SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:11-17
OBSERVATION:
“His heart overflowed with compassion”. Jesus is a reflection of God, He reveals the heart of God. This story shows the heart of God, but it does raise the question as to why He doesn’t heal or help everyone? When He sees little girls raped and little boys abused, when parents die leaving young children, when families are starving to death, or loved ones are dying of disease, does He not see and does His heart not overflow with compassion then? I would see the end of this passage as a clue: God sends Jesus and supports His message with signs and wonders, to confirm that He is God with us. But the mission of Jesus is not to fix the symptoms, but to cure the disease, i.e. sin. If Jesus had established a factory to heal people, His job would never end, for every person born would need His healing. And if He snapped His fingers and healed every person instantaneously, He would have to keep on doing it. It would not stop until the underlying disease was wiped out. And snapping His fingers could not do that. Only His sinless life, death and resurrection could defeat the power of sin and death. But the signs and wonder verify His power and authority over sin and death. The people were right to praise God for Jesus, the hand of God!
APPLICATION:
I believe in, and I represent, the Lord of the universe. He is the solution to all our problems, not just the symptoms. He is not a heavenly vending machine that gives us whatever we want (healing, jobs, money, mates, nice cars, etc.) but the Great Physician, the one who cures our real and deep soul-disease. This miracle (and many others) confirms that He is Who He says He is, and that He too can set us free from the power of sin and death. If people challenge me about God not loving in this way, my response needs to be that His love goes deeper than we know, and is better than we appreciate. Like the surgeon who uses a knife to heal, God’s help may not immediately seem nice, but it is ultimately for the best.
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for being compassionate, and for setting me free from the power of sin and death. Help me to point people to Your love by showing it to those that I meet each day, like You did. Amen.
I see myself in the dead son – like him, I have done nothing to deserve it but Jesus continually breathes new life into my very being.
I see myself in the mother – like her, at times I feel life is so overwhelming, how will I cope?, what am I to do?, there is too much to be responsible for, I can’t juggle it all…. and yet, Jesus constantly provides out of His great compassion as I surrender every situation and circumstance to Him. Not in my strength but in His…… I know He hurts when I/we hurt!
My life is in You LORD! My hope is in You LORD! My strength is in You LORD! In You! In You! You are my all in all! You are my strength when I am weak. You are the shelter that I seek. You are everything I need! You are mighty to save! Draw me close to You! Never let me go! In Your Presence there is peace! My Jesus, my Saviour, LORD there is none like You. My Comfort, my Shelter, Tower of Refuge and Strength. Let every breath, all that I am, never cease to worship You. All to Jesus, I surrender, I surrender all….. Thank You Jesus for Your great and unending compassion. Because of You, I can face tomorrow….. Because of You, all fear is gone. Because I know, I know, who holds the future, this child can face uncertain times because Chrsit lives! Thank You LORD for this blessed assurance…..
This miracle is during the start of the ministry of Christ. Who is this man, Who even gives life to the dead? He has given life to the only son of the widow. He has given life to the widow by raising her son who can now look after her and have an inheritance in the land. She has a new lease on life and a new found hope. Christ becomes known by what He does – His ministry. The people called Him a prophet, which was a partial truth. Prophets of old had also raised people from the dead. He was the Son of God who would raise all people to new life ithrough Him unto the Father. The God Who came to help His people is the God Who still is with His people today if we but trust in Him. God visis His people and helps them in their time of need. God is with us also today. Where have you seen Hm? How is He present in my Life? How do I know Him?
We want to see Jesus lifted high
A banner that flies across the land
That all men might see the truth and know
He is the way to heaven
We want to see, we want to see
We want to see Jesus lifted high
We want to see, we want to see
We want to see Jesus lifted high