Nowhere in the gospels do we see Jesus’ compassion more clearly than when a desperate parent approached him about a sick or dying child. The parents’ emotions during these incidents were usually quite raw, and Jesus always handled their grief delicately and with sensitivity.
On one occasion, Jesus came across a crowd of people who were arguing among themselves. When Jesus inquired about the issue, a father told Jesus about his young son who was possessed by a demon who was abusing the boy. The distraught father had brought his son to the disciples, but they could do nothing. With a short rebuke, Jesus exorcised the demon and presented the son back to the father -- whole and restored.1
In the small town of Nain, Jesus crossed paths with a funeral procession of a young man -- the only son of a widow. Not only had this woman lost her husband, but now she was losing her only offspring (and probably her last means of support as well). Seeing her obvious grief, Jesus walked over to the young man, touched the coffin and told him to get up. The former corpse took a deep breath and sat up. And then Jesus presented him back to his certainly stunned mother.2
To better understand what these parents were going through, listen to this 19th-century prayer, written by a father who had just lost his young son:
O God, to whom I am left to mourn his departure,
grant that I may not sorrow as one without hope
for my beloved who sleeps in you;
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