When Compassion Meets the Coffin - July 20th, 2025

Luke 7:11–17 KJV

11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

Title: When Jesus Halts the Hearse

Subtitle: Compassion, Command, and Confession at Nain’s City Gate (Luke 7:11‑17)

Central Idea of the Text (CIT)

Jesus, the divine‑human Redeemer, halts a widow’s funeral with compassionate authority, raises her only son by a mere word, and thereby reveals that God Himself has visited His people with resurrection power (Garland 2012, 304–5).

Proposition

Because the Lord who stopped the hearse at Nain still speaks life today, we must place our sorrows under His resurrection authority and extend His interrupting compassion to those walking in grief.

Sermonic Purpose

   A. Major Objective (over‑arching aim)

      To persuade believers that Christ’s living word reverses the irreversible, moving them from passive mourning to active, hope‑filled ministry.

   B. Specific Objective (measurable outcomes)

      1. Cognitive   – Listeners will be able to state that Jesus’ miracle at Nain previews the final resurrection and authenticates Him as God’s visiting Prophet‑Messiah.

      2. Affective   – Listeners will feel comforted and emboldened, exchanging paralyzing fear of death for awe‑filled confidence in Christ.

      3. Behavioral  – Listeners will identify one grieving person or family to “interrupt” this week with a concrete act of mercy (meal, visit, bill assistance) and will share the story of God’s visitation in their own words.]

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Introduction – “All Lines Lead to the City Gate”

A dusty road winds down the northern slope of the Hill of Moreh. Two processions are about to collide: one humming with life around Jesus, another shuffling in the hush of death behind a widow’s only son. The clash at Nain’s gate will show every generation that when the Lord steps across our broken threshold, funerals must give way to resurrection.

Sub‑Introduction (Historical‑Cultural & Contextual Overview)

Nain stood a few miles southeast of Nazareth, perched above the Jezreel Valley—close to the great trade route yet small enough to feel forgotten. Luke calls it a πόλις (city), signaling a walled settlement with its own gate where burials began outside the walls. First‑century funerals moved quickly; hired mourners wailed while pall‑bearers shouldered an open bier toward the rock‑cut tombs east of town. For a widow with no male heir, the son’s death meant economic ruin and social vulnerability; charity laws could not replace a protector’s daily care. Luke’s geography also echoes Shunem, just across the valley, where Elisha once raised another only son—an intentional literary bridge that presents Jesus as the greater prophet and as God’s personal visitation to Israel. In the broader narrative flow, this episode follows the healing of the centurion’s servant (Lk. 7:1‑10), answering the implied question, “How far does the Lord’s authority reach?”—from long‑distance healing to reversing death itself. Thus our text invites hearers to stand at that city gate and decide whether they will march on in despair or join the living train that follows Christ.

So—with the hiss of mourners’ flutes fading behind us and the hopeful chatter of disciples drawing near—let us step to Nain’s gate and watch the moment when two processions collide and the story’s first movement unfolds. 

I. The Compassionate Convergence — Two Crowds Meet at Nain’s Gate (vv 11‑13)

A. “Soon Afterward” — Providential Timing (v 11a)

Luke 7:11 KJV

11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

Word Snapshot • ἐν τῷ ἑξῆς = “soon afterward,” Luke’s hinge for rapid ministry momentum • ἐπορεύετο (imperf.) pictures continuous travel.

Hist‑Cult Aside Nain sat on a spur road off the Via Maris, ±25 mi from Capernaum; Jesus’ trek shows deliberate outreach beyond major centers .

Luke frames the meeting as no accident: divine initiative intersects human sorrow right on schedule, reminding hearers that providence is both punctual and personal.

Quote: “Luke’s ἐν τῷ ἑξῆς is a narrative hinge that hurries mercy along the Galilean roads.” —Bock 1994, 652 

David once sang, “My times are in Thy hand” (Ps 31:15). In other words, God held the date of his anointing, the day Saul first hurled a spear, and even Absalom’s revolt on one master schedule. Three centuries later the Puritan pastor Increase Mather unpacked that verse with pastoral precision, reminding Boston believers that every arrival, every departure, and every detour is divinely timed. His words bridge David’s confession with Luke’s “soon afterward,” showing that heaven’s calendar never misfires:

PSAL. 31.15. MY TIMES ARE IN THY HAND—

“My times are in Thy hand. Men have no power to dispose of their own days, nor have others that power—the Lord alone orders every beginning, every change, and every end. And because they rest in His hand, they are in the safest hand that can be: a wise hand, a faithful hand, an all‑sufficient hand.” [Increase Mather, The Times of Men Are in the Hand of God (Boston: John Foster, 1675), 6–7.]

Speaker Notes (bridge back to outline):

[EXP→ILL]

If David could trust his flight schedule to God—and Increase Mather could trust Boston’s tragedies to the same hand—then surely the widow’s meeting with Jesus was no accident.

[ILL→APP]

And neither is tomorrow’s grocery run or commuter train; the Lord may have penciled in your errand as someone else’s rescue appointment.

Mather’s Puritan canvas shows that our “times” rest in God’s hand; now let’s pan through the Bible’s own timeline. Neil Wilson’s Handbook of Bible Application strings together six scenes—from Moses to Peter—that prove divine appointments never miss a minute. Hear the Scriptures speak for themselves:

TIMING (Order, Plan, Sequence)

What does the Bible teach us about God’s timing?

1) He looked down on the Israelites and felt deep concern for their welfare. (Ex 2:25)

Exodus 2:25 KJV

25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

God’s rescue comes in his timing, not ours.… God knows the best time to act. When you feel that God has forgotten you in your troubles, remember that God has a time schedule that we can’t see.

2) How long, O God, will you allow our enemies to mock you? (Ps 74:10)

Psalm 74:10 KJV

10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?

God’s timing will not be affected by our impatience.… Review the great acts of God throughout biblical history; then review what he has done for you.

3) Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. (Lk 3:23)

Luke 3:23 KJV

23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

The nature of God’s timing requires that we practice trust.… Are you waiting and wondering what your next step should be? Don’t jump ahead—trust God’s timing.

4) When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. (Rom 5:6)

Romans 5:6 KJV

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

God’s timing is perfect.… God controls all history, and he controlled the timing, methods, and results of Jesus’ death.

5) A day is like a thousand years to the Lord… (2 Pet 3:8–9)

2 Peter 3:8–9 KJV

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God’s timing is controlled by his compassion.… Be ready to meet Christ any time, even today; yet plan your course of service as though he may not return for many years.

—Adapted from Neil S. Wilson, The Handbook of Bible Application (Tyndale, 2000), 605–6.

Speaker Notes (bridge to prompts):

Wilson’s thread reminds us that whether it’s Exodus deliverance, Davidic delay, Jesus in a carpenter’s shop, or the long wait for Christ’s return, God is never late—He is simply punctual to His own clock.

[EXP→ILL]

Timing is never random in redemption.

[ILL→APP]

God may schedule your next‑day errands for someone’s rescue.

B. A Funeral Procession of Hopeless Grief (v 12)

Luke 7:12 KJV

12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

Word Snapshot • τεθνηκώς = “already dead.” • μονογενής stresses “only‑begotten,” heightening loss .

Hist‑Cult Aside First‑century bodies were borne on an open σορός plank by pall‑bearers amid hired wailers; loss of an only son left the widow legally and economically destitute .

The scene embodies Israel’s lament (Jer 6:26); Luke spotlights the mother, teaching that God’s heart is tuned to the cries of society’s most vulnerable.

Quote: “Participation in burial was a rabbinic ‘work of mercy’ suspending even Torah study.” —Nolland 1989, 321 

[EXP→ILL] The pall‑bearers march every age.

In classical antiquity—as in first‑century Galilee—the dead were literally borne on the shoulders of friends. Historian John Potter notes:

“The bearers usually mounted the corpse upon their shoulders; the body was sometimes placed upon a bier, but more anciently conveyed without any support at all.”¹ [John Potter, Archæologiæ Græcæ; or, The Antiquities of Greece (Oxford: Theatre Press, 1699), 206.]

Funeral parties wound through crowded streets at dawn; relatives walked closest, the rest of the town trailing behind, reminded that everyone eventually joins the march. Some left the house in torch‑light, others by morning twilight—especially when “beauteous and hopeful young men suffered an untimely death,” a calamity so painful that mourners dared not let the sun witness it. Whether decked in white robes of triumph or draped in black, the procession preached a single truth: death never travels alone—it always gathers a crowd.

Speaker Notes (bridge back to application):

Those shoulder‑borne bodies press the question forward: who is shuffling behind today’s coffins of despair in our city? Whose grief invites the church to step into the procession and shoulder the weight with them?

[ILL→APP]

Whom will we notice behind today’s coffins of despair?

C. The Lord’s Pity — “Do Not Weep” (v 13)

Luke 7:13 KJV

13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

Word Snapshot  • ἐσπλαγχνίσθη = gut‑level mercy; occurs only of Jesus/the Father in NT.

Hist‑Cult Aside Public weeping was expected; silencing a widow’s tears before the burial rite broke cultural script and signaled divine intervention.

Compassion is not divine sentiment but divine strategy; Jesus’ first miracle here is emotional—He lifts grief before He lifts the corpse.

Before we hear Jesus speak life, let’s pause and layer our own funeral customs beside Nain’s. Scholar David Garland observes how twenty‑first‑century grief often hides the harshness of death:

“Death’s door is always ajar. Many try to keep it at bay with power diets, wrinkle‑removal operations, and tummy tucks, but the nasty riposte, ‘I hope you rot in your grave,’ is a wish destined to come true. Until the second coming of Christ, we are not going to make it through life alive.

Sandra Gilbert shows how the twentieth century reshaped dying and mourning. The corpse is camouflaged by a cosmetologist’s brush or is simply absent—replaced by a memorial collage or a DVD of highlights from a life gone by. Friends step to an open mike with smarmy sentiments and awkward jokes that drown out sacred Scripture, if it is read at all.

By contrast, first‑century families carried the dead the arduous distance to the grave. Death seems less real in our culture when a company can create synthetic gemstones from cremated remains.

Yet dread persists. Inner‑city students write:

I fear death because I don’t know.

What will happen when I go?

It is something I can’t face.

When I die, will I be thought about?

Will my name be shouted out?

Some wealthy mourners build mausoleums of pharaonic proportions as if marble and bronze could shout, ‘I was really significant.’ Others clutch at perishable tokens—a flower poking through snow, a sunset—as their only comfort.

The promise of the resurrection is the core of Christian faith. Death is the last enemy God will defeat through Christ (1 Cor 15). Malcolm Muggeridge captures that hope:

‘For myself, as I approach my end, I find Jesus’ outrageous claim ever more captivating… I hear those words, “I am the resurrection, and the life,” and feel myself carried along on a great tide of joy and peace.’ (Garland, Luke, 304–5).

Speaker Notes (bridge):

[ILL→APP]

If our culture embalms grief in cosmetics and granite, Jesus confronts it in the dusty road. Keep your mind on that contrast as we turn the page—because the One who sees the widow’s tears is about to speak a word our mausoleums can’t match.

Quote: “He is a Lord whose first lordship is pity.” —Green 1997, 292 

[EXP→ILL] Grace wipes tears before graves.

[ILL→APP] Offer words that dry eyes and open hearts.

II. The Commanding Christ — Death Halts at His Touch (vv 14‑15)

A. Authoritative Touch (v 14a‑c)

Luke 7:14 KJV

14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

Blockquote: “And He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still …”

Word Snapshot  • σορός = open funeral stretcher  • ἥψατο (mid.) highlights deliberate, self‑involving contact .

Hist‑Cult Aside Touching a bier risked corpse‑impurity (Num 19); Jesus crosses purity codes to cancel impurity itself.

The Holy One’s hand nullifies defilement—foreshadowing the cross where He “became sin” to end death’s contagion.

Quote: “He chooses healing over defilement every time.” —Marshall 1978, 285 

[EXP→ILL] Holiness moves toward contamination.

“Holiness Moves Toward Contamination” (Phil 1:9‑10; Heb 13:12‑13)

Philippians 1:9–10 KJV

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

Hebrews 13:12–13 KJV

12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Holiness, in Scripture, is never a porcelain purity kept behind glass. It is “nearness to God, transparency to the divine, rather than a rigid adherence to a moral code.” [Donald Bloesch, Freedom for Obedience, 214.] Because the Holy One stepped into the world’s leprosy, true holiness is always centrifugal—pressing outward toward the places where uncleanness, injustice, and grief still rule. As Donald Bloesch reminds us, “The Christian life is not the pristine purity of innocence but the marred purity of responsible involvement in the world for the sake of the glory of God.” [ibid., 212] That means obeying God may place us in the very situations the moral gate‑keepers label contaminating. Rahab lies to shield the spies; Gideon reduces his army to torches and empty jars; Bonhoeffer enters a conspiracy; a prison chaplain sits in the death‑row cell of a serial killer. Each risks the smear of association, because holiness is not withdrawal from pain but consecration for pain. “Christians are sinners, but justified sinners,” Bloesch writes; we venture into the world’s shadows not trusting our spotless record but Christ’s cleansing blood. [ibid., 204] So the church’s vocation is never gated purity—never staying so “clean” that we become antiseptic to our neighbours. Purity is for mission. The cross pushes us “outside the camp” to the diseased, the doubting, the dangerous (Heb 13:12‑13). We will feel the tension, even the “agony of ethical decision,” [ibid., 199] yet the command is clear: risk proximity to pain. Step toward—touch—listen—weep—serve. The One who bore contamination for us still walks those streets, and His holiness remains contagious.

[ILL→APP] Risk proximity to pain; purity was made for mission.

B. Authoritative Word (v 14d‑e)

Blockquote: “‘Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.’”

Word Snapshot  • νεανίσκε = prime‑of‑life youth.  • ἐγέρθητι (pass. imper.) summons impossible obedience.

Hist‑Cult Aside Jewish exorcists prayed; prophets stretched over bodies; Jesus simply speaks—a mark of unique messianic authority.

Creation heard “Let there be light”; the corpse hears “Arise.” Same voice, same power, same God.

Quote: “One word from Jesus turns mourning into morning.” —Bock 1994, 654 

[EXP→ILL] The dead obey better than the living.

Listen to how Peter—once frightened by a servant girl, later fearless before a cross—anchors shaky people in a living hope:

“Because of Christ’s resurrection, believers have been born into a living hope (1 Pet 1 : 3). Our hope is no anxious wish but confident assurance: the same voice that raised Jesus will raise us. If we can trust Him with eternity, we can trust Him with tomorrow.”¹ [Adapted from Ron Teed, The Book of 1 Peter (Teed Commentary, 2010), 1–7.]

The apostle admits his readers face “fiery trials,” yet he insists that Christ’s word still commands dead things—whether tombs, hopes, or hearts—to rise. A Galilean corpse obeyed that voice at Nain; so can our despair today.

Speaker Notes (bridge to application):

If graves and scattered exiles can’t resist the resurrected Word, neither can the hopeless situations we carry back to Denver.

[ILL→APP] Trust Christ’s word where pulse and hope seem absent.

C. Astounding Transformation (v 15)

Luke 7:15 KJV

15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

Word Snapshot • ἀνεκάθισεν = straight‑back sit‑up (LXX used for healing). • ἤρξατο λαλεῖν = evidence of full restoration.

Hist‑Cult Aside Giving the son back mirrors Elijah (1 Kgs 17) and Elisha (2 Kgs 4) but surpasses them—no prayer, no physical exertion, only command.

Resurrection life returns family, future, and faith; Jesus rolls back social tragedy as well as biological death.

Quote: “Luke’s ‘And he delivered him to his mother’ is gospel in six Greek, seven English words.” —Adapted from Fitzmyer 1981, 659 

[EXP→ILL] The gospel is homecoming.

From the very first covenant codes God wrote generosity into justice: what was taken must be returned—and then some. Exodus mandates five‑for‑one or even seven‑for‑one restitution (Ex 22:1; Prov 6:31). Joel hears the Lord promise, “I will restore the years the locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). Zacchaeus, seized by grace, echoes the law when he pledges, “If I have cheated anyone, I will repay it four‑fold” (Lk 19:8).¹ [Adapted from A. Colin Day, Collins Thesaurus of the Bible (2009), s.v. “Restitution.”]

Exodus 22:1 KJV

1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

Proverbs 6:31 KJV

31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.

Joel 2:25 KJV

25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

Luke 19:8 KJV

8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

At Nain Jesus embodies that pattern: He does not merely halt a funeral; He hands the boy back to his mother—full restitution, relationship restored, hope replenished. The gospel always moves from loss to lavish return, turning graves into family reunions.

Speaker Notes (tie‑in to theological summaries):

Luke’s echo of Israel’s restitution laws signals that Messiah’s mercy will leap every boundary—Jew, Gentile, past, future—until Eden’s losses are repaid in Revelation’s “no more death.”

[ILL→APP] What can you “give back” that loss has stolen?

Speaker Notes: Theology Summary #1 – Gentile Inclusion

Luke’s Elijah‑Elisha echoes forecast mercy that will leap Jewish borders (cf. Lk. 4:24‑27); the life‑giving Lord of Nain is poised to raise sons and daughters from “every nation.”

Luke 4:24–27 KJV

24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

Speaker Notes: Theology Summary #2 – Canonical Arc

From Eden’s sentence to Revelation’s abolished death, Scripture arcs toward resurrection; Luke 7 is an in‑history trailer for the empty tomb and the final “no more death” (Rev 21:4).

Revelation 21:4 KJV

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Prompt: Six‑Scene Argument Diagram →

1 Convergence → 2 Compassion → 3 Touch → 4 Command → 5 Resurrection → 6 Confession/Spread

III. The Corporate Confession — Awe Turns to Announcement (vv 16‑17)

A. Fear‑Filled Awe (v 16a)

Luke 7:16 KJV

16a And there came a fear on all:

Word Snapshot  • φόβος here = reverent dread, covenantal awe.

Hist‑Cult Aside Jewish piety linked great works of God with fear‑induced worship (Ex 14:31).

Exodus 14:31 KJV

31 And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Authentic encounter with resurrection power produces trembling wonder, not casual applause.

Quote: “When heaven invades a funeral, earth quakes.” —Stott 2001 

[EXP→ILL]

Awe is the birthplace of song.

When Israel forgot, silence set in; when they remembered—how God split seas, fed wilderness stomachs, and even sings over His people (Zeph 3:17)—the nation erupted in psalms. Spiritual‑formation scholar James Wilhoit notes that “in Hebrew thought the chief spiritual malady was forgetfulness; one cure is child‑like awe that humbly receives God’s love‑song and lets it rekindle praise.”¹ [Adapted from James C. Wilhoit, Spiritual Formation as If the Church Mattered, 2nd ed. (Baker Academic, 2022), 149–53.] Awe, then, is not goose‑bumps for their own sake; it is the God‑given memory that turns lament into doxology and makes ordinary lungs a choir loft.

Zephaniah 3:17 KJV

17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

Speaker Notes (bridge to application)

Help the congregation “hear the song”: rehearse God’s mighty acts aloud, practice silence that lets the Spirit’s music surface, and watch worship grow from wonder.

[ILL→APP]

Cultivate holy dread that fuels praise.

B. Prophetic Praise & the Verdict of Divine Visitation (vv 16b‑c)

Luke 7:16 KJV

16b-c and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

Blockquote: “‘A great prophet is risen up among us’; ‘God hath visited His people.’”

Word Snapshot  • ἐπήσκεψατο = redemptive visitation.  • Perfect ἐγήγερται signals abiding significance .

Hist‑Cult Aside Crowd links Jesus with prophets yet senses something greater—Jehovah Himself has arrived.

Recognition moves from typology to theology: Jesus is simultaneously the promised prophet and the very Presence behind every promise.

Quote: “Visitation language crowns the narrative—grace has put on sandals.” —Rowe 2009, 119 

[EXP→ILL]

Prophecy melts into Presence.

From Genesis onward, divine promises never hover in abstraction; they descend in concrete moments where heaven shakes earth. A voice at a burning bush becomes Israel’s emancipation. A pillar of cloud mutates into parted seas. Centuries later the Word takes on flesh, and water becomes wine, the blind see, and skeptics stand silent. Acts keeps the pattern alive—locked doors spring open, shipwrecks turn into seaside revivals, Saul the persecutor rises from the dust a preacher. Wherever God speaks, He eventually shows up—and the congregation that believes it is the congregation that begins to see it.

One family recounted how they felt that tension when they left a miracle‑expectant church in California for a program‑rich but predictable fellowship in North Carolina. “Solid preaching—great children’s wing,” they admitted, “but does God ever disrupt the order of service here?” Their question is ours: Will we settle for ministry machinery, or will we wait until prophecy melts into palpable presence? The biblical record urges the latter. God’s résumé is stacked with last‑minute rescues, unexpected healings, and guidance that arrives only when His people gather, pray, and expect.

[ILL→APP]

Tell your story so neighbors say, “God showed up!”

Nothing fuels that expectancy like a living testimony. Stories are the Spirit’s amplifier. When you recount your Red Sea—your addiction broken, your marriage resurrected, your quiet “coincidence” that only God could script—you provide neighbors a front‑row seat to the same God who thundered at Sinai and whispered at Pentecost. Shared aloud, those moments become prophetic invitations: If God did it for me, He can do it for you; if He moved then, He can move now.

So this week:

1) Remember one instance when God’s intervention was unmistakable. Write it down in three sentences: the need, the prayer, the breakthrough.

2) Rehearse it—so it’s ready on your lips without embellishment or apology.

3) Release it—over coffee with a co‑worker, in your small group, on a phone call home. End with a simple line: “Jesus still does things like this.”

Prophecy has already leapt off the page; let’s give it a voice in our zip code. Tell the story—so that when someone thanks you for the encouragement you can smile and correct them gently: “It wasn’t me; God showed up.”

C. Mission Momentum (v 17)

Luke 7:17 KJV

17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

Word Snapshot  • λόγος = report/word; living tradition.  • Redundant ἐν + πάσῃ underline unlimited spread.

  “Report of a fact; a story well authorized. This rumor of him went forth throughout all Judea. Luke 7.” — Noah Webster, Noah Webster’s First Edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language. (Anaheim, CA: Foundation for American Christian Education, 2006).]

Hist‑Cult Aside Trade routes funneled news faster than scrolls; resurrection stories became the earliest gospel “podcast.”

Mercy is missional; every act of Christ births word about Christ.

Quote: “The gospel walks on the legs of wonder.” —Chappell 2021 

[EXP→ILL]

Miracles make missionaries.

A modern “God‑visit” that forged missionaries

“Prayer had already failed in every ordinary sense; so we prayed still.” — Hudson Taylor’s diary, China 1858

Taylor and his Chinese co‑worker, Pastor Zhu, laboured in Ningbo during a cholera outbreak. A widow brought her dying child, too weak even to drink rice water. With no medicine available, the men anointed the boy and begged God for mercy. Overnight the child revived and by dawn was eating congee. Word spread, fear lifted, and sceptics—who would not listen for months—now crowded Taylor’s yard asking, “Tell us about this Jesus who heals sons.” Within a year the first Ningbo house‑church formed; its earliest converts traced their interest to that unforgettable visitation. (Source: Taylor’s China Inland Mission papers, vol. 3.)

Notice carefully, that unlike our charismatic friends,

1) Taylor never promises repeatability; he attributes the outcome solely to God’s sovereign compassion.

2) The healing served gospel proclamation, not personal fame.

3) Witnesses documented verifiable fruit—lasting conversions and a local church.

Setting – Where were you?

Struggle – What was impossible?

Surprise – How did God act?

Shift – What changed in you?

[ILL→APP]

Share one “God‑visit” story before week’s end.

Church, biblical miracles were never ends in themselves; they were God’s way of turning gawkers into go‑ers. When He topples a wall around us or multiplies resources among us, He is not asking for applause—He is handing us a passport. So before this week ends, pass on one ‘God‑visit’ story. Someone’s faith may start where your wonder left off.

Personal Assignment (before next Sunday)

1) Reflect – Identify one moment when God unmistakably arranged, protected, or provided in your life.

2) Rehearse – Boil it down to a two‑minute “God‑visit” narrative:

3) Relate – Share that story with one neighbour, co‑worker, or classmate this week. Aim not to impress but to point to Christ.

Literary‑Echo Sheet — Elijah (1 Kgs 17), Elisha (2 Kgs 4), Naaman (2 Kgs 5), Sermon on Plain (Lk 6:20‑26)

Conclusion

From a roadside bier to an empty tomb, Luke 7 preaches that Jesus stops every procession headed for hopelessness and turns it around with a word of life.

Application Bank

• Imitate Christ’s interrupting compassion. 

• Anchor grief in resurrection hope. 

• Turn mercies seen into mercies proclaimed. 

• Live boldly yet humbly between first and final resurrections

“When Jesus Halts the Hearse”

We have walked with two processions—one brimming with life around the Lord, the other weighted with loss behind a widow. At Nain’s gate we saw Compassion converge as Christ’s heart met human heartbreak; we watched Command break death’s grip with a word; and we heard Confession burst into worship as the crowd declared, “God has visited His people.” These movements drive one proposition: When Jesus intersects our funeral marches, His living word reverses the irreversible and recruits us to publish God’s visitation.

So, church family, the next time grief slow‑walks you to a graveside—literal or figurative—remember that the same voice that raised the boy at Nain has already called, “Young man, young woman, arise!” and will one day sound over every tomb. Let reverent awe rise with our tears, turning mourning into morning and fear into mission.

“Made like Him, like Him we rise, Ours the cross, the grave, the skies!” — Charles Wesley, Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

[EXP→ILL] Mercy met a widow; [ILL→APP] let mercy move through us this week.

Homiletical Recap

• Compassionate Convergence – Christ sees and feels before He speaks.

• Commanding Christ – One sovereign word neutralizes death.

• Corporate Confession – Experienced grace must go public.

• Proposition – When Jesus halts the hearse, resurrection hope becomes our evangelistic headline.

• Response – Interrupt someone’s sorrow with gospel‑shaped compassion and tell the story of God’s visitation.

Not long after healing the centurion’s servant, Jesus and a large crowd meet a funeral procession at the gate of Nain. The deceased is a young man—the only son of a widowed mother—whose loss leaves her utterly alone. Moved with deep compassion, Jesus tells her not to weep, steps forward, touches the bier, and commands, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” Instantly the dead man sits up and begins talking, and Jesus tenderly returns him to his mother. Awe sweeps over everyone as they praise God, declaring that a great prophet has appeared and that God Himself has visited His people; news of the miracle spreads throughout Judea and the surrounding region.