Focus: Miracle at the Gate

Text: Lk.7:11-17

"Now when he came nigh to the GATE of the city… Weep not… Young man, I say unto thee, Arise."

Here we have a story of a nameless woman who has suffered so much from the cold hands of death. Dr. Luke alone tells this hope-inspiring story. It is peculiar to him. He tells us that the woman is a widow, which means that the husband is dead. Once happily married, she is now husbandless. No thanks to Mr. Death.

Luke tells us the woman is on her way to the cemetery outside the city to bury her only son, whose death is premature. How painful life can be! Imagine losing a husband and an only son! For a Jewish woman, it is sad enough to have no son of her own, and sadder still to lose her only son. She is regarded as a lady of death or a woman who causes or carries death about, having lost the only men in her life - a husband and a son. She is smelling of death and feeling helpless and hopeless.

This woman lives in a city called Nain, a Greek name derived from the Hebrew, and means lovely, sweet, delightful, or pleasantness. One scholar also says it means 'green pastures.' Imagine living in a sweet land, yet suffering bitterly! So unlucky even in the best of places. Suffering from grief in a glory land! No pasture for her even in a lush pastureland.

But there is sudden turn of events. Suddenly something sweet happens. As the woman is stepping out of the city with her wailing crowd, the Lord Jesus is stepping into the city with His jubilant crowd. By divine providence they meet themselves at the gate of the city.

Then the Lord SEES her in her sorrowful state and FEELS compassion for her. He then says to her, "Wipe your tears!" And coming to those bearing the young man's corpse, the Lord TOUCHES the coffin, and SAYS, "Young man I say to you, Arise!" Instantly the young man regains his life. Life wins and death loses, and the people rejoice for it. The woman receives her son back and celebrates to the glory of God along with the people of Nain.

See how Jesus halts a funeral procession! Look at the Lord, restorer of life's sweetness. The Lord SEES, FEELS, TOUCHES, SPEAKS, and WORKS wonders. He is the Lord, supreme and sovereign! The Lord is infinitely capable of the incredible. He takes charge of impossible cases.

Hear me, child of God, on your way out, you will meet the Lord on His way in. The Lord has arranged for a meeting point between you and Him. The Lord will not let you bury your only hope. Your way out is Jesus' way in. The Lord will cause you to wipe your tears and rejoice in Him. God has a miracle with your name on it, waiting for you on your way out. Receive it now in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord! Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter