Luke 7:11-17 records one of the three miracles in which Jesus raised someone from the dead. Luke intriguingly frames this miracle by drawing attention to two different crowds. Verse twelve says that Jesus went into the town of Nain, and “…his disciples and a great crowd went with him.” As they entered the town, this crowd with Jesus met another crowd. Verse twelve says that a man had died, and his widowed mother and a “considerable crowd” were carrying him out. In some ways, these two crowds could not be more different. One crowd followed the Author of Life; the other was a funeral procession.
But the beauty of the story is that there doesn’t have to be two crowds. Jesus had compassion on the bereaved widow and raised her son from the dead! The funeral procession surely transformed and joined the jubilant crowd that followed Jesus. What crowd are you in? Are you following the path that leads to death or following the life-giving Savior?