You Were There (9/13/06-9/14/06)
So many perspectives to consider! It will doubtless be worthwhile to consider them all, beginning with the young man who suddenly finds himself alive once more. I wonder, did he know he was dead? I think it likely that he did. The Bible often speaks of death as sleeping. His experience of death may well have felt like a dream to him. I recall a dear friend of mine who suffered a heart attack that came near to killing him. He spoke of knowing he had met his Lord, but that it was not yet his time to go. There were things that remained for him to do in this life. I can easily imagine this young man undergoing a similar experience. Was he a devoted believer before his death? We do not know, but I suspect he was afterwards! I can imagine him meeting with his Creator and being told that however desirable it might be from his perspective to enter the kingdom then and there, his earthly purpose was not yet complete. His mother was a widow in a very male-dominated society. He might well be her sole means of support, the chosen vessel of God’s provision for her old age. It would not be understood as some mystical guarantee against accident until she passed, never that. But, this young man had been created for a purpose, and that purpose was not yet met. He must return.
Still, even having such a dream in death, can you imagine his surprise upon being restored! Who could imagine the shock of being awakened from death in the very midst of one’s own funeral, let alone en route to the grave! The text says that upon rising up, he began to speak to those around him. I wonder if he thought it some prank, and began asking whose idea this had been. He was a young man, after all, not given naturally to thoughts of the end yet. Or perhaps his response was along the lines of the plague victim in Monty Python’s movie. “I’m not dead yet!”
I should think that waking to find oneself in a coffin and on the way to burial might well induce a bit of fear. Surely, one’s greatest thought in that moment will be to ensure that people know we’re not dead yet, to make sure they don’t finish the task.
As I’m writing that, it occurs to me that this is exactly the situation that every Christian has come through. Jesus comes to us as we are on our way to the grave. We are quite dead, and all of life to this point has been nothing more than our funeral procession. That’s our situation without Christ, however it may appear to us. But, Jesus comes and stops the procession. He touches us and we find ourselves alive. Suddenly, we wake up and see where we are, where we are going, and what it must surely mean, and everything in us cries out that this is not our fate. Indeed, once the shock of realization has passed, it must be followed by the joy of discovering ourselves alive. We have escaped what was set out for us! Oh! The joy that must have filled this young man as he was restored to his mother!
You know, he may not have been terribly comfortable with his lot in life before this. He may not have considered it a fine prospect to be caring for his mother as well as himself as he went on. I’ll bet that he’s quite happy with that lot now, though. Compared to death, this is a fine prospect indeed!
Now, let me turn to his mother. We are not told how recently she was widowed, whether the wounds of that loss had healed. For all that, we are not told whether her marriage had been a matter for joy or grief. Had her husband been a good man, or had he been a tyrant in his household? Was his demise a terrible sorrow to her, or a great relief? We don’t know, but let us assume there has been grief. She is a woman who has known suffering. If we think it hard to raise a child as a single mother in our present day, I think we can be assured that it was a far more difficult task then! Had she any relatives who would care for her with her husband gone? Probably not. This son, then, whom she had now lost as well, was her only hope in this world. Children are tasked with the care of their elders even as parents are tasked with the care of their children. How hopeless she must have felt, then, with all support taken away. She must have seen a life of dire hardship ahead, perhaps with no prospect beyond begging in the streets for her keep; living on alms and scraps until death overtook her.
I can imagine her reaction to this stranger coming up to her in this moment of profound loss and telling her not to cry. Oh, please! What possible reason can He offer for her not to cry? What can this young man even know of her loss, of her bleak future? He’s a man, and young like her lost son. His future is ahead of him. She has no future. Her future lies dead in the coffin she follows after. Don’t cry? What else can she do?
Well, if her reaction was along those lines, imagine the change when her son is restored! What disbelief she must come through! The shear astonishment of seeing a dead man rising would be enough to unseat just about anybody’s mind. When that dead man is one so near and dear, the shock must be even greater. I wonder what the first thoughts through her head were, whether she considered for just a moment that this was some sort of necromancer who had come to trouble the funeral. Did she really believe her boy was alive, or did she suspect some sort of magic was at play? Did she immediately see the hand of God in it, or did it take a bit of time for her to discern that this was good and not evil?
At any rate, when she had heard her boy talking, and could tell for herself that he was himself and not some spirit animated by the whim of the Man who had stopped her, what must have welled up inside! Think of all those stories you have heard of the mother who thought her son dead in the war, lost to her. She has gone through the grief, come to terms with that aching void. Suddenly, comes a knock on the door, and she opens it to find her lost child standing there healthy and whole, with a grin that fills her entire field of vision! Oh! The joy that fills her in that moment leaves her too weak to stand. She may well faint right then and there. But, she will rise up, and she will rejoice. She will rejoice and insist that the whole world rejoice with her, for her boy who was dead has been restored to her.
Then there is that crowd of witnesses. Jesus had been followed by a ‘large multitude’ of those curious to see what He would do next. Further, this woman was joined by a ‘sizeable crowd’ of locals. Now, anybody who has ever been in such a crowd knows that only those near enough to the action will really have a clear sense of what just happened, but the moment it happens, the excitement of it will ripple right through the crowd. If the typical event is rather like a rock dropped in a pool, this was more like a bomb dropped in that pool! I can’t even begin to imagine the response of these people. First would be those from the funeral procession. I think, particularly, of those bearing the casket. Why, they must have been near to dropping that casket when they saw this man sit up! What fortitude, or what angelic interference, allowed them to maintain their hold? Then, there would be all those friends, acquaintances and perhaps even professional mourners who had gathered to support the widow. What went through their minds when he whom they had come to bury arose from that casket? They may not have felt the same joy that mother and son would feel, but the shock and utter amazement that came upon them would be great.
Those following Jesus would be no less effected by the event. True, they had the benefit of having seen Jesus in action before. They had seen Him healing the sick, delivering the demon possessed. They had seen great things done by this Man, but nothing on this scale! Even for them, this was going to be a shock.
Well, Luke tells us what the overall reaction is. They were gripped with fear. The Amplified Bible makes this out as a holy reverence, but I’m not so certain that this is where it started. I think when Luke says they were gripped with fear, that is exactly what he meant. Seeing a dead man rise is pretty much a stock image for the Hollywood thriller. It’s scarier to us than any monster, because it is closer to the realm of possibility for us. It is actually just possible that we could find ourselves in that situation, so it is really scary for us to consider. Well, these folks weren’t just considering it. They were living it! Of course they were scared. That is a very natural first reaction. Much like mother and child, they would have to pass through that first response before they could arrive at the point of glorifying God.
I find it interesting, in light of this, that Luke mentions their response being, “God has visited His people!” There is, in that word ‘visited’ the sense of His looking with mercy upon His people. After all, if He has visited in this instance, He has visited not His people, but this particular family. But, if we are looking to His mercy and His protection, all in that crowd might well feel themselves to have received of it. Like that family, they would slowly come out of the initial shock and fear to recognize that what was unfolding was no display of magic, no evil portent, but the unfolding of something undeniably good. Yes, a Prophet has arisen in Israel! Yes, God, Who has been silent for so long, is speaking and active again in the land!
“And this report concerning Him went out.” That has got to be one of the greatest understatements! I have to imagine that people were racing from the scene so as to be the first to tell their friends what they had witnessed. This was a once in a lifetime event! To have seen this would be enough to give one a bit of notoriety. Oh, yes! We can be assured that the news spread fast, far and wide.
New Thoughts (9/16/06-9/20/06)
The first thing that should be made abundantly clear about this event is that there were witnesses – many, many witnesses. Jesus was not traveling alone. In fact, He was not even traveling with His chosen followers, though they were with Him. No, it says there was a great crowd following Him as He came to the gates of Nain. Neither was the widow alone in her funereal procession. This event, too, had attracted a sizeable crowd. These, in particular, cannot have their testimony discounted due to some personal connection with Jesus. They are the proverbial innocent bystanders who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to stand as witnesses to what would unfold.
The point I am making, then, is that with so many witnesses and with such a public setting, every possibility that this was somehow staged, or a tale made up by the Apostles is removed. To suggest that this was some story cooked up to boost their prestige is to speak foolishness. Shall we suggest that somehow, one of the Apostles had gone on ahead to round up a widow in need of some extra cash, had slipped her some funds to stage this funeral, that somehow she had managed to convince all the non-participants in town that her son was really dead, that she was able to maintain this charade for days before the funeral procession could proceed? It defies belief! Is it really probable that with hundreds if not thousands of attendees they were all in on it? I think not. A few poor fishermen from Galilee would not have access to the funds it would take to convince that crowd to go running off spreading their story. If they couldn’t afford to feed five thousand, could they really afford to bribe five thousand? Is it really believable that out of all that crowd, were it some vast conspiracy, that not one would slip up or decide it wasn’t worth it? After all, if their story could be bought for some small price, and that price had been paid, what incentive remained to actually tell such an unbelievable tale? No, it is simply far more believable and probable that the events we are told of are the events that transpired.
Turning to those events, I see Luke laying them out as though this were all coincidence. Jesus just happened to be coming into Nain as the funeral was coming out. Yet, knowing the God we serve and knowing His providential concern with history, particularly in this period of Redemptive history, I have to assert that there is no such thing as coincidence. The timing of these events was absolutely arranged, but not by any man. God had a plan and a purpose in having His Son meet this woman in her grief. The thing that came to mind almost immediately as I read this was the story of Elijah and the widow (1Ki 17:17-23). It’s such a familiar tale to us, how the widow becomes the means of provision for Elijah, how her son dies, and how Elijah raised the woman’s child from death. What may be less familiar is the story of Elisha and a certain woman in Shunem. Here, once again, the woman has provided for a prophet. Here, once again, the prophet has likewise caused provision to come to the woman. Here, once again, the child has died and the prophet restores life to the child.
The similarity of these events makes the purpose behind these events clear. Jesus is declared a prophet in the rich line of Elijah and Elisha, the two great prophets of Israel. Notice the reaction of the people who witnessed this: “A great prophet has arisen among us!” Yes, faith healers and magicians might be able to do a lot, but this was far and away beyond their abilities. This required the hand of God, the power of the true prophet. The sign was unmistakable.
Another thing that strikes me is that the events we are reading about in Nain take place perhaps two miles away from that place where Elisha had restored the woman’s son to life. I had initially thought to find the geographical connection closer to Elijah’s activities, but those took place far to the north. Yet, here is Shunem, the next town over. The story of Elisha, being so personally connected to the area, was doubtless well known to all the locals. The similarity here would not be missed. Was there anything along the lines of uncovering the ancient wells, as we hear so much about these days? Perhaps. Perhaps not. In retrospect, this morning, I really don’t think that has much to do with it.
The far more fundamental purpose behind this meeting and its outcome is to make it manifestly evident that Jesus is indeed a prophet. Nobody since Elijah and Elisha had ever done as He has now done. Elijah and Elisha were prophets whose standing none could refute. Elijah, after all, had been taken into heaven directly! Yes, and the prophets who came after him had delivered the promise of one who would come in the spirit of Elijah. The signs of the times were upon them, and they couldn’t help but recognize those signs.
I also see God revealing Himself once more as Yahweh Jireh in these events. The woman was a widow, and her son represented what would likely be her only means of provision. Children are intended by God to honor their parents. Part of that honoring of our parents is to see to their care in their old age. In this case, it may have been early, yet, to declare old age. However, a woman in such a patristic society would not find many means to provide for herself. Her son, on the other hand, could find all manner of ways to profit and provide. In doing so, it would remain true that the Lord provides, just as it remains true that He provides when I receive my paycheck week upon week. In the same way, He provides for the Church through the consistent giving of the membership of the Church. We are each His means of provision for some other. Our plenty, our talents and our time are given to that end, that we might be His provision for those around us.
Returning to the events at hand, though, this woman was in the process of burying her only clear means of provision. Her sorrow was beyond that which any mother, any parent, would feel at the loss of her child. Her sorrow was compounded by her sense of lost hope. She is in the process of burying her hope. She sees nothing ahead of her but a hopeless existence. Like so many out on the streets of our cities today, she sees nothing but evil days ahead of her. How many arise each day to a hopelessness that overwhelms? You can hear it in the anger of the heroin addict off to find a fix. It is not hope they are seeking. It is only some way of escaping the hopelessness. They see no way out of their circumstance, only a continuation of the same old same old until death comes knocking at their door. They are a people sitting in great darkness.
In that darkness, we are sent as the means of provision. Jesus stopped the process. He comes to this woman who is burying her future and says, “don’t cry.” In those two words, He puts so much. I have no doubt that she didn’t hear anything but the absurdity of the command, but there is so much more that is there to be had. When Jesus says, “Don’t cry”, He says it because He is removing the reasons for tears. In that day of His coming, He shall guide them to the springs of the water of life, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes (Rv 7:17). In that day, there will be no more death, there will be no more mourning. All crying and pain shall have passed away, for He Who is Faithful and True is making all things new (Rv 21:4-5). Yes, and He says, “It is done” (Rv 21:6).
Do you see that this is exactly what is playing out with this woman? Don’t cry, there shall be no more tears. Don’t mourn. There shall be no more death. See? Here is your son made new, the Water of Life has come to you without cost, and I have made all things new. Wow! He is not only fulfilling the prophetic words of the past, He is living a prophetic word for the future! In this, He pursues the way of Ezekiel and Hosea, adding to His credentials as the promised prophet.
Return with me to the streets of our town. Return to that scene I witnessed only last week, the lost soul so hungry in her addiction that she was shouting angrily to the world at large that she was off to get her heroin fix. Darkness. Hopelessness. An existence with no expectations, only the need to numb the pain. Even here, God wants to send provision. Even here, God has an answer. Even here, God has hope and a future. But, how shall she know, if we don’t tell her? How shall she see the light if we are busily hiding it away?
Lord, God! What opportunity was lost to our inaction in that moment? Where is that boldness for which I continually cry out to You? Where was Caleb in that? What fear prevented three young men from bearing witness to Your Light in that darkness? Oh, darkness may not have comprehended, but it certainly could not hope to overwhelm. Lord, forgive me for failing to bear witness to You then and there, and I pray that You would indeed provide hope and a future for that poor woman. She is caught in a web of the enemy’s design. She is in great darkness, indeed, but that has never once stopped You, has it? Bring hope. Awaken her to hope. Let Your provision meet her need as heroin never will.
It’s a matter of purpose. The young man who was dead and about to be buried had a purpose, and he had not yet fulfilled his purpose. God does not create us on a whim, any more than the events of this day outside the gates of Nain were a mere amusement. God is a God of purpose. “I have a plan for you,” declares the Lord. “I have plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer 29:11). This young man had not yet fulfilled his purpose, and God’s word does not return void. He must go back. As pleasant as his prospect might be upon seeing heaven awaiting, he must go back. It is not some mystical insurance plan by which he might hope to stave off death indefinitely, it is simply that he has a purpose. He has a part to play in God’s plan, and he has been returned to play that part. Indeed, the very act of his return has played a part, but there is more that he must do. The very fact of his return has been the restoration of joy, the end of mourning for this widow, and suddenly hope is hers once more. There is a future. God does provide. There is a balm in Gilead. The Scriptures are still true. We are not told what became of mother and son thereafter, but I think we will not be far off in thinking they discovered a new devotion to the God of Israel, and quite likely to His Chosen One, Yeshua, the Giver of Life.
Not only has she found a reason to rejoice, but in her joy she will surely insist that everybody around her rejoice with her. Even as she may well have paid for professional mourners to join her in her sorrow, now she will insist that one and all join her in her hope. Something in me wants to correct that to read ‘join her in her joy,’ but I am prompted to let it stand. This, after all, is our highest calling: to proclaim the Gospel and to make disciples of all nations, such that all may join us in our hope, the Only Hope.
I think this is what Jesus had in mind when He called us back to our first love. In that first moment of discovering hope restored, our joy is so full that we cannot think of anything else, we cannot speak of anything else. Nothing is of greater importance to us than to let everybody know how joyful we are. Soon, it becomes equally important to us that those we are talking to should be as joyful as we. It is such a joy as cannot accept sorrow in its presence. It would be unfit for sorrow to exist in proximity to that joy, just as it would have been unfit for the mourners to continue their wailing after that young man was restored to his mother. When there is joy such as this present, what call can there possibly be for mourning. No! It’s time for dancing in the streets! It’s time to celebrate! We read that the angels in heaven celebrate to witness the rescue of even one human being from the pits of sin. Thus is the sorrow of repentance turned to the joy of salvation, and their joy is contagious. It quickly infects the spirit of the one who has been saved, and as quickly spreads to those who have witnessed the event. Yet, it is not intended to stop there. It is intended to spread to those still in need of salvation, that the contagious joy of salvation might draw them to their Savior, too. Joy is not complete when sorrow still remains, and He comes that our joy might be made complete.
With that, let me turn my attention to those who witnessed this incredible event. I have already spoken of the prophetic nature of what transpired, the reflection of Elijah and Elisha. That the people also recognized this is sufficiently clear. “A great prophet has arisen among us!” Such things as had just happened in their sight were reserved for God’s prophets. No other could do such things, and they knew it. Now, look with me at the second thing they have to say. “God has visited His people!” If I might be allowed to paraphrase that slightly, it would read, “God is with us!” This is the very thing Matthew notes at the beginning of his account. “They shall call His name Immanuel”, which means “God with us.” In this, Matthew is recalling what Isaiah had prophesied regarding Messiah; He whose name would be Wonderful, Counselor, and Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6). He would also be called Almighty God, and as Messiah, He would be here with us – God with us, Immanuel. I hear, then, the witnesses to this event declaring that prophecy fulfilled by fulfilling that prophecy. They called His name God with us.
There is another portion of Isaiah which is perhaps more directly connected with the name Immanuel. That portion speaks of an invasion of Israel likened to a flood. Assyria is coming, he warns, and its coming will flood the land. Yet, in the midst of this dark warning, he has this to say. “The spread of Assyria will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel” (Isa 8:8). In the midst of this, a reminder: God with us. Yes, and he continues. Be warned, he says, and be shattered. You will make your plans, but they won’t matter because God is with us. God Himself speaks a warning: Don’t call it some great conspiracy. Don’t fear what the conspiracy theorists fear. Fear only the LORD of hosts, He whom you ought to deem holy. He shall be your fear, and so He shall become your sanctuary (Isa 8:12-14). This, by the way, is immediately connected with the passage regarding the stone of stumbling. God with us would be a snare and a trap for those in Jerusalem to stumble over (Isa 8:14-15). Today, this prophecy was fulfilled not only in their sight, but as declared by their own tongues.
Today, in our churches, we hear a similar declaration on a given Sunday. The presence of God is so strong in this place. God is visiting us today. Oh, how true that is! God is visiting us, but we ought to understand that it’s not like stopping by for coffee. He comes to examine, inspect and observe. How merciful He is as He does so! He examines, but with intent to correct whatever might be found wrong. He inspects, but not like the proverbial drill sergeant seeking to issue demerits. He inspects so as to determine how He shall next continue with His labor of love in us. He observes because we are by His own declaration the apple of His eye. He loves nothing more than to watch His children growing. He is looking, but He is looking with mercy and favor upon His favorites. He sees our sickness, for our sickness continues to need looking after, and He visits so that He can care for us and provide for us in our weakness.
Let me return, though, to that idea of inspection. I said He inspects so as to determine His next work on us. Yes, and I see this rather like the masterful artist viewing his work to date, determining the next step to creating his masterpiece. If we picture a sculptor, then he is weighing what tool he shall be needing, and where precisely he must strike the stone to reveal what he wishes to reveal. If we picture a painter, then he is contemplating what sort of stroke he shall next be making, and with just what hue the stroke needs to be made to fully reveal the beauty and texture of the image he desires to express. If we picture a composer, he is considering what note will complete the harmony he seeks to express. All of these concepts are but dim reflections of the work God does in the renewing of His people. We are each one of us a masterpiece in progress, and as He comes to inspect, He is indeed contemplating what will reveal His perfect revelation in us, what will best serve to complete and express His image in us, and what shall make the harmony of His kingdom evident in our lives. Oh! That all the arts of man would so reflect the artistry of our Maker! Oh! That my own meager contributions to those arts would exalt Him and bring Him pleasure!
I must point out, though, that inspection also bears with it the idea of selection. Here, I am returned to a recent theme: the theme of many called and few chosen. He comes to inspect the many who are praying and from them selects a few who shall excel in prayer, who shall pray beyond the norm. He comes to inspect the many who are worshiping Him and selects those few who shall bear worship up to a more exalted place. He comes to inspect the many who are learning from His word and selects a few who shall learn more excellently, who shall be so fully involved with learning that the world, and even the church, will think their learning has made them mad (Ac 26:24). He comes to inspect the many who are rightly called His children and selects those who shall mature to become sons. He inspects us in search of those few who shall be His instruments to turn the world upside down once again.
Indeed, Lord, come be with us. Come inspect us. Come visit us with mercy and kindness as You work upon the canvas of our lives.
One last thing I would note regarding the witnesses to this event. They were afraid. We tend to try and soften that a bit, to make it a matter of reverence rather than fear, but this is only because we have never really been in a situation like the one they faced. This is to be expected. Think about it. When Zacharias found himself face to face with an angel his response was not to ooh and ahh and ‘get all excited.’ That man was sore afraid. God breaking through into his reality was not an immediate cause for joy and laughter. The immediate reaction was fear. The immediate reaction had far more in common with Isaiah’s response to his calling: Woe is me! I am a dead man, for I have seen the Lord.
This has far more to do with the initial reaction of those crowds that witnessed the work of Messiah. They were astonished, filled with fear, because they knew full well that they had witnessed something remarkable (Lk 5:26). They had seen something so far beyond the realm of possibility that the only possible explanation was that God had stepped into their reality. A people who understood – at least to some extent – who God is could only fear for their lives in such a situation. Again, I think about the reaction to angels that we find throughout the story of Jesus. The shepherds in the field did not start out in exaltation. They started out in fear. The first words the angels speak to man seem always to be, “Fear not.” Are we really supposed to see that as simply saying, “Don’t worship me”? No, it is a response to the reaction they face each and every time. For all the angel worship that prevails in this present day, I begin to wonder if even one angel has been seen. For all the claims of miracle and revelation, I wonder if there is even one case in which the events witnessed have revealed even a glimpse of the power of God.
As a charismatic, I suppose such thoughts must verge on heresy or treason or at least unbelief. However, when I compare the typical reaction of the modern church to the breakthrough of heaven to the reaction found in the Gospels, it seems we have seen a breakthrough in entertainment rather than a breakthrough of the kingdom. I have yet to witness anything in the church which would cause me to be filled with fear as these people were. The events surrounding my own real conversion were perhaps the closest thing I might find, yet there was no response of fear even then; surprise and confusion, perhaps, reverence eventually, but no fear.
See, in every case we read of, the first response is fear. Then, they begin glorifying God. It seems an incessant pattern: breakthrough leads to fear leads to assurances leads to glorifying God. When we are truly witness to events that can only have been the hand of God, when we are finally face to face with something that cannot so much as hope for a ‘logical, scientific’ explanation, when we have seen the impossible; then we can only be afraid. There is nothing unchristian about such a response. There is nothing lacking in the faith of such a response. There is only honesty. The reverence and the glorifying of God will follow, but the first reaction will be real fear. It is only after passing through that first response, only after the Holy Spirit has kindly brought understanding, that we can rejoice in what has transpired.
Forgive me, Lord, if it is presumptuous, but I long to encounter You in such a way as to know what it means to fear You as I should. Oh, God! I’ve grown so comfortable. I’m comfortable with You in spite of all I know remains to be done in me. I’ve grown complacent. I’ve been satisfied to see the questionable as miraculous. No, Lord. Let me not cheapen Your manifest presence by such acceptance. God, when You have moved, I see no room for question. A dead man rising up from his death bed leaves no room for debate. There is no question of whether or not the thing happened. God, if my skepticism exceeds its proper limits, please bring correction, but if I have insulted You with my credulity, let this likewise be corrected. I would far prefer to honor You in spirit and in truth than to merely convince myself that I honor You by blindly accepting every claimant to ministering Your power. God, I would not discredit Your anointed in any fashion, but neither would I dishonor Your anointing. Bring discernment and wisdom, my Lord, that I may walk in Your truth, and teach others to do likewise.
