Pietisten

Vol. VII, No. 2 Herald of Awakening and Spiritual Upbuilding Summer 1992

Waldenstrom's Commentary

Luke 7:11-17 and Waldenstrom's Commentary

translated by Tommy Carlson

Gospel Lesson for the Third Sunday After Pentecost

Dr. Paul Peter Waldenström based his comments on a Greek New Testament text which he translated into Swedish. Tommy Carlson has translated both the Biblical text and Waldenstrom' s comments from the Swedish text of his Second Edition, 1892.

Verse 11 -And1 it happened the following day2 that he went to a town called Nain3, and with him went many4 of his disciples and many other people.

  1. The story of the widow’s only son which took place in Nain occurs only in Luke.
  2. According to another reading: in the time immediately following.
  3. Nain was a little town in Galilee, southeast from Nazareth. It was situated in the foothills of the mountain Little Hermon. The place is still called by the same name but is just a small village.
  4. Not just the twelve.

Verse 12 — But when he had come close to the city gate, (then) was carried out1 someone dead, his mother's only son, and she was a widow, and a large group of people from the city was with her.

  1. The Jewish grave sites were outside the cities.

Verse 13 — And when the Lord saw her, he had pity on her and said to her: “Do not cry.”

Verse 14 — And he went forward and touched the bier,1 but they who carried stopped,2 and he said: “Young man, I say to you, stand up!” (See Acts 9:40)

  1. The bier was an open casket.
  2. The Lord was through previous wonders (John 2:1, ff.) known in Nain. Therefore, the bearers stopped when he came forward and touched the bier.

Verse 15 — And the dead one sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother.

Verse 16 — But fear captured everyone, and they praised God saying: “A big prophet1 has been awakened among us, and God2 has cared for his people. (Mark 7:37; Luke 1:68; John 4:19, 6:14, 9:17)

  1. This much they understood from his deed, that he was a prophet and a BIG prophet. Even in the Old Testament it happened that big prophets awakened the dead (I Kings 17:21 ff.; II Kings 4:33 ff., 13:21). That Jesus was the only son of God they could not from this act, in and of itself, yet understand.
  • In every such wonderful deed, God came forward. The prophet was the tool by whom God worked.

    • Verse 17 — And this talk about him was spread throughout all of Judea1 and the whole surrounding area.

    1. Judea is here considered to be all of Palestine (compare chapter 1:5). This event happened in Galilee.