near. compassion. touched.
Luke 7:11-17
Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
Near. We were created to be near God. We were not meant to be separated. In the beginning, we as mankind were created in the image of our Creator and got to hear God walking in the garden alongside us. And ever since then, mankind has been trying to find its way back to God. Sin doesn’t make it easy, creating obstacles to entangle us and opportunities to go any way but to God. But God doesn’t leave us to struggle our way back to him, even though it was our choices that took us away from him. He did everything so that we could be near him again. He came down from heaven itself and went through excruciating pain to reach us. He is so close to us (Acts 17:27). But we have to be willing to come near to him. We still have the choice and are not forced. And when we do, he will draw near to us. God has been drawing near to us from the beginning– and Christ showed that constantly while on earth. He drew near to towns of people and drew near to people individually. And he is still drawing near to us today.
Compassion. This is how Jesus drew near to the lonely widow from Nain. With her husband gone and her only son gone (perhaps only child), she had no protector. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her. It’s one of the hallmarks of who God is. From the beginning, when God was relaying the Ten Commandments to Moses, God wasn’t just setting a bunch of rules to dictate. He was establishing justice, but he also made sure Moses and his people knew who he was: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” (5). And that’s not the only time it’s said in the Bible! (6) That is how God is known. So although it’s incredible, it shouldn’t be unexpected to see Jesus showing compassion to this woman– someone whose situation some of us relate to (and God still comes near with compassion!). And he gives it us, without measure.
Touched. The last thing Jesus did for this woman may have been the most mind-blowing one for those there that day. Jesus touched many to heal them, from those with fever to the blind and even to the infected leper (7). But here, Jesus touches one already dead! This went against everything the Jews were taught (8). But Jesus shows his authority. He shows, not for the first time, that he is God above all else– even the God-made laws for his people, which were supposed to bring them closer to God, not further away (9). So Jesus crossed all barriers and touched what the dead man was lying on, causing the bearers to be still, and said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” The young man was given back to his no-longer-lonely mother and the people in fear glorified God and spread the news about how God had visited his people. And all of those things are things we can still say today: we are no longer lonely but in awed fear we glorify God, spreading the news to others of his marvelous compassion and power.
Jesus draws near to us even when we are at our worst. Jesus has compassion on all of us and each of us individually, no matter where we are. And Jesus has done everything to be able to touch us to give us life.
So now, we don’t have to stay how he found us, but can instead live the way we were created to – with Him.
1 - Genesis 1:27, 3:8
2 - Hebrews 12:1
3 - Acts 17:27
4 - James 4:8
5 - Exodus 34:6
6 - Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2
7 - Matthew 8:15, Matthew 9:29, Luke 5:13
8 - Numbers 19:11
9 - Matthew 12:8, John 5:39-40
