Luke 7:11 The next day Yeshua, accompanied by his talmidim and a large crowd, went to a town called Na‘im. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead man was being carried out for burial. His mother was a widow, this had been her only son, and a sizeable crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, he felt compassion for her and said to her, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then he came close and touched the coffin, and the pallbearers halted. He said, “Young man, I say to you: get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Yeshua gave him to his mother. 16 They were all filled with awe and gave glory to God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us,” and, “God has come to help his people.” 17 This report about him spread throughout all Y’hudah and the surrounding countryside.
Now He’s on a roll.
From deliverance to healing the sick to stretching out withered limbs, Yeshua was not pulling any punches. Just when you thought He was hitting with all He had, He asks a young man to get up -- out of a coffin! Knock out!
(ok, done with boxing metaphors)
But seriously…this is a new level of healing. Or is it?
The degradation of the body has been set in reverse on a number of occasions and people were brought back from a sickly state to full health instantly. Had that not happened, some of those folks would have ultimately ended their path down Sickness Lane at death’s door. Some may have already been there.
But what is death? One way to look at it is “life removed”. The breath is gone and the bodily functions have shut down. No more flow of blood. But life is in the blood. So if the blood is still there, it just needs to get flowing again. But this has to happen quickly or else decay sets in. Quickly, as in hours. Decomposition begins around 24 hours after death and lasts about a week. After that, skeletonization begins.
According to Jewish custom, a body would be buried within 24 hours (in somewhat keeping with the command to bury the body of someone hung on a tree the same day). If that happened here, the son would have been prepared for burial before livor mortis began the decay of the body.
Punchline: the blood was still likely to be with the young man so Yeshua just needed to get it back flowing. More reversal of time and decay. A bit more of a stretch in reversal but the process is the same.
(I should mention that there will be a reversal from bones at the End of the Age so this argument of timelines may not carry much weight. Of course, that will be resurrection into the other side of the Jordan so maybe timelines do matter. Anyhow…)
In past events, people needed to trust to see the healing but this time none of that is mentioned. Here is a woman that has already lost her husband and now her only son. And Yeshua had compassion on her.
Does that mean for the people that didn’t trust, He did not have compassion? A few times He did seem frustrated that the only way people will believe is if they see but I’d like to think that even in frustration He has compassion.
Even though He had this feeling of compassion, the mother wouldn't know it. It’s unlikely she even knew who this Guy was since they just rolled into town right then. If some stranger walks up and tells you not to cry for the loss of your only son, how would you respond?
“Get away from me you insensitive jerk! I just lost my son here!”
But within a matter of seconds of this comment, her son is alive and with her again. What could possibly be going through her mind? The swirl of emotions must have her completely breathless. From deep sadness to unspeakable joy…in seconds. Can a human heart handle this broad change in emotions? A stone heart turned to flesh in an instant.
And the son? Does he have any clue what just happened? What started with a sickness, an accident, or something else, has culminated in his walking whole. Imagine the gratitude. How do you think he was going to live the remainder of his life? Will he go back to how things were, or will he make a remarkable change and live the remaining steps 100% for God?
This boy was literally born again.
They were all filled with awe and gave glory to God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us,” and, “God has come to help his people.”
Amen!
A relationship with Abba fired up -- in a matter of moments. A revelation of who He is -- in a matter of moments. His glory was shining forth for all of those around them to see. Even the witnesses had to have been moved to supreme dedication to the One True God.
From death to life. Not just the young man but EVERYONE that was there. Trust magnified. A community of followers had become a community of believers. They would have this event to connect them the rest of their lives together. Even if they never saw each other again, there is a bridge that has been formed in the Spirit.
Oh, how we long for this type of connectivity with others!
Seems like all we need is for Someone to die -- and come back to life.