Bible Study Materials

Luke 7:11-17 (2011)

by Paul Choi   01/16/2011  

Question


Don’t Cry

Luke 7:11-17

Key Verse:7:13

1. Read verse 11. Where had Jesus been and where was he going? Who went with him and why? Read verse 12. Picture the procession coming from the town of Nain. Contrast this procession with Jesus’ procession.

2. Think about the widow whose only son had died. How might this have affected her emotionally, socially, economically? How did this tragedy affect the people of her town?

3. Read verse 13. What does it mean that Jesus’ heart went out to the sorrowful widow? What did he say to her? How could he say this? (Isa 53:3-5) What are some different kinds of sorrow? (2Co 7:10; Ro 9:2)

4. Read verses 14-15. What did Jesus say to the dead man? What happened to him? What does this teach about the power of Jesus’ word? (Jn 5:28-29)

5. Read verses 16-17. How did the crowd of people react to Jesus raising the dead young man to life? What did they think about Jesus? How did this event affect the surrounding country?


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Message


DON’T CRY

Luke 7:11-17

Key Verse: 7:13 “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

  Last week we studied the faith of a centurion. A servant of the centurion was sick and was about to die, and Jesus was asked to come to heal the servant. When Jesus approached his house, the centurion sent men to Jesus with the word, “Lord, you don’t have to come. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus was amazed by the centurion’s faith in him and in his words. Then Jesus blessed his faith by healing the servant. We need the centurion’s faith, especially ‘just say the word-faith’. When we have ‘just say the word- faith’ like the centurion, we please Jesus and experience the power of God in our daily life.

  Today’s passage is a story of Jesus’ raising the life of an only son of a widow at Nain. Through this passage we learn Jesus’ compassion, the power of his words, and the secret of overcoming our limitations.

First, two different processions (11-12) Look at verse 11. “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him.” The word ‘soon afterward’ indicates ‘after Jesus cured the servant of the centurion’. After performing his healing miracle, Jesus went down to a town called Nain, a small village located a few miles south of Nazareth.  His disciples and a large crowd went along with him. Imagine the atmosphere of Jesus’ procession. His disciples and the large crowd witnessed Jesus’ compassion on the sick servant and the power of his words. They saw the image of God in Jesus. They were moved by Jesus’ shepherd heart. They were happy to be with Jesus as if they were in the kingdom of heaven. Indeed where Jesus is, there is the kingdom of heaven. The disciples and a large crowd might have sung the hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers” with joyous spirit as they were marching along the road.

  While they were approaching the town gate, Jesus’ procession encountered a totally different kind of procession from them. Look at verse 12. “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.” It was the funeral procession for the only son whose mother was a widow. Imagine the atmosphere of the funeral procession. At the head of the procession, the bier of the dead young man was being carried. Following was the boy’s mother, weeping and wailing over the loss of her son. Behind her were many people from the town who were singing sorrowful dirges. Have you ever thought about the sorrow of this widow who lost her only son? Her heart had been deeply wounded before when she had lost her husband. When her husband was buried, her joy was buried, too. Still she had hope and courage to survive on this earth because of her only son. Her only son was her only hope, the meaning and purpose of her life. However, this son, her only son died, too. Now he is not with her anymore. She can’t hear his loving voice. She can’t see his smiling face. She can’t touch his warm hands and foot. He is gone. His body turned to a horrible cold corpse. When her son died, she felt heaven fell and the earth split. When her son died, her heart was totally broken. Now she lost everything, her last hope, her meaning and purpose of  life on this earth.

  When her son died, she lost not only the object of her affection, but also her security in this world.  She is alone all by herself on this earth. There is no one whom she can live for, no one whom she can serve, no one whom she can depend on, but herself in the world. Indeed from now on she has to live by taking care of all things all by herself.  Out of excruciating pain and sorrow she just cried and cried of the loss of her son, the only son. People who followed her mourned together with her. The loss of the young man was not only the woman’s tragedy but also the tragedy of the whole community. But they did not know how to comfort her. Besides, they did not know how to deal with their own sorrow which was affected by the death of the young man. Once I had a chance to carry a coffin of a dead young man, a younger brother of my friend. He died too young, at age of 19. I was overwhelmed by not only sorrow for the dead young man, but also sorrow for myself, thinking that I might die someday like him. It was a rainy spring day. I cried with many tears that I did not know whether it was rain or my tears which endlessly flowed down from my cheeks.

  When the widow grieved over the loss of her son, birds wept and mountains cried. Who could understand her sorrow? Who could comfort the widow who lost her only son? The people following her said nothing but wailing and grieving. No one dared to say anything but crying. All were helpless before the power of death. The power of death had swallowed them all. This is an allegory of all mankind under the power of death.

    Look at verse 12 again. The two processions approached each other. The sounds of “Onward Christian Soldiers,” began to mingle with the sounds of mourning and wailing. People in both processions were surprised to hear each other expressing opposite emotions. They began to listen to each other and quiet came over them. But one woman could not stop crying. It was the mother of the dead man. Jesus surveyed the scene and his eyes fell on this woman.

Second, Jesus said, “Don’t cry” (13) Look at verse 13. “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Though Jesus was approaching to her, she kept on crying and crying. When Jesus saw her, he had full of compassion on her. Jesus’ heart was broken when he saw her keep on crying helplessly and endlessly before the power of death. How can you comfort her? With what word can you console her sorrow? These days at funeral ceremony visitors just hug the remained family saying, “I am sorry.” But, what did Jesus say? Jesus said, “Don’t cry.” When Jesus said, “Don’t cry”, it was not just the word of sympathy.  When Jesus said, “Don’t cry”, he meant that he could remove the cause of her tears. He meant that he could dry her tears. He meant that he could raise her son from the dead. The author Luke did not use the word “the Lord” for Jesus previously. Now, he calls Jesus ‘the Lord,’ who is the Lord of life and death, the Lord of heaven and earth, the Lord of human history and destiny, and the Lord of lords.

  When Jesus said, ‘Don’t cry”, he had a premonition of his upcoming death on the cross. In order to carry our sorrow, Jesus himself became a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. (Is 53:3)  In order to bear our pain of separation, Jesus himself would be separated from God the Father. In order to redeem us from the slavery of sin, Jesus himself became a sin offering shedding his precious blood on the cross. By his wounds we are healed. By his death, we are saved. When Jesus said, “Don’t cry”, he meant that he is able to carry all our sorrows and pain which came from the power of death.

  When Jesus said, “Don’t cry”, he meant that he is able to remove the cause of her tears. What is the cause of her tears? It is death. The death of her only son made her tearful.  But, Jesus will remove the cause of her tears. Jesus will raise her son again from death. Jesus will conquer the grave. Indeed Jesus is the resurrection and the life. One day Jesus was asked to come quickly to the town of Bethany. His beloved friend Lazarus died. Lazarus’ two sisters were desperate in need of Jesus. But, Jesus stayed two more days and made them more sorrowful. But Jesus said to these sorrowful women, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (Jn 11:25,26) Then, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is able to raise the dead. He is able to solve death problem. So Jesus said to the woman in today’s passage, “Don’t cry.”

  Is there anyone here who keeps crying before the power of death? Is there anyone who cries before human limitations? Is there anyone who despairs and become frustrated by the power of sin? What causes you cry endlessly?  Is it the power of death? The elements of death are as follow: sorrow, fear, timidity, despair, anger, hatred, violence, arrogance, fatalism, nihilism, pessimism, hedonism and so on. Those who are overwhelmed by these elements of death cannot but cry helplessly and endlessly like the widow. But, Jesus says to us, “Don’t cry”. We don’t have to cry because Jesus will remove the cause of our tears. Jesus will take away the cause of our fear. Jesus will give us the reason for living on this earth.  Today we must hear Jesus’ word, “Don’t cry.” Those who hear the word of Jesus will live. In John 5:25 Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” Amen.

Third, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” (14-17) Look at verse 14. “Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” According to Numbers 19:16 anyone who touches a dead person will be unclean for seven days.  But Jesus did not mind to risk ritual uncleanness. By touching the coffin Jesus overcame the barrier of the law. By touching the coffin Jesus demonstrated his messianic love. Those who were carrying the coffin must be surprised by Jesus’ touching the coffin. Jesus touched not only the coffin, but also touched the hearts of all men who were under the power of death. Jesus touched even me who was like the dead young man in the past. Those who are touched by Jesus will rise.

  Look at verse 14b again. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The young man was dead. He was wrapped and lying down in a coffin. However, Jesus commanded him to get up as if he was sleeping in a bed. In Jesus there is no death. In Jesus death is like a sound sleep for good morning. The Apostle Paul also described death as sleep in 1 Corinthians 15:20, which says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” To Christians death is a sleep. After a deep and sound sleep, when we open our eyes, we will find ourselves in a different world, where is the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

  What happened after when Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” Look at verse 15. “The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” The coffin for this young man was a bier, an open coffin. As soon as Jesus said, the dead man sat up like a robot.  He looked like a man who just got up from a sound sleep. He wondered why he was lying in a coffin and why he was surrounded by a large crowd. He began to talk. We don’t know what he was talking about. Jesus took him by the hand and gave him back to his mother.

  What was the people’s response? Look at verse 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.” They were filled with fear of God. They had never seen anyone who was raised from the dead. Even though they heard about the prophet Elijah who had raised the dead son of Zarephath woman, they had never seen the dead raised before their eyes (1Ki 17:23). They thought that another great prophet like Elijah had come. They thought that God has come to help his people. For any reason, this news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country. (17)

  What does this passage teach us about? Jesus had the reason of saying, ‘Don’t cry.’ Jesus is able to remove the cause of our tears. Jesus is able to take away fear from our hearts.  Instead of crying, Jesus wants us to try. Don’t cry, but try. Try to overcome all our limitations by faith. Try to challenge all the obstacles by faith. Try to win the victory over the power of death. Jesus wants those who are lying down in the mat of death to get up. “Young man, I say to you , get up!” Jesus wants us to get up from the mat of doubt. Jesus wants us to get up from the mat of despair. Jesus wants us to get up from the mat of fear. Jesus wants us to experience the power of resurrection when we hear his voice. May God help us to stop crying, but hear Jesus’ word. Praise Jesus who is the resurrection and the life. Praise Jesus who is full of compassion and saving love! Give thanks to God who raised Jesus from the dead and gave us the living hope of eternal life in the kingdom of God. Amen.


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