Beyond Belief: From Death to Life – The Healing of the Widow’s son
2024-03-24
Charles Billingsley
Luke 7:11-17 (NKJV)
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” 17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
The Scene
- two crowds converging. One crowd is celebrating. One crowd is mourning. One crowd is rejoicing over life. The other crowd is weeping over death.
- The converge at the city gate
- 4 characters mentioned – the Savior, the mother, the son, and the crowd
- two only begotten sons
- Death is about to come face to face with Life. And something’s got to give.
- Jesus walks right into the midst of the situation
Notice first:
1. His compassion
- He Sees her
And He sees you just as you are, as well.
Have you ever considered that Jesus sees you?
Psalm 121:5-8
New International Version
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Open your eyes to the needs of others around you.
Open your eyes to the needs around you. Everybody hurts at some point. Everybody has loss. Everybody has needs. What can you do to be Jesus to that someone?
Your selfless love has the power to transform even the darkest places into meadows. – Bob Goff
- He knows her
He knows her every thought. He knows her entire history. He knows the loss she has gone through in losing her husband. He knows the tragic situation she is in now. He knows.
And He also knows all of that about you. He knows the real you.
Psalm 139 (CSB)
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.
3 You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.
Jesus knows you. Your faults, your failures, your hang ups, your hold ups, your sins, your fears, and there’s probably some good stuff, too. And Yet He loves you and feels compassion for you when you are hurting.
- He feels her pain
Psalm 34:18-19 ESV
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
2. His touch
3. His Power
Luke 7:16-17 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” 17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
But Jesus didn’t just give that young man new life for his body. Jesus offers new life for the soul.
John 11:25 – Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Everyone of us are born dead…..dead in our sin.
Something must give our souls life from spiritual death.
Only Jesus can do that.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.
That’s what Jesus does – He gives life!!
But He gives it to us, by giving up His own.
Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
This Friday – good friday, we will mourn the death of Christ. That fateful moment, when out of necessity – because innocent blood had to be shed for the remission of our sin – that moment when Jesus willingly gave Himself up on a cruel rugged cross. He bore our guilt, our shame, our mess, our pain. The crowd was right! God had visited His people, for the purpose of saving them.
So He took it all on himself in the single greatest act of Love in all of human history, Jesus Christ died for us.
The power of death is strong. But not so strong, that God isn’t stronger still.
So this week, we consecrate ourselves before Him as we contemplate, consider and meditate on the cross and the suffering our Savior bore for us.
But in the sorrow of that contemplation, let us do so knowing that a celebration is on the way.
For Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
And Sunday is comin!!!