Mercy that meets our greatest need – Luke 7.11-17

Jesus now continues a wide ranging ministry in Galilee. Through Jesus the merciful reign of God was reaching out to all kinds of people, and was bringing a total salvation. God’s mercy in Christ was reaching body as well as spirit.  As Jesus approached the Nain town gate, he was confronted by a desperate scene (Luke 7.11-17). And in the midst of this drama, a precious woman in great need: ‘a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow’ (Luke 7.12). This Sunday we consider our Lord’s heartfelt response to this desperate woman, now without hope in the world. Her son’s death, on top of her husband’s, meant no security, companionship or protection for her. In response we see Jesus reach into the realm of the dead and draw the boy out, restoring him to his life in this world alongside his mother. A foretaste of our great hope, namely to be raised even above the weak and broken life we know in this world, to resurrection life in God’s new world. In mercy, Jesus will meet our greatest need. He will save his people from eternal death. He will lift us to a new order of life in community in a perfect, beautiful, creation.  So let us be filled with awe, that God has come among us. Let us expect much from  God in Christ. Let us live today, shaped by the life we will know on that great day.  

Reflection Questions

1. Do you believe the Lord Jesus wants to give you the best outcome possible, in answer to your personal petitions? Why or why not? 
2. Read Luke 7.11-17. What strikes you about this miracle?
3. Who would have witnessed this miracle? Who had eyewitness account, upon which to base this written record? 
4. Read also Luke 7.1-10. What role does faith play in the healing of the Centurion’s servant? How does that compare to the role of faith in the restoration of the widow’s son?  
5. Why do you think the text is careful to note that the resuscitated boy started chatting away after being pulled out of the realm of the dead? (Luke 7.15). 
6. For an extension, you may read John 11 and Luke 8.40-56. What is similar in each of these miracle accounts. How is each described differently, and why?
7. Think of a personal challenge. Imagine if you were bold enough to share with the Lord what a good outcome might look like, from your standpoint, and then ask for that outcome. What would you request?