What a way to ruin a funeral Luke 7:11-17
I heard about a gifted public speaker, who was asked, what was his most difficult speaking assignment? He said, "That's easy. It was a speech I gave to the National Conference of Undertakers and the topic was 'How to Look Sad at a Ten Thousand Dollar Funeral.'
On a dark and stormy night, an American, a Canadian and a Scotsman were in a bad car accident. All three were rushed to the hospital, though all three had died before they arrived. Just as they were about to put the toe tag on the American, he awoke and opened his eyes. Astonished, the doctors and nurses asked him what had happened.
The American replied, “I remember the crash, and then there was a bright white light, and then the Canadian and the Scotsman and I were standing at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter approached us and said that we were all too young to die, and that for a donation of $150 we could return to earth. So, of course I pulled out my wallet and gave him the $150 and the next thing I knew I was back here”.
One of the doctors said, “That’s amazing, but what happened to the other two?” The American replied, “Last I saw them, the Scotsman was haggling over the price, and the Canadian was waiting for the government to pay his.”
I’m told that in a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, there’s very unusual grave because on top of the grave are huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. This grave belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it would not affect her. On the marker are inscribed these words: "This burial place must never be opened."
Well…. It didn’t work because in the dirt beneath those slabs of marble and granite was a tiny seed. And in time – even though it was covered with those huge blocks of stone, the seed began to grow, and it slowly pushed its way through the dirt and out from the slabs. As it forced its way up and the marble and granite were gradually shifted so that the steel clasps that held them were wrenched from their sockets.
A tiny seed had become a tree and this tree pushed aside the stones and the grave was opened. Listen, when Jesus comes back, all the dead are going to rise – whether they want to or not.
So, imagine you are driving up King Street and as you almost get to MacDonald’s south of Columbia the traffic really slows down which it usually does but now it was really slow but then you notice what’s slowing everything down because you’re driving behind a funeral procession.
All the cars in front have their four way flashes on and you assume it was probably for someone well-known or even for someone very young because death seems to be worse for those who haven’t had a chance to live what most of us would consider to be a natural life.
At the front of this long line of cars is the lead car which is followed by the hearse which is carrying the casket and that’s followed by the family car which holds the immediate family and then there’s the rest of the family and all their friends.
So, you drive into the other lane to get by and then you remember reading in the paper the day before how a teen-ager had been killed in a motorcycle accident and you assume this was his funeral. And then you think, oh, the paper said the woman’s husband had died of cancer a few months back and now she’s lost her son.
And as you’re thinking about her you remember the time you that you had been in the car behind the hearse and it was carrying one of your loved ones to the graveyard and you remembered how much you dreaded this part of the funeral.
So, you’re moving a little better than this procession but when you approach the light you notice that someone steps into the traffic and stops the hearse, and then he walks back to the family car which holds the dead boy’s mother and when she lowered the window He told her not to cry. And then He went back to the hearse and told the driver to open the back door and roll out the casket!
Well, you can't believe what you’re seeing because all these horrified friends and relatives would be jumping out of their cars and screaming at this man to get away from the hearse. But He speaks to the corpse and says, "Young man, I say to you get up." And right before your eyes, the eyes of his mother, the eyes of the funeral procession and everyone else; this young man who had been killed in an accident and then laid out in a funeral home for two days actually got up and started talking!
Now, your first reaction I’m sure is, that’s absurd. I mean, when someone has been lying dead for a day or two; you know they’re not getting up again.
But, most of all we’re thinking, well, it’s one thing to talk about this young man in the Bible who had been raised from the dead two thousand years ago; but to actually think that God could or would something like that today is not only insane but it’s cruel to even suggest this to someone who has lost a loved one.
But listen, this was Jesus and Jesus is God and when He said “get up,” dead people got up. And some day He’s going to say to everyone who inhabits a grave, an urn, has been buried at sea or wherever their dust had been scattered because whether someone was buried last Friday or a thousand years ago; when Jesus says, get up, everybody is going to get up. As the old spiritual song says, “It’s going to be a great getting up morning.”
Now, let’s take our Bibles and turn to Luke 7 and I’ll read verses 11-17.
“Now it happened, the day after that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So, he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.
Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.”
Now, if you look at the passage before this one; you’ll notice that Jesus had just healed the centurion’s servant and He was several miles away and this was the next day and He was going into a little town called Nain and we know He wasn’t alone; because
it says His disciples and a large crowd were with Him.
So, as Jesus is entering the gates of this little town of Nain; He has His disciples and His large crowd of followers were walking into this town while there was a funeral possession on the way out and no doubt there’s a huge crowd there as well. And what I want you to see; is not only the awkwardness of the situation because the funeral can’t come out while Jesus and His followers can’t get in because Nain was a small town and small towns had very narrow gates.
And there’s a sense of strategic timing here; because if Jesus had stopped on the road for a minute or even had He left a minute earlier He would have missed this funeral altogether. So, the first part of this miracle was the timing; because God is never early but He’s also never late but God is always right on time.
Let me give you a bit of cultural background, so you’ll understand something of the setting of this miracle. Cemeteries were always outside of town because dead bodies were always considered to be unclean. I’m sure they had cemeteries like ours but there were also private cemeteries for the well-to-do; like the one Jesus was buried in; which was donated by Joseph of Arimathea. And even though He was crucified like a common criminal this fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:9 that said He would be buried with the rich.
The land that was chosen for cemeteries had no water flowing through them and public roads were forbidden and sheep were not allowed to graze in them. And there were certain social rules such as; no eating or drinking on the property and no one was allowed to just sit around and read or even go for a walk like this was some kind of public park. The only reason anyone was to be there was either to bury someone or they were allowed to return to mourn and pray.
The body was carried out in either an open wooden casket, or on a wide wooden plank. (If it was a child under a month old: they were carried in their mother’s arms and if they were under 12 months they’d be on a bed or a stretcher).
According to Jewish custom a person was to be buried the day they died. And they were to be wrapped in a white robe or linen from head to toe. And this robe was to have no pockets to signify that they left this world the way they came; with nothing.
So, when you read the word coffin or casket: don’t think of a wooden or cloth covered box, like most if not all of us will be buried in but this would have been an open coffin which was basically a long wicker basket.
Men were buried with their prayer cloth draped over them with the fringes cut off to symbolize that their earthly call to keep the commandments was no longer binding.
And then there was also a set order to the funeral procession; today: we have the lead car, the hearse, pallbearers, the family and friends but in Israel the women led the procession because rabbinical teachings taught that since women brought death into the world through sin they should be at the head of the procession. And they’d be followed by the mourners and musicians who would be followed by the body.
And there’s one other social custom we need to know in order to understand the tragedy of this death. The Bible teaches that if there was only one son then he was to receive all the inheritance when his father passed away and then it would be his responsibility to care for his mother but if the son died then all the possessions, such as land, houses, and livestock would go to the closest male relative like her father-in-law or brother-in-law and this left the women at the mercy of her next of kin.
So, knowing this law; let me ask you; who did Jesus perform this miracle for? Was it for the dead boy, who got his life back or was it for his mother, who not only got back her son but her financial independence as well or was it for the crowds including both those who followed Jesus and those who were attending the funeral? Or was this done for you and I as well? And the answer is simple; it was for all of us.
I mean, everything Jesus ever did was for a purpose and I don’t think anyone was ever healed by mistake or because Jesus waved His hand and five or ten people just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But, at the same time, just because His healing powers were specifically given to those He wanted to heal this doesn’t mean that everyone who had a need was healed but only those who wanted it.
For instance, in Luke 5 it says, “Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching; that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” But listen, it doesn’t say any of them were healed.
So, here were representatives of the congregations of three different cities and all of these men had to be over thirty years of age to be either a Pharisee or a teacher of the law, so, don’t you think that one or two might have had arthritis, an ache or a pain or even something worse? Of course, they did. And Jesus had the power to heal them but none of them got healed because they were too concerned about what everyone else thought.
How often is the gospel preached and there are unsaved listening who know they’re lost and need to be saved but they’re too concerned with what others think if they were to respond to the invitation?
On the other hand, this whole raising the dead thing which Jesus not only did here but also for Lazarus and that young girl of twelve really flies in the face of all those false prophets on TV who claim to be able to heal anybody but when they can’t they say, “I guess you don’t have enough faith” but listen, when Jesus raised the dead nobody had any faith. They couldn’t, they were dead.
Lazarus two sisters were wondering why He hadn’t done anything when He could have which was when Lazarus was sick but as far as they were concerned; now that he was dead there was nothing anybody could do.
And when the parents of the young girl were told she was dead the people who told them also said they shouldn’t bother the teacher any longer. In other words, it’s too late and you’re not only wasting your time but His wasting His as well.
And in this passage, everyone was on their way to the graveyard and as far as they were concerned they were heartbroken over his death but he was dead and gone.
So, what I want you to see here are three things; first, death and sorrow were coming out the gate while second, life and hope were going in and then third, when they clashed; victory and celebration went everywhere.
I So, first, death and sorrow were coming out.
At all funerals, there is sadness and yet some seem more tragic than others. For instance, when an elderly person dies; we miss them and we mourn their loss as we remember them but we’re also thankful for the long life they had and the fact that their struggles with aging have ended. As someone said, “A bitter departure is made somewhat sweet by the relieving of suffering and the release from a body which has worn down and worn out.”
But when someone young or especially when a child dies we’re not nearly as understanding because death seems so unfair and we tend to think that they must have had so much more to experience.
And then the other thing that adds a measure of misery to funerals is when someone is left behind and they’re all alone and have no one to comfort or care for them.
And I’m sure people were thinking of this widow’s situation as the funeral procession was leaving the town. After all, here she was not only burying her only son but she had already buried her husband and now was she was all-alone; and this meant both short term and long-term misery because she’d have to face the future with very little companionship and maybe no financial support. And she’d have to look forward to a life of misery until the day she too was carried to the cemetery.
Funerals probably don’t get much more heart wrenching than this one and it would have to be cold hearted person that wouldn’t be touched by this procession.
People at most funerals have a tendency to be pre-occupied with the one who died when they first arrive; and then they think about those who were left behind, but eventually they think about themselves and ask themselves questions like, “I wonder when it’s going to be my turn to go?” “I wonder if I’ll be next?” “I wonder what’s going to happen to me when I die?” “And I wonder what’s going to happen to my family when I’m gone?” But as much as people ask themselves these questions; as soon as the service is over, most of them just shake their heads and say, “I’m glad that’s over.”
But whether we face it or not; we’re all part of the procession that’s headed for the graveyard. From Abel who was murdered by his brother to the final body that’s going to be buried before the Last Day we’re all headed to the same place.
An old poem speaks of death and says, “Hark, hark, the dogs do bark, the beggars are coming to town. Some in rags and some in tags and one in a silver gown.” And regardless of how we’ve lived our lives all of us are going to either see Jesus come back or we’re going to face Him in death. Death is one of the consequences of sin and it comes hand in hand with a whole lot of misery.
And yet, even in the face of death we can have hope. Because as we see here when death and sorrow collide with life and hope; everything changes.
But, let’s stop for a minute and look at this procession. As I said, the boy’s mother would be leading the way and she would be followed by her family, friends and the casket which was carried by six men. And they are usually, relatives or close friends and as I said they’d be carrying a flat wicker kind of casket with the young man’s body on top. And this would be followed by everyone who knew him which in this case would probably be most of the town.
That’s the way it was but I want you to think about the men who were carrying the casket and see who these pallbearers really were.
The first guy on the front left was Mr. Sin and sin had been friends with the dead man since the day he was born and now that he was finally dead; Mr. Sin felt like his job was finished because this young man ended up in hell. After all, we were all born in sin and we’ll all die in sin if we don’t repent because to repent means we turn from sin and accept God’s forgiveness based on what He did for us on Calvary rather than anything we could do for Him.
The second man on the front right was Mr. I’ve got all the time in the world. And this man would have been constantly telling this young man like he told everyone else that getting saved is something everyone needs to do but there’s no hurry.
Besides, he’d say, you’ve got to experience a few things God might not approve of before you finally get saved and settle down to living a dreary boring life like all the rest of the believers. So, take your time and make your decision after you’ve had your fun.
I remember meeting a guy one night a few months after I was saved. It was a summer’s night in Toronto and several of my friends had gathered in a small park and this guy was playing guitar and he was fantastic. I mean, he could play country, folk, rock and even gospel. He was a born entertainer.
After a while he and I got talking about the Lord and I told him how I had received Him as my Savior and he said, “I know I’ve got to repent and get right with God.” And he said he was going to do that very thing but first, he really wanted to make it in the music business and he thought there might be a few corners he’d have to cut that God wouldn’t approve of. So, he said his plan was to make it big and then he was going to make his decision.
And that was the last I ever heard of him. As far as I know he never made it in the music business and I’m sure I’ve never met him in church either. He was someone who thought, I’ve got all the time in the world. Listen, how much time does any of us have? Does anybody know?
When I was pastoring down east I had a funeral and a non-Christian who was a local businessman stopped me afterwards and said, “I want you to do my funeral when I die.” And I said, “No problem, do you mind telling me when it will be?” And for some reason he was ticked at me.
The third pallbearer was: Mr. Pride and he says, “It’s embarrassing to say anything about Jesus Christ. It’s embarrassing to get saved, it’s embarrassing to be baptised or it’s embarrassing to witness to anybody. After all, your faith is something personal and nobody else’s business.
Have you ever met anyone like that before? I’ve met several and some of them have a problem but then there are strange ones like the guy who told me he was like a secret agent for God. He said he spoke to people about their need of faith and because he never went to church or associated with other believers he felt he had credibility that the rest of us lacked.
And being very polite and sensitive I very carefully told him he was nuts. Do you know why? Because Jesus said, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” In other words, if you’re faith is a secret to everyone else, then God doesn’t know about it either.
The fourth pallbearer was Mr. Lost church member. And I hate to say it but I believe there are an awful lot of them. Some join because their parents were members and they want to keep up a family tradition. Some join for social reasons because all their friends are members. Some even join to get a job because they heard someone was looking for a Christian to work for them. And then some join because they’re getting older and weaker and they think it’s time to get ready.
And this pallbearer Mr. Lost church member says, “You’re all right, you don’t have to worry; after all you’ve done more than half the church.” And his goal is to make us feel good when we know we’re not.
And then the fifth pallbearer was: Mr. Good works and he says, “All you have to do are enough good things and then you’ll get into heaven.” And do you know what the problem with his logic is, first, you’ll never know if you’ve done enough until you get there and then second, the scripture says that all our righteousness is as filthy rags. So, there’s nothing we can do that’s ever going to make us acceptable in the sight of a holy God.
And then the last pallbearer was Mr. False Hope and his job was to convince everyone there are other ways to get to heaven besides believing in Jesus Christ. And you know the ways, there’s giving, attending, visiting, working, praying and a thousand other things that make us look good but they’re all based on what we do rather than what God has already done.
But, when Jesus came along and He had something to say to all six of these pallbearers. He said, “You’re fired! We don’t need any pallbearers and we certainly don’t need any of you.”
So, as these people who were filled with sorrow and lacking any hope in the face of death were walking out of town:
II. Life and hope were coming in.
In our culture, if you are driving along and you see a funeral procession, you are supposed to pull over out of courtesy and respect and allow the procession to pass but according to Jewish tradition, if you intersected a funeral you were obliged to join it.
Well, the scripture doesn’t tell us everything that happens. As a matter of fact; if we put everything Jesus said or did in a time frame we would have about twenty-four hours of His life and this is why John ends his gospel by saying that if everything Jesus did was recorded; the books of the world wouldn’t be big enough to hold it all. And the scripture doesn’t say but I can’t imagine that Jesus just kept going down the road but He and His followers might have had stopped and had some of the lunch that was prepared for after the service.
So, it doesn’t tell us everything but it does say when He stopped the procession; He told the mother not to cry and then told her son to get up and when he got up he started talking.
I think about what the scripture doesn’t say, like when this guy sat up, he might have had to blow his nose to get the death spices out of his nostrils before he could say anything! And I wonder if anybody screamed when he sat up? Hey, I would have!
I wonder if the pallbearers dropped the casket and started running? I mean, can you imagine being a pallbearer at a funeral where the dead person actually sat up and started talking! Listen, this really happened.
The problem we have is that the scripture doesn’t say what he said. As far as we know he may not have remembered anything and started asking people, “What’s going on? Why was I laying on that casket and what is everyone doing here?” Or maybe he did know what had happened and knew where he had been and said, “Mom, you wouldn’t believe where I’ve been and the things I’ve seen and he started to talk about heaven, angels and all the people he saw.
We don’t know what he said but we do know this much; he couldn’t keep quiet. And listen, when Jesus saves you, you can’t just sit there and say nothing because if you do, then you really don’t understand what happened. I mean, we went from being condemned to hell for all of eternity to living in heaven forever and ever. And if that doesn’t do something to you then maybe you need to get saved all over again to make sure you were saved the first time.
I remember visiting an older lady who came to our church back in Sackville and when I asked her when she was saved, she said she had been saved for so long that she couldn’t remember when she was saved. And the next Sunday morning I gave an altar call and she came forward and she said she wanted to make sure she had what she forgot. And I thought, you know that wasn’t a bad idea.
I imagine that behind the scenes that day that death was getting a little frustrated by all this and said to Jesus, “You know it’s hard enough to do my job without you coming along and raising people from the dead” and Jesus said, “Death, the feeling is mutual. I’m also tired of all these little skirmishes we been having. I mean, we’ve been fighting since the Garden of Eden; so, why don’t we settle this once and for all. Why don’t you meet me on a Friday right just outside the walls of Jerusalem at a skull shaped hill called Golgotha.”
And there the record says that Satan took his best shot. First, it says they beat Jesus so bad, He couldn’t even carry His cross and then they put a crown of thorns on His head and nailed Him to a cross. And to make sure He was dead they poked a spear right into His heart.
And Jesus told Satan, “I’m going to die now but you’re not taking My life, I’m laying it down. And if I lay it down, I’ll take it up again.” And when He took it up He broke the power of death and set us free for the rest of eternity.
And you know, the most difficult thing is to tell you that heaven is simply beyond our imagination because it is but it isn’t. I mean, scripture gives us tremendous insight into heaven but it only gives us a peek.
A Sunday school teacher asked her class of grade three kids; "Tell me, what you think heaven is going to be like." And she got all kinds of answers but one little boy said, "Heaven is going to be the happiest part of my dead life."
So, death and sorrow were coming out the gate while life and hope were going in and when they clashed; victory and celebration went everywhere.
III. Victory and celebration went everywhere.
And Luke says, “They all were filled with awe and praised God.” And do you know something; a brush with death can cause all of us to take another look at our lives. And then sometimes the death of someone close can also make us stop and think but listen, thinking is not enough; because all of us need to settle the issue of where we’re going to spend eternity.
Conclusion
There are two lessons of encouragement here. And the first one is that Jesus cared about this widow and her son just like He cares about you and I. And no matter what’s bothering you today, Jesus wants to help. I’ve had people say, God is too busy running the universe to be concerned with my little problems but nothing could be farther from the truth. God loves you and Calvary’s cross demonstrates the extent of His love.
And then the second thing is: only He knows how long or short your life will be. And knowing this ought to motivate every one of us to use whatever time we have left for Him.
Listen, we don’t always understand why everything happens, but we do know that God is in absolute control even though this entire world seems to be out of control.
And the question I want to ask you in closing is; is God who is in control of everything, in control of you?
