Luke 7:11-17

[0:00] Good morning. Good morning. I'm going to turn with me in the New Testament to the Gospel of Luke chapter 7.

[0:14] I think it's the Verne last night and that's time to be praying for me because I don't mind preaching this, this just isn't what I wanted to preach.

[0:30] I'll praise it like that. But you know, you preach what you want to and that'll get you in trouble. I'll praise it like I'm supposed to.

[0:43] And Luke's Gospel in chapter 7, naturally this isn't very far into the Gospel of Luke. However, a lot of things have happened up to this point in the opening chapters of Luke.

[0:58] We have chapters 1, chapters 2, and into chapter 3 we have, of course, the Christmas account. We would call it that. We have the genealogies of Jesus Christ and you find those in reverse order in the Gospel of Matthew that they're given in the Gospel of Luke.

[1:16] And we find that Jesus grows in wisdom and stature. Jesus's public ministry has begun and we see Him healing people. We see Him heal Peter's mother-in-law.

[1:29] We see Him healing a leper. We see Him healing one with the palsy. We see Him healing demon-possessed people. We see all these things leading up to Luke chapter 7.

[1:42] In Luke chapter 6 we see a very condensed version of what is called the Sermon on the Mount, which we find in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Luke only took one chapter for the Sermon on the Mount and that's fine.

[1:57] There's no contradiction there whatsoever. But I've said all that to say that we see many things that have happened even though this is early on in the Gospel of Luke.

[2:08] Luke chapter 7 begins in Capernaum and we see a Centurion servant that is healed there. You can find this same account in the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 8.

[2:19] And Jesus marveled over the faith of this Centurion that was wanting his servant healed there in Matthew chapter 8. And in Luke chapter 7 where we'll pick up reading here in just a moment says in the next day.

[2:35] So this would be the day after Jesus Christ was in Capernaum and He healed the Centurion man's servant. The Gospel of Matthew doesn't include this.

[2:46] In fact, this account that we're going to read, the only place you find it in the Gospel is in the Gospel of Luke. And we talked briefly this morning about how it works that way within the Gospel.

[2:59] Some of the writers mentioned details that other writers do not mention. And there's no contradiction there. There's no reason to question the Scripture.

[3:10] I've explained to the Sunday School class before, may have explained it while preaching here before that it's no different than giving an account of a car accident. One person will see a car hit a truck, another person will say a man hit a woman, another person might notice the colors of the vehicles, another person might know whether one car was going north and the other one was going south.

[3:31] But it's all different accounts of the exact same thing that happened. And that's exactly what we have in the Gospel of Counts. So all that being said, in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 7 we'll begin reading in verse 11.

[3:48] It says, And he said, And this rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea and throughout all the region around the bow.

[4:46] And that's the passage the Scripture will read for this morning back to verse 11. It says, And remember we said in the introduction that the day before was a day of celebration.

[5:28] The centurion servant had been healed by a sickness. And the centurion had besought Jesus Christ to heal his servant.

[5:39] And now we're into the next day. And it says that Jesus Christ came to this city which is called Nain. This is the only time in the entire Bible that the town of Nain is brought up.

[5:51] Nain is still actually a town that still has the same name. Over there where all these events took place, the ruins of Nain are still there and so on.

[6:03] But this is the only time when the entire Scriptural account of this city is brought up. But Jesus Christ is making his way into town. After this great day of celebration they had the day before of a sick man being healed.

[6:17] He comes into this town and what do they find? He and his disciples, all those that came with him. And don't you think for one moment that Jesus didn't pick up some extra disciples the day before when it was made known that he healed this centurion servant?

[6:33] It wasn't just Jesus and the twelve. It was a multitude of people that were coming with Jesus. It was a throng of people that were coming with him into this town that was called Nain.

[6:45] And they come to the gate of the city and there's a funeral procession that is making its way out of the city. So we've gone from one day to a day of gladness and a day of healing and a day of joy.

[6:59] And this day here we find a funeral procession and we see two crowds of people. The Bible says that this woman was a widow, this woman that her son was laid up there on the beer or on the couch that they were carrying him upon.

[7:15] She was now a widow, meaning she had no husband. And this would have been her last son or her only son that she had. This woman was a true biblical widow.

[7:26] Things were looking bleak for this woman. Things were looking dark for her folks. It wasn't a good thing in the Bible days for a woman to be a widow. She would have to depend upon someone else to take her in.

[7:39] Someone else to take care of her. Someone else to provide for her. Her husband was dead. Her son was now dead. The last crutch that she had in this life was being carried out to the cemetery on this day.

[7:53] But praise be on the God. Life itself was walking into town. The Bible describes Jesus Christ as the way and the truth and the life.

[8:04] He describes himself in the Gospel of John. He says, I am the resurrection and I am the lie. This woman here was probably having the worst day of her life.

[8:17] Carrying her only son out into the graveyard, knowing what was going to befall her. Knowing that if she wasn't taken in, she was going to have the rest of her years in hardship.

[8:29] The rest of her years in labor. The rest of her years dark and gloomy. With no hope inside but hope walked in on the scene.

[8:40] Dear brothers and sisters, let me encourage you now that when the storm clouds of life are raging in on you. When the towers of the waves are crushing into you.

[8:53] When all is dark around you and all is gloomy around you. The one who is the light of the world will shine that light into your life in his new time.

[9:07] With his new purpose for his glory, for his honor, he will take care of his own hallelujah. Praise God. Thank you Lord.

[9:19] I said I was going to stay calm this morning. I don't think it's going to happen. He came into the city. He was coming into this town of name. Thank you Lord. Again, everything that this woman had, everything that she had up to that point.

[9:33] The last bit of hope that she had for her household. The last bit of hope that she had for a decent future was being carried out to the cemetery. And there was not only, this account does not include only her.

[9:48] And folks, there were two groups of people that were coming together here. One of them was being led by death. One of them was being led by this boy that was up in the beer.

[9:59] I don't know exactly how old that he was, but he was being led. But death was leading the way there. Life was leading this other group of people. These two groups of people come together.

[10:11] Folks, there was a fight that might have taken place here for just a split second. For just a twinkling of an eye. There was a little fight between death and between life.

[10:22] But folks, I can assure you that death will always lose. Death is the loser in this battle. He is the loser now. Jesus Christ came. He defeated death, hell and the grave.

[10:34] He said, I am He that liveth and behold I am alive forevermore. I hold that Jesus hell and of death. He lives now. He lives forever.

[10:45] He lives to make intercession to all who repent and all who believe upon His name. Jesus Christ is alive and well. And He came to help this poor widow.

[10:59] Folks, He came to help this woman. And it wasn't by chance that he had by there. Although in the human eye and in the human mind, we may see it that way.

[11:12] Folks, there is nothing that happens by happenstance with Almighty God. In the Old Testament, when Ruth went to Glean in the field of Boaz, the Bible describes it as happenstance.

[11:24] Man would describe that as happenstance. But God planned it. God planned every bit of it. When Joseph's brothers planned to kill him.

[11:36] They planned to throw him into the pit. They planned to have him dead. But God meant all of that for good. Folks, God can take the bad that is in our life.

[11:47] God can take the negative that is in our life. And you might ask the question, why does God allow it in the first place? Why don't I just have a good life all together? How much would you really appreciate God if your life was smooth sailing all the way through?

[12:03] How much would you truly appreciate God if nothing bad ever happened? You would never give the first thought unto God if you could try to Him in your darkest hours.

[12:14] Sister Melissa just sang the song that weeping, may end here for the night. But joy comes in the morning. Sometimes we have to weep through the night. Sometimes sadness sets in.

[12:26] Sometimes depression sets in. Sometimes it's sickness. Sometimes it's heartache. And sometimes it's death. But we have a Savior. And we have a Master.

[12:38] We have the Lord who is at the helm of our lives to make everything good and to make everything whole and to make everything pure. And to shine His light into our lives.

[12:50] Hallelujah. Praise be unto God. Praise God for the Lamb of God. Jesus and His procession come into town and these two groups of people merge.

[13:05] These two groups of people, one being led by sadness, the other one being led by life itself, by gladness, by joy.

[13:16] He who is the source of any joy that you have in your life. The Bible says that every good and perfect gift coming down from the Father of life. Every good and every perfect thing that comes in your life is a gift of God and it is by the grace of God and by the graciousness of God.

[13:33] And it is because He loves us. It is because He wants to take care of us. All of these things is by the goodness of God. And folks, it was by the goodness of God that this widow here, that her life was made better.

[13:48] In just a few seconds, the Bible says that Jesus spoke to her. Two words to this poor widow woman. He said, weep not, folks, that's all it took for Jesus to cry. He said, no, weep not, I believe her weeping dried up immediately because just a few seconds later, it says that Jesus Christ spoke to this young man that was on the beard, this young man that was being carried out to the graveyard.

[14:12] He spoke to him, he said, young man, I say unto thee, arise. And folks, that is all it took for the Savior to do. And it is all that it took for life itself to impart life back to a cold, dead body.

[14:27] And the same thing happens, praise God, in salvation. We are dead in our trespasses and our sin. We are dead in our trespasses and sin, not when we are sick.

[14:41] Not when we're eat up with it. No, not when we're still laying there, just barely holding on to life. The Bible describes us as dead in our trespasses and our sin.

[14:52] Folks, it only takes one thought from the Savior. It only takes one want from the Savior. It only takes one will from the Savior to impart life into a cold, dead spiritual body and to bring it into life and to life everlasting, to make it a new creature in Christ, to make it a servant for his good, for his glory, and for the glory of the kingdom that he has promised to come.

[15:20] Praise God! It only takes one, it only takes his will to save a soul. Folks, this should give us hope.

[15:31] This was this woman's hope. And the thing is, she didn't even ask for it. The Centurion in the first part of this chapter, he sought Jesus out. He had heard of the man from Galilee.

[15:44] He had heard of the great healer, and he sought for Jesus to heal his servant. Other people in the Gospel accounts that Jesus healed, some of them sought for him, some of them asked for healing themselves. Bartimaeus said, Jesus, now some of David have mercy on me.

[16:03] But then there are other accounts like this one. No one said anything. Nowhere in the Scripture does it say this woman saw Jesus and said, you're my only hope.

[16:14] Nowhere in the Scripture does it say that anyone from either crowd that emerged here said, Jesus, there's one dead, and his mother is now a true biblical widow. Can't you help her?

[16:26] It says that Jesus looked on her, and he had compassion on her. Folks, this should give us great hope for our lost loved ones, and our lost family, and all of those that are running around in the world, and wallowing in their sin, and wallowing in their filth.

[16:44] This should give us incredible hope. Keep on praying for your lost loved ones. Keep on praying for your children. Pray for your grandchildren, for nephews and nieces.

[16:55] Children, pray for your parents that are lost. Jesus Christ is able and willing to save. And he doesn't need anyone else asking, and he doesn't need anyone's permission to do it.

[17:12] How do you? Nobody asked him here to help this widow woman. No one. Jesus looks down on his creation, and has compassion on his creation.

[17:25] It amazes me. Brother Burns hurt me preaching on side walk after side walk. It's amazing that God, knowing we would rebel against him, knowing how wicked we would be, knowing how sinful we would be, knowing how dark we would be, and seemingly enjoy that darkness.

[17:47] The Bible says in John 3, this is the condemnation that light has come into the world, and that men love darkness rather than light. God knew what we would become, and in his compassion, and in his mercy, and in his grace.

[18:06] And don't you forget all for his own glory. God looks down in compassion upon the human race, as filthy and as wicked, and as black and dark and disgusting as we are.

[18:20] He looks in compassion. He was looking in compassion when Christ was on the cross. The Bible says he that knew no sin became sin for us, and it says curses is every man that hangeth upon a tree.

[18:34] That is the greatest picture, the crucifixion of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It's the greatest picture of the mercy of God toward me that we can find in the scripture.

[18:47] And people say he was bleeding. He was hanging by nails. He was suffering. He'd been whipped. He'd been mucked. He'd been scourged. All these things had happened.

[18:58] How can you call that merciful? Because it was for me. That's why it was merciful. That's why it was merciful. Jesus Christ hung in my place. That's what makes him merciful toward me.

[19:11] That was a picture of the love of God toward me and toward an entire sinful world. Hallelujah. Jesus Christ, not by happenstance.

[19:22] This was no more by coincidence than the woman at the well in John chapter 4. The Bible says Jesus, it says he must needs go through Samaria.

[19:34] Why must he needs go through there? Because he knew there was a woman that was going to be at that well, and he knew what kind of life that she lived, and he knew that everybody in the town had rejected her, and he knew everybody in town had hurt God, and he knew that the time was time for him to reveal himself to this woman.

[19:54] That's why he must needs go through Samaria, and that's the reason he must needs go through name at this time, because he knew there would be a widow woman there with no hope in the world, except for him.

[20:10] And hope walked in on the scene. Hallelujah. And spit out just a few words. He told that widow woman, weep not. He walked over, and he touched the beer.

[20:25] Folks, these Jews that would have been gathered around, can you imagine their faces? He just ceremonially defiled himself by touching the beer.

[20:36] That's what would have been going through those, through their minds. Folks, nothing can defile my Savior. Nothing can defile my Savior as per the law.

[20:47] As per the law, they weren't supposed to touch dead people. They weren't supposed to touch the dead things that, or the things that dead people were touching. But Jesus, nothing can defile Him.

[20:58] He didn't go against the laws of God. He never once broke one of the laws of God. Never once did He break the laws of God. It's no different than the time that He and the disciples were going through the cornfield, and they were hungry, and they were eating of the corn.

[21:12] And here comes the religious elite of the day, accusing them of working on the Sabbath. And Jesus said, what did He say to those Pharisees?

[21:23] He said, hast thou not read that David ate the shoe bread? Something that was reserved for priests only. David was not a priest. David wasn't even of the priestly line, as far as the children of Jacob went.

[21:35] Folks, Jesus was encouraging His disciples then to do what was right, and to do what was needful. I've preached it here, and I've preached it several other places. It is always time to do right.

[21:48] It is always time to do righteously. It is always time to live holy. It is always time to do the things of God, regardless of what some legalists might tell you out there in the world, or in some other denomination, or in some other church, regardless of what they might tell you is right, or is wrong, and it is always time to do right as per the Scripture.

[22:13] Always. Don't ever let anybody tell you otherwise. Hope walked in for this woman, and he was the only hope that she had. This woman would have thought she was hopeless.

[22:25] All these mourners around here, which some of them would have been paid mourners, some of them would have been simply musicians that were following her for this, was the Eastern custom of that day, and it's the Eastern custom now, 2,000 years after this fact.

[22:40] But she was without hope, and she didn't have to ask for hope. Hope showed up all on its own. Hope showed up all on his own, and he spoke the words to the young man.

[22:54] Young man, I say unto thee, arise. It says, and there came a fear on all. I'm sorry, verse 15. And he that was dead, set up and began to speak. What a testimony.

[23:06] What a testimony. He that set up began to speak. I want you to note that not in the raising of Jeres' daughter, nor in this raising of this widow's son, nor in the raising of Lazarus, the three resurrection accounts that we have in the Scripture of Christ bringing people back from the dead, and none of them did those that were brought back speak of what they saw, or speak of what they witnessed, or speak of what they had heard.

[23:33] None of these people spoke of those things, but it says he rose up and he began to speak. We don't know what he spoke about. The Bible doesn't say what he spoke about.

[23:45] But folks, what a testimony. This would quash the people that said, well, he was just laying there, paralytic, then all of a sudden his bones and his muscles must have tensed up, which caused him to set up on the beer.

[24:00] Anybody could have said that, and two-thirds of the people there would have probably believed that. But folks, with that would have happened, he would have never spoke. It says he began to speak.

[24:11] He began to speak. He that was dead, set up and began to speak, and he delivered him to his mother. Jesus didn't stand around. He didn't put his arm around him, inviting people to get out their motorolas and their Samsung's to take pictures, to post on social media.

[24:28] Jesus wouldn't get any of that kind of glory. He wasn't seeking that kind of glory. His glory would come just a little while later after all this. The glory of Jesus crossed with comedy, defeated death and hell in the grave, and rose up from the tomb forever to live with the Father, and forever to be our mediator.

[24:49] This was the glory, and this is the glory of our Jesus. He wasn't seeking the glory at this time. If Jesus sought glory, it was the glory of the Father.

[25:02] And the Father was constantly seeking the glory of the Son, all throughout the Gospel accounts. The Father sought to glorify the Son, and the Son sought to glorify the Father.

[25:13] But Jesus, it says he delivered him to his mother. Immediately. Oh, this woman was in immediate need of hope.

[25:24] She was in immediate need of her suffering to cease. She was in immediate need of joy. And Jesus Christ delivered to that immediate need that she had when he delivered her son unto her.

[25:39] And there came a fear on all, and they glorified God saying that a great prophet is risen up among us, and visited his people. Folks, these people had no clue whatsoever just how much God was visiting his people at this time.

[25:56] They're saying that a great prophet had been sent to them, had been raised up. This was a promise that you find in the book of Deuteronomy. God told the Israelites that he would raise up a prophet out of their own people for them.

[26:11] This is the prophet that they would have been speaking about. Folks, this prophet, the Jews, would have understood that as only a man, someone that would speak great things, someone that would teach great things.

[26:22] We all know that Jesus Christ is Messiah. We all know that he was Messiah just as much here as he is now. We all know that he is the King of kings, and he is the Lord of lords.

[26:33] We know that he is the King of Israel. He's the king of this world. He's the king of this universe. We know these things. These Jews here said, the prophet has been sent.

[26:46] The prophet has been sent. That God has visited his people, but they didn't understand just how deep that went for them.

[26:57] Just how deep they didn't understand that this was indeed a manual, God with us. This was indeed the one that came to save his people according to this very gospel.

[27:08] He came to save his people and to be a light under the Gentiles. He came to save one, and he came to save all. He came to draw them from this fold and from that fold and to make one eternal flock out of those which would believe in him and repent of their ways and of those that would trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ and trust and Christ alone and the scripture alone to save them and to redeem them and to reconcile them back to the God that had cast them off.

[27:40] Yes, he had visited his people and he was visiting them right here, but these Jews that were gathered around didn't understand just how deep that went. This rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea and throughout all the region, round about.

[27:56] This rumor, folks, this wasn't a rumor. What we would consider a rumor now is saying, what the scripture here is saying is the account of what had happened. Went around all of Judea that this man had raised one up from the dead.

[28:13] Now, there is debates out there in the theological realm of who died first. Jeres's daughter or the widow from Nain's son. I personally think it was the widow from Nain's son.

[28:25] You can think differently and I won't fall out with you about that. But I think given their reaction, they all glorified God and the rumor of what had happened spread all around about Judea.

[28:37] It sounds like that happened happened. Folks, this was the first person that had been raised from the dead as far as scriptural accounts go since the days of Elisha. Since the days of Elisha, which would have been about 900 years before where we're reading right here.

[28:52] Even when Elisha raised the son of Nain's son from the dead and even before that, when Elijah raised one from the dead their methods were different.

[29:04] Elijah had to humble himself before God and he had to seek God in supplication. Elijah had to stretch himself out prostrate upon that boy before it happened. But my God, my Jesus, simply speaks the word.

[29:18] He simply wills it. All he had to do was touch the beer and it was done. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[29:29] But this was the first resurrection of a dead person in the scripture since the days of Elisha. Again, about 900 years before where we're reading right here.

[29:41] Yes, these people would have been excited. Yes, they would have been excited. I would have been excited if I had been there. But how long would their excitement last? The rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea, throughout all the region around about.

[29:54] And even though, even though this account and all the other healings, the blind eyes opened, the deaf ears unstopped, the lame made to walk, the lepers healed, the paralytics giving strength in their bones, giving strength in their muscles, all these things going on.

[30:19] Even though all these things were spread all about Judea, all about Galilee, all about the entire region around about, yet at the end of the week of his passion, crucify him.

[30:36] Crucify him. We was talking about this morning and Sunday's go, crucify him away with him. His blood be upon us and upon our children.

[30:48] Lost person, if you were out there, when it comes down to the end of the wire, when it comes down to the end of the line, we can pray for you.

[30:59] We can pray for you, we can hope for you, we can beseech God on your behalf, we can beg God and we can plead with God for your soul. And I've done that with some people and I'm sure that you all have as well.

[31:12] But when it all comes down to the end of the line, you are responsible for your own sin and you are responsible for what you've done with the Christ of this Bible.

[31:24] You are responsible whether you have accepted him as your redemption or you have rejected him as redemption. You are responsible for that. There is no guarantee, there is no guarantee that he will show up like he did for this widow.

[31:42] I don't want anybody to take what I just preached wrong. There is no guarantee that the cross will just show up and save you. I promise you, without repentance and without belief, you will never be saved.

[31:55] That is the way of the Scripture. It was that way in the Old Testament, it's that way in the New Testament, and it will ever be that way. You must believe and you must repent.

[32:06] And now shout, be saved. That's the message for this morning. I will hot appreciate your attention.