Stop Weeping

“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’” Luke 5:17

Two processions met on a Judean road one late afternoon. At the head of one was a weeping mother, grieved at the loss of her young son. Coming toward them was a great crowd following a traveling preacher and his disciples. The contrasts couldn’t have been more acute.

From one came the gut-wrenching wails of loss; from the other, the buzz of conversation and discussion. From one direction the air was filled with death; from the other the chatter of friends fully alive. One group was overcome with sorrow; the other enjoyed mutual friendship. One procession followed a mother who lost the object of her love; the other followed their Master, the object of their loving devotion.

What happens when two such processions meet? Today, if we see a hearse with a line of cars following it, we respectfully pull over and wait for them to pass. We certainly do not interface with the mourners. It would be the worst of offenses to wave at the family in their vehicle, even in a sympathetic gesture. Shielded by both our automobiles and our anonymity we drop our eyes and avoid direct eye contact.

As far as we know, Jesus was unacquainted with this family. Just as they arrived at the city gate the funeral procession with its considerable crowd approached. The woman was weeping in her grief, a widow as well as having just lost her son. Jesus saw her and had compassion on her.

The Greek for “compassion” is a compound word meaning “to be moved in your gut, or bowels”. We might say, “His heart went out to her.” Except I think our English avoids the depths of the Greek expression. When we experience a deep emotion, we talk about it being “heartfelt”, but if we stop and observe our physical response, we’ll sense it in our “innards”. We say things like having “butterflies in our stomach” to express certain anxieties. At any rate, the point is, Jesus felt deeply for her.

Remember, He did not know her. (Yes, in His divine self, He knew her, as He knew all people; but he was not acquainted with her humanly). The sight of her despair, the sound of her weeping, the open coffin occupied with a son too young, all combined to stir the deepest emotions in Jesus. And He said to her, “Do not weep!”

This all happened in a mere moment, but the mind works quickly. I’m sure the barest sentence of objection began in the widow’s mind: “Don’t weep? Are you mad?” But then Jesus touches the coffin, a big religious and social no-no; you became unclean by touching a dead corpse. But, you can’t make Jesus unclean! He touches the coffin and says, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”

Another sentence begins to form in the widow’s mind: “Now you’re speaking to corpses! Please, someone, ask him to leave…” And before another thought can arise, her son sits up in the coffin and “began to speak”. Suddenly the widow’s mind was blank.

This is one of those miracles that Jesus performs for one reason only: compassion. Matthew describes Jesus’ compassion as the motive for all His miracles. No one speaks here. No one tugs at His robes, begs for His attention or even admits their lack of faith. Jesus crashes a funeral of an unknown family because He could not bear the sorrow and grief of this dear woman.

This miracle reminds me that Jesus is not waiting for me to erect a tower of perfected faith before He will notice me. No, in fact, the moment He sees my tears He is moved deeply. What have you lost? He understands. What grief has overtaken you? Jesus’ compassion is so deep that your own sorrow has stopped Him in His tracks.

Every encounter with Jesus gives both love and life to those who would receive. He not only knows about your loss and feels deeply about it; He will provide life for the grieving. In this case He returned the dead son to life. There are only three accounts of Jesus raising the dead in the gospels, so this story is not a precedent for watching for graves to pop open. But, He will restore the dead places within with His very life.

If the only way you know how to pray is to weep, then weep; Jesus will respond.