Introduction Cara Simmons is a single mother in the United States who works as a cleaner. Working long hours, over the past few years she has ended up in hospital several times, suffering exhaustion. Last December, a TV show gave her exactly what she needed. When she showed up at a new job, she found that the house had already been cleaned. She was then asked to taste- test some food cooked by a top chef; a full 6- course meal lasting hours. She was then asked to let massage therapists warm up their hands on her for another hour, then try on some designer clothes, which all happened to be her size, and keep all of it. Then, at the end of the day, a truck turned up with all of her belongings in it, and her kids, and the keys to the house were given to her, for keeps. You can see how Cara felt: surprised and overcome with gratitude and joy. The two things that made a difference in Cara's life are compassion and power. People who knew her had compassion upon her, and they convinced people with power - the TV show, the chef, the massage therapists, the fashion stores - to give her what she needed. Without Power, compassion is emotionally helpful, but doesn't change the situation of the needy person. Without compassion, powerful people don't help. Both Compassion and Power are needed. In a little town called Nain, many years ago, another woman was in much greater need. Her only son had just died, and she herself was a widow - her husband had died sometime earlier. Now, in a small rural community, she could only look forward to a life of poverty and hopelessness. What she really needed was for her son not to have died. But he did die, and then only a few hours later, people came and helped her wrap his cold body in a burial cloth. They then placed his body on a plank of wood and began to carry him out of the village. The whole village, hundreds of people, came to walk with her. You can imagine her grief, her shock, her desperation as all of this was going on. All of the villagers had compassion upon her - who would want even their worst enemy to lose both their husband and only son? But none of them had power over death. None of them could change the fact that her son had died. Then they all were met with an embarrassing inconvenience. Another crowd was coming the other way, as the village crowd walked out the gate. This crowd was also large, hundreds of people, and who knows why they were coming into Nain on that day of all sad days. There was likely confusion and worry, perhaps both crowds faltered at the sight of each other. Then the new crowd parted to allow the men carrying the body through. They should have been silent; should have simply let the villagers all pass; should themselves walked quickly through or even better around the village; should have left the strangers to their grief. But compassion and power intervened; cut right through the awkward and painful situation. One man in the midst of the foreign crowd broke custom, and spoke directly to the grieving widow herself. His words were words of compassion, and his actions were acts of power. The result was surprise and overwhelming gratitude and joy. Tragic grief and Nain was turned to joy at Nain on that day. 1
This story by itself, without explanation from me, is enough to take our breath away and bring us to tears. Such is the impact of Jesus. As we remember his compassion and power, however, I hope today to remind us all of God's compassion and power in Jesus' resurrection. Jesus' compassion There are many things about Jesus which impress us enormously. His authority, his wit, his wisdom, his courage, his knowledge... the list goes on. What melts our hearts, though, is his compassion. Luke makes sure that we know how Jesus felt about the widow, in verse 13 of chapter 7. It would have been obvious to Jesus that she was a desperate lady. Not just because he was weeping at a funeral, clearly distraught. Because she was alone. No children around her; no husband next to her. It wasn't just any dead person being carried out, verse 12, it was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd was with her, but she was in reality alone. Verse 13 tells us that when the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her. This miracle, which we'll get to in a moment, is not, first and foremost, a demonstration of God's power for all of us to marvel at. That is why the Spirit compelled Luke to write this down, that's true. But for Jesus, in that moment, this miracle is the direct result of his compassion, his feeling, his love. He loved that widow, who was all alone. Loved her so much that his first action is to speak to her. To Jesus, it was just him and her in this moment; the crowds could have been a million miles away. I never know what to say when a person is grieving; I usually just listen. But I do know that there are some things I should never say. "It'll be alright". "Look on the bright side". "You'll get over it". "Suck it up, princess". Phrases I try to avoid. And worst of all, "don't cry". Isn't that just the most unfeeling, selfish thing to say?! "Stop crying, you're embarrassing yourself and others. Keep it to yourself, man, you're acting like a baby". Jesus didn't say, "don't cry", because he was embarrassed at the show of affection, nor because he didn't know what else to say. He said it because he wanted her grief to end; he wanted to take away her tears. His heart moved to defend her from pain and bitterness. He saw her and his whole being said, "No! This will not be". Her sad situation, her grief and desperation, compelled Jesus to say, "don't cry". The Bible says that one day God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, when he makes the world anew (Rev 21:4). That is God's desire, that is God's plan, that is God's compassion. He longs to defend us from pain and bitterness. Jesus saw this poor lady and acted immediately, and God would also do that... if it were not for one thing, and that is our sin. God knows that the cause of our pain, and all the pain in the world, is our sin, our rebellion against him. He cannot just end the pain of all his forgiven people, that is Christians, whilst unforgiven people still have not repented. They need us to remain here in this broken world. The Bible says that God is patient, 'not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance' (2 Pet 3:9). His compassion for the whole world means that he does not yet change the world completely and wipe all our tears away. 2
One day he will; one day the floodgates of his heart will burst upon us, and to all of us who believe, he will say, "don't cry". His heart already goes out to us when we are on pain. He sees what we are going through, and he sees us individually. As only he can do, he cares for each of us as if there were no- one else. So if you are in pain, if you are grieving, know this: God does care, God does see, God is full of compassion for you. The Bible says, "Cast all your cares upon God, for he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Go to him, walk along the road to meet him in prayer, and you will find in him the God of all comfort and compassion. Jesus Power As I said earlier, however, compassion without power doesn't change the situation. For some of us, when we come to God in prayer, his compassion will compel him to act in power. God does answer prayer miraculously. In the gospels, Jesus' compassion is given as his motivation for healing, preaching to and feeding people (Matt 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34; Mark 41; 6:34). God does many things because of his compassion, and he may answer your prayers miraculously for that same reason. Verses 14 and 15 tell us why he could say "don't cry" and mean it. 'Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, Young man, I say to you, get up! The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. All Jesus does is stop the pallbearers and speak. That's power. He speaks to the dead man, ordering him to get up. And the dead man obeys and sits up. As if to prove that this is not just some macabre magic trick, he then speaks. Life has been proven by both movement and speech. Then, demonstrating why he had performed this amazing act of power, Jesus gave the man back to his mother. I think that is figurative speech; to lift up a fully- grown man and pass him to his shocked mother would not have been an act of compassion. Perhaps it was just a gesture, Luke doesn't say. The point is that Jesus was restoring the relationship between mother and child, a relationship broken by death. God's Compassion and Power Which brings us to the whole point if this story: the restoration of relationships broken by death. This is a story about Jesus' compassion and power, both proven beyond doubt. But Luke chose this story because it spoke to our problem today - death as the end of all relationships. We don't just need to see that Jesus had compassion on this widow, and power to change her situation, we need to know that God has compassion on all of us and is willing to act in power to change our situation. Our mortality, and the pain it brings. All of our relationships will end in death, no matter how close they are. Contrary to popular belief and song, our love will not keep up together for all time. Can God change this? Is he willing to change it? God is powerful, and God is compassionate, and the answer is, 'yes'. There is a hint of this that I had never before noticed despite reading this passage many times before. It's in verse 12, which says that the dead person was the only son of his mother. I had 3
thought that this details just highlights the pain of the mother. It does that, but it does something else. It points to the death and resurrection of another only son; Jesus himself. It is not until you read on a bit that you start to see a pattern. In chapter 8, Jesus raises another person from the dead, Jairus' daughter. She is also an only child (8:42). A boy is set free from a demon trying to kill him in chapter 9, and he is an only child (9:38). Both Matthew and Mark record the raising of Jairus' daughter and the deliverance of the demon- possessed boy. Neither tell us that they were only children. For Luke, this is an important detail. The plot thickens when you realise that the word Luke uses for 'only son', is the same word used of Jesus himself in John 3:16: 'For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son' (see also 1:14, 18 and 1 John 4:9). The word can be translated 'one and only', or 'only begotten', or 'unique', or simply 'only'. In the old Testament, the Hebrew form of the word was used in some highly significant passages that pointed towards Jesus. Genesis 22, about the sacrifice of Isaac. Psalm 22, from which Jesus quoted, "my God, My God, why have you forsaken me". And Zechariah 12:10, which says They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." There is no doubt in my mind that Luke consciously chose this word, prompted by the Holy Spirit, to point us to the death of Jesus, God's only son. Every time Luke uses the word, we are reminded that Jesus' death and resurrection ends our mortality, and takes away the pain of death. When Jesus delivers the demon- possessed boy, he immediately follows up with a prediction of his own death (9:44). Death, which all three only children were saved from, clearly marks the way of our deliverance - the death and resurrection of Jesus, the only son of God. Jesus died in our place, taking the death we should have gone through. In rising from the dead he broke death. It is the Father's compassion and power which accomplished this. How great for us his love must surely be, that he should give his only son for me. Death, and the diseases and demons that take us into it, is what Jesus came to vanquish. 2 Timothy 1:10 says that Jesus is the one 'who has destroyed death and brought life an immortality to light'. That is the compassion and power of God for us. What is more, when Jesus rose from the dead, he cleared the way for all of us to become God's children, 'born not of natural descent nor of human decision... but born of God' (John 1:13). Therefore we know that the break in relationship caused by sin and death has been healed. Our relationship with God, for we become his children, and our relationships with each other, for all who die in Christ will live in Christ. The pain is not immediately taken away, as I said before. One day the tears will be wiped away as we are reunited with all we have ever known who have trusted in Jesus. Conclusion Blessed children of God, what knowledge and hope is ours through the gospel. What sweet and nourishing truth is the death and resurrection of Jesus. May the compassion and power of God fill your life with hope, truth and joy. 4
God sent His Son they called Him Jesus He came to love heal and forgive He bled and died to buy my pardon An empty grave is there to prove My Savior lives Because He lives I can face tomorrow Because He lives all fear is gone Because I know He holds the future And life is worth the living Just because He lives 5