Widows And Orphans

MESSAGE: Faith In The Messenger (podcast)
SCRIPTURE: Luke 7.11-17

This passage is unique to Luke's gospel - that is, he's the only one who has any record of Jesus healing this widow's son at Nain. When we come across a passage like this, that's unique to a specific gospel, it's important to ask why the author felt that it was necessary to include it in his gospel. Check the link above and read the passage before you go any further. What follows are some reasons why I think Luke recorded this miracle. (Note: we went over the first two at SHOUT on Sunday, so I won't go into them here. Download the podcast if you want to hear about those.)

1) To show Jesus' power.

2) To show that Jesus was God in the flesh.

3) To show that religious laws and traditions did not apply to acts of compassion. In touching the funeral casket, Jesus committed a religious no-no. This act would've made him "unclean," and he would've been required to go through a purification ritual. The fact that Luke notes this action is worthy of note.

4) To show that Jesus had compassion on the lowest in society. The fact that this woman is a widow is significant. In 1st century society, women were pretty powerless. They depended upon men for their living: their food, their shelter, their way of life, etc. Women were not typically allowed to work, so they had to depend on the head male of the family. Single women depended on their families. Married women depended on their husbands. If the husband died, the woman would then depend on her oldest son to care for her. This woman in Luke 7 had neither - she was a widow, and her only son had died. This would have left her utterly defenseless and helpless in society. She literally had no way to feed or provide for herself. Knowing this, Jesus has compassion on her and raises her son from the dead. Thus, her hope for living (not to mention her relationship with her son) is restored. Her son is now able to care for her. Her physical needs will be met.

Several times throughout scripture you will read that God has a special concern for widows and orphans. Why these two groups in particular? Because they had no one to care for them. As described above, women needed a male to provide for them. Orphans had absolutely no one. They had not family, no relatives, no parents, nothing. The best they could do was beg or steal, or perhaps, prostitute themselves in some way. Thus, no one was lower than widows and orphans were. And God says throughout scripture that he loves widows and orphans, and that his followers should love and care for them as well. Take a look at how God feels about widows and orphans:

Exodus 22.22: You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.

Deuteronomy 10.18: He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 27.19: Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.

Psalm 68.5: Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

Isaiah 1.17: Learn to do good; seek justice,correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless,plead the widow’s cause.

Jeremiah 22.3: Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

James 1.27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

These are just a few of the hundreds of verses in the Bible that talk about not only the plight of widows and orphans, but also how God feels about them, and how we are to feel about them.

The reason that God loves these people and wants them to be treated fairly and with compassion is because of their helplessness. And God truly desires to care for and love the helpless. I think it is because the helpless have nowhere else to turn; they cannot provide for themselves; they have no one to provide for them; they have no hope of anything good in this life. And it is when one realizes this (everyone, if known for their true spiritual state, is a helpless widow or orphan - they just don't realize it), that they are helpless, it is a very rational and expected thing to turn to God for help. It boils down to this: widows and orphans are humble. They have nothing in and of themselves, so they will seek deliverance from God.

In this passage from Luke, Jesus shows compassion for this widow - the least in society, and shows us how to live and act as his followers: we are to have compassion on those in society who cannot help themselves, have no one to turn to, and have no hope of anything in this life. In commanding us to care for widows and orphans, God commands us to care for the least of these in society. Why? Because God cares, and so should we. And also, because through our compassion, and their humility, they might see Christ and come to him.

At SHOUT we looked briefly at how we are the representation of Christ on this earth - through our thoughts, desires, words, and actions. The world sees the power of Christ through what we do and say on earth. And we are messengers of Christ by taking his message of salvation to the world. We preach as he preached. Basically, everything that Jesus said and did while he was on this earth is the model that we are to follow in life. We are the representation of Christ on this earth. What better way to represent than care for the least of these?