The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 7:11-17
The Master raises from the dead the only son of the widow of Nain. read more
The Master raises from the dead the only son of the widow of Nain. read more
And when the Lord saw her . It is rare in the Gospels to find the expression, "the Lord," used by itself, "Jesus" being the usual term. It agrees with the unanimous tradition in the Church respecting the authorship of this Gospel—neither Luke nor Paul had been with Jesus. These had always looked on Jesus, thought of him, as the Lord risen from the dead, enthroned in heaven. At the period when St. Luke wrote, not earlier than a.d. 60, this title had probably become the usual term by which... read more
Christ visiting and abiding. We cannot wonder that the people exclaimed as they did, "God hath visited his people," when they witnessed such a miracle as this. It was clear enough that One from the heavenly world was with them, manifesting Divine power and pity. We have here— I. A TOUCHING PICTURE OF THE EXTREMES OF HUMAN JOY AND SORROW . The great darkness of death had overshadowed a human home; death had come to a young man , one who had passed through the... read more
And he came and touched the bier . The young man was about to be buried in the Jewish manner, which differed from the Egyptian custom. The corpse was not laid in a coffin or mummy-case, but simply on an open bier, on which the dead lay wrapped in folds of linen; so Lazarus was buried at Bethany, and our Lord in his rock-tomb in Joseph of Arimathaea's garden. A napkin, or sudarium, was lightly laid over the face. It was pollution for the living to touch the bier on which a corpse was lying.... read more
The gate of the city - Cities were surrounded by walls, to defend them from their enemies. They were entered through “gates” placed at convenient distances from each other. In most cities it was not allowed to bury the dead within the walls; hence, they were carried to some convenient burial-place in the vicinity of the city.A dead man carried out - A funeral procession. Anciently no Jews were buried within the walls of the city, except the kings and distinguished persons, 1 Samuel 28:3; 2... read more
Luke 7:11-12. He went into a city called Nain A town situated about a mile or two south of Tabor, and near Endor. And many of his disciples went with him Among these, doubtless, were the twelve appointed to be apostles: for, “it is not to be imagined that he would suffer the chosen witnesses of his miracles to be absent, when so great a miracle was to be performed as the raising a person from the dead, and to be performed so publicly, in the presence of all those who were attending the... read more
Luke 7:13-15. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, &c. Jesus, whose tenderness made him susceptible of the strongest impressions from occurrences of this kind, knowing that the mother’s affliction was bitter, and the occasion of it real, was greatly moved with compassion at the sorrowful scene. Here was no application made to him for her, not so much as that he would speak some words of comfort to her; but, ex mero motu, purely from the goodness of his nature he was... read more
BACK IN GALILEE48. Centurion’s servant; widow’s son (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-17)Back in Capernaum, a Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal one of his servants who was dying. However, he did not expect Jesus to come to his house. Being an army officer, he operated in a system of authority where he needed only to give a command and it was carried out. He believed that Jesus carried the authority of God, and he needed only to say the word and the servant would be healed (Matthew 8:5-9; Luke... read more
the gate . All funerals were outside. behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 . To call attention to the two great crowds meeting. a dead man . Greek ho nekros. App-139 . read more
The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 7:11-16
The widow's son. We are indebted to St. Luke for the touching incidents recorded in these verses. Observe— I. THE SPRING OF THE ACTION . "When the Lord saw her, he had compassion." Some of Christ's most notable words and works were associated with, grew out of, circumstances which presented themselves in the course of his journeyings. There was no attempt at miracle. There was neither show nor effort. What was done was so spontaneous that it seemed as if he could not help... read more