We feel sorrow as a deep emotional response to loss, pain, or disappointment. Grief settles in our souls when life’s circumstances wound our hearts or shatter our expectations. We often experience it in moments of profound suffering: when we lose a loved one, experience failure, face betrayal, or endure prolonged hardship.
In our passage for this week, Luke gives us an account of how Jesus responds to human sorrow. Jesus meets a funeral procession outside a small town and demonstrates both His profound compassion and His divine power over death itself.
Soon afterward He went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a great crowd went with Him. As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 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 gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited His people!” And this report about Him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. Luke 7:11-17
Jesus’ Compassion Moves Toward Our Individual Sorrows
The scene opens as Jesus approaches the town gate, where He encounters a heartbreaking situation. A widow walks in a funeral procession for her only son. Having already lost her husband, she now faces the death of her sole remaining family member who had provided both emotional and financial support in a Jewish society where women largely depended on male relatives for provision and protection.
The text tells us that when the Lord saw her, “He had compassion on her” (Luke 7:13). This wasn’t mere sympathy. The original language conveys a visceral response on Jesus’ part of mercy and grace, a deep emotional response to her pain. Jesus singled out this woman from the considerable crowd that day, meeting her in her moment of deepest sorrow.
This reveals something profound about Jesus: He doesn’t just see humanity’s general suffering. He sees individual pain. He notices specific sorrows. Whether we face chronic illness, financial ruin, loneliness, family strain, or the deep ache of loss, Jesus sees and feels our individual struggles. His compassion touches each person’s specific situation.
Jesus’ Power Works for Our Individual Problems
Jesus moves beyond compassion to action. He approaches the coffin and speaks a simple yet astounding word to the dead young man: “Arise!” (Luke 7:14). The miraculous follows when the dead man sits up and begins to speak.
Jesus’ authority extends even over death itself. His word brings life from death. The crowd responds with awe: “Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited His people!’” (Luke 7:16).
Jesus’ ultimate victory over death is through His own death and resurrection. While He may not always remove our immediate sorrows in this life, His resurrection assures us our sorrows will ultimately end. As Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, we don’t “grieve as others do who have no hope.”
Hope in Our Sorrows
Today, we might wonder why Jesus doesn’t immediately end all our sorrows. While we may not have complete answers, we know this: Jesus enters into our sorrow with both compassion and power. His death and resurrection give us divine assurance that our sorrows will end.
Jesus sees and knows every tear, every loss, every pain. When Jesus declared “It is finished” on the cross, He secured an eternal hope that reaches into our deepest sorrows. His nail-scarred hands prove both His understanding of our pain and His power to remove it in eternity.
Until that day when God wipes away all tears, we walk by faith—grieving, yes, but grieving with hope. Our sorrows don’t indicate God’s absence but provide opportunities to experience His compassionate presence and hold fast to His promises that extend beyond the grave.
In your moments of deepest sorrow, remember: the Lord sees you. The One who raised the widow’s son at Nain sees your pain and meets you with both compassion and power. Your sorrow matters to Him, and His promises hold firm even in your darkest hours.
This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, January 19, 2025 entitled Authority & Sorrow. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the GSBC Sermon Podcast.
Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.
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