Thoughts on Luke - Day 29

                                                    Luke 7:11-17
Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 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. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
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.” ¹⁷ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

     I once heard a pastor give a challenge to name the 7 times people rose from the dead in the Bible. Here is one in Luke 7. Jesus resurrecting is an obvious 2. Lazarus in John 11 is 3. Both Elijah and Elisha rose children from the dead in 1 Kings 17:22 and 2 Kings 4:32-35 - that's 4&5. We will get to the 6th account in Luke 8 with Jairus' daughter. The last (although I would argue that Paul was dead and came back to life after being stoned and Eutychus who fell asleep and fell out a window was dead and brought back to life by Paul) is an obscure episode in 2Kings 13:21 where a dead man was thrown into Elisha's tomb and came back to life on touching his bones.

     The point is that God wants to make it perfectly clear to us that He has power over death. Death is not the end. If it were, we would be without hope like the widow in this passage who lost her only child... until Christ steps into the scene. Despite our momentary grief here, Jesus offers life beyond the grave! How can He do that - because He is God. The people missed the point and called Him a great prophet. If He was a great prophet like most unbelievers claim He is, He could not raise the dead or if he could, he could not promise life beyond the grave. He could not say, "I am the resurrection and the Life, he that believes in me, though he be dead, yet shall he live - and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." God is telling us over and over again that death is no big deal. It is nothing to fear. God has power over death. God has defeated the grave.

    How should that effect us? In this passage I see 3 things - shocker! First of all it says "don't cry". The greek word implies inconsolable wailing without hope. When you look at how this word is used throughout the New Testament, it relates to those who are living for this world. When Jesus weeps in John 11:35, it is a different word. It means shedding tears. As Christians we shed remorseful, compassionate, heart - wounded tears but as Paul would say, we don't grieve like those who have no hope. I read a story about a media crew that went into a town to interview the family members of 10 people who, because they were Christians, were removed from a town and beheaded by ISIS. To the shock of the media, there was no anger, wailing, vengeful accusations, but rather joy that their loved ones had stood the test without failing and now were seated with Christ in Heaven. This can only happen because Christ has power over death.

     Secondly, Christ interrupted their procession. Have you ever been in a Church service or a meeting where someone stands up unexpectedly and interrupts the program. It is memorable and always dumbfounding. The other night on Dancing With the Stars, some hecklers came out of the stands to insult and confront Ryan Lochte for his lying in the Olympics. It was fascinating seeing the reaction of people when the scripted became interrupted by an unexpected person asserting their agenda. Christ comes into our routine, mundane, scripted, lives, often in the midst of tragedies, weeping, humbling, hopeless circumstances and begs to be reckoned with. He says, "This procession through life and death here on Earth is not what you were made for. You were made for eternity and I am here to give you life if you break free and follow me." The question is, will you stop, turn the other direction (repentance) and follow Him? He can give you eternal life because He has power over death.

      Lastly, when the man came alive, he talked. When the people saw it, they talked. If Christ really conquered the grave, this is something to talk about. It is an issue that everyone thinks about because God has set eternity in the hearts of man. We who know Christ, have the secret that defeats death. If I had the cure for cancer and kept it a secret, what kind of person would I be - the worst sort of monster. Yet we as believers hide this truth for fear of rejection or mocking. Shame on us. Talk about it. Christ has conquered death and the grave!

     Lord, thank You that I am going to live forever. Thank You for a life of hope. Thank You far a life without fear. Help me to share this good news with other people. Amen