Restoring a Son

The healing of a widow’s son. Today I don’t want to just look at this astounding miracle that Jesus performed. But what was the significance behind everything that Jesus did?

The time of Jubilee

I want to draw attention to the big picture of Jesus’ ministry. In chapter 4 he has proclaimed the time of Jubilee which we will look at in a minute. In chapter 7 He is showing the signs of the time of Jubilee, leading into chapter 8 where Jesus begins proclaiming the kingdom before journeying towards Jerusalem.

What is the year of jubilee?

Leviticus 25:10 ESV

10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.

Every 50th year was a year of jubilee, the year when property went back to the original owners, slaves were released from bondage, everything returned to the way that it was.

One reason for this was to make sure that all of the people of God had a equal share in the inheritance.

The other reason was to remind the people that the land belonged to God, and that they themselves belonged to God.

Luke 4:18–19 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus is quoting a prophecy from Isaiah here.

When Jesus says that He came to proclaim liberty, the word liberty is the same one used in Leviticus. It is a word that is used to define the year of jubilee.

Jesus is saying that He is the anointed one who has come for the year of jubilee, he has come to restore the record, to liberate those who are oppressed, to give sight to the blind, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Last week Jesus showed the year of the Lord’s favor in healing not just the Jews, but the Gentiles.

This week, Jesus is coming to a woman who has just lost the last man in her life, her future is looking terrible, probably going to have to beg, or sell herself into slavery.

Compassion

v.13

Jesus sees her, the word compassion means that Jesus was moved to the very core of His being. The word means that it hurt in his stomach.

This funeral wasn’t going to continue, this mourning of the widow wasn’t going to continue, she wasn’t going to sell herself into bondage, it is the time of the Lord’s jubilee, Jesus was going to deliver this man from death and the widow from suffering.

Do you realize that Jesus sees your suffering? Do you realize that He has compassion on you as He had on this widow.

Just as he kept the woman from going into bondage, Jesus desires to free you from bondage.

The same Greek word that is translated liberate appears in Matthew:

Matthew 26:27–28 ESV

27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness is the same word as liberate, to liberate you from your sins.

Since God has paid for it, we have been restored.

Jesus shed His blood so that we could have the effects of Jubilee in being freed from the bondage of sin, looking forward to the final Jubilee:

Revelation 11:15 ESV

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

This is the final jubilee. The kingdom of the world which has been under the bondage of sin shall be restored to king Jesus, this is when He will rule forever and ever, that the bondage will truly be gone, the power of sin and of death will be gone.

With the raising of the widow’s son, we get our first glimpse into the joy that we will have in the day of the final jubilee when everything will be restored back to “very good,” the way that God created it.

Do you believe it, are you living in expectation of that day?

Raising the man

v.14

Seeing someone raised from the dead, this is a life altering miracle to see. But this miracle performed in this place, this has so much symbolism.

Elijah was a type of John the baptist, Jesus tells us this in Matt 5:14. If Elijah was a foreshadowing of John, then Elisha was a foreshadowing of Christ. One miracle that Elisha performed was raising the son of the Shunammite woman.

Elisha raised the son of the Shunammite woman.

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The city of Nain was right next to, might have even been built on the ruins of Shunam. This was almost the same city that a great prophet had visited, a great prophet had raised the dead to life, and a greater prophet was in their midst.

Elisha was one of the greatest prophets that Israel had, but he was only foreshadowing Christ, he only pointed to Jesus.

Elisha had to work to raise the boy from the dead, Jesus needed only to speak.

Fear seized them all

This is a reaction that we see people have to the power of God.

The reaction that the people have is one of fear, a fear that is brought by awe.

This is the type of fear that is the beginning of wisdom.

They are seeing the power of God working in Jesus, still not realizing that this is God Himself.

We see the peoples reaction, what is yours?

Do you stand in awe of God? At His sheer power, at His creativity?

The waves beating against the rocks at canon beach.

That awe that we see in creation, is to be a channel to show us the power of the God that we serve and stand in awe of Him, not creation.

They were afraid as they saw the awesome power of God being demonstrated through the person of Jesus, do you stand in awe of Jesus, what does that awe compel you to do?