Compassion

Luke 7:11-15  Soon afterward he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion onher and said to her, “Do not weep.” And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.

Raising Lazarus from the dead had a huge impact on the future of Jesus life. That event happened close to Jerusalem and was a confrontation to the power of the religious leaders as well as the control Rome held over the country. Nain was not in such an area so this event had less political impact that would effect Jesus life, but not less spiritual impact.

The real power for me in this passage has to do with who these characters were and why Jesus responded as he did. Of first note is that they were strangers. He just happened upon this funeral procession. In the sermon on the mount Jesus says what credit should you get for only doing good to your friends, don't even the sinners do that. Jesus lived by his words. He did good things for his friends, yes, but also those who were complete strangers. He showed us over and over through his actions that he meant the words he said. He doesn't just do these things while he's teaching them, but often very disconnected in time from his teaching events. 

Jesus compassion was another powerful example of his living out his values in his day to day life. The woman was already a widow, perhaps one from a family with wealth because the funeral procession was large, and this was her only son. In Jewish culture of the time her nuclear family was able to continue to own her property because she had a son. A widow without a son would lose everything. Women could not own property but this son who just died could own the property of his father. The compassion was for the future of this woman who was a stranger, but was about to become destitute or at the very least see her wealth lost to someone in this following crowd who might allow her a home.

Jesus again and again had compassion on the downtrodden. At times in my life when I was feeling downtrodden or experiencing sone very real life issues, Jesus has been there. It would take a whole book and too much time for me to clarify that even a little. The examples are numerous, but often long stories. Some of you know a few of them that I've shared publicly before. Of one thing I'm sure, Jesus compassion never runs out for friends and strangers. Some of my stories actually happened before I became a believer. It was only in hindsight, after becoming a believer, that I have come to see that he had compassion on me even when I was still a stranger. It is from Jesus teaching and example that I have been called to deep compassion for the downtrodden and the underclass.  I need to respond this way to follow the example of the teacher and share his grace with others with compassion.