Eld Chew Chong Kiat          

This fascinating account is one of three recorded instances of Christ raising a dead person, demonstrating His power over death and exemplifying the deep compassion of God.

Jesus and His disciples were in Capernaum a day before they entered Nain. Capernaum and Nain are at least 40 kilometers apart and the trek was an arduous, uphill climb. Capernaum sits about 600 feet below sea level on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, while Nain is located at an elevation of roughly 700 feet above sea level. Jesus and his disciples walked all that way and arrived at Nain the day after.

1. Sorrow that Sin Brought into the World

As Jesus and company were entering the city, they witnessed the funeral of a young man, the only son of his mother, a widow, and the many who came to weep with her. It must have been a heartbreaking sight to behold.

God made the world very good. Why is there so much misery in this world? Did God mess up? Is He powerless? Doesn’t He care? The Bible says that sin entered into the world through Adam and death by sin (Rom 5:12), resulting in all forms of misery:  toils, troubles, calamities, sickness, death and tears, and the like.  

God is not the cause; God is the remedy; Jesus will demonstrate it in this account. Sin is the cause of misery. If we want happiness we must repent, come to Christ and trust in Jesus as our Saviour to have our sins forgiven. To continue in that blessedness, we must stay away from sin.

2. Compassion of God Demonstrated by Christ

Christ took that arduous journey to meet with this poor widow just as He did to meet the Samaritan woman in John 4. It was not random. This is true of every action He took and every word He said. When He saw the mournful procession, He was moved with compassion. Before the broken-hearted mother even asked, Jesus approached her and spoke kindly to her: “Weep not.” He saw her need even before she asked. These were not empty words sometimes uttered by many to those grieving. Jesus then went near to touch the coffin; the procession stopped; and He raised her son to life and delivered him to his mother. What amazing compassion! Our Lord knows all things perfectly and even before we tell Him. He knows our needs better than we can express, and He cares. This widow neither knew Christ, nor did she show faith in Christ, nor did she ask Christ for help, but Christ attended to her needs.  

Such was our state before we were born again. We all like sheep had gone astray and none of us had sought Christ nor had faith in Him. But He had compassion on us and took the first step toward us, regenerating us by His Spirit and opening our eyes to see and believe by faith which a gift from God.

He is still as compassionate today and forever. Come with all your needs and helplessness, and He will have sympathy for you when you seek Him.  As God’s children, our tears are noted by Him, and our sorrows move him. He will not despise us for our needs and our tears.

3. Power of God Over Death. 

Effortlessly, after Christ said just a few words, the dead young man was called back from death, a state that men are powerless to stop or reverse. At once, "he that was dead sat up and began to speak" (v15), proving that he was as alive as can be. This was confirmed by the mother’s reaction and the multitude’s response. They all glorified God and exclaimed, “That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.” (v16)

This miracle is clear proof of Christ’s power over death. Death is a terrifying enemy that is always victorious and never fails to be accomplished in all mortals - unrelenting, irresistible and instantaneous. But the power of God is greater, demonstrated in just a few words, and immediately death loosened its grip and this young man arose.

This miracle is a solemn emblem of the day of resurrection when, just as effortlessly, at the last trump of God all the dead in Christ shall rise from the grave. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:28-29) Death cannot hold any child of God down. The day of judgement is sure, and none will escape. Let us make sure that we will be raised incorruptible to be like Christ and to dwell with Him forever and ever. Let none enter into the second death and be thrown into the lake of fire. 

Let us be convinced that nothing is beyond Christ’s ability. Whatever is your concern today, come to Him in prayer and cast your cares upon Him. Are your unsaved loved ones still dead in sins, and nothing seems to move them, and what you said has fallen on deaf ears? You can cry out to God to use His quickening words by His Spirit, and the dead will hear and arise and come to faith in Christ. That is the miracle in our own lives, so let us rejoice and let us be enlivened to hold forth the same life-giving word by faith, without wavering, and wait to see how God Himself will grant the increase. For your unsaved loved ones, as long as there is breath in their nostrils, keep praying and keep witnessing. Nothing is impossible with God.

Let us see afresh again as we read, that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Let us walk in fear of God and believe as we see wondrous things that God continues to do today when we pray, that our joy may be full and we will enjoy God and glorify Him all the days of our lives. Amen.