Jesus Proves Himself and is Doubted
I. Introduction
1. Prayers
3. Catch- Why should we not believe all we hear and only 1/2 of what we see?
Review
Jesus proved miracles were not sufficient to convince, but we should trust the scriptures
1. Jesus’ compassion proved by His miracles (11-17)
Nain is located six miles south southeast of Nazareth and is about twenty-five miles from Capernaum
1. People’s pain of death (11-12)
Attendance at a funeral was considered a work of love, and the mourning for an only child would have been especially bitter
2. Jesus’ power over death (13-15)
It was the custom in the ancient world, particularly among the Jews, to wrap the corpse in a cloth shroud and carry it in procession on a litter. It was also customary in the ancient world to hire professional mourners. Even in the case of a very poor person, so rabbinic tradition tells us, at least two people playing flutes, and one professional wailing woman were expected to accompany the funeral procession. But in this case Luke tells that the multitude surrounding the bier was great, for obviously the woman and her plight had provoked the compassion of a great multitude of people from the community.
In the ancient world and particularly in the Jewish culture, it was considered unlawful from the viewpoint of ceremony to touch a corpse. To come in contact with a dead body was to risk personal defilement that would require a very rigorous procedure of ritual cleansing. But here Jesus violates the ceremony. He does this on several occasions in Scripture, never violating, of course, the moral law of the Old Testament, but using this as an occasion to say something to his contemporaries of the importance of life over ceremony.
3. People’s ponderance over death’s defeat (16-17)
2. Jesus’ crown proved by Scripture, not just miracles (18-23)
1. Doubt’s growth in dichotomy (18-19)
He is suffering from isolation. He is in abject misery. Surely he would have been asking questions. What am I doing in this prison? When is Jesus going to make his move? How can Jesus allow the power of Herod to be greater than his, that I as a prophet, should be left here alone?
2. Doubts refuse to shrink by miracles(20-21)
Luke prefaces Jesus’ response to John with a summary of his ministry of healing (cf. 4:40–41; 5:15; 6:18–19).