Resurrections: Lesson 3 (5-15-22)

Overview

The Widow's Son at Nain: Christ's Compassion and Word of Life

Scripture is unflinching about death. Genesis ends with Joseph in a coffin in Egypt; Deuteronomy with the death of Moses; Joshua with the burial of Joshua. Ecclesiastes reminds us there is "a time to be born and a time to die," and Psalm 90:12 teaches us to number our days. Into this universal reality, the account of the widow at Nain in Luke 7:11–17 shows how Christ Himself meets death—and overcomes it.

A Divine Appointment of Compassion

Jesus' arrival at Nain was no accident. The providence of God—His preserving and governing of all things—brought two processions face to face: Jesus at the head of His followers, and a funeral procession bearing a young man, the only son of a widow. In that culture, this woman had lost not only her child but her economic safety net; inheritance came through men, and she was now utterly alone. When Jesus saw her, He "had compassion." The Greek word reaches into the gut—the seat of emotion. Here is the Creator who not only knows how we feel but, in the flesh, has felt what we feel. This same compassion moved Him to heal the blind Matthew 20:34 and to teach the harassed crowds Mark 6:34. True compassion is never mere feeling; it issues in action. Even Job's friends ministered best when they simply sat with him in silence Job 2:11–13—a reminder that pastoral care often means setting aside our agenda and letting presence speak.

The Word That Speaks Reality

Jesus touched the bier—an act that, under Levitical law, would have rendered Him unclean—but the holy God incarnate is not defiled by death; rather, He undoes it. "Young man, I say to you, rise." When Jesus speaks, His word accomplishes what it says. He told the leper, "Be made clean," and immediately the leprosy left him Mark 1:41–42. He cried, "Lazarus, come out," and the dead man came forth John 11:43. Elijah and Elisha had raised the dead by God's power (1 Kings 17; 2 Kings 4), but Jesus speaks on His own authority. The crowd called Him a great prophet—and missed that He is God Himself.

Raised From Death to Life

This miracle is not merely a kindness to one grieving mother; it is a window into what Christ does for every sinner. By nature we are spiritually dead, our hearts curved inward upon ourselves, unable to repent on our own. As the Lutheran theologian Johann Gerhard prayed, "I was dead in sin, and you made me alive. I was able to contribute as much to my conversion as a dead person is able to contribute to his resurrection." God exchanges our heart of stone for a heart of flesh Ezekiel 36:26. Repentance itself is not our achievement but the Spirit's work in us; baptism drowns the old self daily and raises the new. We do not "decide" our way to God—He decides for us, grasps us, and speaks us alive.

Pastoral Application

The raising at Nain prefigures both Christ's own resurrection and ours. At the font, Jesus touches us with His grace and calls us from death to life. And one day, as John 5:28–29 promises, "the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out." Until then, take comfort: the Christ who saw the widow sees you. He feels your grief in His gut, He speaks words that do what they say, and He has already raised you with Himself. When you face death—your own or a loved one's—remember that Jesus deals in the categories of death and life, and in Him, life always has the last word.

Transcript

Good morning. 3s

Let's pray, please. 5s

O God of all grace, you sent your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to bring life and immortality 8s

to light. 16s

We give you thanks that by His death He destroyed the power of death and by His resurrection He opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. 17s

Strengthen us in the confidence that because He lives we shall live also, and that neither death nor life nor things present or things to come. 28s

We'll be able to separate us from your love which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. 38s

Amen. 50s

Well, last week we took a look at the story of the raising of Lazarus and how Jesus demonstrated that he is the resurrection and the life and how the raising of Lazarus was a foretaste of the raising of Jesus and of course the foretaste of when we will all be raised on that last day. 52s

Today I'd like to take a look with you at the resurrection story in Holy Scripture with regard to the widow's son at name, the widow's son at name. 74s

Growing up in California in our backyard there were several walnut trees and we had a little muck by the name of Lad. 86s

And of course Lad would love to go outside and to play around and to experience the backyard and all of that. 95s

But in the walnut trees we would have several squirrels that made their home there. 106s

And I remember hearing for the first time squirrels laughing. Have you ever heard that? 113s

Squirrels have a laughter to them and what they thought was so funny was to take some of the walnuts and to drop them on Lad. 120s

And so down would come the walnuts raining down on poor little lad who was part Chinese crescent which is I don't know if you're familiar with it. 132s

Totally bald dog except for two hairs that stick out of the middle of its forehead. 142s

And it was really one of the ugliest animals I've ever seen in my life. 147s

But we loved him. He was just part of the family. 153s

But he would go out and he would get frustrated and he would get angry when he was being left that. 156s

And so this little muck would try and climb up the walnut tree. Well of course that didn't work too well. 162s

The squirrels thought this was just absolutely delightful. 169s

And so pretty much all day long whenever Lad would go out in the backyard down would come the walnuts. 173s

One day however in the backyard I discovered a squirrel that had fallen and it was not moving. 180s

So I went in and I got my dad and I said I'm worried about this squirrel and he came out and the squirrel had died from the fall. 189s

So we had a little funal service there for the squirrel and we buried the squirrel in the backyard. 201s

I wondered what Lad was feeling amidst at least my grief that was being shared of whether there was perhaps some secret delight in Lad at what had happened. 208s

But it was one of the first lessons that I had ever received in terms that everything eventually dies. 223s

Everything dies. 233s

We hear that theme in Scripture where at the end of Genesis it concludes with, so Joseph died at the age of 110 and after they embombed him he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. 236s

In Deuteronomy it ends with a reference to Moses and Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab at the conclusion of Joshua. 251s

After these things Joshua son of none the servant of the Lord died at the age of 110. 263s

Ecclesiastes. 271s

There's a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven a time to be born and a time to die. 273s

Psalm 90. 283s

We teach us to number our days a right that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 284s

As we turn today to our text I want to examine with you it is another scene that is a reminder, another scene of a reminder of death. 296s

Let's open up to Luke the seventh chapter Matthew Mark and then Luke Luke chapter 7 verse 11. 306s

Soon afterwards he went to a town called Maine and his disciples and the large crowd went with him. 326s

Well the soon afterwards addresses what just occurred and that was the healing of the centurions of the servant. 335s

And Maine was this tiny tiny little village about the 20 miles southwest of Kaepernam. 346s

And Jesus heads to Maine because Jesus has a divine appointment. 354s

It's really an example of the divine providence of God. 359s

Jesus is going there by divine appointment. 366s

When we see the providence of God the providence of God manifests itself in several different arenas. 372s

It manifests itself in the gracious preservation of all creatures that's Psalm 36. 378s

It manifests itself in his gracious cooperation with all that occurs that's Acts 17. 386s

It manifests itself in his gracious direction in government of the entire universe that's Proverbs chapter 20. 393s

The providence of God is God's preserving and governing the universe and all the individual creatures through his omnipresence and through his omnipotence. 402s

And so it is no accident then that Jesus is heading to Maine because he has a divine appointment. 417s

And there is a work to do. Look at verse 12. 429s

As he approached the gate of the town a man who had died was being carried out. 437s

He was his mother's only son and she was a widow. 445s

And with her was a large crowd from the town. 452s

So here on the one hand you have this happy procession of Jesus and his disciples and others. 458s

Jesus is at the head of the procession. 466s

And then you have this funeral procession where you have here this grief and this loss that has been sharing, that has occurred. 469s

And now you have these two processions here that are going to meet. 480s

Notice what it says here in describing this situation. 487s

Now the one who died was his mother's only son and she was a widow. 490s

Certainly of course there is grief in terms of the loss of the child. 500s

The grief in that. 508s

That we talked about last week. 510s

The wrenching that occurs with death and just a pain of it all. 512s

But it is also compounded by the fact that in ancient day this widow now has no safety net. 521s

There is absolutely no safety net in the culture. 530s

Inheritance came through the man. 534s

The widow gets nothing in this situation. 538s

Nothing. 542s

So she is without inheritance. 543s

There is no social safety net. 545s

She has lost her only son and she is truly alone, economically alone. 549s

This is a horrid situation to be in. 559s

So the details instructive for us. 564s

He was his mother's only son. 566s

She was a widow. 569s

Verse 13. 573s

When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, 576s

do not weep. 583s

That word compassion. 586s

It is a form of the verb which is related to a noun that is descriptive of the inner parts of the body. 588s

It is that understanding. 598s

It is kind of the modern use of it would be heart or the modern use of it would be gut. 600s

Something horrific happens if you are used to hear the phrase, I feel like it was just punched in the gut. 609s

That is what this word is getting at. 616s

Figuratively, the inward parts were, was that which was the seat of emotions. 622s

So when the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her. 628s

Here once again you have the expression of the feeling capacity of Christ. 632s

Not only does he know exactly how we feel after all he created us, 641s

but he experienced the feelings that we feel in the flesh. 647s

So here is truly one who understands. 653s

Here is truly one who gets it. 657s

It is always a dangerous statement to say to someone I know exactly how you feel. 659s

Even those situations can be very similar. 665s

It is a dangerous statement to make because everyone's feelings are unique. 669s

Here however you have the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, 676s

experiencing that which we experience. 682s

And God, of course, being omniscient, Jesus is filled with compassion here. 685s

In his gut, in his heart, because here is the divine appointment that he comes to. 693s

And he comes, his procession, and now this other procession. 701s

And here is the woman. 706s

She has lost her only son. 708s

And she herself is a widow. 712s

And Jesus knows the culture of the day. 716s

And Jesus knows the situation that this woman is in. 718s

We see in Scripture other examples of Jesus' compassion. 726s

Let me just highlight two very quickly. 731s

Let's go to Matthew chapter 20 verse 34. 733s

Matthew chapter 20 verse 34. 741s

Here is the story of two blind men. 745s

In Matthew 20 verse 34 it says, 753s

moved with compassion. 756s

Jesus touched their eyes. 759s

Immediately they regained their sight and followed him. 761s

Or Mark the sixth chapter. 766s

Mark chapter 6 verse 34. 770s

As he went to shore he saw a great crowd. 782s

And he had compassion for them. 786s

Because they were like sheep without a shepherd. 789s

And he began to teach them many things. 792s

The compassion of Christ. 796s

And notice what is linked to the feeling. 798s

Because you have in the word compassion. 800s

You have the highlighting of the feeling that our Lord was experiencing. 804s

But notice what is linked to the feeling. 808s

In that true compassion, you have also action that is associated with it. 811s

That in true compassion you have action. 819s

Let's go to Job chapter 2. 824s

Job in the Old Testament right before the book of Psalms. 828s

So a good way to find Psalms. 835s

Just go to the very middle of Scripture. 837s

And then turn left and go to Job chapter 2, please. 840s

Job chapter 2 verse 11. 850s

Job has gone through just horrific experience here. 855s

Family killed physical issues here for Job. 861s

And in chapter 2 verse 11 it says, 868s

Now when Job's three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, 873s

each of them set out from his home. 878s

Ella Faz, the team of night, 880s

Bill Dad, the shoe height, 883s

and so far the Mayathite. 885s

They met together to go and console and comfort him. 887s

When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. 892s

And they raised their voices and wept aloud. 896s

They tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. 900s

They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, 904s

and no one spoke a word to him, 910s

for they saw that he was suffering was very great. 912s

In compassion, if we are only moved toward feeling, 919s

there's an emptiness to it. 925s

But when feeling is put into action, 928s

now we have a real expression of ministry. 932s

Even if the action that is taken is just sitting with someone and saying nothing, 938s

just sitting with them so they know of your presence. 951s

So often I'll hear the question from folks, 956s

they'll say about a situation with a friend, etc. 960s

And they say, what can I say? 963s

And so much of the ministry that occurs is just to be with the person. 968s

Just to be with them. 974s

The Lord guides to the right words. 978s

And you let the people set the agenda. 981s

You don't come into situations of care with your own kind of agenda. 985s

This is what I'm going to say, and this is what I'm going to say at all that. 989s

No, you sit with them and the agenda will become clearer. 992s

Maybe the agenda is just to sit there in silence with them. 996s

And they know that someone is with them. 1002s

In fact, as you look at Job's counselors, 1005s

I think it's quite legitimate to say that this was the best ministry they did right now. 1007s

It's when they started to open their mouth, right? 1011s

That they were offering all kinds of strange stuff there. 1014s

But feeling coupled with action, that's what we have in the Lord Jesus. 1020s

Okay, back to Luke 7, 1027s

back to Luke 7, 1031s

verse 14, 1036s

then he came forward and touched the beer, 1041s

and the bearers stood still. 1046s

In accordance with Old Testament law, Leviticus 21 is an example of it. 1051s

It was considered unclean to touch a dead person 1057s

or that which a dead person was upon. 1061s

So here, you know, there's special exemptions that you see in Leviticus for blood, relatives, etc. 1067s

But here you have Jesus Christ, 1076s

the incarnate holy God was not defiled by touching a dead person or the beer. 1079s

Verse 14, and he said, 1088s

young man, I say to you, rise. 1090s

When Jesus speaks, Jesus always speaks in realities. 1097s

The word does something. 1104s

That word goes forth, 1108s

and that which is spoken accomplishes 1110s

that for which God intends the word to go forth. 1114s

And here when Jesus speaks in the reality and says, 1119s

young man, I say to you, rise. 1124s

That which he says, it always happens. 1127s

It always happens. 1132s

Take a look at Mark chapter 1, please. 1133s

Matthew and then Mark. 1137s

Mark chapter 1, verse 41, 1142s

moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, 1156s

I do choose, be made clean. 1160s

See, he speaks in realities. 1164s

Verse 42, immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean. 1166s

Or in John chapter 11, verse 43, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John. 1173s

John chapter 11, verse 43. 1179s

That's what we studied last week. 1187s

When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. 1192s

The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, 1197s

and his face wrapped in a cloth. 1202s

Jesus said to them, unbind him and let him go. 1204s

When Jesus speaks, he speaks in realities. 1209s

And when he says something, that which he says comes about. 1211s

Okay, back to Luke 7, verse 15, 1218s

the dead man sat up and began to speak, 1225s

and Jesus gave him to his mother. 1230s

Now we don't have any other descriptors there on that. 1235s

But you see that scenario? 1238s

You see that scene in your mind? 1239s

What happened? 1240s

What happened? 1241s

The dead man sat up and began to speak. 1243s

And Jesus gave him to his mother, fear seized all of them. 1245s

And they glorified God, saying, a great prophet has risen among us. 1249s

And God has looked favorably on his people. 1255s

And they miss the point that Jesus is God. 1262s

What do they say? 1269s

Great prophet has risen among us. 1270s

Elijah raised a dead person by the power of God in 1 Kings 17. 1274s

Elijah did the same in 2 Kings 4. 1280s

But they were raised by a power not of their own. 1284s

They were raised by a power of God. 1288s

And now you have Jesus saying, I say to you, rise. 1290s

And they miss the point. 1296s

And they call him a great prophet. 1298s

Johann Gerhard, the 17th century Lutheran theologian, 1303s

he wrote a little book of short meditations. 1308s

And there are prayers that just beautifully describe Jesus' work 1314s

of granting new life to dead sinners. 1319s

So I want to share as we conclude today, 1326s

I want to share some snippets from this prayer. 1329s

Gerhard wrote this in this prayer. 1334s

O gracious God, I give thanks to you that you converted my hardened heart, 1337s

which did not know how to repent, 1346s

and that you removed my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh. 1349s

Remember from last week, do you hear the echoes of our Lutheran confessions? 1358s

How our Lutheran confessions talk to us as we're stone? 1362s

You see, that we're born in rebellion against God. 1368s

We want nothing to do with him. 1372s

Gerhard so beautifully expresses that when he says, 1374s

I give thanks to you that you converted my hardened heart, 1378s

which did not know how to repent. 1381s

You see, repentance is not our action. 1388s

Repentance is that which is born of the spirit in us. 1390s

That's why Luther says, what does baptism mean for daily living? 1395s

It means that our sinful self with all of its evil deeds and desires 1399s

should be drowned in daily repentance. 1403s

Repentance isn't that which we have to come up with. 1409s

In other words, we are not forgiven through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1412s

and then God says to us, now, get about and be busy, 1416s

and this is what I want you to do. 1420s

Get about, be in busy with regard to your sanctification. 1422s

So get about, be in busy, and keep repenting, 1425s

because repentance is up to you. 1429s

No repentance is a response of the action of God in our heart. 1430s

And the Gerhard gets right at it here, where he says, 1436s

it's hard and hard, which did not know how to repent. 1440s

And you removed my heart of stone and replaced it. 1444s

By the way, that's Ezekiel 36, 26. 1449s

And then he goes on to pray. 1453s

I had the power to fall into sin and guilt. 1457s

I did not have the power to rise to repentance. 1461s

By my own power, I was able to go astray. 1466s

My soul was born spiritually curved towards sin and earthly things. 1470s

That is a, that is a, a theological precise definition of sin. 1476s

It's a curvature inward upon the cell. 1480s

Members, we've talked in the past, if you want a definition of sin, 1484s

just write out the word sin, capitalize eye in the middle of it, 1487s

and there's a word picture for you. 1490s

It's the curvature inward upon the cell. 1492s

By my own power, I was able to go astray. 1496s

My soul was born spiritually curved towards sin and earthly things. 1500s

No human power could correct it. 1504s

Only your grace was able to restore my soul, 1508s

so it loved you and desired your heavenly blessings. 1512s

You, my God, converted me and I am converted. 1516s

You hear the direction here? 1522s

What did Jesus say? 1525s

You didn't choose me. 1527s

I chose you. 1530s

Choose you. 1531s

And the heart is converted. 1533s

That's Jeremiah 31-18, by the way. 1535s

So I was dead and sinned and you made me alive. 1539s

I was able to contribute as much to my conversion as a dead person 1545s

is able to contribute to his resurrection. 1551s

Let me read that again. 1555s

I was dead and sinned, you made me alive. 1559s

I was able to contribute as much to my conversion as a dead person 1561s

is able to contribute to his resurrection. 1567s

You see, we are transformed into believers. 1573s

And here, just a little tag on. 1579s

This is kind of an extra to the sermon. 1584s

Didn't wind up in the sermon here, but it could have. 1585s

It's a little extra to the sermon. 1588s

I like how one author talking about sanctification says, 1590s

the problem with us is we don't understand ourselves 1595s

and who we are, so we keep thinking we can operate on a corpse 1599s

and change ourselves. 1606s

He was getting at the whole issue of the old Adam and old Eve 1609s

that I get at in the sermon today. 1613s

Gearhart is just spot on here where I said, 1616s

I was able to contribute as much to my conversion as a dead person 1620s

is able to contribute to his resurrection. 1623s

You see that the fundamental critique of decision theology 1629s

that Scripture goes right at here. 1635s

Now all you have to do is accept Jesus. 1642s

You hear why that's wrong when you read Scripture? 1646s

Because it's not a matter of us being brought to a place 1651s

where our free will then says, okay, I choose to do that. 1654s

Yes, I'm making the rational choice to do it. 1658s

No, God converts us, transforms us into believers. 1661s

We realize we are in love with Jesus Christ 1664s

and we come to the realization that we contribute absolutely nothing 1667s

to our conversion. 1672s

That is God's way of saying, you understand that you contribute nothing 1675s

and is solely my doing and it winds up in a prayer that is so scriptural. 1679s

I was dead in sin, you made me alive. 1685s

I was able to contribute as much to my conversion as a dead person 1687s

is able to contribute to his resurrection. 1691s

Jesus has to say Lazarus come out. 1694s

If Jesus doesn't say Lazarus come out, Lazarus isn't coming out. 1697s

But he is called unto newness of life. 1704s

He goes on to say, if you had not drawn me, 1706s

I would never have come to you. 1712s

Why? 1718s

Because he understands that by nature we are dead toward God. 1720s

We want nothing to do with him. 1729s

There has to be a resurrection of us spiritually. 1734s

Because we have made our decision. 1742s

And the decision as a former professor of mine used to say, is no. 1747s

And whenever we start to say, but can't we or don't we or can't we resist? 1755s

And all of that, you see, former professor of mine kept coming back to that. 1762s

If you are hung up on the decision here, he would tell the class. 1767s

If you are hung up on the decision here, you have already made it and it is no. 1771s

But God is the one that transforms us. 1774s

Because it is a matter of from death to life, resurrection unto life. 1779s

The story of the widow's son named, is Jesus' story as well. 1788s

Because it is what Jesus does in our lives through the waters of baptism. 1795s

The resurrection of the son prefigures the resurrection of Christ. 1803s

And just as it was with the young man from name, from name, so it is with all people at the font, 1808s

as Jesus touches us with His grace and raises us up unto new life. 1816s

As God comes with His promises and says, this is what I give you. 1827s

This is who you are. 1832s

This is my decision and I have grasped you. 1835s

Verse 14, that he came forward, touched the beer and the bearers stood still. 1843s

He said, young man, I say to you, rise. 1851s

The dead man set up and began to speak and Jesus gave him to his mother. 1859s

And life returned to the dead body. 1867s

And at our baptism, we are raised, we are raised unto life eternal. 1871s

John the 5th chapter says, do not be astonished at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out. 1881s

And so the raising of the widow's son at name also prefigures that great day when God will come, the Lord Jesus in all of His glory, and the trumpets will sound and the dead will be raised unto eternal life. 1893s

God deals with the categories of death and life, death and life. 1914s

In fact, if you want to read a great book, you probably have to search for it. 1926s

It's a former professor of mine and his book is from death to life. 1931s

Gerhard Furti, F-O-R-D-E, from death to life. 1940s

And what Furti was getting at was the same thing that Gerhard was getting at, which is the same thing that scripture is getting at. 1944s

Jesus deals in those categories. 1951s

And as he raised the son of name, so also, he raises us spiritually and will raise us up on the last day. 1954s

Well, we'll conclude this class next week. We're going to take a look at a Zekiel's vision of the dry bones. 1966s

We'll pick it up next time. 1975s