Jesus confronted death on four distinct levels. The daughter of Jairus, the son of a widow in Nain, a friend named Lazarus, and then His own death. We are given varied amounts of information on each one. In the case of Jairus, he is named, but his wife and daughter are not. This girl had just died. After she was raised from the dead, she got up and began to walk around. Jesus told her parents not to tell anyone what happened.

The widow in Nain is unnamed. We can only imagine how she is feeling. She has not only lost her husband, but now her son. He had been dead long enough that the funeral procession was on the way to the cemetery. Luke tells us that when Jesus saw her, His heart went out to her, but He also told her not to cry. After her son was raised from the dead, he sat up, began to talk, and went straight to the embrace of his mother. On this occasion, many people saw it. In both of these cases, a parent’s broken heart was healed. Their child was given back to them.

And then, there’s Lazarus. A man who was part of a family that Jesus dearly loved. We know his sisters, Mary and Martha. We see that they felt close enough to Jesus to question why He waited so long to come to their aid. Lazarus had been dead for four days. Many people saw and heard when Jesus called Lazarus to come out of the grave. Some of them went straight to the Pharisees and told them what happened. Rather than rejoicing because Lazarus was alive, they not only continued their hatred for Jesus, they even attempted to kill Lazarus. His resurrection was a threat to them. A recurring theme in these three deaths is how they touched the heart of Jesus. He knows when our hearts hurt, and He cares.

These three miracles give us a glimpse of an even greater miracle that will happen soon. Jesus had already shown that He was stronger than death when other people died, but what about when He died? His resurrection proves that He is victorious over death on all levels. Death does not have the last word because of the power of His resurrection. The greatest resurrection of all time is somewhere just around the next bend in the road, as Jesus comes to claim His own. What a day, a glorious day, that will be.