Jesus Always Has Power Over Death by Ed Pruitt
Luke 7:11-17
Jesus Always Has Power Over Death
Sunday March 6, 2003
Pastor Ed Pruitt
Luke 7:11-17
11 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, with a great crowd following him.
12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The boy who had died was the only son of a widow, and many mourners from the village were with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!†he said.
14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,†he said, “get up.â€
15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk to those around him! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,†and “We have seen the hand of God at work today.â€
17 The report of what Jesus had done that day spread all over Judea and even out across its borders.
What is amazing about this story, in my opinion, is that it began with two processions.
One was rejoicing, one mourning.
One was heading to the city, one was heading towards the cemetery.
But amazingly Jesus turned two processions into just one big parade of joy.
There was no more mourning that day, just gladness.
Because the one who brings life to dead situations had just worked his wonder working power.
Three boys at school were bragging about their fathers.
The first boy said, “My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, and they give him a $100 for it.â€
The second boy said, “That’s nothing.
My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, and they give him a $1,000 for it.â€
The third boy said, “My Dad can top that!
He scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a sermon, and it takes eight men just to collect all the money!â€
MONEY IS POWER.
It represents power to a lot of people.
Tonight we are going to talk about real power!
The Power of Jesus Christ!
Here we have a widow that had just lost her only son, her only child to death.
Just a few months prior to her sons death she had lost her husband.
So talk about a lady that was having some sorrow in her life, you can find one here!
You see in that day and age this woman only had one hope of surviving after her husband died and that was the help that she would receive from her son.
Well today she was carrying her hope to the grave yard to place him beside her husband.
That was a huge amount of sorrow.
Now think about this just a little.
Here we have coming towards this village is Jesus and His disciples and a group of His followers and they were no doubt rejoicing because they had just witnessed a healing of a servant of a Roman Leader.
They were happy!
Now coming out of the village of Nain we have a funeral procession being led by a woman who had just lost her only child.
Talk about a collision of emotions!
Happy, meeting sad!
This should be a lesson for all of us!
Never despair, because your Lord may surprise you at the last minute and do the impossible for you.
Now as these two groups meet each other, Jesus sees the look of sorrow on the woman’s face and has great compassion for her.
Jesus stops the woman and tells her “Don’t cry!â€
Then He walks to where her son was laying and tells him to get up and go to his mother.
I believe that Jesus did this for several reasons.
One was to teach His disciples that we must always have compassion for others.
I am equally sure that Jesus was also setting an example for all people through out the ages of time.
Compassion for others is something that is very rare today, even in a lot of people that call themselves a child of God!
Jesus cares about each and everyone of our problems and always has time to help!
A lot of us have the misconception that Jesus is too busy running the universe that he has no interest in our lives, in our hurts.
But there is no pain or hurt of yours that Jesus does not notice.
When you hurt I believe that Jesus knows all about it.
He knows how your heartaches.
He knows about the trials you are going through.
He knows the tears you shed at night in the darkness of your room.
He knows about the loved ones you miss desperately.
Jesus notices every hurt and he sees every tear.
Your pain and suffering is no different from this widow’s.
Jesus sees the way your life’s road has twisted and turned and where you are right now.
He knows your predicament, your heartache, your anxiety, your loneliness, your depression, your burdens.
You live in a world filled with billions of people who hurt, yet Jesus knows who you are.
You are not just another number to Him.
A second lesson is this: Jesus has the power even over death and brings hope to hopeless situations.
And because of Jesus’ power over death, he always seems to turn a funeral into a celebration.
That’s what he did that day for this widow.
And that is what he can do for you.
If he could turn this funeral around he can certainly turn your life around.
Whatever situation you face, Jesus can transform it.
Jesus can bring hope to your hopeless situation.
He can revive that relationship that might be going sour.
He can cure that illness.
He can revive any circumstance.
He is the Lord of hope!
Romans 15:13 tells us,
13 So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is also the Lord of life!
He still raises people from the dead today!
Some of you might say how?
Every time He gives eternal life to a sinner!
Jesus raises them from the dead!
When He does this the scripture tells us in, John 11:25-26
25 “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.
26 They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Do you believe this.
This young man was dead. He was in his coffin.
Death had exercised its power over him.
We are not told why he died or what caused his death.
It could have been accident or it could have been disease.
Young people of all ages die every day.
And it can happen to anybody, any time.
Consequently, we all need to be prepared for death.
So we see here two things.
Don’t cry, he says, Trust in me.
See my power over death and believe in me.
The contrasts between the two processions in our gospel lesson couldn’t be more dramatic.
Death and sorrow were going out of Nain.
Life and hope were going in.
The wages of sin was coming out.
The sacrifice for sin was going in.
Jesus faced down death with compassion for those affected by it.
He undid death’s damage by his undisputable power.
Death and sorrow smacked into life and hope.
Victory over death and celebration over God’s power over death were the result of their meeting.
A grieving widow received here son back from the dead.
She had a future.
Once again she had someone to support her and to love her.
Listen to the response of the crowd that were there when Jesus raised this young man
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people."
When Jesus did what only God can do.
People were forced to conclude.
God has come to help his people.
It seems to me that this is the gospel - in 7 words
God has come to help his people
And because Hebrews 13:8 promises us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever
God is still coming to help his people.
17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Once again – Jesus made the Headlines
This is a recurring theme in the bible
When Jesus does what only God can do – we often read:
And news about him spread through the region.
In closing I would like to say this.
When the dead rise you may be sure that Jesus has..
