The Comfort of Christ -- Luke 7:11-17

Introduction

We were sitting around the house on Christmas Eve last year. It was late morning, early afternoon. Kim and Laura were in the kitchen, Stephen, Melissa and I were in the living room. Mel was on Facebook on her phone, and Stephen and I were watching TV. Suddenly, Melissa asked if I knew anything about one of her cousins. She said she noticed someone had put “RIP” and the cousin’s name on Facebook.

I immediately called one of my other cousins, and asked him if everything was all right. He confirmed that his nephew had died unexpectedly earlier that day. The shock of such a young death—he was in his early 20’s when he died—in an unexpected manner was a heavy blow for the family. The ramifications of his death is still felt almost a year later, and will probably be felt for years to come.

To have to bury one’s child must be a difficult, horrible event, one I pray I never have to experience. It’s difficult enough to lose a loved one after a long illness, and hard enough with an unexpected event such as a heart attack or automobile accident adds shock and the unexpected to the sorrow and mourning.

The passage we look at today deals with the untimely death of a woman’s only son and the effect it would have on her as she tried to carry on without him. Jesus demonstrates once again His great compassion as He encounters the woman and intervenes in her sorrow.

Central Truth: Jesus is our comfort in times of great sorrow.

The Compassion of Christ is seen in:

1. His kind words (11-13)

Nain is a community just southeast of Nazareth. Jesus has been ministering in the region of Capernaum and in the preceding verses has healed the servant of a Roman centurion. The verses tell us that Jesus was traveling with His disciples and a large crowd that was following Him. The crowd was seeking to learn and to be blessed by Jesus.

As Jesus and the entourage came to the town of Nain, they met a funeral procession coming from the city gate, heading to the cemetery outside the town. The funeral was for a young man, the only son of a widow. The significance of this is that the woman was now alone in the world, and the world in which she lived did not give opportunities for women to provide for themselves. Women could not represent themselves in legal matters nor could they hold down a job. Without a man in their lives, a woman was left with very few options, none of them good.

Apparently, the woman’s plight had touched the town of Nain, for there was a large crowd following the procession. It was normal to hire mourners for a funeral, but the size of the crowd tells us there were more than professional mourners present. Whether it was because of the age of the deceased or respect for the family, a large crowd was coming from the city as Jesus and the large crowd that followed Him approached.

The Bible is filled with passages where Jesus has compassion on people. He feels compassion for the masses who are like sheep without a shepherd. He showed compassion to the man who was born blind, to the woman in a crowd who touched His robe. There are numerous other examples, including v. 13. Jesus sees the woman and tells her, “Don’t cry.”

When we come into situations like an unexpected death, we often find that words fail us or seem so inadequate that we often find ourselves saying nothing. Words that are spoken in a time of sorrow may stay with us after the initial event and we will find comfort from them. Oftentimes, the mere presence of a person who comes to mourn with us brings comfort.

It’s interesting that Jesus’ words to the woman are, “Don’t cry.” I understand that He is about to act in a way that will change her tears of sorrow into tears of joy, and I understand that Jesus knew all the emotions the woman was feeling at this time—sorrow, worry, fear, hopelessness. I can’t help but think that His mere presence must have meant something to her, even if she didn’t know who He was. I imagine the tone of His voice in the words that He spoke was comforting. Perhaps in His tone, presence and words, the woman seemed to sense that Jesus was going to make things better.

But what could He do?

1. His commanding words (14-15)

Having spoken to the mother, Jesus now goes to the bier holding her late son. At this point in time, there is no record of Jesus raising the dead. He has healed many people of many maladies, but no one has seen Him raise a dead person. As Jesus neared the bier, He touched it, and those carrying it immediately stopped.

There must have been something about Jesus’ presence that commanded people to listen to Him and to trust Him. There was no reason to stop the procession, yet the men stopped as soon as Jesus touched the platform upon which the deceased lay.

I imagine the attention of the entire group of people, those who had followed from the city and those who had followed Jesus, was now focused on Jesus, the widow and her late son. As Jesus stood there at the bier, He issued this command: “Young man, I say to you, get up!”

Can you imagine the electricity that ran through those gathered when the young man sat up and began talking? What an amazing thing to see! The man who all knew was dead was now, because Jesus commanded it, now sitting up and talking. Death had fled from this man, and Jesus was the one who had caused it to happen.

I like the last phrase of v.15: “and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” That’s exactly what He did. He looked with compassion on the poor widow, had taken command of the situation, and now the woman and son were reunited. She had her son again. The hopeless, the sadness, the fear were all gone; she had her son.

There are times in our lives when we believe that there is no hope. We can’t see the way out, and we don’t know where to go. Then Jesus takes command, and suddenly, the door opens and we are shown the way, given hope and direction as we listen to His voice and follow His command.

1. The people’s response (16-17)

The response of the crowd was one of awe and praise to God. What they had seen could only be attributed to God moving in their midst. Jesus, still relatively new in His ministry, was hailed as a prophet, not unlike Elijah and Elisha, men whom God has used to raise dead people back to life.

See the picture. Half the people who were present in that throng had been mourning the loss of one of their own, showing their hurt for the poor widow they had known and loved. Now, their sorrow had turned to joy. Those who had followed Jesus to that small village were now witnesses to one of the greatest miracles they had ever seen. Is it any wonder that a spontaneous revival had broken out outside the city gates?

It was almost a year ago that I woke up in the ICU unit at Hillcrest Hospital with two tubes sticking out of my head. I was unaware of the events leading up to me going into the hospital. Kim told me she had been told I had suffered a stroke, and that the MRI showed about a third of my brain blacked out by the blood clot in my head. As she waited for my surgery to complete and for me to awaken from that surgery, she told me she didn’t know what to expect. Would I awaken with the ability to walk, since I had had to be lifted into a wheel chair to get to the Premiere ER. Would I awaken with the ability to speak, to write? Was she looking at a permanently disabled husband to care for? She was already traveling to and from Tyler, helping her dad take care of her dying mother.

But God is worthy of praise. God is able to intervene in great ways. The subdural hematoma I had was successfully removed, and it was quickly apparent that I was going to be all right, or at least as all right as I am able to be. When I think back on all that could have resulted in my head injury, I can only give God praise and thank Him for His grace and mercy, for His compassion toward me and my family. I know somewhat how the widow of Nain and the group around her felt.

When God works in our lives in a mighty way, how else can we respond but with praise and thanksgiving?

Conclusion

In most of the single encounters with Jesus that we have looked at over the past few months, Jesus has been approached by others seeking His intervention. Some came with great faith, some with limited faith, but all knew that Jesus was the only one, the last hope to meet their need.

Then there are the moments when Jesus initiated the conversation. The woman at the well. The man born blind. The widow of Nain. In each of the instances, Jesus had compassion on men and women who needed Him more than anything in the world. And in each of the instances, Jesus changed lives and made living richer for each of them.

Sometimes, life hits us full force, and we find ourselves overwhelmed with all that has washed over us. We look for answers, but find none. We search for ways out, but see none. If we have learned anything in these studies, it is that Jesus should be the first place to look. Jesus is always the one to turn to when we find ourselves at the end of our rope.

Let Jesus comfort us. Let His compassion flow over and around us. Let Him take command, and we will find ourselves giving Him praise and glorifying His name.