Who Is the Widow of Nain in the Bible and Why Is Her Story Significant?
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The widow of Nain lifted a shaking hand from the black folds of her dress and touched the stiff bier that cradled her son. A sob convulsed from deep within her as the large crowd from town neared the gates to bury her child beside her husband. How could they leave her, and what work could she find? The thought evoked another sob.
Her eyes flitted to the Northeast, beyond the Valley of Jezreel where Deborah and Barak beat Sisera, where Gideon defeated the Midianites, and where Saul and Jonathan fought the Philistines. So much death in one place. Beyond the Valley of Jezreel, Mt. Carmel dominated the landscape. The widow Abigail had lived there and had been rescued by King David, her knight in shining armor, but there’d be no king to rescue her from her destitute fate.
The sound of jabbering reached her ears. A crowd coming? Why? For a moment, she thought the group had come to mourn with her. With a shake of her head, she dismissed the thought. They sounded too happy.
This is the setting for the story of the Widow of Nain and the miracle Jesus performed for her. Let's take a closer look.
What Is the Story of the Widow of Nain?
Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Luke 7:11-17
What is the significance of the widow of Nain? Jesus raises a widow’s son from the dead. Read at face value, this story is simply about Jesus performing an act of kindness for a grieving mother. Yet, delving beneath the surface, the story comes to life. The location of Nain plays an important role. The timing also matters. This first of three recorded instances of Jesus raising someone to life launches Jesus into ministry. Digging deeper, we see what Jesus saw—the foreshadowing of His own death and resurrection, and we learn of the parallelism between Jesus and an Old Testament prophet.
Where Was Nain Located and Why Is it Significant?
What is the biblical significance of Nain? As we read Luke’s recounting of the Widow of Nain, it is critical to read the words Luke doesn’t write, the context he assumes his readers possess. This would equate to us taking for granted that everyone knows what a car is, or understands the phrase “my phone died.” Luke doesn’t waste time explaining basic facts. However, for us, living in other countries 2,000 years later, understanding some of these details help bring the story to life.
For instance, Luke’s audience knew women didn’t work outside the home, so men were the sole financial providers for their families—the father, and then the son. Therefore, when Luke says this widow’s only son died, he’s telling his readers, “She just lost her social standing, her inheritance, and her income.” People of Luke’s day also understood that the process of preparing a dead body required many people, so the son’s death would have been confirmed many times over by the time bearers carried the bier out of the city.
Luke does not describe Nain itself, either, because his readers already knew about the town.
Nain was…
- A Hebrew word meaning “green pastures; lovely.”
- Situated at the top of a hill
- A large town with a growing population
- Located less than half a mile, or one kilometer from Shunem
- Positioned over the Valley of Jezreel, the battlefield where many famous battles were fought, and many widows were created
Equally important to what Luke doesn’t say are the details that he pauses with and zooms in on. Just as Luke proves the man was definitely dead when he describes the man being carried out on a bier, Luke says Jesus touches the bier, not the body, and the bearers were eyewitnesses. A.) The man was definitely dead and B.) Jesus does nothing tricky with the body.
Why Did Jesus Raise the Widow of Nain’s Son?
Why her son? “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'Don’t cry.”' (Luke 7:13). Jesus tells us in His own words why he raises the widow’s son. His heart breaks for the widow, for the woman who loses her only son. His action wasn’t born of sympathy, as witnesses presupposed at the moment. Jesus’ motivation wasn’t simply to make a sad woman happy again or show off His superpowers. Jesus felt empathy for the woman. The widow’s plight foreshadowed the death of God’s son, His only son (cf. John 3:16). At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus recognized a portrait of the end.
Why at that moment? Luke tells us “a large crowd went along with [Jesus]” and “a large crowd from the town was with [the widow].” People followed Jesus from Capernaum, a city twenty-five miles (forty kilometers) to the North. They’d witnessed Jesus heal a servant on the brink of death, and were likely excited to see what this prophet might do next. Jesus and the bier with the widow’s son are at the front of each procession. When these two large groups from two different towns meet, Jesus, the dead man, and the widow are at the center of attention.
This miracle occurs at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He’s called His first disciples, preached “The Sermon on the Mount,” healed several people, and caused enough stir for the Jewish leaders to take notice of him, but no one knows who He is yet. Because Jesus chooses this moment with a large audience from different towns, word spreads quickly.
Luke concludes the story of the Widow of Nain and begins an account of a conversation between Jesus and John the Baptist with these words, “This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:17-20). John the Baptist, in prison, sends the message. Jesus references Isaiah 61 to say, “Yes, I’m the one.” These interactions launch Jesus’ ministry.
How Does This Miracle Connect to Old Testament Stories?
Why this place? Is Jesus intentional about the city He chose to perform this miracle? Once again, understanding the context of the town reveals details we might otherwise gloss over.
Not only is the miracle of Jesus raising someone from the dead a foreshadowing of what is to come, but raising the widow’s son is an echo of an Old Testament miracle. Second Kings 4 tells the story of Elisha raising a boy from the dead. When a woman’s only son dies, Elisha raises the boy to life. Elisha’s first miracle of raising a dead son happens less than half a mile from Jesus’ first miracle of raising a dead son. The woman of Shumen is not a widow, but Scripture describes her husband as being well advanced in years. Elisha’s proactive response spares the woman from a hopeless future.
What is the Spiritual Lesson Learned From Luke 7:11-17?
The most important detail to recognize is that Jesus performs the miracle. Jesus works in a way no one else is capable of. Jesus plans. Jesus initiates. Jesus heals. As Christians, we have the power of Jesus living inside of us, yet it is Jesus’ power, not our own, Jesus’ plans, Jesus’ initiating, and Jesus' purpose we live out. “Thy will be done, (cf. Matthew 6:10),” or, as John the Baptist says, “He must increase. I must decrease (John 3:30).”
In this story, we are the widow, seen by God in our suffering and overjoyed by His mercy. We are the crowd, fearful and awed by what we see. We are the followers of Jesus, eager to share the miracles we’ve seen and heard. And we are the dead son, raised to life by God’s proactive response to our spiritual death.
Conclusion
Jesus raises the widow’s son, and Luke never shows us how the family reacts. Did the son hesitate for a moment before he understood what happened? How long did the widow stand with a gaping mouth before she believed her eyes? Did she ever see Jesus again?
The crowd in Jerusalem for the Passover, the weekend of Jesus’ crucifixion, was exponentially greater in size than the crowd present for the raising of the widow’s son. News of Jesus’ death would have reached Nain within days. Witnesses would have described the sign tacked above His bleeding head that read “King of the Jews" (cf. Matthew 27:37). They would have heard the words, “Surely this man was the son of God" (cf. Mark 15:39).
The disciples' “rumors” that Jesus rose from the dead would have reached the widow’s ears as well. And maybe she would have understood John 3:16 fifty years before the apostle John ever wrote the words. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Margoe Edwards
