JESUS RAISES A WIDOW’S SON
Luke 7:11-17
Key Verse: 7:14, 15
"Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.”
In our message last week we saw how Jesus was amazed by the great faith a centurion had in the authority of Jesus’ word to heal his servant who was not even in his presence. In today’s passage we will watch Jesus exercise the power and authority of his word by raising a widow’s young son from the dead. Jesus raises this widow’s son before the eyes of great crowds of people. Jesus wants all people to believe he has authority and power over death. Napoleon, a conqueror of armies had a saying: “Can’t is not in my vocabulary.” We can say Jesus, the conqueror of death, does not have “death” in his vocabulary. When we are sick we visit a doctor or call them on a phone to find a cure for our sickness. However this life’s final denominator death itself there is no cure offered in any medical book. Let us now join a crowd who followed the author of life so they could watch the power of Jesus’ words raise a young man from the dead.
Part 1. Two Processions (7:11-12)
Look at verse 11. “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.” The words, ‘soon after’ refer us back to the display of great faith the centurion had in Jesus’ words to heal his servant. Now we see Jesus is taking a one day trip to a small rural town called Nain. Missionary James Park tells me the town’s name means ‘pleasant.’ This could be true. In our county there is a town called Seat Pleasant. Also in verse 1 we notice a large crowd of people are accompanying Jesus to this town called Nain. This leads us to believe Jesus wanted many eye witnesses to see what he planned to do in Nain. Jesus’ world changing Messianic work was not locked away in some out of the reach monastery. Jesus accomplished it before the eyes of great crowds in very ordinary towns. Jesus wants all people in all towns of this world to know about his power to raise the dead.
Look at verse 12: “As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out-the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.” As Jesus closed on the town the reason for his coming began to materialize. First, Luke draws for us one of life’s most heart breaking pictures. A dead person in a coffin was being carried out of the town. We are told this dead person was the only son of a crying widow who was following her son’s coffin out of the town. The scene reminds us of Naomi in Ruth 1. When Naomi came back from Moab after the loss of her husband and two sons, she told her Bethlehem friends: “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” (Ruth 1:19-21) In Jesus’ day there were not too many people who were more misfortunate than a widow who lost both her husband and her children. Missionary Hannah Kim’s husband was out of town last week. She discovered how much she needed her husband especially when her neighbors living below her acted very threatening to her family. She testified, “A woman needs a husband for security and economic reasons.” As for this poor widow in this passage not only did she not have a husband for economic and security, she now lost her young son. Maybe he was 23 years old like David Park, old enough to hold a paid job and help his mom pay for her monthly bills.
The second picture Luke draws for us is a compare and contrast picture. Try to visualize the picture given us in verses in 11 and 12. Each verse gives us a word picture of a large crowd. In verse 11 the large crowd was following Jesus Christ, whom the Bible teaches in Acts 3 is the author of life. We can say this large crowd or procession of people chose to follow the author of life. Are you a person who likes to read the literary works of certain authors? Today let me encourage all of us to read the true literary works of Jesus Christ found in the Bible. His works leads the reader to find a full life now and eternal life after they have left the fragile and uncertain cords of this life. For the past ten years newspaper has been delivered on our front lawn. My son, who enjoys sports, likes rolling out of bed to read the sports section to find out who is still in or out of the NCAA tournament. I told him the newspaper is filled with half truths and he should first read the Bible which is filled with full truths. Then I told him a little about General McArthur. All his life General McArthur had a life habit to first read the Bible when he woke up in the morning. I told him this man fought in Mexico, the mop up campaign of the Spanish-American war fought in the jungles of the Philippians , WW1, WW2 and the Korean War finally he died at age 81 .His life key verses were the very words of the author of life found in John 11:25,26: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” At least that morning my son took my advice. I pray he, you and I will all first read the words from the author of life.
Luke’s next contrasting picture is verse 12. In this picture a large crowd is following this crying widow and the coffin her young dead son is in. In one sense it is a typical picture of a funeral procession most of us have participated in. However in this case the Bible is contrasting this large crowd with the large crowd following Jesus. Jesus taught in Matthew 7:13: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” We can say this other large crowd following this coffin is allegory to the broad road that leads to destruction. Without the spiritual eyes of Jesus, we would be given only one gate to enter and see only one road to travel by. This way is also talked about in Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death.” I don’t think any of us wants to enter this wide gate and take this broad road that leads to destruction. Instead we want to enter the small gate and go down the narrow road that leads to life. It was this narrow way that I was repeatedly taught by Missionary Jacob Lee when I first came to UBF. Back then Missionary Jacob would have the shepherds repeatedly write messages on “Jesus’ words to glory” found in Mark 8:34: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Back then and even now I realize I suffered sometimes with a multiple personality disorder. One person in me told me this teaching of Jesus of the way to glory was the right way, the best way. Another person within me always wanted to resist and rebel against Jesus’ words to glory. Nevertheless, by writing a message again and again Jesus’ words helped me to deny my ego, deny my sinful nature. By writing a message again and again Jesus’ words helped me to carry my cross. By writing those messages month after month, they led me to follow Jesus who died for my sins and whom God raised from the dead.
Part 2. “Young Man, I Say to You, Get Up!” (7:13-17)
Look at verse 13: “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’” This verse shows us Jesus is the Lord of all comfort. First Jesus’ heart went out to her. This means he understood the immeasurable sorrow she was going through. Jesus’ response reminds me of what Missionary Grace Park did for a young child last week. This little girl knocked her head against something hard and began to cry. When missionary Grace saw the child, she ran to her, picked her up in her arms and showed the child she really felt her pain and was going to do something to remedy her pain. This is what Jesus does for all of us. We can be in the absolute worst human condition. Around us people are only cold, indifferent and do not understand us. Jesus on the other hand is the Lord of all comfort. He is always there to give us all the comfort we need if only we can look to him in faith and allow him to pick us up in his Almighty arms.
Secondly Jesus told this woman “Don’t cry.” From an unbeliever’s point of view, “Don’t cry” is a very strange, even a wrong thing to say. Psychologist will tell you the best thing in the world a person whose loved one has died is to cry. They say crying is God’s way of helping to wash away the overwhelming sorrow bottled up with in us. There is truth in this. On the other hand, the only reason in the world you would tell a person not to cry at a time like this is if you had the cure for their tears. This is exactly why Jesus told this woman: “Don’t cry.” In other words he was telling her “I have the cure for your tears.” Paul said it this way in 2 Corinthians1:9 “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” God sent Jesus Christ to give us the cure for every form of death. I remember when I stood over my father just as he faded off into what the Dr’s and nurses and the world call death. I had infinite amount of reasons to be crying a lifetime of tears. My father and I were the best friends. But Jesus quickly came and dried all my tears. My years of Bible study convinced me Jesus still held the cure for my father’s death. Sometimes I’ll see a man that reminds me of my father or a thought will come to my mind reminding me of my father and I’ll become a little sad. At these times all I need to do is remember Jesus’ words; “Don’t cry.” These words assure me Jesus has cured my father of the sting of death.
Now let us turn our attention back to Jesus and see what he uses to cure this woman’s only son who is lying dead in a coffin. Look at verses 14 and 15: “Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Notice Jesus touched the coffin and when he did those who were carrying it stood still. Touching a coffin is a form of saying a final goodbye. Those who carry the coffin never stop carrying it when someone touches the coffin. This time for the first time when Jesus touched it those carrying it stood still. Somehow they intuitively knew Jesus wasn’t touching this coffin to say goodbye. He was touching it to stop it from taking one more step towards the grave. Next, he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Jesus had only two words to say to this young man and they changed his life and the life of his mother forever. They were “get up” After sitting up the first action to prove this young man was alive was that he began to talk. How sweet the young man’s words must have sounded to his mother who a moment earlier was grieving over his death. It is also interesting to speculate the contents of what this young man was talking about. I was told my grandfather died for a few minutes on an operating table. While his body lay dead on that table he had what is called an “out of the body” experience. First he could see the people in the operating room franticly working on him. Then he said he saw his son who was killed in the Korean War. He also saw his brother who died before him. He became very happy then he said he heard a voice that told him he must go back; his time had not yet come. Who knows maybe this young man was talking about his own “out of the body” experience? All this is only speculative; let us now talk about what we know for sure. For sure we know Jesus said to him: “Young man, I say to you, get up!” We know with certainty this man was the only son of this widow and we know he was young. This means he had a responsibility and mission to still carry out. The Bible teaches when God made man he told him to go into all the world, rule it and subdue it. In short God makes men for mission. His widow mother was his responsibility since she had no husband or any other children to care for her. One day young men have to take responsibility of their family. Young men sometimes think the only people they can care for are themselves. This is not true. When a young man is given a responsibility to carry out they shouldn’t run away. He should not think: “I can’t do that.” Instead he must remember Jesus’ words: “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Jesus’ words will empower them to carry out his responsibility.
Moreover, as a young man this man was the future for Nain; he was the future for Israel. With no young men there is no future. This applies to women too. With no young women there is no future. When I wake up in the morning I thank God for allowing our country to have had and still have courageous young men and women who went and still go into harms way so I and my family can live in this free country. When I think of their courage I pray: “Lord, help me to be courageous to face the future. Though I am not 20 or 30 years old young I must still listen to Jesus’ words: “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Jesus’ words can help us to face the future with courage. These days I see Philip Brown personally applying Jesus’ words: “Young man, I say to you, get up!” He was asked to be a missionary to China and he went. Recently he was asked to deliver a message and he did. Now he is given the direction to arrange and help organize the drama for the Easter Conference. He has never put on a Broadway type production. Nevertheless he is doing it because in his heart he hears Jesus tell him: Young man, I say to you, get up!”
Finally let us think about the power of Jesus’ words and how it applies to our own resurrection. In other parts of the Bible God used his servants to raise the dead. At those times God’s servant had to lie toe to toe and face to face had on top of the dead person to transmit God’s resurrection power. Here we see all Jesus had to do was say “Get up”, and the dead person immediately sat up. Jesus wanted to show everyone the same exact resurrection power God has, he also has. Jesus wants everyone to know God has given him the responsibility and power to carry out the coming resurrection and judgment that will come after it. According to John 5:28,29: Jesus said “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out-those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” You and I will one day hear Jesus’ words, “Get up!” just as this dead young man heard them. It won’t matter even if we were dead in our graves and worms have changed our body back to the dust of the ground. One day everyone will hear his voice. It may be “Get up” Or it may be “Come out” or it may be “Rise up”. For those who have done good, this is when life begins. Jesus said they will rise to live. For others that day will be a most terrible day. Jesus says they will rise for the purpose of being condemned because of the evil they did. It seems to me this is a day every person should be preparing for. We won’t be able to give an excuse “Sorry Jesus. I died I won’t be showing up.” The presidents are showing up for it. Kings are showing up for it. Jesus says all are showing up for it. Therefore let us be ready for that day. Let us first be ready by starting today to repent of our evil ways and showing our repentance through the fruits of doing well. Second let us securely take hold of the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23 reveals to us: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God he doesn’t ask me to earn eternal life as some kind of conflated mysterious wage. All he asks is that I repent of my evil ways and take eternal life as a gift given through faith in Jesus Christ. Today let us personally hear Jesus’ words: Young man or young woman, I say to you, get up! Let us get up in Jesus’ name and live for the mission he has given us and do it for the glory of God and his Son Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 16. “They were all filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said, ‘God has come to help his people.’” Jesus’ miracle was not wasted on the people of Nain. They praised God. They saw in Jesus God’s help for his people. They are absolutely correct. Jesus is God’s help to all people, not only to the people of Nain and to Israel. He is God’s help to all people who have lived under the fear of death all our lives. Let us personally take Jesus words: “Young man or young woman, I say to you, get up!” Let us ask Jesus to help us to use our lives to be lived for the glory of God.