Monday, February 06, 2012
Jesus brings hope into our pain
Luke 7: 11-17
11 Soon afterward,
Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went
along with him. 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. 13 When the Lord saw her, his
heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” 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!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk,
and Jesus gave him back to his mother. 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.” 17 This news about Jesus spread
throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
Luke
7 details stories in the life of Christ that highlight his power touching
people who are in pain. The Centurion
(verses 1-10) who had a servant who was sick – see day fifteen. He encourages John the Baptist who was in
prison and struggling with doubt. He raises a widow’s son who had died. Max Lucado writes the following about Jesus
and his power, “These are not just Sunday
school stories – they are not romantic fables or somewhere over the rainbow
illusions. They are historic moments in which a real God met real people who
were in real pain. In these stories we are reminded that the God who spoke
still speaks. The God who came still comes. He comes into your world He comes
to do what you can’t. He comes to move stones that you can’t budge.” (He Still Moves Stones).
In
Nain, Jesus and his followers come into town when a funeral procession was
coming out of town. The pain of this
grieving mother is intense. Her only son had died. Her husband was already
dead. And when Jesus saw her is heart
went out to her. We see this often in the life of Christ – he has compassion on
those who are hurting. Jesus is
immediately drawn the one with the greatest need. If you are in pain today,
Jesus is moving toward you. Hebrews 13:8
says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That means Jesus is still moved by our pain
and he comes to us to bring his healing.
In
this case Jesus brought tremendous hope to this hurting mother.
·
His
hope comes through his compassion. When Jesus told her not to cry he was implying
that he wanted her to look to him. He is the source of comfort.
·
His
hope comes through his grace. This woman did nothing to merit this miracle. She
didn’t even ask the Lord to help her. There is no hint of faith on her part or
an expectation of what Jesus would do for her. Obviously there was nothing in
the dead young man to merit Christ’s miracle. This miracle happened because of
Christ’s love and compassion. It was all grace! Grace brings hope. “But because of his great love for us, God
who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).
·
His
hope comes through his word. Jesus spoke
personally to this dead son and he responded by getting up and talking. The words of Christ can still bring healing
to our pain and hope to our lives. The life-giving words of Jesus are hope to a
hopeless world.
As
the power of Christ meets us at our pain we are left with hope. And hope has a
powerful effect on all who observe. It can fill people with awe and praise for
God. Where is your hope today? Is it in Christ? He can bring compassion, grace
and his powerful word into your pain.
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