Luke 7:22). This event serves as one of the grounds for that statement.

The other Gospel accounts of Jesus raising the dead are the raising of Jairus' daughter and the raising of Lazarus. In all three cases, the person was restored to a body that would one day die again. For this reason, these events are commonly described as "resuscitations" and distinguished from the resurrection of Jesus, who rose in a body that would never die again.

Interpretations and Issues

• A miracle without a request: The text does not say that the widow or anyone else asked for help or professed faith. Many interpreters read the scene as one in which Jesus took the initiative out of compassion.
• Allegorical interpretation: Augustine is known to have interpreted the three resuscitation accounts as representing stages of sin. The girl lying within the house represents sin in the heart; the young man carried out through the town gate represents sin expressed in action; and Lazarus, four days in the tomb, represents sin that has become habitual. This is a spiritual application rather than the direct meaning of the text.
• Historicity: Conservative denominations accept the account as a historical event, exactly as recorded. Some historical-critical scholars discuss the possibility that Luke shaped the narrative theologically, modeling it on the Elijah and Elisha stories.
• What the text does not say: The text gives neither the names of the young man and his mother nor the cause of his death, and it says nothing of his life after he was raised.

In Korean Churches

In Korean churches, this passage, with its words "Weep not," is often used as a sermon text at funeral services and for comforting bereaved families. It is also cited in sermons emphasizing relief of the needy, that is, care for neighbors who have no one to depend on.