1. Albrecht…Trinity 16…Oct 5^th, 2025…Luke 7:11-17…When Unstoppable Death Meets the Lord

¹¹ And it came about soon afterwards, that He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large multitude. ¹² Now as He approached 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 sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶ And fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” ¹⁷ And this report concerning Him went out all over Judea, and in all the surrounding district.

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father. Amen.

INC, Who was anointed by the Father to destroy the power and fear of death, DFR:

I don’t think any of you would be surprised to hear me say that many people are afraid of death. What you might be surprised by, however, is the methods people use and the lengths they go to in an attempt to avoid death. Qin Shi Huang ruled over a unified China for 11 years until his death in 210 B.C. Qin Shi Huang feared death and desperately sought an elixir that would allow him to live forever. Unfortunately, the elixir he chose was mercury. And while it can’t be proven, it makes sense that mercury poisoning contributed to his demise.

In the 15^th Century, Pope Innocent VIII attempted a very primitive version of blood transfusion by feeding on the blood of young boys. This idea of blood transfusion from younger people would continue to be employed by Alexander Bogdanov in the 1920s The blood transfusions seemed to help some of Alexander Bogdanov’s infirmities for a time, but eventually he contracted malaria and tuberculosis from a donor and died.

In more recent years, cryogenics has taken on some popularity. Cryogenics is the method of freezing one’s body so that one day, when the technology is available, scientists can unthaw them and make them live forever.

In seems a little extreme, or even crazy to you or me, but to many people, it is the most important investment they can possibly make. Why? Two reasons, really. 1. Death is unnatural. We were created to live forever. Death only came as a result of sin, as Paul says in Romans 5:12. Because death is unnatural, there is fear of the unknown – what comes after death. And that leads into the second reason: 2. Death is unstoppable. People will go to drastic lengths to preserve their own life, but no one can stop death from coming, and that means you lose a certain level of control.

Taking care of our bodies is a good thing. God tells us to be good stewards of the bodies He has given us. But we mustn’t fool ourselves into thinking that we can stave off death forever, nor does the Christian need to let fear take root in our hearts concerning death. The Lord of Life, our Savior Jesus, has destroyed death’s power. That means: 1. Jesus has taken the unknown factor out of death. As Christians, we know what comes after death – it is eternal life in perfect bliss. 2. Jesus has removed the power of death – the eternal separation of the soul from God. 3. Jesus is with us in life and in death – we are never alone.

Each of these truths concerning death are brought out in the sermon text this morning. We see What Happens when Unstoppable Death Meets the Lord of Life. May the Holy Spirit bless our study of His Word this morning.

¹¹ And it came about soon afterwards, that He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large multitude.

This account takes place shortly after Jesus heals the Centurion’s servant. In that account, Jesus marveled at the faith of the Centurion, a Gentile, who recognized Jesus’ authority over sickness was not dependent on location, but with a simple word, his servant would be healed. This event brought much attention to Jesus, as many people followed Him. Some followed as His disciples, like the 12, but others followed simply for curiosity’s sake.

¹² Now as He approached 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 sizeable crowd from the city was with her.

On the one hand, you have the popular Rabbi who has performed miracle after miracle in the sight of many, and you have a crowd marveling at His power and authority. On the other hand, you have the saddest sight imaginable. A funeral procession for a young boy. A young boy who was the only son of his mother, who was a widow.

The setting could not be written better by Hollywood. But this isn’t some orchestrated screenplay. This was real life. A woman had lost her husband – her caretaker and the father of her child. That alone is enough grief for one to bear. But then her son is taken from her as well. With her son gone, she had lost everything. She had no one left to take care of her. This isn’t like today’s society where the workforce was available to all. The men went to work and the women cared for the home. Without a husband and without a son, there was no one to provide.

In this very scenario we see the grim reality of death. Death does not discriminate. It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, happy or sad, old or young. It simply comes for us all. Any person who had a shred of sympathy, would be heartbroken at this sight. And we see the evidence of that as a great crowd from the town came with her.

We are familiar with this. When someone dies within your circle of family or friends, you gather together for support. You comfort the grieved by your presence and maybe with words of encouragement. But beyond that, what can you do? What could they do? They couldn’t heal the cuts to her heart that death had brought. But that’s only because they didn’t know who was approaching the city gate.

¹³ And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.”

The city gate of Nain was not very large. It was more of a doorway into the town rather than a full-fledged gate. This meant that there was no room for the two parties to go past each other at the same time. A confrontation was inevitable. And notice how this plays out. Jesus, His disciples, and His crowd standing by as this sorrowful crowd exits the city. They could hear the mourners wailing as they could do nothing but stand by in respect. But not Jesus. Jesus looked directly towards the mother and widow.

There was no prodding from His disciples, “Go do something!” The widow or her crowd made no recognition of who Jesus was, or made a request of Him. They didn’t need to. Jesus already knew the great turmoil and suffering this woman was going through. How could He not!? He was the Word of God! The Creator of all things visible and invisible, the very procurator of life itself, and staring right back at Him was ugly and dreadful death.

Jesus had compassion on her because He felt her pain. He saw firsthand the havoc sin has wreaked on the world, how it has brought nothing but misery, sadness and suffering. He saw God’s prize creation at its lowest possible state. He felt the same things that you and I feel when we lose someone close, or when a friend loses someone that they love. But there is a big difference. We can offer a shoulder to cry on and words of encouragement. Only Jesus can offer the final solution to death. And that is why He says to the widow, “Do not weep.”

Jesus’ words here are more than just a command to cease weeping. His words offer a promise for this woman to hold onto. “Do not weep, because I will give you a reason for joy.”

There is a paradox that states: An unstoppable force meets an immoveable object. It’s a paradox because the existence of one excludes the possible existence of the other. In this account, the paradox becomes a reality. The unstoppable force of death has claimed its victim. Until it meets the Lord of Life whose word is that immoveable object. It doesn’t matter how tight death’s grip has become, one word from Jesus, and death is forced to cower in defeat. And that is exactly what happens.

¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

The impossible was just made possible. Maybe someone cheats death by narrowly escaping its grasp, but no one defeats it. No one overcomes it. Except those who receive a command from God. And here, it wasn’t a contest. Immediately the boy sat up and began to speak – proving beyond a doubt that he was alive and well just as he had been before. Truly Jesus took total grief and sorrow and turned it into inexplicable joy, peace, and happiness.

When Jesus gave that boy back to his mother, His compassion shown through all the more. He did so in order that she and her son would trust in Him as their God and Savior. That young boy would be a walking testimony to them both that Jesus has power over death. As Jesus had given the boy life, can He also give them eternal life.

That is what should stand out to us this morning: Jesus’ power over death. That young boy would face death again one day. Jesus gave him life, yes, but he still remained in this sinful world which results in death. But this account points us forward where we see Jesus’ compassion on display in a much fuller manner. The cross.

Jesus knew He was the solution for this widow’s grief and suffering. Now multiply that for every single human being who has lived and has yet to live. He didn’t just see all the suffering and pain that you go through, He experienced it. He suffered for it by bearing your sins and mine on the cross. We talk a lot about Jesus’ death on Calvary, but what does that actually mean for you? Jesus experienced death twice on the cross. The first, He was very much alive, but He was suffering the eternal torment of hell that you and I deserve because of our sin. In other words, He suffered eternal death for us – the eternal separation from God. That is why He cried out, “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus being forsaken by God was death.

When Jesus breathed His last and gave up His spirit, He died a physical death. His body lay in the tomb, very much the same way this young boy was about to be laid. This was important too because Jesus endured what we all will endure – death. But Jesus still had power over death and that is why He rose from the dead on the 3^rd day. Jesus’ resurrection meant that God accepted His payment for eternal death on your behalf. Meaning, yes physical death will likely come for us all, but what comes after that death? Paul says, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

And what a day that will be. As the sorrow the widow felt was replaced with immediate joy upon receiving her son back from the dead, so will the sorrow, pain, and suffering all be gone when our Savior calls us to eternal life with Himself.

Over the last few months, the grass in my side yard was completely brown, outside of a few patches where my dog’s pool would catch stray water. Within this last week we have received a handful of substantial rainstorms. Towards the end of the day of that first rainstorm, I could not help but marvel, I could already see the green grass growing again. Months and months of being dead, and almost instantly, the grass was alive again. That is how quickly we will be made alive – the very moment we hear the life-giving word of our Savior; we will leave death behind as if it were nothing more than sleep.

So what happens when unstoppable death meets the Lord of Life? While we are yet on this earth, death may still seem like that unstoppable force. But the truth is, Jesus has power over death. He won the fight. Life won. You win. Amen.