“With television cameras rolling a brand new car is propelled down a track into a concrete barrier. Smash! Air bags explode. Crash dummies recoil from the impact. The test is repeated on dozens of new cars. Why this waste of automobiles? Researchers are trying to learn from the collisions in order to make cars safer for the times when real people are involved in a real accident. A train speeds down a track and collides with a car compacting it into a small slab of metal. What will be done with the footage caught on tape? It will be used to show drivers education students what could happen if they carelessly try to beat a train at a railroad crossing and are hit by it. From collisions like these lessons are learned.
In our gospel lesson for this morning Luke tells us about a collision that took place at a city called Nain. It wasn’t a collision between trains or automobiles. Two groups collided at the city gate. A procession of death and sorrow met a procession of life and hope. At the front of one was a man who had been defeated by death at the front of the other was a man who would defeat death. When the two groups ran into each other they formed a new group--one made up of victory and celebration. We ask the Holy Spirit to lead us into these verses so that we:
LEARN FROM THE COLLISION AT NAIN
I. Death and sorrow were going out
II. Life and hope were going in
III. Victory and celebration went everywhere
Our gospel lesson begins with the words, “Soon afterward.” Jesus went to this village called Nain shortly after he healed the Centurion’s servant. We heard about that miracle in our gospel lesson last Sunday when we read verses 1-10 of Luke chapter 7. Although this miracle in Luke 7:11-17 may sound more impressive, since Jesus raised someone from the dead, it serves the same central purpose as the other miracle. Through his miracles Jesus showed that he is almighty--the all-powerful Son of God.
But each miracle also carries a specific lesson for us. In addition to broadcasting the truth about Jesus’ power the miracles let us see his love and compassion. They may even point out his concern for seemingly little things in our lives like food and drink. Some of the miracles show us his desire to teach spiritual truths in a variety of ways. Other miracles are more practical in nature--like the time Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee to join the disciples. He wasn’t going to swim out to them, was he? Let’s dig into these verses and see what we can learn from the collision at Nain and the miracle that took place there.
Death and sorrow were going out of Nain. Luke tells us, “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried outthe only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her.” Although all funerals produce a certain amount of sadness some seem more tragic than others. When an elderly person dies we are thankful for the long life they were given and for the fact that their struggle with old age has ended. But when someone in the prime of his or her life dies, or when a young person dies we are not nearly as understanding. Then death seems unfair. When parents are burying a child the natural order that we have come to accept at funerals may also seem turned around. The other thing that adds a measure of misery to funerals is the circumstances of those who were closest to the deceased. Their sadness and their future may also touch the hearts of those who are in attendance at the funeral.
All of those “misery factors” were a part of the funeral procession that was leaving Nain on the day Jesus was entering the city. A young person was dead. A mother was burying a son. The mother of the deceased had already buried her husband and was now all-alone. This meant short term and long-term misery for her. She would face a future with little companionship and no financial support. It would be a life of poverty and misery until she too was carried to the cemetery. Funerals probably don’t get any more heart wrenching than this one described by Luke.
It would have been a cold heart that was not touched by this funeral procession. There were probably few dry eyes among the crowd going out of Nain. As people do at funerals many were probably thinking about their mortality. “When will death strike me?” “Am I next?” “What happens when I die?” “What will happen to my loved ones when I die?” Questions like those were most certainly swirling in the minds of the people going out of Nain. Indeed it was a procession of death and sorrow exiting the city.
And aren’t we also a part of the procession that was going out of Nain the day that Jesus arrived? From Abel who was murdered by his brother to the final body that will be buried before the Last Day all living things are heading to the cemetery. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” Why are all things dying? In his letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul explains, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) In 1 Corinthians 15:56 he also declared, “The sting of death is sin.” We are on a constant crash course with death because of the fact that we and all our kind have rebelled against God. One of the consequences of sin is death and all the misery that goes along with it.
So we understand that the procession going out of Nain could be seen going out of any city or town in the world at any time. The children of Adam and Eve in every corner of the world must return to the ground from which they were formed. Because of death the hearts of men are frequently broken, dreams are shattered, and tears are shed. It is a train of misery on which all must ride.
But thankfully there is hope. Because when death and sorrow collide with life and hope everything changes. Luke tells us about the collision that took place as death and sorrow were going out of Nain and life and hope were going in. Jesus led his disciples and a large crowd toward Nain as the funeral procession was coming out. Death met life. Sorrow met hope. And how things changed! “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’ Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” The Lord of life spoke to the living and the dead. May we learn from the collision at Nain to prepare us for the times when we must walk among the procession of death and sorrow.
Some might see a coincidence in the collision that occurred at Nain. But we understand that things happen according to God’s timing. The leader of the procession going into Nain was in control of everything. It was no accident that he met the group going out of the city when he did. It is on him and his words that we focus in order to learn from the collision that took place.
First we see that Jesus had compassion on the person at the center of the funeral procession. His heart went out to the widow about to bury her only son. Even though Jesus is the eternal Son of God he is also the Son of man. He has a human nature that feels pain and compassion, sorrow and joy. If we are ever tempted to think that God doesn’t know what we are going through when we stand at the grave of a loved one we need to remember our fully human Savior. He cried when his friend Lazarus died. He knows what a painful poison death is in the lives of humans.
Thankfully he can do more than just show compassion to those who face death. We see Jesus’ power over death in the miracle he performed at Nain. “He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” Jesus wasn’t sent by his Father to bring only a short-term solution for death. No he came to permanently end death’s power. Hebrews 2:1415 remind us that Jesus came, “so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of deaththat is, the deviland free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” That is why Jesus could speak to the dead man directly and command him to get up. He was the One who would suffer the wages of the sins of the dead man and all dying men. He received the death sentence that every sinner destined for the grave deserves.
Not only did Jesus take away the cause of death he also conquered death by walking away from the tomb where he had been buried. Romans 14:9 reminds us, “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” The leader of the group going into Nain was and is the Lord of life and death. To the funeral that day at Nain and to the whole world he brought life and hope.
If we are going to learn from the collision at Nain we need to listen to the One who speaks to the living and the dead. Through his Word he desires to bring life and hope into our lives. In John 11:2526 Jesus said, “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.” What comfort those words brought to Martha when she was grieving over the death of her brother Lazarus. In Revelation 1:18 he also declared, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” As we daily journey closer to our collision with death may we hold tightly to the words of the one who has defeated death’s power. When the Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy he noted that Jesus, “has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2 Timothy 1:10) The message from the leader of the group going into Nain is the same today as it was 2000 years ago. “Don’t cry,” he says, “Trust in me. See my power over death and believe in me.”
The contrasts between the two processions in our gospel lesson couldn’t be more dramatic. Death and sorrow were going out of Nain. Life and hope were going in. The wages of sin was coming out. The sacrifice for sin was going in. Jesus faced down death with compassion for those affected by it. He undid death’s damage by his undisputable power.
When a big collision takes place we expect to see pieces fly. I am sure Nolan Jones could tell us about collisions he has seen in his years of experience on the railroad. I also know a man in Ft. Scott Kansas who runs a business that picks up after train wrecks. He told me that sometimes the collisions are so powerful that train cars will fly hundreds of feet from the tracks. He said that sometimes the crashes are so violent that it is difficult to even find all the train cars.
The results of this collision at Nain flew everywhere. Luke goes on to tell us, “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.’ This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.” The fallout from the collision at Nain spread around the country. Death and sorrow smacked into life and hope. Victory over death and celebration over God’s power over death were the result of their meeting.
Two groups became one. Remember that Luke noted that “They all were filled with awe and praised God.” Those who were going out of Nain and those who were going in were amazed at the miracle that Jesus performed. Those who were following Jesus (the disciples and the members of the crowd) were given more evidence that Jesus was the Savior. Their joy was increased. Those who had been following the formerly grieving mother were also filled with hope.
We struggle to comprehend the change that took place in the few seconds it took Jesus to tell the dead man to get up. A grieving widow received here son back from the dead. She had a future. Once again she had someone to support her and to love her. The crowd that had gathered to express their sympathy joined the celebration. And those who had questions and concerns about their own death found some answers. Although we can’t be sure of what the people thought of Jesus they did recognize that God had come to help them.
Now let’s apply the results of this collision at Nain to our lives. What lessons can we learn? When Jesus meets the funerals we face victory and celebration will be the result. He brings life and hope. In view of this miracle at Nain I encourage you to face death with the confidence the Apostle Paul expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:5557, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Apostle Paul also encouraged us with these words in 1 Thessalonians 4:1314, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” When our life and hope meet death and sorrow victory and celebration are the result.
The pieces are stilling flying from the collision that took place at Nain two thousand years ago. As those who saw Jesus’ miracle said, “God has come to help his people.” Yes, he has. He came to us and still comes to us.
The Scriptures invite us to step back and see the collision at Nain. It will strengthen our faith in our Savior. It will give us confidence. Death and sorrow were going out of Nain. Life and hope were going in. After the collision victory and celebration went everywhere. Amen.
