Jesus’ Gift To A Weeping Mother

May 11, 2014

Luke 7:11-17 (text v. 15)

All parents have high hopes for their children:

A mother, who was a doctor, was driving her five-year-old daughter to school. She left her stethoscope sitting on the car seat. Her little girl picked it up and began to play with it.

“Wonderful,” she thought. “My daughter wants to be a doctor too!” Then the child spoke into the stethoscope: “Hello. Welcome to McDonald’s. May I take your order please?”

Our text is about another mother, a widow, with one question racing though her mind – “Why?” [How many widow-mothers are here today?]

We see THREE MEETINGS in these verses…

The meeting of two CROWDS (vs. 11-12).

The widow’s crowd leaving the city headed to the graveyard—represented sorrow and death.
Jesus’ crowd heading into the city—represented Joy and life.

Spiritually each of us is in one of these two crowds. If you are following Christ, you are going to the heavenly city. If you are unsaved, you are heading for the grave and an eternity in hell (John 3:36; Eph. 2:1-3).

The meeting to two “ONLY SONS”

The “only son” of a mother. We don’t know much about the dead son being carried to the graveyard. How did he die? Was it an accidental… a fatal disease? We don’t know. It doesn’t matter—He was dead. What we do know—He died young.
The only begotten Son of God.

The meeting of two ENEMIES.

Death—“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26).
Life— Jesus is the enemy of death. D. L. Moody said, “Jesus spoiled every funeral He went to.” Jesus came to give life (John 1:4; 10:10). He who has Christ, has life (1 John 5:12).

In our text, we see Jesus’ gift to a weeping mother. Notice four things:

I. Christ IDENTIFIED with the weeping mother (vs. 11-12).

Jesus identifies with our SITUATIONS.
1. Jesus could have gone any number of villages. But, He came to Nain. This is the only time Nain is mentioned in the Bible. There was a weeping mother in Nain He identified with.
2. DuringBible times, when a person died, they were usually buried the same day. Jesus must of started His 20 mile walk to Nain even before the boy had died. Before the hour of this mother’s crisis, Jesus identified with her situation in Nain.
3. Whatever your circumstances are, Jesus already knows before the hurt entered your heart (Heb. 4:15).
Jesus identifies with our SORROWS.
1. As the” Man of sorrows,” Jesus is drawn to sorrowing hearts. This mother already buried her husband (v. 12). Now her sorrow is doubled with the death of her “only son” (v. 12). Her future looked grim and her hope of support was gone. Jesus identified with her sorrow, and came where she was.
2. An act of mercy and grace. Jesus was not summoned to come to Nain. This mother did not plead with Him to come. As Romans 10:20 says, “I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.”