The Lord of Life Meets Death’s Procession
Luke 7:11–17
Soon afterward [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a great crowd went with Him. As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited His people!” And this report about Him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country. (ESV)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, because You have sent Your dear Son to save our bodies and our souls, we can confess with the Psalmist, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Grant us peace in life knowing that we are the Lord’s and peace in death knowing that Christ is the Lord of life, who has given the Word of Life to us. Amen.
Dear fellow Redeemed,
Nothing makes us feel more helpless than death. There is nothing we can do to stop it. Despite over 4 trillion dollars spent on healthcare in the U.S., people still die. It doesn’t matter who you are—death does not discriminate if you are young or old, rich or poor, strong or weak. Death is unavoidable. As it has been said, the only two certainties in life are death and taxes.
How we respond to death teaches us about what we really believe. Some people try to ignore death, avoiding it when a friend or relative dies. Others never get over death, being affected by it for the rest of their lives as they grieve with no hope. Others try to make light of it, or treat it as something natural, and therefore, something that one shouldn’t be too worried about—after all, it will happen to all of us sooner or later.
If we want to respond correctly to death, then we need to know the reason for death. Death is not natural. God made mankind to live. But because of our sin, we die. As Scripture says, “The soul that sins shall die.” This doesn’t necessarily refer to a particular sin that caused the death. We don’t typically say, “Farmer John died because he coveted his neighbor’s field and got it in a dishonest way.” Nonetheless, we die because of sin, the sin inherited from Adam. We die because we are born with original sin, a sin we cannot undo on our own.
If we don’t see sin as the reason for death, then we will not go to the right place for help. Any of our solutions will fall short. However, if we realize that death is a result of sin, then we find help. In our Gospel lesson this morning, the funeral procession of the young man met Jesus. Death and Life collided at the town of Nain. As Luther wrote in his Easter hymn,
It was a strange and dreadful strife
When life and death contended.
The victory remained with life,
The reign of death was ended;
Holy Scripture plainly saith
That death is swallowed up by death,
In vain it rages o’er us. Alleluia!
The two parties that met on the outside of Nain could not have been more different. Jesus’ popularity had grown. He had just healed the Centurion’s servant. Those following Jesus were filled with excitement. Yet, Luke marks an interruption to this joyful procession with the word, “behold.” As they came near the gate, “behold, a dead man was being carried out.”
Any death brings sadness, but Luke explains the particularly sad conditions surrounding this one, saying that this man was “the only son of his mother; and she was a widow.” Not only was this her only son, but this was not the only death the woman had mourned. She was a widow; her husband had died. Life was especially difficult for widows in those days. With her husband dead she depended on her son, not only for emotional support, but for her livelihood. She would have looked to her only son as her future here on earth. Her plan for old age. He would have cared for her. Now her son was also dead. It’s no wonder that there was a great crowd who accompanied this woman. They sought to comfort this woman in her horrible grief.
When Jesus saw the woman, he had compassion. He knew the circumstances surrounding this funeral procession. I often hear from people that they don’t like funerals because they don’t know what to say. We sometimes struggle with knowing what to say, because we can’t help those who mourn. But not Jesus. He said to the mother of this dead man, “Do not weep.” No one would ever think of telling a mother not to mourn for her son—except Jesus. For only Jesus has an answer to our weeping.
“Then He came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.”
The Lord of Life, Jesus Christ, commands the dead man to rise. Death stands no chance against the Word of Christ. He raises the son from the dead. The man begins to speak, and Jesus gives him to his mother.
This lesson teaches us three important things. First, Christ has compassion on our sorrows. He sees us. He knows the pains and griefs we bear in this life. Because our Lord became man, living in this life just as us, he can sympathize with our weaknesses. We have a Savior who knows and feels our every need. He is the one who wept at the death of Lazarus. He is the one who invites us to cast our cares, burdens, and sorrows on him. He can save us from our misery.
Our lesson teaches us that Jesus has the power over death because he is the Lord of Life. But to keep death away forever, to save us from the consequences of our sins, Jesus had to deal with sin once and for all. The miracle at the town of Nain is a preview of the work of Jesus that culminated with his death on Good Friday, and the announcement of his victory on that first glorious Easter morning when he rose from the dead. Jesus became man to conquer death by becoming death for us. As the author of Hebrews writes,
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (2:14–15).
What a wonderful statement! Christ has released us from the fear of death. The reason death was so frightful was because judgement comes after death. However, Jesus has taken away our sins—he has wiped them all away. The sting of death is removed because our sins are removed from us as far as the east is from the west through faith in Christ. Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and hell. And he shares that victory with you and me.
Just as the mother’s sad procession was turned into joy by Christ, so too does Christ turn our death into joy. Jesus speaks with authority, “Young man, I say to you arise!” His word brought life! And by the grace of God, we are given this same life-giving word that is just as powerful today as were the words of Jesus that brought life to the widow of Nain’s son. Just as the young man rose in response to Jesus’ almighty word, so too do we rise to eternal life by the power of the same word. Jesus speaks words of spirit, truth, and life. He speaks whenever his gospel sounds forth.
You come to church burdened by the sins of the past week. You have been impatient, unkind, and selfish. You’ve coveted what belonged to another. You’ve been more concerned about material goods than God’s words of eternal life. You’ve repeated gossip that hurt your neighbor, but didn’t mind, because you loved yourself more than your neighbor. You’ve sinned against God. Sin brings death. Your body is dying. You come to church in your sinful, dying body. God sees it all. What does he do? What does he say?
He says, “I forgive you all your sins.” The pastor says these words, but Jesus is the one talking. It is Jesus who suffered for those sins, and he has the right to forgive you. He says, “Take and eat, this is my body. Take and drink, this is my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” When you receive the Lord’s Supper you are receiving the medicine of immortality. You can face death with confidence. Jesus gave his life for you and now he gives that life to you. Your sins are forgiven—death has lost its sting!
God loves you. He came to redeem you. He didn’t come to save the animals. He didn’t even save the angels. As Scripture says, “For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.” The seed of Abraham are all those who by faith trust in Christ. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). And Jesus promises, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
The final thing that we learn from our lesson is that death is not the end. Death does end life in this sinful world and our struggle with our own sinful flesh. But death does not end true life for the Christian. In fact, death has been changed by the death and resurrection of Jesus into a way to bring us out of these bodies of decay into bodies that never die, into the glories of eternal life in heaven. This totally changes how we view the death of our loved ones or when we ourselves face death.
If there was nothing after death, then we can understand the helpless and hopeless grief of those who think that. But since death is not the end, but the beginning of eternal life in heaven, we have hope even in death. When we see a loved one die, it’s not a permanent separation, nor will it be so long. It’s not goodbye, but auf wiedersehen, see you again. Just as the mother saw her son again, so shall we see our loved ones in heaven. This is why the hymnist can write (ELH 480:1):
Now hush your cries and shed no tear,
On such death none should look with fear;
A faithful Christian now has won,
And with this death true life’s begun.
Jesus has met death and won. By the power of his word he brings life. Jesus said “Arise!” and death could not hold the young man. In our lives, Jesus gives us this same powerful word to forgive us our sins and strengthen us in the faith, so that our fear of death is removed. Christ will call us triumphantly on the last day and raise our very bodies from the grave. Death is not the end. It is just the beginning. Amen.