Luke 7:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."

NIV: 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!"

NASB: And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise!'

CSB: Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, "Young man, I tell you, get up!"

NLT: Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. 'Young man,' he said, 'I tell you, get up.'

KJV: And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

NKJV: Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

The only son of a widow has died. Jesus meets the funeral procession and decides to do something about it (Luke 7:12–13).

The evening of the day of the death, the dead would be washed, anointed, and dressed in their own clothes or wrapped in a cloth. The body would be placed on a bier or plank and carried to the burial site where it would stay for a year until only the bones remained. Then the bones would be buried in a stone box made specifically for that purpose.

Jesus first comforts the mother (Luke 7:13) and then touches the bier. Doing so would make a person ritually unclean. Many Bible scholars believe that as God, Jesus cannot be unclean. This is because He has the power and authority to cleanse what is unclean.

However, this assumption seems to miss important aspects of ritual cleanness. "Unclean" does not mean sinful. Nor is uncleanness always avoidable: menstrual cycles (Leviticus 15:19–23), removing dead animals (Leviticus 11:8), and some physical ailments (Leviticus 13:1–3; 15:1–12) made people unclean. Even blessed things like having sex (Leviticus 15:16–18) or giving birth made people unclean (Leviticus 12:1–5). Jesus' birth made Mary unclean (Luke 2:22). And Jesus' burial made Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus unclean (Numbers 19:11; John 19:38–40). Uncleanness is used as metaphor for sin, but ritual purity is not exactly identical to righteousness.

Becoming ceremonially unclean would bear no effect on Jesus' deity and holiness. He would not be sinning by doing something which would then require ritual cleansing, so long as He didn't enter the temple until the cleansing was complete. Voluntarily becoming unclean for the sake of the son would go even further in showing compassion to the woman.

This is the first time in Luke that Jesus raises the dead; Jairus' daughter is next (Luke 8:40–42, 49–56). In both cases, Jesus tells them "arise." Though Jesus' raising of the widow's son resembles what Elijah and Elisha experienced, there is a significant difference. Elijah begged God for healing and stretched himself on the boy three times (1 Kings 17:19–21). Elisha had his servant lay his staff on the Shunamite's son and then, when that didn't work, stretched out on him (2 Kings 4:29–35). Jesus' power is much greater. As He spoke creation into being, so He speaks life into the widow's son.

Luke 7:11–17 is the story of Jesus in the village of Nain. There, Jesus raises to life the only son of a widow. The people are terrified, but praise God. The mother parallels the sinful woman caught powerless in a male-dominated society (Luke 7:36–38); the boy is like the demoniac who cannot ask for healing (Luke 8:26–39). Luke again ties Jesus to Old Testament prophets, specifically Elijah, with the healing of the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8–24), and Elisha, who raised the Shunammite woman's son (2 Kings 4:18–37).

Luke 7 presents a chiasm: a set of themes mirrored around a reflection point. The humble centurion (Luke 7:1–10) contrasts the legalistic Pharisee (Luke 7:39–50). The widow of Nain (Luke 7:11–17) and the sinful women (Luke 7:36–38) have nothing to offer but gratitude for Jesus' blessings. In the center are John the Baptist and his disciples who struggle to trust that Jesus is worth following (Luke 7:18–23), then the sinners who do choose to follow Jesus and the religious leaders who refuse (Luke 7:24–35).

Luke 7 continues Jesus' mission primarily to the people of Galilee expressed as a series of pointed events and teachings punctuated by calls to follow Him. He has finished teaching the rigors of discipleship (Luke 6:17–45) and invited the crowd to place their faith in Him (Luke 6:46–49). Here, Luke describes different reactions to Jesus' miracles and message. Next, Jesus will reveal the mechanics of and reactions to His call (Luke 8:4–21) before showing His great authority over nature, demons, sickness, and worldly powers (Luke 8:22—9:17). After a final call to the disciples to deepen their faith (Luke 9:18–50), Jesus will turn toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51—19:27).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.