Luke 7:11–17

3rd Sunday after Pentecost

Father’s Day/Flag Day (June 14th)

God visits his people in order to save them

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out— the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it 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. They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has visited his people." This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

When I was in high school, I was the lead photographer on the school newspaper. It so happened to be the year that Nixon, Humphrey and Wallace were running for president of the United States. I was assigned to cover the rallies and press conferences whenever a candidate came to town. After getting FBI clearance I was given a press badge so I could get up close. I sat just 5 feet away from Nixon as he spoke. I and a reporter got a private interview with Mrs. Humphrey. We wanted to hear what the candidates had to say and learn about their positions.

However, the most exciting events, were the Wallace rallies. Wherever he would go there were protests that usually erupted in violence. You could hear people running and shouting, glass breaking, windows being smashed and cars being trashed. I always got rides to and from those events because I didn’t want my car parked anywhere close. We followed Wallace around because we wanted to see something exciting; a spectacle.

Famous people always seem to attract crowds. It was no different in Jesus’ day. Wherever he went crowds followed. Some were disciples who wanted to learn from him and know God better. Others were just curious spectators who wanted to see some spectacular miracle. While still others were protestors, like the scribes and Pharisees. But as his fame grew, so did the crowds. After saving the slave of a centurion his fame grew even more, so the next day as he entered the village of Nain, a large crowd followed him.

But as they entered the town, another crowd met them coming out. It was the town folk. They were marching out of town to the cemetery to bury the only son of a widow. Suddenly, Jesus found himself standing in the middle of two crowds of people: those following him and those following the dead body. Jesus, the widowed mother, and the corpse came face to face right in the center of these two multitudes.

This was no mere accidental meeting. God had arranged from eternity this meeting of Jesus and the dead man. Up to this point in his life, Jesus had performed many miracles. He had done all the miracles that the prophets Elijah and Elisha had done. He had healed the sick, cleansed lepers, and provided food for the hungry. The only thing lacking was that Jesus had not raised a widow’s son from the dead, as Elijah had done. This encounter with the dead son of a widow had been arranged by God as a testimony to Jesus. This miracle testified that Jesus was a great prophet, greater than Elijah; he was the prophet that Moses had foretold; the holy one of God.

This miracle was also a prophecy of Jesus’ own death and resurrection. Luke’s sharp eye for detail observed that the dead man was the only son of his mother; just as Jesus was the only Son of God. The death and resurrection of this only son of a widow, foretold the death and resurrection of the only Son of God.

But perhaps most importantly, this dead man represented us. For we are all dead men. Dead in our sins and trespasses. Enemies of God and children of wrath. Born in sin we all deserve death and eternal punishment. Born into a sinful world, we are all lost on the stormy seas of life. We are bruised and afflicted. We suffer infirmities and illness. We weep and mourn like the stricken mother. The fiery trials of this life burn and sting. Our life is a life of tears, uncertainty and fear. And one day we will all be like the widow’s son: being carried to the cemetery in a coffin.

And all of this we really deserve. Our hearts are full of pride and greed; lust and desire. We are born sinful and children of wrath; lost and condemned sinners.

Our hearts are so twisted and dead that we sometimes don’t even realize just how sinful and lost we are. Our sins don’t seem like great things. We compare ourselves to other people and pride ourselves in how good we think we are. So separated are we from God and from our spiritual condition that we don’t even realize the depths of our own depravity. When the preacher is talking about our sin we usually think he is talking about the other person. This just shows how dead our hearts really are. This just shows how much we deserve to be like the widow’s son; dead.

But as Jesus stood there with the dead body and the widow in tears, he felt compassion for her. The love of God for mankind is vividly displayed in Jesus Christ. Literally, the word “compassion” in Greek means his heart, inner feelings and emotions, poured out on her. With that great love, the heart of God pours out on us; all his emotions, inner feelings and love he pours out on us in his only Son, Jesus Christ. He poured out his heart on us in the blood of his only Son poured out on the cross. When God’s only Son, like the widow’s son, died on the cross God was pouring out his heart on us.

For Jesus poured out his life on the cross to wipe away our sin. By his pouring out of himself for us he reconciled us to his Father and made us one with God. In our baptism Jesus pours his life into us; we become one with Christ; we become one with God. We are put to death with Christ and we are raised with Christ as new creatures. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. We share in the life of Christ. His life becomes our life.

So Jesus said to the widow, “Do not weep.” Now her only son had just died and Jesus tells her not to cry? What kind of command was this? That was not the only time Jesus used those words. Shortly after he also told the crowds not to weep when the daughter of Jairus had died. Then in the book of Revelation an elder told John: “Do not weep,” because the Lion of Judah has conquered. What was the reason for not weeping? Because he has conquered; he has overcome; he has triumphed. By his own death on the cross he has wiped away sin. By his own resurrection he has conquered death. Jesus has triumphed! And that is the reason we no loner need to weep.

Then to demonstrate this triumph, Jesus told the dead man to get up. He sat up and Jesus gave him back to his mother. By raising the widow’s son, he demonstrated his victory and triumph over sin and death. By the resurrection of this son of a widow, He not only foretold the resurrection of the Son of God, he foretold our resurrection, the resurrection of all the baptized children of God. This miracle that Jesus did in Nain demonstrates to us that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. This miracle shows God’s love and compassion for us. It shows Christ’s death and resurrection to wipe away our sin. It shows that Christ has the power and authority to raise us from the dead on the last day and give us eternal life.

When the crowds witnessed this miracle, they made all the connections. They were filled with awe and praised God: “A great prophet as appeared among us” they said. They made the connection between Jesus and Elijah. They realized that this was the prophet whom Moses foretold when he said: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.”

When they saw this miracle the crowds praised God and said: “God has visited his people.” The word “visit” here means come to help, to save. It means to care for or be concerned for. God, in Christ has surely visited his people with the intention of saving them. God, the creator, has visited his creation to set things right, to undo the evil that has afflicted the world. He has visited his creation to undo the curse of sin. He has visited his world to crush the head of Satan and put his creation back the way it was meant to be. God has visited his people in order to save us. He washes away our tears. He is our shepherd who supplies us with all our needs. He feeds us with the green pastures of his word. He gives us drink from the cool, quiet waters of his Gospel. We tells us to call upon him in the day of trouble and he will answer. He never slumbers or sleeps. He is our rock and our salvation, an ever present help in trouble.

By his command, the dead man sat up and came to life. By the power of God’s word he was raised to life. By the authority of Jesus’ word over death, life was restored to the widow’s son. That same word that gives us life today in baptism and nourishes our life in communion. The word which we preach and teach and sing is that same word of power that raised the widow’s son from the dead; that word which raised Jesus from the dead, and the same word the gives us eternal life in Christ.

And that same powerful word is what the crowds began to proclaim right after this miracle. The crowds had come for various reasons. Some had come to learn from Jesus’ teaching. Others had come to see some spectacle. Others were there to mourn their dead. But after hearing and seeing the powerful word of Christ, they praised God and spread the word. The news of Jesus spread throughout Judea.

This crowd who first heard and saw the word of God and in whom the word created faith in Jesus, could not remain silent. That very faith which the word had created in them expressed itself in their praises and words. They went around the countryside singing the praises of the one who had visited his people in order to save them. They could not keep quiet. The word implanted inside them burst forth in confession and song, just like today, we first hear the word of God and receive the sacrament and then burst forth with praise and thanksgiving in liturgy and hymn. Our song and our liturgy is proclamation of God’s love and grace and mighty works on our behalf. We cannot keep silent but must confess Christ to the world.

We too go around praising God’s grace, his works, his words and his power as they are revealed in Christ. This is our song; our hymn of praise. We proclaim the gospel to our neighbors and all the world, praising the Triune God for all that he has done for humanity and proclaiming to all people the good and gracious will of God for them. Martin Luther says: “To be silent about God’s grace in Jesus Christ is no longer an option for the Christian. For believers to refuse to sing and speak about the faith shows that they do not believe and do not belong under the new and joyful testament.”

Today, Father’s Day, in this passage of scripture we have seen the love and compassion of our heavenly Father. We see the creator visiting his creation to set all things right and restore it to its original perfection. We see our loving Father pour out his heart to us in the blood of his Son in order to save us. And we receive the powerful word of Christ which has power to raise him from the dead and which, receiving it in word and sacrament, will raise us from the dead as well. Amen.