23/02/10

Young man I say unto thee, Arise

Luke 7:14 - And he came nigh and touched the bier: and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

The Gospels have many healings which Jesus did, but all know that those which are described are just a fraction of the healings which Jesus did.

These which are described are specifically selected by the Lord for each of them is unique and have a unique message underlined in them.

Today's message is about the healing of a son of a widow. Here we see the people of the city did not have faith in Jesus therefore being healed by faith is ruled out. Now this is not the first time that Jesus came across a dead body been taken for burial and nor did Jesus bring back to live all of them.

We need to understand the reason why Jesus had compassion and bough the young man to live. Brining one back to life is like the greatest healing one can imagine. In my life with the Lord I have seen or been witness to great many healings imaginable but yet to personally see or be witness to a dead coming back to life.

The clue to the understanding is the name of the city. The name of the city was Nain which in Greek means 'beauty'. Secondly we also need to understand that widows in those times were considered outcast (under curse) of society. They were not considered unclean but were kept out of social circle because they could be a financial burden to those in contact.

Here Jesus sees Himself entering a city named beautiful but more beautiful was the relationship between the people. What moved Jesus' compassion was not the dead of the son or just the mother's loss, but was the relation between the people and the widow and the widow to her son collectively.

Even when we do not have faith and do not know Jesus or God well but yet, if we live our lives in brotherhood according to the Word of God; God can be moved and we can expect healings and blessings in our lives.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord God, You are merciful. Your heart is moved when You see people imitate your character and your grace is made available to us. Lord, help your people to understand You more and guide us so that we may tap into your grace even when we are weak in faith...

We make this prayer in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scriptures ]
Luke 7:11-17
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.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)