The Widow of Nain ~ Hope for the Hopeless

News about disease, death, and dread is everywhere we turn. Millions of people are facing lockdown, unable to leave their homes except to restock supplies so they can continue their self-quarantine. Paychecks disappear, savings evaporate, the stock market provides a continual rollercoaster ride. Hopelessness hangs like a menacing tornado just above our heads, threatening to suck up everything we’ve depended on for support and sustenance. The widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17) would understand our hopelessness. She, too, experienced devastating losses and faced a bleak future devoid of hope.

Contrasting Crowds: One Behind Jesus and One Behind the Widow of Nain

Soon after healing the centurion’s servant in Capernaum, Jesus led his followers toward the village of Nain. Hangers-on, excited by the recent miracle, followed him. Nain, a 30-mile arduous uphill climb from Capernaum, was on the way to nowhere. Or was it?

Outside the village, another crowd trudged toward the cemetery. Somber, piercing the air with wails of grief, and kicking up dust. According to custom, the grieving woman, who was husbandless and now childless, headed the funeral procession. Behind her, mourners carried the funeral bier of her only son. As they made their way to the graveyard, the woman’s neighbors joined the growing group. In a male-dominated world with no male to provide for her, the widow of Nain was facing social, spiritual, and financial catastrophe—a future without hope. She was a dead woman walking, alive on the outside but dead on the inside. Hope had died with her son, resulting in two dead people rather than just one. So, when the crowds encountered one another, exuberant hope met extreme hopelessness.

Calling Attention to Compassion

Jesus’ encounter with the widow of Nain wasn’t coincidental. He left for this on-the-way-to-nowhere village long before the funeral procession began. And he arrived in the right place at the right time so he could meet this despairing woman in her moment of most profound need. Her tear-stained face and slumped shoulders spoke what her mouth did not.

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Luke 7:13

Luke chose his words with care. He used the same phrase, “heart went out,” to describe the compassion of the Samaritan upon seeing the wounded traveler on the road (10:33). And in picturing the prodigal son’s father running to meet his returning son (15:20), Luke used the word again. As a result, his message is clear: before we verbalize our pain, God sees, and his heart reaches out to us. In fact, he is aware of our struggles before we are and comes to meet us in them.

Why would Jesus tell a grieving mother not to cry? Because he knew what she couldn’t—that he would raise her son, that he would breathe hope into her hopelessness. When he touched the bier, violating the purity laws, everyone stopped. No one did that! Contact with a dead body communicated the most severe form of impurity. But rather than the dead boy transferring uncleanness to him, Jesus transmitted life to the corpse. He restored both the woman and her son to life and hope, showing God’s heart for the helpless and hopeless.

Connecting Jesus to the Prophets

Jesus’ raising the widow’s son reminded those watching of Elijah and Elisha, who had also raised the dead. Luke’s approach in relating the story guaranteed his audience would also make the connection. The phrase, “Jesus gave him back to his mother” (7:15) was identical to the words used in the story of Elijah’s raising the widow of Zarephath’s only son (1 Kings 17:23). 

When the masses saw the miracle, they praised God and hailed Jesus as a great prophet. Jerusalem Perspective notes that observers interpreted Jesus’ actions as the fulfillment of God’s promise to “raise up a prophet like [Moses]” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Proof that God was keeping his promises and helping his people. The messianic age had dawned!

Connecting the Widow of Nain to Us

The current crisis facing us may promote feelings of hopelessness like those of the widow of Nain. And the ongoing downward spiral of the economy might tempt us to question God’s love. As Jesus met the widow in her darkest moment, he’ll meet us. Maybe not how and when we expect, but we can count on his compassion and his coming. We are never too far away or too far gone. He knows who and where we are and longs to bring hope and light into our darkness. At the right time and in the right place, he will come. Now, he grieves with us and promises to use our agony for our good and his glory. To those who’ve committed themselves to follow him, he gives his presence, power, and peace. Watch for him; he’s on the way.