Jesus: The Ultimate Healer

After a busy day preaching and healing in Capernaum, Jesus and His disciples walked 25 miles to the city of Nain. That sounds like a lot of walking to you and me, but people in those days were used to traveling such distances on foot. They could make that journey in less than a day.

As they approached Nain, which was just over the valley from Nazareth, they came across a funeral procession. A man had died, and several people were carrying his body on a stretcher to the place where they would bury him. This was sad, but even worse, he was the only son of a widow. Probably the mother was getting on in age, and now she had no family to support her. It seemed she had no hope.

But Jesus told her: "Do not weep." He touched the stretcher. Everyone stood still. Perhaps they were surprised that a stranger would come so close to the body of a dead man. Then He gave another command: "Young man, I say to you, arise." Immediately, the man arose, and Jesus presented him to his mother. The whole crowd was amazed by this. Can you imagine their wonder? Even more, can you imagine how happy this made the mother feel? Not only was her son alive, but now she could hope for a better life.

That day, Jesus did something that no ordinary doctor could ever do: He raised someone from the dead. No one in the crowd doubted that something very special had happened. It was a miracle, which means it could not be explained away as a trick, or an accident of nature. And because so many people saw what happened, no one could doubt "so great a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1). By such works, Jesus proved that the Father had sent Him to us (John 5:36; Acts 2:22). Along the way, Jesus showed love and feeling for people. He cured hurt bodies and minds, but most of all, He came to cure sin-sick souls (Luke 5:31-32).

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