Jump Start # 3628

Luke 7:13-14 “When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise!’”

I love passages like this this. They are so loaded with insights, lessons and depth. Let’s paint the picture for you. Jesus is coming from Capernaum where He has healed the servant of a Roman soldier, a Gentile. The soldier had incredible faith. He didn’t need Jesus to come to his house. Just say the word, he believed. Jesus did. The servant was restored to good health. This crowd is following Jesus. They are happy. They are impressed. As they approach Nain, they intersect with another crowd. One crowd going in and another crowd going out. The crowd going in, is with Jesus. The crowd going out, are crying. It’s a funeral march. They are headed to a cemetery. A young man has died and his widowed mother is burying her love, her support and her future.

Jesus sees. Nothing is said to Him. He felt compassion for this grieving mother. He stops the funeral march and commands the young man to arise. Immediately, he does. This is the Lord’s first resurrection. Notice the little insight in our verse. Jesus said, “Young man.” How did the Lord know he was young. He was covered in burial cloths ready for the tomb. Jesus knows. He always knows. There are no recorded words of this mother in our context. And, although the text doesn’t tell us this, it’s obvious. The crowd going out, now turns around and joins the crowd going in. There is no need to go to the cemetery. There is no one to bury. The dead are now alive. Tears of sorrow have turned into tears of great joy and thanksgiving.

Some lessons for us:

First, what prompted this miracle was what Jesus saw and what He felt. No one asked Him to raise this man. The Lord saw her, He felt compassion. Compassion can be defined as your pain in my heart. Compassion fuels grace which leads to forgiveness. Without compassion there can be no grace. When the master who was owed ten thousand talents saw the servant begging for patience, Matthew records, he felt compassion and released him the debt. Compassion is why Jesus raised this man.

Second, Jesus often took the initiative and did what was good and right. He didn’t sit back and just wait for people to come to Him. Contextually, I doubt this mother knew who Jesus was. She did afterwards. And, what a lesson for us.  “If you need anything, let me know,” we tell people. Have you noticed how few ever do that? They don’t want to bother others. They are a bit embarrassed to ask. Take the initiative. You know what needs to be done. A mother just had a baby or surgery. That family is going to need help with food. Dad has had surgery. Who is going to mow the yard. Instead of asking, “Is there anything…” why not ask, “I’m in the area, I’d like to bring you some lunch.”

Third, we must put on compassion as the Colossians were told. Maybe the reason forgiveness is so hard is because we lack grace and that is because there isn’t any compassion. Until we care, we won’t do anything, especially extend grace and forgiveness. Getting people to care is hard. Our culture walks around with a mirror in front of it. We only care about self. “Why should I,” and, “What’s in it for me,” must never come from the mouth of a disciple. The Lord certainly didn’t act that way.

We care because all are made in the image of God. We care because Jesus died for all. We care because somewhere in our past, someone has cared for us. We begin with compassion. That leads to action. That produces grace and then forgiveness. You won’t find forgiveness where there is no compassion.

Did you also notice, a simple and silent lesson about the Lord’s authority. Jesus spoke to the dead. The dead heard and the dead obeyed. Jesus is master of Heaven and earth. He has the keys of death and hades, as Revelation tells us. He has power over disasters, disease, demons and death. Two enemies faced each other, the Lord and death. And, Jesus conquered death. In time, the Lord would be carried to a cemetery. But He too, would conquer that old enemy death by His resurrection.

Jesus saw…Jesus felt compassion…Jesus did something.

The dead was raised. A grieving mother was given hope and joy. And, the Lord left us a lesson.

Roger