Epitaph for Franziskus Oldehorst: Raising of the son of the widow of Nain

The panel depicts the Raising of the son of the widow of Nain from the seventh chapter of St Luke's Gospel (Lk 7, 11-16). The event took place close to the town of Nain, when Christ together with his disciples and numerous followers were visiting. As they approached the city gates they encountered a funeral procession accompanying a deceased youth, the only son of a poor widow to his final resting place. Christ requests the men who are carrying his corpse on a bier to stop and commands the widow 'do not cry'. Then he says to the dead youth 'I tell you to get up!' [...] The choice of this biblical story is justified, because Franziskus Oldehorst was not only a youth, but also an only son. [...] However, the setting is unusual: the biblical town of Nain is Wittenberg, shown here at the left side of the painting. A long funeral processions emerges from the open city gates. [...] A teacher and a group of students wait to participate in the ceremony at the gates of the cemetery. Two gravediggers are visible on the cemetery wall. [...] Jesus grasps the youth's right hand, arouses him from the lethargy of death, while reaching out to the mother at the same time. The words from the Gospel are visualized: 'He gave him to his mother'. [...] Among the participants are Joachim and Heinrich Moller, standing behind the bier, Johann Moller and his wife Anna, who follow the mother in the funeral procession and then some prominent figures from the Wittenberg church community with Paul Eber (1511-1569) and Georg Major (1502-1574) at the head [this section of the panel is badly preserved] .[...] Daily life continues in the usual rhythm: a carriage carrying a lord approaches the town, an angler catches fish in the moat, a beggar stretches out his hand for alms. [...] A town on the other side of the river can be identified a Hamburg.

[Harasimowicz in: Harasimowicz, Seyderhelm 2015, 149]