“The Raising of the Son of the Widow of Nain, Luke Chapter 7 Verses 11-l7,” by Andrew J. Schatkin

“The Raising of the Son of the Widow of Nain, Luke Chapter 7 Verses 11-l7,” by Andrew J. Schatkin

My dear Christians and non-Christians, and you of all faiths and thoughts and all views and opinions, I bid you and ask you to join with me in another voyage of intellectual discovery where those who may wish to engage in critical thinking and do not engage in and accept media lies, falsehoods, political code words, and hype can join in the effort to gain truth and facts amid the barrage of corruption and virtual darkness we are confronted with and befuddled and made effective fools of. I welcome you in this quest and task of attaining and coming to know intellectual honesty and honest discernment. Join with me in this voyage of discovery to get at and find what is valid and authentic in the world of confusion and to come with me in tearing apart he curtain of lies and darkness that hides from us what is truth and facts.

I will now set about to interpret, analyze and if possible to explain the gospel passage found in Luke chapter 7 11-17, The Raising by Jesus of the Dead Son of the Widow of Nain. The passage in Luke is as follows: “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 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 community.”

What are we to make of this event in the life and ministry of Jesus? How can we understand and explain this event and the words of Christ the living god? First, it is quite clear that in raising this son of the widow just as he raised Lazarus from the dead and he himself was resurrected Jesus is establishing his claim to be god and his divine claim. This story proclaims that the god Jesus who is the true god liberates those in the earthly prison of death. Here for a woman to have lost her only son in a patriarchal society meant her lot and fare were grim being without a male protector. Jesus has compassion for such a persons in her great dire need and in touching the corpse he bypasses the rule of ritual purity. God's mercy in Jesus is stressed and he is described as a prophet. Finally, god has drawn near to those in need in the person of his only begotten son, Jesus of Nazareth. One more and very important point has to be stressed: Jesus here points us forward in this event and raising from the and resurrection to his great power in raising the son from the dead and the final triumph of his own resurrection from the dead and his conquest of death for all humanity and his grant and offer of eternal life for all men and women.

I do hope you have derived some benefit and grasp of the person and message of Jesus Christ and however weak my attempt at understanding this passage and offering an interpretation of its meaning and regard it as an honor to speak once again of the words and the life of Christ. It is noteworthy that Jesus is referred to a both prophet and god and we are told of the reports spreading through country side I urge you all to return to and read and reread the biblical text. It is only in doing so that can of us poor inadequate humans can seek and attempt to understand the words and actions of Jesus Christ, god's agent and messenger in human history.