Day 4 – Do not weep
“…And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[b] gave him to his mother…”
Luke 7:11-17
Today, we see a woman brought low by circumstances beyond her control. She has not chosen this place, this position.
Take a few quiet minutes to imagine the scene in as much detail as you can (as though you were directing the movie). The funeral procession. The wailing crowd. The lowly and grieving woman, who not long ago buried her husband and is now burying her only son.
Hear it, see it, feel it.
Then they meet a different procession. Jesus and his followers were still high after a huge gathering and the healing of the centurion’s servant.
Try to imagine Jesus’s face and voice of “compassion for her”.
I wonder, do Jesus’s words, “Do not weep,” strike you as odd? They feel like bad funeral etiquette to me, almost insensitive to this devastated woman. If I stop reading there, his words don’t make sense.
INWARD: Father, what do you want me to know?
Are there times in your life when Jesus doesn’t seem to make sense? Is it confusing, or even offensive?
OUTWARD: Father, what do you want me to do?
But this is Jesus, and we know he is always up to something good. Sometimes we may have to wait.
For this lowly woman, the wait was short, and it looked like verse 15!
Pause and imagine Jesus’s face and voice as he “gave him to his mother”.
How can I wait for Jesus, who is always up to something good?
