The Third Sunday after Pentecost
June 5, 2016
Luke 7:11-17
Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 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. When the LORD saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 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. 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.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
For the next few months you and I will watch as two political powerhouses will be competing for the most powerful position the face of the earth— the office of the President of the United States. Even though it is not yet official (at least not until after California’s primary election on Tuesday) Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will be going head-to-head in what could easily become a very messy campaign. Which one will win that confrontation?
Two tremendously talented basketball teams are now battling each other in the NBA Finals. In Game 1 the Warriors were able to outscore the Cavaliers by a score of 104 to 89. These two teams will confront each other at least three more times before a victor is crowned. Which one will ultimately win that confrontation?
Confrontations are actually rather common, aren’t they? Some confrontations are somewhat minor. Some confrontations border on being epic. Here in our sermon text for today God the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity to sit on the sidelines and witness what is truly an epic confrontation. On one side of this confrontation we find death— an enemy that is so powerful that no ordinary human being has ever been able to defeat it. On the other side of this confrontation we find Jesus— the One who came into this world as our true Brother so that He could go toe-to-toe with death on our behalf! As we sit on the sidelines of this epic battle let’s see how it could be titled: The Lord of Life Confronts the Demon of Death!
In order for us to appreciate the full impact of what took place there at the city gate of Nain we need to try and visualize this scene in our minds. So permit me to help you do just that. Jesus of Nazareth was now in the middle of what is commonly called His “Year of Popularity.” Jesus had recently chosen His twelve apostles. He had recently preached His Sermon on the Mount. He had just been in the city of Capernaum where as we heard last Sunday He had miraculously healed the centurion’s servant without even going to the centurion’s house. As Jesus now made His way from Capernaum to Nain Luke tells us that a “large crowd” was following Him. It certainly is not hard for us to picture the joy and the happiness that permeated the air as these people walked and talked with this amazing Rabbi from Nazareth.
Now picture another crowed. It’s gathering in the city of Nain. There is no joy. There is no happiness. One of their own— a poor widow— was preparing to bury her only means of support, her only hope for the future, her only son. Her friends help her bathe his lifeless body, wrap it in cloths and spices and place it on a funeral bier— kind of like a wicker basket carried on a stretcher. As the procession left the widow’s home a group of men carrying the funeral bier were at the head of the procession. Then came the widow. Then came a “large crowd from the town.”
So now we have two crowds and two processions that could not be more diametrically different from each other suddenly confront each other at the gate in the wall around the city of Nain. Custom would have Jesus and the crowd following Him stand off to the side and let the funeral procession pass by— much like when our funeral processions today are given the right-of-way at busy intersections. But, instead of standing helplessly on the side, instead of deferring to the dead what does Jesus do? Luke tells us, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ 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.”
Note very carefully how Luke here refers to Jesus as “the Lord.” This is the thirty-ninth time that Luke uses this name in his Gospel account. By using this name for Jesus Luke is here emphasizing beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is not just an ordinary man. This is not just an amazing Rabbi. This is “the Lord” who created the heavens and the earth by simply speaking the word. This is “the Lord” who said to Moses from the burning bush, “I Am that I Am” (Exodus 3:14). This is “the Lord” who promised King David that one of his descendants would sit on the throne of his father David and rule over God’s Kingdom for ever and ever. This is “the Lord” whose whole inner being was filled with so much compassion for this poor woman that He immediately took charge of the situation in a way which no one could have ever anticipated. After lovingly telling the widow to dry her tears Jesus immediately went up to the pallbearers, brought them to a halt by placing His hand upon the funeral bier and said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” And he did! The dead man woke up from the sleep of death and was given back to his mother safe and sound. Now I have attended many funerals and I have even been a pallbearer at more than one of them. But I have absolutely no idea what it would have been like to have been one of the people at the city gate of Nain when Jesus of Nazareth simply spoke and this young man rose from the dead! I have a feeling, however, that Luke only scratches the surface when he describes the reaction of the people with the words, “They were all filled with awe and praised God.”
As glorious as this miracle most certainly is, my friends, I personally think that it is recorded for us here on the pages of holy Scripture to teach us far more than just Jesus’ power to raise the dead. As I look back over the course of just my own life and my own ministry I am now able to see a little bit better why certain things happened to me and why I experienced certain situations— some good and some not so good. As I grow and mature in my own faith I am now able to better understand why the Holy Spirit had the apostle Paul give us that familiar promise recorded in Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Some people sincerely believe that the meeting of these two processions at the city gate of Nain— one led by the Lord of life, the other a testimony to the power of the demon of death— was purely “accidental.” I disagree. I believe that just as Jesus knew exactly how the illness and the death of Lazarus would end in such a way that “God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4), so also I believe that even before He left Capernaum Jesus knew that His joyful procession would confront this funeral procession there at the city gate of Nain.
The question then becomes, Why? Why would the Lord of life choose to confront the demon of death at that time, at that place and in that way? I see so many answers to those questions that it’s difficult to chose where to begin! So what I would like to do today is simply focus on that poor widow and see how what Jesus did for her applies to us today.
Satan is someone who loves confrontation— especially when he’s confronting us mortal weak sinners. Like a bully on the playground Satan will tease us and push us and hit us and trip us and do whatever he can to coax us into a one-on-one confrontation. Satan knows that if he can get us alone we are no match for him— a fallen yet still extremely powerful angel. Note how alone this poor woman was. Her husband was dead. Her only son was dead. No mention is made of any other family. She lived in an age when there was no social security, no food stamps, no government subsidized housing for the elderly, no Medicare, no Medicaid. Satan probably thought to himself, “Easy prey!” That is why I think the Lord of life confronted the demon of death here at Nain. Like a big brother who steps up to protect his little sister or like the loving father who seems to suddenly appear out of nowhere and sends the bully running with his tail between his legs, here at Nain Jesus steps up to protect this woman from the myriad of temptations and the vast array of difficulties that Satan could have easily used against a widow whose only son was now dead.
There are times in our lives— or there will be times in our lives— when we also might feel like we are all alone and easy prey for that roaring lion who is looking to devour us. Perhaps it is the death of a loved one or our own impending death. Perhaps it is the devastation of losing our job or losing our home. Perhaps it is a disability brought on by illness or injury or age. Whatever it might be, the worst thing we can do (and yet we do it way too often!) is to try and handle things such as this all by ourselves. We don’t turn to the Lord. We may not even trust that the Lord will help us. If we’re on the outside watching a family member or a friend go through something devastating in their life what do we say? What do we do? If all we do is cry with them for a moment and then half-heartedly say, “If you need anything, let me know,” we have wasted a golden opportunity.
Just as Jesus’ “heart went out” to this widow who was now all alone, so also Jesus’ “heart goes out” to those who are enduring devastation in their lives today— especially to us, His brothers and sisters. Our God is the God of boundless compassion. If you or anyone else ever doubts that— look at the cross of Calvary’s hill. God’s compassion for you is so strong and so deep that He was willing to endure the greatest suffering imaginable (Pointing to the cross) so that you would not have to. Since your God has already revealed this depth of compassion for you, is there anything that He can’t or won’t help you through in your life? Absolutely not! So, my friends, don’t let that roaring lion lure you away from this cross so that you are “easy prey” for him to devour. Stay close to your Lord, your compassionate Lord, by staying close to His holy Word and Sacrament!
At the same time, do not lose sight of the fact that “the Lord” who stepped up to this funeral bier, stopped this procession being led by the demon of death and defeated the devil by simply saying, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” has the power to do the very same thing today! I have been in a situation where the doctors have told the family that there is nothing more they can do and Sally won’t make it through the night. I have reminded the family that “the Lord” is the One who makes that decision, not the doctors. In His compassion I have seen how the Lord used His power to make sure that Sally not only recovered, but went back to work, retired from work and is still doing well to this very day. I have also been in situations where the doctors have said that it looks like Joe is “out of the woods” and should be just fine. But in His eternal wisdom and in His boundless compassion “the Lord” granted Joe perfect healing by calling him home to heaven.
My point is very simply this, my friends. When we know who “the Lord” is, when we realize the power that our Lord possesses then we have the comfort of knowing that we never have to handle anything alone. As I heard someone say, “There is nothing too big for the Lord to handle and there is nothing too small for the Lord to be concerned about.” Good words to remember— especially when something has happened that makes us feel both devastated and all alone!
Confrontations. Whether it’s in politics or in sports or in everyday life, confrontations are all but unavoidable. While some of these confrontations are minor and some of these confrontations are epic— none of them, none of them even begins to compare to what took place at the city gate of a town called Nain when the Lord of life confronted the demon of death. None of them, none of them even begins to compare to the confrontation that took place on the cross of Calvary’s hill. The fact that our Lord was victorious in both of those confrontations— as well as in every other confrontation He had with the devil— gives us the comfort and the confidence of knowing that our Lord possesses both the compassion and the power to help us— no matter who or what confronts us on our journey Home!
To God be the glory!
Amen