1 Luke 7:11 35 8/2/15 SCC Stumbling over Jesus At the beginning of last weeks message I mentioned that it may take a little while for us to study through the book of Luke (Jan. 17!). What I failed to mention is that I anticipate moving through this book at a bit more rapid pace than we have so far. Luke, like any good author, lays the framework of his story and then, as the tale begins to unfold, the events seem to move along quicker. I say all that because I hope to look at 25 verses of Luke 7 this morning. Please open your Bible up with me this morning and if you do not have a Bible with you there should be a copy of God s Word tucked away under the chair in front of you. Read Luke 7:11 17 This grieving mother and widow (v.12) was in a desperate spot. She had just lost her only son! In a culture without social security, welfare benefits, and life insurance, this lady was staring a grim reality in the face. Not only was the pain of her son s death sharp she is about to be relegated to a low social status. Her livelihood was through her son and her son was dead. But, in steps Jesus. The way Luke records it is almost as if this meeting was merely a coincidence. One minute Jesus was in Capernaum the next He is traveling south and just happens to pass through the town of Nain at the very same
2 time a funeral procession plods down Main Street. As followers of God I hope we know that there is no such thing as coincidence. This is no accident! Jesus is here for a reason to help this grieving widow. Verse 14 says that he walked right up and touched the casket. That really got people's attention. The funeral procession immediately stopped. What was Jesus doing here? The end of verse 14 tells us that He commanded the dead man to rise. I can just imagine the pallbearers expression at this point. It is unusual enough that Jesus walked right up to a funeral procession and touched the casket (which was a ceremonially unclean thing to do). Then He outrageously commands the dead man to sit up! I can just imagine some of the men in the crowd (v.12 says that a considerable amount of the town had turned out for the funeral procession) looking around at each other ready to take hold of this crazy stranger and send Him on His way. But then the miraculous happens! The dead man sits up and begins to talk to the crowd (v.15)! He was instantly healed. The crowd was abuzz with excitement for they had just witnessed something incredible. They had just seen a miracle that only God could do! This man had no life left in him. He was stone cold dead and now he is alive!
3 The crowd responded appropriately so seeing such a wondrous work. Notice v.16 says, Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has arisen among us! and God has visited his people! Notice they had the proper response of joyful, God glorifying, fear, but it is what they called Jesus that is important. Some were saying he was a prophet, possibly thinking of Elijah who also raised a widow s son from the dead. Others said, God has visited his people. They realized that God was among them! One of the names for Jesus is Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14) which means God is with us. That is exactly what they were calling Him here at Nain. Verse 17 tells us that Jesus fame grew. Word about Him spread. People from Judea and beyond heard about the God man who had come to the Jewish people. Truly Jesus was, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel ( Luke 2:32 ). His mighty deeds were causing, all flesh shall [to] see the salvation of God ( Luke 3:6). Jesus often showed compassion and mercy to humble, needy, hopeless people. But his healing ministry had a much greater purpose. It was to make His name known. Jesus healed hundreds of people during His time on earth. He showered His love on thousands. But the point of His healing touch and His loving
4 hand and His powerful preaching was all to spread the news that God was with His people. Jesus was the prophesied Immanuel. He was God sent to them to save them. John 1:14 puts it this way, [He/Jesus] dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. That is the wonder of Jesus. He is the exact opposite of the common modern picture of God far off in Heaven with a long gray beard, waiting to reign down judgment on the earth. No Jesus came and He showed grace to the humble,hurting,and helpless. He came proclaiming God s Truth. But most importantly He came! Many times in life we do not feel like God is with us. Often we doubt God s presence and question if we He will really help us. One of the great NT Christians had these kind of thoughts. The verses after the miraculous healing of the widow s son show us an interaction between John the Baptist and Jesus. We will see that John was losing hope in Jesus. Read Luke 7:18 23. Verse 18 begins with the information that John s disciples reported to him the miracle that Jesus had just performed. They were keeping him up to date with Jesus ministry. Now two of John s disciples are sent to Jesus with a question. Why did John not come to Jesus himself? Matthew 14:3 5 tells us, Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his
5 brother Philip's wife, because John had been saying to him, It is not lawful for you to have her. And though he wanted to put him to death,he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. John was locked up in Herod s dungeon, but apparently he could takes visits from his disciples. They were keeping John up to date about Jesus and His ministry, but John was confused. He was doubting whether Jesus really was the chosen one that the Jews had been longing for for centuries. He was uncertain and wavering in his faith in Jesus. Earier in Luke we saw that John told his disciple to look for one who is mightier than I (Luke 3:16). When Jesus showed up on the scene John told His disciples to follow the Messiah. John said, He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). It seems that John completely bought in to Jesus Messianic claims. Yet here in Luke 7 he is having doubts. To be fair to John, it would be very difficult to hold onto hope when he was unfairly locked up in jail for speaking the truth. John was in jail for preaching against the immoral life of the Jewish ruler Herod. In modern times we would say that John s right to free speech was grossly violated. His imprisonment was an absolute injustice yet there he sat, day after day, rotting away in that cell. John s discouragement is understandable, but I believe that there is more going on in John s heart beyond frustration at an unjust imprisonment. John was
6 growing impatient. He was falling prey to the temptation that many Jews of that time fell to. He wanted Jesus to start instituting His kingdom, as the promised Messiah was supposed to do, by overthrowing Roman rule. See, if the true Jewish king was sitting on David s throne the immoral Herods would not have been in control. Herod was just a propped up ruler put in place by Rome. He did not rightfully deserve to be king of Israel Jesus did. So I believe that John had been waiting for Messiah Jesus to begin his conquest of the Romans, which could eventually lead to John s release from jail. When Jesus did not make any such move several months into His ministry, John wanted to know if Jesus was a phony. Application Have you ever felt the way John was feeling here in Luke 7? Have you ever been in a situation where you were hoping for God s help, but he just did not come through? Has God ever acted in a way that was opposite what you had hoped for? Have you ever been frustrated when God fails to act as quickly as you hoped He would? If you have felt like this, you are not alone. John the Baptist felt this way. The OT hero, David, the one who killed Goliath, waited for years for God to place him on the promised throne of Israel, as he hid in the desert from his enemies. Earlier in Luke 2 we saw that the godly Simeon waited until he was elderly to meet the promised Messiah.
7 Sometimes we get impatient with God s timing and want Him to act now! Oftentimes when we have an impatient attitude toward God we miss what He is doing already. That is the case with John the Baptist. Notice Jesus response in verses 22 23 ( read?). In these verses Jesus points John toward the miracles that He has been performing. He reminds John of all the the amazing, gracious, and numerous healings that He has caused to happen. Jesus does this to point John back to the prophecy that He was fulfilling. Jesus is quoting from 2 OT scriptures that speak of the incredible works that the Messiah is performing. Isaiah 29:18 tells us that the promised chosen one of Israel (the Messiah) will open the ears of the deaf. Isaiah 35:5 6 tell us that the Messiah will cause blind men to see. Perhaps the most incredible of Jesus miracles had just happened. He raised a dead man to life! Surely John did not need any more proof than this. The fact that he questions Jesus at all shows that he was lacking in faith in Jesus. That is why Jesus said, blessed is the one who is not offended by me, at the end of verse 23. John was offended at who Jesus was because Jesus was not doing what John wanted him to do usher in God s kingdom. Literally the word offended means stumbling block. The idea is that John was tripping over the stumbling block (Jesus) because of wrong expectations. The apostle Paul uses the
8 same word in 1 Corinthians 1:23 when he calls Jesus, a stumbling block to Jews. That is what Jesus was to many Jews. He tripped them up by coming to deal with sin first and God s kingdom second. Application The question that is before each of us this morning is, are we offended by Jesus. Are we bothered by who He is? Do some of His teachings bother us? Do you find yourself continually questioning His plan and His judgment? Let us humbly and willingly worship Jesus in His completeness. John s messengers returned to deliver Jesus message without another word. After all, what Jesus did/said was convincing. No one other than God s chosen saving servant could perform such wonders. What Jesus does next is so gracious. He could have been angry and bitter at John for questioning His authority, but He is not. Instead He praises John. Read v. 28a. He says that John is the greatest human ever born! That is high praise. The idea here is that John is the greatest natural born man. Other than Jesus himself, who was born miraculously, John is the greatest, What incredible words! As always. Jesus is about to teach us something. Look with me at v.28b. Jesus is saying that anyone who enters God s kingdom is greater than John! We have seen the qualifications for entrance into God s kingdom back in Jesus sermon in Luke 6. Those who are humbled by their sin will enter God s kingdom.
9 Those who are hungry and thirsty to know God will enter the kingdom. Jesus says that these kind of people will one day be more blessed than John the Baptist because they will live eternally with God in His kingdom. This is good news! Unfortunately not everyone in the crowd watching Jesus saw his words as good. Verses 29 30 tell us that the common people, even no good, lying, cheating tax collectors, saw Jesus words as good. The religious leaders rejected Jesus words. In fact verse 30 says that the religious leaders, rejected the purpose of God for themselves. An accurate way of translating this verse would actually be they rejected God s counsel. They rejected Jesus words. Jesus came offering hope to His people,the Jews, and many rejected. Some thought that His words were true and followed Him, but many, like the religious leaders here in Luke 7 turned aside and rejected God. Maybe they did not want to give up their place in line for the kingdom to sinners and tax collectors. Maybe they just lost faith in Jesus or never had faith in Him in the first place. Maybe he did not do what they wanted and so they lost interest. Whatever the case may be the same thing happens today. Jesus has come offering the way to have freedom from sin. He has come offering salvation from eternal punishment in Hell instead giving people His eternal kingdom. And sadly many reject Him. Is that you?
10 Maybe today you are here and you do know Jesus. You love that God came to dwell among men and are endeavoring to live for Him. Yet amidst the trials of life you have grown frustrated. Your faith is weak and doubting, like John the Baptist s faith. I encourage you hang on! In the end God will comfort the weak and right every wrong in eternity. Jesus does not do work on our timeline but his ways are always good. As Jesus said, great is the reward for the least in God s kingdom. Hold on because God is with you and He will satisfy you. Pray