Luke 7:11-17 * June 13, 2010 * Pentecost 3 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Certain cities and geographical locations are either instantly recognizable or come up again and again in the life of Christ. Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born, is one of them. The same could be said for Nazareth, the place He grew up.

At the age of thirty Jesus entered His public ministry and the prominent locations shifted. He spent much time in and around the town of Capernaum, which Bible scholars often refer to as His northern headquarters. And, of course, He spent a lot of time in Jerusalem. That’s where the great temple was, and it was just outside those city walls where Jesus died on the cross, was placed in a tomb, and rose again three days later.

Other cities, towns and villages were also significant in His ministry, but lesser known. And still others would be the geographical equivalent of one-hit wonders. We wouldn’t know anything about Cana, for example, if Jesus had not performed his first miracle there – changing water into wine…

And if it weren’t for another miracle that took place in the town that serves as the location for today’s text, we wouldn’t know of it either. But because of that miracle, we can rightfully hang a description on it. If we consider the word “mystery” to mean something beyond our understanding, today we go to

NAIN: A PLACE OF HOLY MYSTERY

1. Here we see the compassion of Christ

2. Here we see the power of Christ

3. Here we see the confidence Christ brings His people

¹¹Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹²As 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. ¹³When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

Let us try to recreate the scene. Without belaboring the point or wishing to reopen the emotions of those who have traveled that road themselves, this we can say without reservation: Only those who have gone through it personally know the grief of losing a child. This is the sad scene we observe in the small Galilean town of Nain. Earlier in her life she had lost her husband. Now she lost her son; her only son. They are on their way to the cemetery.

She is temporarily distracted and buoyed up by those who have come to be with her at his funeral. The fact we are told she was accompanied by a large crowd suggests that to the degree they could, her neighbors felt her pain and extended their love and support. But the truth is that the intensity of her sadness and loneliness could be understood by no one.

Like any life altering event that people experience – including us – we can well imagine that everything this woman was going through coalesced into one single overriding emotion: a feeling of stark, insurmountable and unrelenting fear. Specifically fear of being alone. Fear of facing a future without anyone accompanying her or looking out for her or helping her. Fear of the unknown. This woman was scared.

A moment ago I said there was no one who could understand her. That’s not true. Jesus, “Lover of our Souls” could and did. Luke records: When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

This does not surprise us. Compassion is one of the most easily identifiable traits of Christ. Often preceding a miracle or some act of kindness is a statement like: “Jesus, having compassion for the crowd…” Here we are told the same thing but in a more descriptive way. Jesus’ “heart went out to her.”

Generated by such compassion Jesus then issues what initially must have sounded like a strange command: “Don’t cry.” That would really only make sense if the One who spoke it had the power to remove the source of her grief. But who can remove death?

¹⁴Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" ¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

The word translated “coffin” here might better be visualized as a stretcher or a flat board with rings attached to it and carried by poles. Last week we heard how Jesus’ help was solicited by others in the case of healing a centurion’s servant, but no one asks Him to do anything this time. Perhaps the crowd is thinking that undoing fever and sickness and blindness as Jesus had demonstrated many times in the past was one thing, but this situation appeared hopeless.

However – and as Jesus Himself tells us elsewhere in the Gospels – with God nothing is impossible. Jesus simply comes forward, touches the funeral stretcher and commanded a young man to come back from the dead. And he did.

The response is what we would expect: ¹⁶They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." ¹⁷This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Those who witnessed this miracle saw a striking and obvious demonstration of Jesus’ power. Understandably, this created a buzz among the crowd and even in an age of no television or internet word of it spread throughout the area.

But the crowd instinctively understood that something else was happening here. Certainly, a miracle had taken place; but a statement was also being made. God was at work among His people. Helping them. Consoling them. Giving them hope and confidence in both His power and His abiding presence.

And while that is all true, we know something the crowd did not yet fully understand. Through the eyes of faith we see some foreshadowing going on at another significant location in the life of Christ:

At Nain death was overturned for one individual; on Calvary death would be defeated for all people. At Nain a single life was restored; because of Calvary eternal life has been given to all who embrace Jesus as Savior. And if Nain can rightfully be called a place of great and holy mystery, the love and compassion of God at Calvary is greater still.

Like the crowd, all of this fills us with awe and praise and confidence.

There are a couple of wonderful and comforting lessons we can draw from this text and apply to ourselves, which is what we’ll do for the remainder of our time.

The first has to do with the constant involvement Jesus has in our lives. Do you think that Jesus entering the city at the exact same time the funeral procession was leaving the city was a coincidence or a chance encounter? No. It is just another example of how Jesus intersects with His people and knows what they need and when they need it.

The point is simple but at the same time ever so encouraging: We can always count on Jesus being there for us. Furthermore – as someone once said and the incident at Nain clearly demonstrates – “When the need is highest, God is nighest.”

In other words, at our times of highest need Jesus is the closest. He is there to comfort, console and strengthen us with His promises, His Word and sacrament. And when we know that and avail ourselves of that, fear goes away and we’re no longer scared.

Furthermore, in our highest need not only is He true to His Word that He will never leave us or forsake us, but, in the words of our text, “His heart goes out to us.”

Which is the second great lesson of our text: Jesus our compassionate Savior meets our individual needs. In the case of the widow of the Nain, it was the restoration of her son. She didn’t ask for it or plead for it or, for that matter, even know it was possible. But Jesus assessed her need and met it. He does the same for us.

Lest this lead to misunderstanding or unmet expectations on our part, here is something to keep in mind: Resurrection miracles were rare, even for Jesus. While the Bible makes no attempt to individually record the scores and scores of people Jesus healed physically, we have only three recorded instances of Jesus raising someone from the dead (four if we count his own resurrection).

Applying this personally, the point is that every intervention of Jesus in the lives of His people (us!) is customized to our time, our circumstances, our needs. And what we must continually remind ourselves of is that His understanding of what our needs are far surpasses our own.

Often we’re looking for homerun and grand slam miracles and somehow think Jesus is letting us down if He doesn’t produce according to our wishes. But the fact is that Jesus knows what we need better than we do. And He sees all things from the perspective not just of our temporal lives, but our eternal lives.

An unknown Confederate soldier is credited with making this confession and observation about himself. Perhaps you have heard it before. I’m certain we can all relate to it:

I asked for strength that I might achieve;
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy;
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I had asked for,
but everything that I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered;
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

God knows our needs and meets our needs. And, of course, 2000 years ago He met our greatest need: the forgiveness of our sins. What we could not do for ourselves – supply God with the perfect life He deserves and requests from His creatures – Jesus Christ did for us. Following that sinless life the rightful penalty our disobedience deserves is also something Jesus willingly took upon Himself by His death on the cross. Everything He did becomes ours through faith…

Ponder that and there is but one conclusion: We, among all people, are most richly blessed – now and eternally.

Our closer look at Luke’s gospel today takes us to a small town we’d have never heard of had great mysteries beyond human understanding not taken place there. There we find Jesus, as always, active in the lives of His people, calming their fears, meeting their needs and through His abiding presence giving them confidence to face the future.

He continues to do the same for His people today. So, in a spiritual sense, all of us live in Nain. And it is a wonderful place to be. Amen.