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Luke 7:15

in Luke 7

And the dead man sat up and began to speak! Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.

KJV

And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

This verse in Luke 7

Commentary

16 notes on this verse

A commentator

Maximus the Confessor

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 662.

(non occ.) But it is worthy of remark, that seven resurrections are related before our Lord's, of which the first was that of the son of the widow of Sarepta, (1 Kings 17) the second of the Shunamite's son, (2 Kings 4) the third which was caused by the remains of Elisha, (2 Kings 13) the fourth which took place at Nain, as is here related, the fifth of the ruler of the Synagogue's daughter, (Mark 5) the sixth of Lazarus, (John 11) the seventh at Christ's passion, for many bodies of the saints arose. (Mat. 27.)

This site's exposition

Jesus went to a town called Nain

on Luke 7:11-15

At Nain the dead man was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Those words hold her grief and her destitution together. Jesus gave him back to his mother, the clause that closes Elijah's miracle at Zarephath.

This site's exposition

the dead man sat up and began to speak

The man sat up and spoke, and Titus of Bostra calls these the signs of a true resurrection. A lifeless body cannot speak. Jesus then gave the son back to his mother.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Titus of Bostra

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 378.

proposed

But straightway he arose to whom the command was made. For the Divine power is irresistible; there is no delay, no urgency of prayer, as it follows, And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother. These are the signs of a true resurrection, for the lifeless body cannot speak, nor would the mother have carried back to her house her dead and lifeless son.

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Commentary on Luke · Written before 397.

proposed

And if it is a grave sin that you cannot wash away with the tears of your repentance, let the mother Church weep for you, who intervenes as a widowed mother for each one as if for a single son; she sympathizes with a spiritual sorrow of nature when she sees her children urged towards death by deadly vices. We are her own flesh and blood; for there are also spiritual organs, which Paul says he has, saying: So, brother, let me have joy of you in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord (Philem. 20).

A commentator

Ambrose of Milan

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 397.

proposed

If then thy sin is so heavy that by thy penitential tears thou canst not thyself wash it out, let the mother Church weep for thee, the multitude standing by; soon shalt thou rise from the dead and begin to speak the words of life; they all shall fear, (for by the example of one all are corrected;) they shall also praise God who has given us such great remedies for escaping death.

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

According to the spiritual understanding, note that a threefold state is designated in the course of this miracle, namely the state of justice in the Lord's company; the state of injustice in the dead young man; and the state of penance in the same one …

A commentator

Bonaventure

Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

And he who was dead sat up. Here thirdly is noted the subsequent efficacy with respect to the miracle already accomplished, which indeed is twofold according to a twofold end, namely of the work and of the intention. The first efficacy is the raising of …
8 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 1107.

proposed

By the widow also you may understand a soul that has lost her husband in the divine word. Her son is the understanding, which is carried out beyond the city of the living. Its coffin is the body, which some indeed have called the tomb. But the Lord touching him raises him up, causing him to become young, and rising from sin he begins to speak and teach others. For before he would not have been believed.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): He that was dead sat up. Have we grace from Christ? Another evidence of life was that he began to speak; for whenever Christ gives us spiritual life he opens the lips in prayer and praise.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Christ confirming the faith of John who was now in prison, and of some of his disciples, by sending him a short account of the miracles he wrought, in answer to a question he received from him (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And he that was dead,....

The Nineteenth Century4 voices

The wondrous event described in these verses, is only recorded in Luke's Gospel. It is one of the three great instances of our Lord restoring a dead person to life — and, like the raising of Lazarus and the ruler's daughter, is rightly regarded as one of the greatest miracles which He wrought on earth. In all three cases, we see an exercise of divine power.
The wondrous event described in these verses, is only recorded in Luke's Gospel. It is one of the three great instances of our Lord restoring a dead person to life — and, like the raising of Lazarus and the ruler's daughter, is rightly regarded as one of the greatest miracles which He wrought on earth. In all three cases, we see an exercise of divine power. In each we see an indisputable proof that the Prince of Peace is stronger than the king of terrors — and that though death, the last enemy, is mighty, he is not as mighty as the sinner's Friend! We learn from these verses — what sorrow SIN has brought into the world. We are told of a funeral at Nain. All funerals are mournful things — but it is difficult to imagine a funeral more mournful than the one here described. It was the funeral of a young man — and that young man, the only son of his mother — and that mother, a widow. There is not an item in the whole story, which is not full of misery. And all this misery, be it remembered, was brought into the world by sin. God did not create sin at the beginning, when He made all things "very good." Sin is the cause of it all. "Sin entered into the world" when Adam fell — "and death by sin." (Romans 5:12.) Let us never forget this great truth. The world around us is full of sorrow. Sickness, and pain, and infirmity, and poverty, and labor, and trouble — abound on every side. From one end of the world to the other — the history of families is full of lamentation, and weeping, and mourning, and woe. And whence does it all come? Sin is the fountain and root to which all must be traced! There would neither have been tears, nor tares, nor illness, nor deaths, nor funerals in the earth — if there had been no sin. We must bear this sinful and sorrowful state of things patiently. We cannot alter it.
BEHOLD, dear Brethren, the overflowing, ever-flowing power of our Lord Jesus Christ! He had worked a great work upon the centurion's servant, and now, only a day after, he raises the dead. "It came to pass the day after, that He went into a city called Nain." Day unto day utters speech concerning His deeds of goodness. Did He save your friend yesterday? His fullness is the same. If you seek Him, His love and grace will flow to you today. He blesses this day and He blesses the day after.
BEHOLD, dear Brethren, the overflowing, ever-flowing power of our Lord Jesus Christ! He had worked a great work upon the centurion's servant, and now, only a day after, he raises the dead. "It came to pass the day after, that He went into a city called Nain." Day unto day utters speech concerning His deeds of goodness. Did He save your friend yesterday? His fullness is the same. If you seek Him, His love and grace will flow to you today. He blesses this day and He blesses the day after. Never is our Divine Lord compelled to pause until He has recruited His resources. Virtue goes out of Him forever. These thousands of years have not diminished the greatness of His power to bless. Behold, also, the readiness and naturalness of the outgoings of His life-giving power. Our Savior was journeying and He works miracles while on the road—"He went into a city called Nain." It was incidentally, (some would say accidentally), that He met the funeral procession. But at once He restored to life this dead young man. Our blessed Lord was not standing still, as one professionally called in—He does not seem to have come to Nain at anyone's request for the display of His love. But He was passing through the gate into the city for some reason which is not recorded. See, my Brethren, how the Lord Jesus is always ready to save! He healed the woman who touched him in the throng when He was on the road to quite another person's house. The mere spilling and droppings of the Lord's cup of grace are marvelous. Here He gives life to the dead when He is en route. He scatters His mercy by the roadside and anywhere and everywhere His paths drop fatness. No time, no place can find Jesus unwilling or unable. When Baal is on a journey, or sleeps, his deluded worshippers cannot hope for his help. But when Jesus journeys or sleeps, a word will find Him ready to conquer death, or quell the tempest.

The words behind it

13 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Kings 13:21

    Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of…

    it leads to

    • Acts 19:12

      so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and the diseases and evil spirits left them.

    • Ezekiel 37:1–10

      The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.

    • John 5:28–29

      Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice

    • 2 Kings 4:35

      Elisha turned away and paced back and forth across the room. Then he got on the bed and stretched himself out over the boy again, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his…

    • Acts 5:15

      As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

Where this verse is studied

About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt, about 1668. Public domain.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt, about 1668. Public domain.
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture, Luke; Ambrose of Milan, Commentary on Luke; Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 7; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2003: “Young Man, Is This For You?” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Maximus the Confessor, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Titus of Bostra, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.