Sections 44 & 45: The Widow's Son & John the Baptist

Section 44
 JESUS RAISES THE WIDOW'S SON
(At Nain in Galilee) 
LUKE 7:11-17

Jesus' compassion for the mother is highlighted--not his compassion for the boy, who is gone, but for the mother.  His care for mothers and fathers, his concern for those who brought their friends and loved ones to show that he is moved and motivated by our pain and sorrows.  It's a simply told incident, without hype or belaboring--Jesus seeing a need and choosing to meet it.

"Gave him to his mother"  Tender way of putting it. “For he had already ceased to belong to his mother” (Bengel). -Robertson's Word Pictures

Christ honors the heart of the mother here, restoring her son to her.

Section 45 
THE BAPTIST'S INQUIRY AND JESUS' DISCOURSE SUGGESTED THEREBY
 (Galilee) 
MATT. 11:2-30
LUKE 7:18-35

John the Baptist is in prison and sends his disciples to inquire about Jesus's identity.  Jesus responds with the physical evidence of his role--the blind see, the lame walk, and the good news preached to the poor.

The commentaries spend much time exploring why John was doubting Jesus at this point.  Was it because John was seemingly abandoned in prison?  Was it because John, like the disciples, anticipated a more literal, earthly king?  Others explore the humanity of John, reminding the reader that no man is without fault or weakness beyond Jesus. The  Bible is full of fallible men that the Lord uses.

"And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” -Matthew 11:6

"Our Lord here shows that he understood that this question came from the Baptist himself. Dean Plumptre calls attention to the tender way in which our Lord dealt with the impatience which John’s question implied. "A warning was needed, but it was given in the form of a beatitude, which it was still open to him to claim and make his own. Not to find a stumbling-block in the manner in which Christ had actually come, there was this condition of entering fully into the blessedness of his kingdom." -Pulpit Commentary

An interesting aside in Luke:

"When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him." -Luke 7:29-30

Jesus also responds to the crowd by defending John and pointing out their fickle nature.

"Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11: 11-12

These difficult words of Jesus mean that the preaching of John “had led to a violent and impetuous thronging to gather round Jesus and his disciples” Hort, Judaistic Christianity, p. 26

"But wisdom is justified of her children." Mat 11:19

The plan of God is justified by results.-RWP