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192
Humble Hero
their sick for healing, and always hoping that He would make Him-
self known as the King of Israel. A glad, expectant group followed
Him up the rocky path toward the gate of the mountain village.
As they came near, they saw a funeral procession going out to
the place of burial. On an open pallet in front was the body of the
dead. Filling the air with their wailing cries, the mourners gathered
to show sympathy for the bereaved.
The one who had died was the only son of his mother, and she
was a widow. The lonely mourner was following to the grave her
only earthly support and comfort. “When the Lord saw her, He had
compassion on her.” As she moved on blindly, weeping, He came
close beside her and gently said, “Do not weep.”
“He came and touched the open coffin.” Contact with death
could bring no defilement to Jesus. The bearers stood still and the
mourners gathered, hoping against hope. Someone was here who
had vanquished demons. Was death also subject to His power?
In a clear, authoritative voice, Jesus spoke the words, “Young
man, I say to you, arise.” That Voice pierced the ears of the dead.
The young man opened his eyes. Jesus took him by the hand and
[143]
lifted him up, and mother and son united in a long, joyful embrace.
The crowd looked on in silence, as if they were in the very presence
of God. Then they “glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has
risen up among us’; and, ‘God has visited His people.’” The line of
mourners returned to Nain as a triumphal procession.
Jesus, who stood beside the sorrowing mother at Nain, is touched
with sympathy for our grief. His word is no less powerful now than
when He spoke to the young man of Nain. See
Matthew 28:18
. To
all who believe on Him, He is still a living Savior.
Jesus awakened this mother’s son to return to this earthly life, to
endure its sorrows and to pass under the power of death again. But
Jesus comforts our sorrow for the dead with a message of infinite
hope: “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive
forevermore. ... And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
Revelation 1:18
.
Satan cannot hold one person in spiritual death who by faith
receives Christ’s word of power. “Awake, you who sleep, arise from
the dead.”
Ephesians 5:14
. The word of God that called the first
man to life still gives life. Christ’s word, “Young man, I say to you,