Reflective Bible Study

Continuing moving through Luke’s gospel detailing Jesus’ life and miracles, we arrive at an event that only Luke included. However, far from being insignificant, this event and miracle might be one of the most significant miracles Jesus did prior to raising Lazarus from the dead and prior to His own resurrection. If Jesus had simply been a good healer in people’s minds before, this miracle would be enough to elevate their thinking.

Let’s read our passage and discover what happened. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 7, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 11, Luke tells us that:

¹¹ Some time later, Jesus went to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² He approached the town gate. Just then, a dead person was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother. She was a widow. A large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. So he said, “Don’t cry.”

¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the coffin. Those carrying it stood still. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” ¹⁵ The dead man sat up and began to talk. Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ The people were all filled with wonder 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 all through Judea and the whole country.

In all the gospels, this event might be one of the most amazing miracles Jesus ever did. When reading this event, in my mind, it is worth looking for the faith behind this miracle and the reason Jesus chose to do it.

From the many miracles Jesus did healing people, in most cases we see a clear picture of where the faith came from. In many cases, the faith was from the one who was healed, and on several occasions, the faith necessary wasn’t from the one healed, but from those who brought the person to be healed.

However, in this event, we don’t find any evidence of faith present from any of the disciples or any in the funeral procession. Prior to this miracle, Jesus had not resurrected someone from the dead before, so there was no precedent.

Instead, the key phrase is found in verse 13, where Luke tells us, “When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her.” This statement not only shows us a glimpse of Jesus’ heart, it also directs us to this being a miracle Jesus did because He wanted to help someone who was hurting. If faith is necessary for a miracle, then the faith needed for this miracle came from Jesus Himself!

I cannot imagine a more special reunion than between the widow and her only son.

Looking at the details surrounding this miracle, I cannot escape a similarity between those present in this circumstance, and God. While God the Father is not a widow in any way this word is used, this event mirrors the emotion that would likely be present in heaven when Jesus, the Son, died on the cross. Even knowing that resurrection would happen less than 48 hours later wouldn’t change the feelings one would have if they were 100% focused on the present moment.

God knew the pain this widow was facing, and while they all could look forward to the future resurrection when Jesus returns, God’s heart reaches out to this widow who is facing emotional pain greater than most people know. However, God understands this widow’s pain and Jesus wants to turn her pain into joy! Jesus resurrects this child in advance of the resurrection that would happen when He returns because He wants this woman to experience joy and to know that God had not forgotten or turned His back on her.

I believe turning this sadness into joy is one of the big reasons Jesus did this miracle. In a subtle way, this miracle foreshadows Jesus’ own resurrection as a Son who dies before their parent who is ultimately resurrected. God wants to turn sadness into joy.

Another reason Jesus likely did this miracle was because the response He knew those present would give. In this passage, Jesus does not get the glory for this miracle. Instead, Jesus has the awkward role of stopping a funeral procession, telling a mourning widow not to cry, and then talking to a dead boy. Following the miracle, Luke tells us in verse 16 that, “The people were all filled with wonder and praised God.”

Jesus did not get the credit for this miracle, at least not initially. Instead, this miracle prompted people to praise God. When reading the gospels, miracles that prompt people to praise God are easy to find. It is as though this is one other big reason Jesus did miracles.

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus did these God-praising miracles because He wanted the people to realize that God was not like the religious leaders present in the first century. While the religious leaders should have been a group of people working together to represent God to their broader culture and community, the picture they were painting of God was far from loving. Jesus came to show us what God is like, and helping people praise the Father likely brought joy to Jesus’ heart!

This idea is summarized in the response those present give at the end of verse 16. Luke tells us that these people exclaim that, “God has come to help his people.” The implication is that, prior to this miracle, these people were feeling forgotten by God. While it is easy to fall into the trap believing that God has forgotten us here on this planet, nothing could be further from the truth.

Instead, if we don’t see God actively working in the world today, this means not that God has abandoned us, but that He is instead working behind the scenes directing history to its ultimate conclusion, which could be summarized as Jesus’ return, the end of sin, and the recreation of earth.

Satan would love for humanity to forget God and to openly reject anything that would suggest His existence. However, when we open our eyes to the world around us, there are too many pieces of evidence to reject a Creator, and more than enough evidence that points towards God being our Creator, and Jesus’ mission to earth was a mission to redeem us from a sin-tainted, sin-filled world.

Everything Jesus predicted would happen in His ministry happened exactly like He said it would, including His death and resurrection. This gives us the assurance that even if Jesus’ return feels like it has been delayed, a postponed trip is not a cancelled trip. We can know and be assured that just like Jesus’ predictions of His earthly ministry took place exactly like He predicted, Jesus’ return will happen at the exact moment in time that it needs to for us to be assured that sin will never reappear in the newly recreated universe!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue intentionally seeking God first in your life and choose to trust in Jesus’ working in the world today, even if we cannot see it clearly. Trust that when God appears absent, He is instead working behind the scenes drawing history towards its conclusion.

While we wait for Jesus to return, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn what God is really like and to open your heart to Jesus. Through the pages of the Bible, discover just how much God was willing to give and how far Jesus was willing to go to open the way for you and I to be redeemed and saved from sin! Discover in the pages of the Bible what God means when He is described as being love!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As Jesus finishes up His famous Sermon on the Mount, we discover that He saves a very challenging parable and illustration for the very end. As Jesus concludes this sermon, we discover a very bleak picture for those who choose not to pay attention to His message. However, before sharing this parable and illustration, Jesus has a challenge and a warning for His followers and those who are deciding whether to join His followers or not.

Let’s read what Jesus told those present for this sermon and discover what we can learn from what He taught. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 7, and we will be reading it from the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 13, Jesus continued preaching, saying:

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate because the gate and road that lead to destruction are wide. Many enter through the wide gate. ¹⁴ But the narrow gate and the road that lead to life are full of trouble. Only a few people find the narrow gate.

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets. They come to you disguised as sheep, but in their hearts they are vicious wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by what they produce.

“People don’t pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles, do they? ¹⁷ In the same way every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into a fire. ²⁰ So you will know them by what they produce.

Let’s pause briefly here because Jesus has just finished sharing a challenge and a warning, and before moving into Jesus’ concluding parable, I want to draw our attention onto a couple things we can learn from this first portion of our passage.

First off, most people familiar with Jesus’ teaching are familiar with Jesus teaching about the wide and narrow road and the wide and narrow gate. However, I found it interesting that in verse 14, Jesus tells us that “the narrow gate and the road that lead to life are full of trouble”. While this seems obvious on one level, it is something we don’t often like thinking about.

Jesus tells us that when we choose the narrow path leading towards the narrow gate, we will experience a life full of trouble. When we think about this, it makes sense because God has an enemy and he is opposed to anyone and everyone finding the way to God and living the way God desires humanity to live.

Jesus also warns us about the coming of false prophets. Those who Jesus describes coming as false prophets will appear like sheep, but their hearts are not at all Christ-like. Jesus tells us that we can spot them by what they produce, or in other words, by their actions.

Those who produce people who are Christ-like, who love others, who place the good of humanity ahead of themselves, and who desire to lead others to Christ are true prophets. False prophets desire to turn people against each other, false prophets draw people to focus on them instead of focusing on God, false prophets set themselves up as middlemen, claiming to speak for God, and false prophets lead people to act in un-Christ-like ways. The lives and actions of a prophet will tell you whether a prophet is a true prophet send from God or a false prophet that wants to lead you away from God.

However, Jesus has saved a warning for everyone that He wraps up in a sobering parable. Continuing in verse 21, Jesus tells the crowd:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the person who does what my Father in heaven wants. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we force out demons and do many miracles by the power and authority of your name?’ ²³ Then I will tell them publicly, ‘I’ve never known you. Get away from me, you evil people.’

²⁴ “Therefore, everyone who hears what I say and obeys it will be like a wise person who built a house on rock. ²⁵ Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not collapse, because its foundation was on rock.

²⁶ “Everyone who hears what I say but doesn’t obey it will be like a foolish person who built a house on sand. ²⁷ Rain poured, and floods came. Winds blew and struck that house. It collapsed, and the result was a total disaster.”

²⁸ When Jesus finished this speech, the crowds were amazed at his teachings. ²⁹ Unlike their experts in Moses’ Teachings, he taught them with authority.

This last statement summarizes how the crowds reacted to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Matthew tells us that they were amazed at His teachings, and that they recognized that Jesus spoke with an authority that their experts in Moses’ teaching did not appear to have.

However, the final parable Jesus shares is very challenging. Jesus leads into this parable saying that not everyone who calls out His name will be saved in God’s kingdom. Jesus describes a group of people who are very familiar with Jesus, but who are ultimately lost.

Jesus emphasizes the differences between the saved and the not saved in a few different places and a few different ways. First, in the last portion of verse 21, Jesus describes a person who is saved as someone “who does what my Father in heaven wants”. In the whole faith vs. works debate over salvation, Jesus challenges us with the truth that actions do matter in God’s eyes!

It appears as though some of those who are thrown out prophesied in Jesus’ name, forced demons out in Jesus’ name, and performed other miracles using the power of Jesus’ name. However, Jesus still describes them as evil people. It would seem like those in this group knew a lot about Jesus and about spiritual matters, but they missed having a relationship with Jesus. Jesus tells this group: “I’ve never known you.”

In the parable of the two house builders, the wise builder is described as listening to Jesus and obeying it. In contrast, the foolish builder is not described as ignoring Jesus, but as someone who listens to Jesus but who does not apply or obey what Jesus has said in their lives. The key distinction between being wise vs. being foolish is in our obedience to Jesus’ teaching. Without obedience, our house will collapse because it was built on sand; without obedience, we cannot have a relationship with Jesus; and without obedience, we will be left outside calling out for Jesus to open the door for us. According to Jesus’ conclusion to His sermon, without obedience, no level of faith can save us.

Obedience alone will not bring us salvation. Our salvation is found in a saving relationship that is based on faith, trust, hope, and belief in Jesus mixed with obeying what He asks us to do. The way to life is narrow, and it is filled with opposition, but even with this description and conclusion looking bleak, remember that Jesus has made the way for us, and as we intentionally continue moving towards Him, He will continue making the path He wants us to walk on become clearer with each and every step!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and resolve today to obey God and to obey Jesus’ teaching. If you are uncertain what God’s will for your life is, perhaps opening your Bible is the next best thing.

This leads perfectly into our next big challenge, which is to continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself. Through prayer and Bible study, you can grow a relationship with God and as you pray and study, God’s will for your life will become clearer and clearer.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or let anything distract or discourage you from going where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!