As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:12-13
Can you feel the heartbreak in this story? Can you for a moment imagine the overwhelming, debilitating grief that must have seized this poor woman? As a widow, she was already living with the painful loss of her husband, the one with whom she had shared her dreams, hopes, and future. When all of that was lost, surely she clung to her only son, the living connection with her spouse and the joy of her life. Yet the pain she lived with was soon to be deepened and new wounds opened in a heartbreaking way.
Jesus arrived in town on the darkest day in this woman’s life. As he approached the city gate, this scene of anguish unfolded before him. This widow who has suffered so much was grieving yet again. As the young man who died was carried out, Jesus saw the source of their grief, and joined in their sorrow. Yet in the midst of his deep compassion and love for this widow, he said something unexpected: “Do not weep.”
How can Jesus possibly expect this woman to not weep in a moment like this? Wouldn’t you expect him to say anything but this? “I’m so terribly sorry,” perhaps. “It gets easier with time,” also more likely. But “do not weep,” really?
The only way Jesus could tell the woman to not weep and still have genuine compassion for her, was if he also planned on healing her pain and restoring that which was broken. The beauty and power of the gospel is that is exactly what Jesus did and what he continues to do today.
