After the Centurion, Jesus goes to Nain and comes upon a funeral procession. The coffin containing the body of a man is being carried out of the town gate, presumably to the local tomb or graveyard. The man is the only son of a widow, so the woman probably needed him alive for him to take care of her.
Jesus tells the woman "don't cry". Then he touches the coffin and those carrying it stop. He tells the man's body, "I say to you, get up.". The man reanimates to life and Jesus gives the man to his mother. The people are filled with awe and proclaim that a great prophet has come. News of this incident travels around Judea.
This is the first time that Jesus raises another dead body to life. We will see a few others. The story of Lazarus is probably the most famous account, but my personal favorite is the opening of the graves when Jesus dies.
I think there was only one account of a similar event happening in all of the Old Testament prophets. That event was when a body was thrown into the same tomb as Elisha, touches Elisha's remains, and reanimates. So, this event and the response of the townspeople of this means that they believe that Jesus is on par with Elisha, who famously had asked for twice the power and faith of Elijah.
This story is also important because it is referred to in the next event.
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