The raising of the widow of Nain's son

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 16 MARCH 2025 am – MR BRYAN CRUISE

Luke 7 verses 11 to 18

D L Moody as a young man was once called on to conduct a funeral service. He sought the New Testament for inspiration, particularly the gospels to see the best way to conduct the funeral. He read the ministry of Jesus and found something very striking. Jesus didn’t conduct any funerals but rather he disrupted them. In fact in the gospels Jesus spoiled every funeral he went to. The resurrection story in Luke 7 is the only one recorded by Luke apart from Jesus’ own resurrection. None of the gospels have every resurrection story. Taking them in chronological order this is the first resurrection story in Luke 7.  Mark 5 has the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter and John 11 the story of Lazarus’ resurrection. In each of these resurrection stories there are different truths. They happened at different times in people’s lives. Jairus’ daughter had just died, the woman whose son had died here in Luke 7 happened a few hours after death. Lazarus as we know was dead for days. It didn’t matter when the individual died but all testified to the power of the Lord Jesus. We see 3 things in our story – first the afflicted woman, second the almighty Saviour and finally the awesome outcome.

First, the afflicted woman.  In our bible in verse 11 we see that this miracle took place the day after. The day after what? The day before the Lord was in Capernaum. That was a familiar place to Jesus. It was the home base to his ministry. His secret place. A place of rest and renewal. His ministry’s headquarters. There he healed a Roman Centurion’s servant. After that he goes 20 miles south to Nain. It’s name means beauty or pleasant. There is not much pleasant in our story. In fact when Jesus arrives it is a solemn day, an awful day. Why? Because a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of a widow. Verse 11.  The Lord arrived in Nain. He went with his disciples and much people. This miraculous event took place in the first year of his ministry. It was a very active ministry. There were large crowds who started to follow the Lord. In Luke 6 verse 13 we read of Jesus calling his first disciples. Then he gives us the Sermon on the Mount – Luke 6 verse 22. He moves onto Capernaum and heals the centurion’s servant. Verse 11 “and many of his disciples went with him and much people.” I wonder what category do you fall into today? Can it be said you are a disciple of Jesus? Or are you just an individual who follows afar off? Maybe you are just at church today because it is a Sunday. Could someone point to you and say you are a genuine disciple. There is something that marks you out with distinction. If you are following the Lord Jesus Christ and if there was suddenly a law against your faith and you were arrested – would there be enough evidence to convict you? Behind closed doors are you the same there as here? Do you find yourself in the quiet place at home memorizing God’s word? Are you a disciple of the Lord? I want you to see this lady today, an afflicted woman. When the Lord approached the city, when he came near to the gate of the city he saw her. Nain is a very small settlement which still exists today. It was never enclosed with a wall. A small town. If it was going to be besieged by the enemy there was no need for a wall. Why? Because there was nothing valuable in it that it needed to be guarded. It had a gate which was a very important place. That gate would be very important to the woman in the coming days. The gate was where the elders sat and discussed affairs of the town. They were like a local council. One of the things that would be discussed in the coming days was how impoverished this woman would be. What would happen to her and her estate?  In Deuteronomy 25 verse 5 there is provision made for this woman to enter into a levirate marriage if she was still young. She could sell her estate to a kinsman redeemer as outlined in Leviticus 25.  They would discuss how poor she would be. They didn’t decide her fate at the city gate however – Jesus did. Jesus met here there are the city gate as he approached. Notice the words “behold there was a dead man carried out”. We are told to sit up and take notice. What follows after that word “behold” is quite unique. There are 3 things about this woman you can see in verse 12. Her only son had died. Remember the story of Hannah praying fervently and passionately in the Old Testament for a son? It was natural for a woman to desire a son more than anything else. The Israelite people thought so much of family that if you didn’t have a son all was lost. An Israelite woman wanted nothing more than a son. This woman was the same and her son has died. It was sorrowful, tragic, terrible. So tragic that the prophets of the Old Testament when they wanted to paint the image of something used the image of an only dying. Jeremiah 6 verse 26 “O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as or an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.” Amos 8 verse 10 “And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins and baldness upon every head, and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.” You can see that when the only son died in Israel it was the most tragic thing. She is a widow. This woman in our story probably travelled this road many years before to bury her husband. James 1 verse 27  “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the father is this; To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” Under the Mosaic law people were told to care for such woman. It is a priority for God’s people to care for widows. In Deuteronomy 24 there was strict instructions to leave a sheaf in the field for the stranger, the widow and the fatherless. In Deuteronomy 26 there was a tithe of firstfruits set aside for the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. This woman was loved of God. There was a priority from God to care for widows and orphans. For the Jewish people of Nain when a funeral took place the body had to be carried outside the city. The person couldn’t be buried within the city limits. If you seen a funeral procession you were obliged to join it. There were people paid to be mourners. It was an occupation in Israel to attend a funeral. They had to tear their clothes, wail and cry out. That is the type of people following this woman. A funeral in ancient Israel was very different from those here in the West. Ours is a much more solemn affair. When a neighbour in Israel heard the wailing they knew there was a death. This woman is in dire straits. A tragic, terrible situation. What a blessed thing it is when Jesus stepped in.

The almighty Saviour. Verse 13 “And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not.” The Lord Jesus steps into the situation. One of the most beautiful names for God is El Roi, the God who sees. It is found in Genesis 16 verse 13 and was given by Hagar to God. A woman, considered a second class citizen of Israel whose testimony would never have held up in a court of law. A slave, an Egyptian was the first individual to give God a name. He is the God who sees. I want to tell you that God always sees. Whatever circumstance or situation you are in, God sees. Whatever trial, temptation or tribulation you are in – God sees it. Christ knew precisely where this woman was. He met her in her hour of desperation. In the desperation, in the depth of sorrow and mourning she was not unknown to God. He seen her circumstances and he sees yours too. This is the first time in Luke’s gospel we read the word Lord in reference to Jesus. It is the word “kyrios” and in the Old Testament the word Adonai is used. The word YHWH is often used by God in dealing with his own people. That name is precious. Today sadly certain people have lost the reverence to God’s name. Some Jews would not say it out loud and if they were to write it they would break the nib of their pen so as never to do it again. Here we see the Lord God Almighty, Jesus, the eternal Son of God who saw this woman. He not only saw her but he had compassion on her. This word is “splagchnizomai” and it is only used 3 times in Luke’s gospel. In Luke 10 verse 33 with reference to the story of the Good Samaritan. He saw the man lying at the side of the road and had compassion on him. In Luke 15 verse 20 it is used in reference to the story of the Prodigal Son. When the father saw his son afar off he runs to him, kisses him and orders the best robe to be put on him. You can hear in every use of the word that the person is not a detached emotion.  Compassion leads to action every time. He is not the God who sees and does nothing. He moves on our behalf. He is not distant. He is not afraid. He doesn’t simply see and do nothing. The Lord says to this woman “weep not”. Then he comes and touches the bier. If your bible translation says “coffin” it is a mistranslation because the only people who used coffins were Egyptians. Basically a bier is a wooden plank used to carry a dead person to the place of burial. Jesus brings it to a stop and those carrying the boy stood still. It was like a stretcher. When Jesus touches the bier he becomes unclean according to Jewish law  - Numbers 19 verses 19 to 21. When Jesus touched the bier he would have been unclean for 7 days. It was one of the most severest uncleanness in Judaism. That is why people were buried outside the city. That is why whitewash is used on tombs. The white tomb would gleam in the sun and people would know not to go near the tomb. When the Lord touches the bier he exposed himself to uncleanness. For many scholars and pastors uncleanness is often associated with sinfulness. That imagery is certainly not always the case. To be unclean did not mean you were breaking God’s law. Leviticus 16 verses 16 to 18. For instance within a physical relationship in marriage the two could be unclean. Giving birth could also make a woman unclean – Leviticus 12. In Luke 2 verse 22 we read that Mary was unclean having given birth to Jesus. Uncleanness does not mean sinfulness. Sometimes it was unavoidable in day to day life. When Jesus touched the bier it should have affected him but it didn’t. He was not tainted by defilement. It goes in the opposite direction. The power of the Lord leaves Jesus and enters into the young man. Impurity does not transfer to Jesus but purity does transfer to the young man. Hebrews 7 verse 26 “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Christ performs miracles in a variety of ways in the gospel, not in the exact same way every time. He raises people to life but he does it by speaking directly to the individual concerned. He said to the young man “I say unto you arise.” That is the power of God. All he had to do was speak his word and it quickened the dead. Psalm 33 verse 6 “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” Later in on verse 9 he says “For he spake and it was done, he commanded and it stood fast.” He spoke from God.

The awesome outcome Christ speaks to the young man and he arises. God created the power that was displayed from Jesus’ mouth. The young man sat up. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, Creator God of the universe. When he rose people from the dead the miracle was instantaneous. There was no need to be taught how to do anything again. Everything began to work again. He was fully alive. He was capable and mature. Why? Because he began to speak. Luke records this for us as evidence he was alive. “He began to speak”. This man in our story was given new life and he spoke about it. If you are found in Christ, are saved by his precious blood, are given new life in Jesus Christ. Do you speak about it? Do you neighbours know it? Do those you work with know about it? Do you speak of your Saviour? The man was given new life and he spoke. We are given eternal life, do we speak of it? In our interactions with people it is our privilege to speak of the one who died for us. What an impact we would have if we did. Robert Louis Stevenson saw a man lighting the street lamps. When asked what he saw he replied – “I am watching a man cutting holes into the darkness.” You and I when we speak of our Saviour are cutting holes into the darkness. The light of the gospel shines forth when we tell of our Saviour. Will we go forward this week and speak of the Lord? Will we lift him up? I believe that if this story in Luke 7 was the only story left in the gospel of the Lord, would be enough to tell us of a God who sees us, is moved with compassion and is all powerful. What a God we serve. As we leave this place today remember the Saviour we serve is the same Saviour as in Luke 7.