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If you have your Bibles with you, open them to the Gospel of Luke as we continue our study.
Once again, we'll be reading in Luke 7, beginning at verse 11 and reading down through verse 17.
If you don't have a Bible, you'll see the words on the screen so you can follow along as I read.
So here now, the Gospels, we see it, we hear it from Luke 7, beginning at verse 11.
Soon afterward, he went to a town called Nain.
And his disciples and a great crowd went with him.
And he drew near to the gate of the town.
As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother.
And she was a widow.
And a considerable crowd from the town was with her.
When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her.
And he said to her, do not weep.
Then he came up and touched the bier.
And the bearers stood still.
And he said, young man, I say to you, arise.
And the dead man sat up and began to speak.
And Jesus gave him to his mother.
And fear seized them all.
And they glorified God, saying, a great prophet has arisen among us.
And God has visited his people.
And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
As we just sang to cling to the crucified, let's pray together as I lead us that indeed as we go through the study of his word,
that is where he'll take us to the crucified.
Let's pray.
Father, would you grant us the gift of your spirit?
Would you help us to know you?
Would you open up your word to us?
We come in here to this place with so many things that potentially could distract us, could take our attention, could draw us away.
But Father, would you pierce through all that?
Would you shine the light of truth into our hearts?
But not just truth.
Would you shine the light of your glory?
All that you are.
And draw us into a deeper, fuller knowledge of you.
Would you reveal to us the crucified?
The one who died.
The one who lived for us.
But yet the one who was raised.
Would you draw us to him?
And we pray in the name of the living word, our Lord Jesus.
Amen.
You know, if you remember back a couple months ago, as we were going through Luke, we were in chapter 4.
And Jesus, as his ministry commenced, he preached his first sermon at a synagogue in Nazareth.
And he quoted, he read words from Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah 61.
And as Luke gives it to us in chapter 4, verses 18 and 19, Jesus said this.
He said,
Of course, right after reading these words, he takes his hearers back farther into the Old Testament,
and tells them two stories.
Stories of which almost got him killed prematurely.
Of course, we know that was not going to happen, but still.
One of those stories was about a Syrian general named Naaman.
And Naaman had leprosy.
And Naaman went to, heard of this great healing power that was with Elisha.
And so he went to Israel to see Elisha that he might be cured.
And we see a parallel of that story in the story that we looked at last week with the Roman centurion and his servant.
This week, we see another parallel because the other story that Jesus referred to was a widow in Sidon.
A non-Jew who had an only son who died.
And she called on help from Elijah, the great prophet.
And Elijah, through a miraculous intervention of the Spirit of God, was able to raise this widow's son from the dead.
And here, now we see another parallel.
And so what is Jesus doing in all this?
Jesus is drawing direct parallels to this time where God came and visited his people.
In those particular stories with the widow of Sidon and Naaman the Syrian demonstrated this.
But now Luke is doing the same thing.
Except he's doing it in an even bigger way.
Because now it's not just a great prophet that has come to Israel.
But God himself.
The key, the main theme of all that Jesus was coming to do, we see in that sermon, in those words that he spoke way back in Nazareth.
In chapter 4.
And the theme is this.
Is that I, the Redeemer, have come to bring release.
Release from the captives.
Release from those who are oppressed.
And in these two accounts that we see of the centurion and this widow from Nain.
We see the ministry of release that Jesus proclaimed is now demonstrated in a very tangible form.
And so we not only hear about release that's coming, we see it.
And so this is what I want to turn our attention to, particularly in this story of the widow.
How we see redemption unfold in these very tangible situations.
The first thing I want us to see here is how in redemption despair is turned to hope.
What we've got here is a story of a widow.
And this is a very, this is a far more desperate situation that you might initially realize.
For a widow, a widow in that culture was in many ways the most desperate of people.
A woman was dependent upon her husband to not only provide for her and to care for her and all of her material needs.
She really found much of her place in society through him.
And then if something happened to him, then her son, her offspring would then take care of her for the rest of her days.
This woman is on her way to a funeral.
And unfortunately, it's a path she's already been on once before.
She had a husband and one son.
Her husband, we don't know how long ago, died.
But it wasn't that terribly long ago because this man who was on this funeral bar was a young man.
The words that are used here is that he was more likely a teenager who died very prematurely.
And so now she is at the head of this large procession coming out of this village.
A most desperate, helpless, alone widow.
And you imagine, I mean, the grief that she bears over losing a son.
And I know some of you here have experienced that.
But that grief was just multiplied because she is now looking at hopelessness.
She has no one.
No one to care for her.
No one to provide for her.
She is a most desperate woman.
And so to this widow, Jesus brings the ministry of release.
He meets her.
And it's interesting.
This whole setting, it's like there's a collision of two worlds.
You see this great crowd of people coming out of the city, out of the gate of the village,
right when another crowd is just about to come.
And so they meet with Jesus right in the middle.
And Jesus does three things.
The first thing he does, if you look at the text, he says he felt compassion.
And I love that, but this is a strong word.
In other words, Jesus felt this woman's pain and desperation and hopelessness down in his gut.
He embraced her pain.
He knew her pain.
This is what we would call empathy.
But yet even more than that.
He had compassion on her.
He was willing to enter into that pain to the point that he knew what she felt.
He didn't hurt just for her.
He hurt with her.
When Jesus comes to us, he doesn't just know about our struggle.
He knows our struggle.
He knows it personally.
He knows it intimately.
He enters into it.
And he doesn't just throw little help grenades from the outside.
But he dives into it himself and helps us there.
You know, how can he enter into this kind of pain?
How can he do that even with us?
Well, with this woman in particular, he knows.
He knows.
And he will know very, very soon.
Because of his close relationship with his father, who will lose his only son.
But in this life, Jesus comes in full humanity.
He comes into our world.
He doesn't help us from afar.
He comes into life to help us.
He knows what it means for us to hurt.
I love the words from Hebrews 4, verse 15 through 16, where the writer there says,
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.
You know, some years ago when we lived overseas, that was a really hard time for me.
It was a time where I struggled with depression because life was just hard.
I got some severe tension headaches every time I heard the gate bell ring and somebody speaking Hungarian.
Because I didn't know if they were come collecting money or they were going to turn off my water or what.
But you add all this stuff, it was really hard.
And so I looked to find some help, somebody to talk to, somebody that I can engage with.
To guide me and just help steer me through this really hard time.
But I wanted somebody who had lived as a missionary,
who had struggled as a missionary,
who had followed Christ faithfully as a missionary.
I wanted someone, I had to have somebody who understood,
who knew what I was going through because they had been where I was.
But that's what we get with Jesus.
He has been tempted in every way.
He has faced every struggle.
He knows.
Intimately and personally.
Just like he did with this woman.
But the second thing he does with her
is he tells her to stop crying.
And you might think this a little strange.
I mean, if I was at a funeral and I walked up to the,
to a widow who had just lost her husband
and said, ah, stop crying,
I'd probably get slapped.
And I should.
So what, what's Jesus doing here?
Well, there's, the big difference here with him
is that he knew what was coming.
He knew what was about to happen.
And because he knows the end of the story,
he can say, hey, hey, don't cry.
Just wait and see what's coming.
She was about to experience something
that was beyond her wildest imaginations
because her dead son she was going to walk home with
in just a few minutes.
You know, we see throughout the scriptures
what Jesus tells us.
He commands us over and over and over again
to rejoice.
To celebrate.
To be filled with joy.
Rejoice.
Again, I'll say rejoice.
Though your life may be full of trouble right now.
Rejoice.
And we think, what?
But those commands to rejoice point us to something.
And he tells us to rejoice
because he knows the end of the story.
He's not just caught up in the moment.
He knows where it's all going.
And in a sense, what he's saying to us is,
guys, just wait.
Just wait a minute.
What's coming is beyond your wildest imagination.
Just hang on.
Rejoice.
Oh, it's going to be good.
He knows the rest of the story.
This is one of the things I love about being a Christian.
You know, oftentimes we're,
you go buy a book
and the last thing you were tempted to
jump to the end and read that final chapter
because I want to know who did it.
I don't know how it was done.
And then you maybe go back and read the rest.
But we know that takes a lot of the fun
and the mystery out of the story.
Well, Jesus does that for us intentionally.
He says, read the end.
It's good.
And then go back
and look at the rest.
And so even though we struggle,
even though we're in the midst of pain and hardship
at the moment,
Jesus said, hang on.
Story's not over.
It ends up really good.
You know, but then finally,
Jesus says to the son,
I love this.
He says, not to the woman, but to the son.
He says, I say to you, arise.
And as soon as he does it,
or before he does it,
he does something else.
If you'll notice this little detail here
is that he reaches out and touches the buyer.
That is, it's kind of like a stretcher
or a platform that is carrying this dead body.
And Jesus reaches out and touches it.
You're not supposed to do that.
Because anything that touches that,
anything that's associated with death
can ceremonially pollute
and make unclean whoever touches it.
Jesus intentionally,
he could have told the guys carrying it,
just say, hold up a second.
He doesn't do that.
He touches it.
Why is this?
It's because he is about to enter into
this very death
of this young man.
And he's, it also says that Jesus gives him back to his mother.
And he does so
because
this son's death.
Jesus just made his own.
He touched it
because he was taking that death upon himself.
He was going to die.
But he also was going to be raised.
As we see the young man sitting up.
But this is what Jesus has come to do.
He has come to enter into the darkness,
enter into our hopelessness,
enter into our struggle.
And he embraces it
and takes it upon himself.
He doesn't just tell us about it.
He makes it his own.
And he breaks the hold.
And he gives us release.
So what are we struggling with?
Something going on in your life
that's kind of given you a sense of hopelessness,
a sense of struggle,
and says, you don't know what you're going to do.
You don't know where you're going to go.
You don't know how you're going to get out of this.
You need somebody to set you free.
Jesus enters into that.
And he says, come to me.
I made it my own.
So that you can now be set free.
Jesus not only replaces
hopelessness or despair
with hope.
He also replaces death
with life.
And this is the second thing we have to know.
This is a head-on collision
between this crowd and this woman.
And this woman following this path
that's become all too familiar,
heading to the graveyard,
heading to the grave
where the son was going to be laid.
And the only thing that was standing in her way
was Jesus.
And Jesus stopped everything.
That young man was going to be laid
next to his father,
except today,
Jesus interrupted that journey.
You know, Hebrews 12,
or Hebrews 2,
excuse me,
verse 14 and 15 says this.
Since therefore the children share
in flesh and blood,
he himself likewise partook of the same things,
that through death
he might destroy the one
who has the power of death,
that is the devil,
and deliver all those
who through fear of death
were subject to lifelong slavery.
You know, this is the part of the sermon
that not too many preachers
really like to preach,
to preach about death.
But there's something pretty critical
for us to understand.
Because unfortunately,
if you haven't heard
or gotten the memo,
all of us are going to face death.
It is part of the curse
that we have inherited from Adam
because of his disobedience.
He was promised death
in all of those who follow him.
And because he didn't do
what he was supposed to,
every one of us have a common,
a common end.
And we can't avoid it.
We are cursed with death.
But yet it's the fear of death
that enslaves us.
I mean, we will do anything.
What?
You don't talk about it.
You don't want to think about it.
We're doing everything we can
to avoid it.
You know, our medicine cabinets
are full of drugs
which are designed to put it off.
We go to the health club
to try to stop the aging process.
We do everything we can to avoid it.
But in so much of life
death lives under the control
or the shadow
of death.
Death is the end.
We know that
when that time comes,
all second chances are over.
we're going to stand and face
our maker.
I honestly think that's the part
that scares us the most.
But it's all going to be done
and we're going to give account
for how we've lived.
And that thought
for some of us
sends chills
through our bones.
Because we know
we deserve it.
But that's the road
we're headed to
and the final verdict.
And boy, aren't you encouraged.
So we avoid talking about it.
We don't want to think about it.
We make jokes about it
to kind of just ease our tension
and the fear.
And so
and that's where we're headed
when this life is over.
Unless
we meet Jesus on the way.
And if we meet Jesus on the way
he could disrupt everything.
Even our journey
to the grave.
You know,
and again,
that's
it goes back to Jesus
even touching,
entering into
this man's death.
Very intentionally.
He touched it because
in that short time
he
would be
the dead son.
You know,
I hate death.
Sort of.
You know,
a couple years ago
I was diagnosed
with cancer.
Fortunately,
in my case,
it was the kind
that was very easily cured.
word.
And,
you know,
you go have surgery
and it's over
and it's done.
It's not always the case.
But there's something
about that C word
that when we hear it,
especially in relationship
to us,
that is like a kick
in the gut.
But I remember
thinking about it.
I was standing
in my bathroom doorway
one day,
it was just right after,
and I thought about it
and all of a sudden
this thought went
through my mind
and it says,
um,
this might be it.
This just might be
my ticket home.
And strangely,
I started feeling
not terrified,
but giddy.
Because I knew
what that meant
was
I could very soon
be in the arms
of my true love.
I mean,
I would hate it
because of the pain
that my family
would experience,
especially my dear bride.
But
there was something
inside that said,
yes!
Finally!
All the struggle here
is going to be over.
I'm going to be home
with
the one
that I loved.
Because
Jesus met me
on the way
to the grave.
When I was dead,
Jesus spoke
and brought life.
Because there is life
on the other side.
A life
so rich
and deep
it is beyond
imagination.
the one
whom I loved
and placed
my hope,
the one
who died
in my place,
who tasted
death for me,
the one
who was raised
to new life
for me,
I would see
with outstretched arms
welcoming me
home.
and that
only comes
about
when we
meet Jesus.
Facing
our hope
in a hope
that supersedes
all fear
and that kind
of hope
can set us
free
from this
fear
of death
that enslaves
us.
Because
the only
begotten
son
took the
place
of that
widow's
son
and became
the son
who died
instead.
And suffered
death
to its
fullest degree.
and now
offers us
life
to its
fullest
degree.
So,
have you
met him?
You know,
in a way,
I really want
to speak
to some
of you
younger ones.
You know,
and this is
not at all
to scare
you,
but it is
to bring
some sobriety
because when
we're young,
we think
we're
indestructible,
we think
we're
invulnerable.
And we
don't think
about this
at all.
But unfortunately,
it's a reality.
I've been
to funerals
of young
ones
who were
taken way
before their
time.
I've been
to funerals
from older
folks
who die
of disease
or
those who
have even
taken their
own lives.
and funerals
are good
because they
remind us
of this
end
and they
call us
to be
sober.
One of the
scriptures
that
we see
in
Psalm
90
verse 12,
Moses writes
in this
Psalm,
teach us
to number
our days
so that we
can have
a heart
of wisdom.
wisdom
is knowing
that we're
vulnerable.
Wisdom
is knowing
that we
are not
immortal.
Wisdom
is knowing
that our
days are
numbered
and how
are we
going to
face
that
reality?
Well,
see,
it's a good
thing
if we've
met Jesus
because he
takes that
place.
One more
thing.
We see
dread
becomes
faith.
In the
last couple
of verses,
the people
that respond
to this
miracle,
when Jesus
raises this
young man
from the
dead,
he raised
him up
and the
response
of the
people
is almost
verbatim
what the
people said
or the
woman,
the widow
from Sidon
said when
Elijah raised
her son.
He says
a great
prophet has
come to
his people.
God has
visited his
people.
And so
this is
really the
message.
it brings
us to
that
identity
of
Jesus.
And as
we're facing
life and
we're facing
all that is
about it,
who is
this
Jesus?
And this
is what we
have to
come to
terms with.
The people
thought a
great prophet
had risen.
Well,
Jesus is
more than
a great
prophet.
He has
to be
because a
great prophet
is not
going to be
the answer
for our
eternity.
If you
think that
Jesus is
just a
great prophet,
a great
moral person,
a great
teacher,
that's fine.
You'll learn
some things,
but that's
not going
to help
because we
need release
from much
bigger things.
We need
release from
not only the
struggles of
this life,
but what is
to come.
And Jesus
can help
us because
he's not
just a
great prophet,
but God
has visited
his people.
God
himself
has come.
God
himself
has
entered
into
the darkness,
the curse
of this
world
and this
life,
and he
has embraced
it as
his own.
And now
has put it
to death
through
his death.
And he's
bringing light
into the
darkness.
Christ.
Have you
embraced
this
Christ?
Is this
who Jesus
is?
Well,
it is
who he
is.
And he
now invites
you
to come.
To come
to him,
to give you
release from
your fears,
to give you
release from
your struggle
and hopelessness
and impotence
to deal
with the
struggles
of life.
Come.
God
has
visited
his people.
Come
to the
one
who is
crucified.
Come
to the
one who
was raised.
Come
to the
one
who
ascended.
Come
to the
one
who
now
reigns
even
over
death
itself.
come
to the
redeemer
as we
pray
together.
Father,
would you
give us
eyes
to see
the
crucified?
Would you
give us
eyes to
see
that you
have
visited?
And would
you shine
the light
into our
darkness
and drive
it away
that we
might know
the light
of life?
Would you
shine the
light of
your glory
into our
darkness so
that even
in the
struggles of
this life,
we might
rejoice because
we have
real hope?
And if
there are
those here
who do
not know
you,
would you
pull back
the darkness,
push back
the darkness,
shine the
light of
your glory,
and invite
them home
to the
place they
were made
for.
Do this
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.
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information,
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online at
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