St. Luke 7: 11 – 17

July 6, 2022

11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

I suspect we all have the tendency – all us modern people – to read these verses and move on and not think about them really.

Verse 16 … imagine you are there in the crowd: you, too, are lamenting the death of this woman’s son and part of your lament is that you know how difficult it is, in your time and place, for widows with no sons. Then this man – some may know his name but many more may not (you yourself may not know who he is) speaks a few words and the dead son sits up. THE DEAD SON SITS UP! And speaks! What’s your reaction? Do you scream? Are you scared? Do you faint? Imagine if you were reading this account in your daily morning paper today – do you just go on to the next article or do you put your newspaper down, stare at the article and wonder to yourself….? And still, many more did not believe in the man that spoke the words than did believe.

I will probably share this link a million times on this blog because it is so very moving. Back in the day, Hollywood could – and often did – get it right. This is the scene of Jesus raising Lazarus in the movie The Greatest Story Ever Told. Notice how subtle it is – and yet the uncompromising power is breath-taking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm7k8k0DsF4

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