Chapter 38

A Blessed Intrusion

“And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.” (Luke 7:11-17)

On three separate occasions our Lord Jesus raised people from the dead, by his great omnipotence and grace. In John 11 he raised Lazarus from the dead, one who had been dead for four days. In the eighth chapter of Luke’s gospel our Savior raised the ruler’s daughter to life. But the first display of our Savior’s power over death is found here in Luke 7:11-17.

We have before us a scene of great sorrow. As our Lord Jesus, his disciples, and the crowds following him came to the city of Nain, they ran into a funeral procession. A widow was taking her only son to the cemetery. When our Lord Jesus came upon this scene of woe, he stepped into the life of this widow at the time of her greatest sorrow. He intruded when no stranger ought to intrude. He stopped what no one ought to stop. He interrupted a funeral.

Oh, how I thank the Son of God for making such intrusions of grace as are portrayed in this passage! Multitudes are carried swiftly to their graves by the gaieties, glamour and glitter of the world, totally unaware of their lost and ruined condition, without feeling, without life, without hope, until the Lord Jesus Christ steps into their lives, stops their funeral processions and raises the dead by the power of his omnipotent grace! And whenever the Son of God intrudes into the lives of men and women in this world, those who experience his intrusion, bow before him in reverent fear and glorify God.

Without question, our Lord's miracles display the fact of his eternal Godhead and omnipotent power; but they are intended to do much more than that. They are all designed to be pictures of his grace and salvation freely bestowed upon and wrought in chosen sinners by his omnipotent grace. This story of the funeral in Nain is designed to display…

The Consequences of Sin

First, the scene before us displays most vividly the consequences of our sin. — “The wages of sin is death;” and everything preceding death in this world is but the forerunner of it. All funerals are sad; but here is a picture of sadness without any mixture of pleasure. Here is a widow, burying her young son, who is her only son. Everything in the picture, until the Lord Jesus steps in, is misery, sorrow, grief and woe.

That is exactly the case with us. The corruption, depravity and sin of race are evident because ours is a race of sick, dying, sorrowful men. We live in a world of sickness and sorrow, drudgery and death, wickedness and woe, misery and mortality, because we live in a world of sin. Sin is the root and fountain of all this sorrow. Were it not for sin, the world would be free of tears and cares. Were it not for sin, there would be no sickness, no doctors, no hospitals, no courts, no prisons, no broken homes, no shattered lives, no morticians, no funerals, no cemeteries. But all these woes portray the present state of things all over the world. What a thief, what a nuisance, what a great murderer sin is (Romans 5:12); but, blessed be God, things change when Christ comes! When the Lord Jesus steps into a sinner’s world of woe, all that was misery before is seen to be mercy. And when he comes again, he will make all things new, and remove from his creation all the evil consequences of sin (Revelation 21:1-7).

The Compassion of Our Savior

Second, God the Spirit here gives us a beautiful display of our Savior’s compassion. — "And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not" (v. 13). Oh, how deep is the compassion of our Savior’s heart! None of us has yet begun to imagine how tender and compassionate our Lord Jesus is. He truly is “touched with the feelings of our infirmities.” He who wept with Martha and Mary at their brother’s tomb is still “touched with the feelings of our infirmities.”

Here our Lord Jesus meets the mournful procession. As he observes what has happened and is happening, his heart is moved toward this poor woman. He does not wait for someone to ask for help. He just steps in, in sovereign mercy, and says to the woman, “Weep not!”

There is no friend or comforter to be compared with Christ. Perhaps those two words sounded strange to this woman, perhaps even cruel. Certainly, no one in the procession understood them; but, when the Lord Jesus says, “Weep not,” he takes away the cause of weeping! In all our days of darkness he is our Light. He is yet the Sun of Righteousness. And the Son of God never changes (Hebrews 13:8). He cannot fail. He cannot disappoint. He cannot change.

Child of God, your dear Redeemer, who made the mourning widow’s heart leap for joy, will yet turn your sorrow into laughter and your mourning into a song. He is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. He lives to heal broken hearts, to mend broken lives, and wipe away all tears from our eyes; and he will do it.

The Character of Our Sovereign

Third, this story sets before us the character of our Sovereign. Our Lord Jesus stepped in and took over. O blessed intrusion! There are those who say, “God is a gentleman. He never comes in uninvited.” But those who talk such nonsense are as ignorant as they are blasphemous. Thank God, he never waits for permission to intervene. He never waits for an invitation to be gracious. When God comes to save, he comes in sovereign mercy. Our sovereign God always takes the initiative in salvation. He declares, — “I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me” (Romans 10:20; Ezekiel 16:6-8)

“And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.” (Ezekiel 16:6-8)

The Conditions of Salvation

Fourth, this event was brought to pass by God’s wise, adorable and good providence specifically to show us the conditions of our salvation. The Word of God specifically identifies certain conditions that must be met before any sinner can enter into heavenly glory in everlasting salvation.

1. The Will of God — No sinner will ever be saved except God wills it. Man’s will is totally insignificant. Only the will of God matters (John 1:11-13; Romans 9:11-18; John 5:21.

2. The Word of God — God has ordained the salvation of his elect by the preaching of the gospel. As this young man was made to live by the word of Christ, so “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23-25).

3. The Work of God — Salvation is a supernatural, irresistible work of God’s free and sovereign grace involving three mighty works of omnipotent, effectual mercy, by which the complete redemption (deliverance) of God’s elect is accomplished ((1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

All who obtain God’s salvation must be ransomed from the curse of the law. That is what the Lord Jesus did for us by the sacrifice of himself at Calvary (Galatians 3:13-14; 1 Peter 1:18-20). But blood atonement alone takes no one to heaven. Every ransomed sinner must be delivered from the prison and grave of sin by the power of God the Holy Spirit in regeneration (John 5:25). None will ever be saved except Christ be formed in them, except they be made new creatures in Christ, except they be born again (John 3:5-7). No one has any hope of glory until he is made a partaker of the divine nature. Yet, there is another work just as necessary as the ransom of our souls by the blood of Christ and just as necessary as the new birth. Every chosen, blood-bought, heaven-born soul must be transformed in resurrection glory into the very likeness of his Savior (John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:18-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Don Fortner

Listen to sermons at FreeGraceRadio.com