Help for Broken Hearts

“Help for Broken Hearts”

.

When our hearts are broken over our own loss, or over the loss of the people we love; we wonder what comfort God has for grieving, brokenhearted people, and what hope we have for life after death. Luke answers these questions by telling us what Jesus did for a mother who suffered the tragic loss of her only son. In this story we see the love of Jesus, the power of Jesus, and the future Jesus has for those who know him.

We are told the day after Jesus had healed the centurion’s servant in Capernaum, Jesus and his disciples travel some 25 miles south to the small town of Nain. This is a small town off the beaten path, at the end of a dead-end road. When Tess and I went to Israel; we drove by the road that leads to the city of Nain; and the tour guide simply pointed down the road, and said; that is the road to the city of Nain, we didn’t even bother to stop there.

But that’s not what Jesus did; Jesus traveled a day’s journey to the city of Nain, because he had an appointment at the gate of that city.

As Jesus was going into the city; he met a sad procession coming out of the city, it was a funeral.

According to the custom of that time, the dead were buried outside the city, usually at twilight on the same day they died.

Archaeologists have discovered, many tombs in the rocks along the road leading to Nain. There were on the way to those tombs to bury this young man.

We’re told that there were a lot of people with this mother as she made her way to bury her son. Get the picture in your mind; there would be musicians playing a mournful dirge on their flutes. There would be professional mourners, women who weep and wailed as a public expression of grief. Many of the town’s people were there to pay their last respects.

As we picture the scene, we are reminded of the tragedy of the human condition. We ourselves have gone out to bury our loved ones; not walking out of the city; but driving in a long line of cars behind the hearse. This is a sorrow that we will all experience; and it is all because of sin!

God gave us life, but we chose to sin, and in choosing sin, we have come under judgment. If there had never been sin, then there would have never been death, or funerals, or tears, or broken hearts. But because of sin, we have death!

-“Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”.

This is the source of all of our sorrow and broken hearts.

Martin Luther said, ”When you hear of death, you must not only think of the grave, and the horrible manner in which life is separated from the body, and how the body is destroyed, but you must think of the cause by which man is brought to death… Namely sin and the wrath of God on account of sin”

As Jesus watch this sad procession, he was witnessing the consequences of man’s sin, which is death, and the sorrow it brings with it.

As Jesus made his way into the town here is what he would see: This sad funeral procession, walking out in front by herself would be this widow woman who had just lost her son; because in those days it was customary for the family to proceed the deceased, and in this case, she was the only one left. Behind her would be her dead son wrapped in a burial shroud and lying on a flat open stretcher, with sides on it, being carried on the shoulders of his friends. This is the saddest funeral that anyone could ever imagine! This woman was a widow; she had been down this road before to bury her husband.

Now she is grieving again, with the death of her son, she has no one to protect her or to provide for her. In that culture it meant that she would have to survive off of the charity of others, or die.

The death of this young man, and the sorrow of this grieving mother, would have been just another sad, forgotten tragedy, if it were not for one great fact: when the widow was going out of the city to bury her son; she met Jesus on the way into the city, and that meeting changed everything! What can we learn from this encounter with Jesus and this grieving widow?

There are three great assurances found in this story for us when we are broken hearted. When your heart is broken; number one be assured of:

1. The Great Love of Jesus!

V:13-“And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, weep not”.

When the Lord Jesus saw her situation, his heart went out to her; Luke uses the strongest word possible to describe Jesus compassion for her. Jesus loved her with all his heart. Jesus was sensitive to this woman’s sorrow; he knew that she was alone in the world, with no husband and no children. She was losing her only son, and she was now in a helpless condition.

Why did Jesus go to the city of Nain anyway? Because he loved that lady, and was there to show his love to her, and do a miracle for her.

Does the timing of Jesus ever amaze you?

Think about it, if Jesus had arrived two minutes earlier, he would have passed through the gate of the city and missed the funeral procession. If he arrived two minutes later, the funeral would have already gone through the gate to the tomb. Was this just a coincidence? Or did Jesus deliberately plan to meet this funeral procession at the gate of that city?

I want you to know that Jesus is always on time!

Jesus operated on a divine timetable; many times Jesus revealed he knew the future.

· I must needs go through Samaria.

· My time has not yet come.

· He knew Lazarus would die, and he would raise him from the dead.

· I must go up to Jerusalem; it cannot be that prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.

This exposes the false teaching of open theism; that says God does not infallibly know nor sovereignly plan the future. That is heresy; Jesus as God, knew the future, and acted in such a way that God’s plan was always accomplished.

Jesus traveled 25 miles from Capernaum and showed up at the gate of the city of Nain at the exact moment that the funeral procession was passing through the gate.

If you feel like Jesus is late in meeting you at your point of need; I want to remind you that Jesus is never late!

The great love of the Lord Jesus for this poor widow woman brought him there.

V:13-“When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said under her, weep not”.

This is how Jesus always response to people with broken hearts!

· Mary and Martha at the tomb of Lazarus.

· The people of Jerusalem.

· His mother at the cross.

Jesus cares for you the same way; if you feel like no one knows what you’re going through, and no one really cares about you. I want you to know this morning that Jesus knows all about your situation; and Jesus sees you, and Jesus loves you! And this story is in this gospel that you might know the compassion of Jesus when your heart is broken.

The same Lord Jesus who reached out to the widow of Nain, reaches out to us when we feel helpless in the face of death.

Think about it, the God of the universe; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has deep compassion and love for people in pain. He remembers our losses, he knows our suffering, and he hears our cries of anguish.

I want you to know we have a merciful and faithful high priest in heaven-JESUS; who is touched by what touches us, and he is praying for us.

The love and compassion of Jesus Christ for you is a real! -“His compassions fail not, they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness”

We can go to the Lord Jesus with our troubles and sorrows and know that He loves us!

And when we experience the compassion and love of Jesus for ourselves, we are called to share it with others.

-“God comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in affliction…

The comfort we receive is a comfort we are called to give, and in giving comfort we are following the example of Jesus. This means noticing people in pain, grieving parents, lonely widows, the chronically ill, and anyone else who is suffering.

What a difference it makes when people who are suffering meet Jesus on the way!

We can be used by Jesus to meet people who are suffering and hurting and show them the Savior who died for them, who lives for them and loves them. Jesus walked up to this widow and said to her, V:13-”weep not”

We are not told what this woman thought when Jesus said that to her. She may have thought, who are you, and why shouldn’t I cry, my only son has died. Jesus didn’t just tell her not to weep, he’s going to give her reason not to weep.

People who are broken hearted, who have something to cry about should go ahead and cry.

When your heart is broken, you can be assured #1 of the great love of Jesus for you!

When your heart is broken; #2 be assured of:

2. The Divine Power of Jesus!

V:14-15.

After Jesus speaks to this mother, he does the unspeakable; he goes over and touches the bier that the young man is laying on. And were told that those who were carrying the young man’s body stood still; you better believe they stood still. The people were shocked by what Jesus did, because according to the Law of Moses, touching the place of the dead made him unclean. But Jesus is the Lord of life, and cannot be corrupted or contaminated by death.

On the contrary, Jesus has a divine power to keep death in its place!

What you have taken place here in the gate of this city, is not only two crowds meeting, and two only sons meeting; you have two enemies meeting.

Jesus the Lord of life, faces death the last enemy; who will win? When there’s a collision between life and death, who walks away? When the funeral procession met Jesus, Jesus had the power to stop death in his tracks. Jesus put his hand on this coffin, as if to say, death, you have come this far, but you will go no further. Then as the crowd was watching, and the pallbearers waiting, Jesus spoke to this dead young man, V:14-“young man, I say unto you, arise”. When Jesus spoke to this dead young man; the people must have been thinking this guy is crazy! He’s talking to a dead guy!

Who can speak to dead men and they hear and receive life?

· Not Mohammed- he is dead.

· Not Confucius- he is gone.

· Not Harry Krishna-he is buried.

· Not Buddha- he is sealed in a tomb.

Only the Lord Jesus can speak to dead people and they come to life! When Jesus spoke, the dead obeyed, and this young man sat up, he was raised from the dead.

This is a visible demonstration of the divine power of Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke the word, and his word had such power that this young man came back to life. If you will hear the word of Jesus, the word of Jesus will give you life! Jesus commanded this young man’s spirit to reenter into his body and this young man came back to life. The prince of life is stronger than a king of Terrors! Jesus raised three people from the dead in the Gospels: this young man, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus.

What is the message in these resurrections?

First, Jesus has power over death; and as Jesus raised these people from the dead, Jesus himself would raise from the dead. But unlike these people, Jesus received a glorified body, and never died again.

Second, Jesus is the giver of not only physical life, he is the giver of spiritual life. The Bible teaches us before we come to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord, you are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. You are separated from God. This young man’s physical condition; represents the spiritual condition of all people who have not receive life through Jesus Christ. If you do not know Jesus as your personal savior, you are just as dead spiritual as this young man was dead physically. Every person needs spiritual life that comes through Jesus. No matter your outward condition; you are dead in sin if you are not saved.

· The daughter of Jarius.

She was a 12-year-old girl who was sick at home and had died just before Jesus got there. And he raised her from the dead.

· The widow of Nain’s son.

This young man was on the way to the grave and Jesus stopped the procession by raising him from the dead.

· Lazarus.

The little girl had only been dead a few hours, the young man had not yet been buried. In both of those cases no decay. But Lazarus has been dead for four days by the time Jesus raised him from the dead. Decay had said it, his sister said Lord he stinks.

Which of these three people was the most dead?

You say will dead is dead; that’s right. There are degrees of life; but there are no degrees of dead! There is no such thing as being a little dead, or more dead, or severely did; dead is dead.

The point is this: sometimes we see people who are outwardly decayed by sin, they’re living in filth, and the stench of sin is on them; and we turn up our nose and say my, my, what a terrible dead sinner.

But the person sitting here this morning all dressed up and looking great, if you do not have the life of Jesus, you’re just as dead as the guy in the gutter wallowing in his own vomit. Dead is dead! You may be here sitting on a church pew, you have never touched drugs or alcohol; but without Jesus Christ your dead in trespasses and sins and headed for hell! Every person on this earth must receive spiritual life, eternal life from Jesus!

And there’s nothing I can do, or anyone else can do, to give you spiritual life!

Our nation is spending billions of dollars on programs to raise people from the spiritual dead, and it’s not working!

Setting an example for a dead man will not give him life. Encouraging a dead man will not give him life. Changing the environment of a dead man would not give him life.

Educating a dead man would not give him life.

These are not the answers, a spiritual dead person needs life that comes only from the Lord Jesus Christ! Hearing and receiving the word of God, and placing your faith in Jesus Christ is what brings spiritual life!

-“The words I speak their spirit and their life”. Jesus spoke to this young man and he received life.

The word of God speaks to your heart telling you that you are a sinner, convicting you of your lost condition, bringing repentance into your heart; granting you faith; and when you exercise that faith and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ a supernatural miracle takes place, and you are spiritually resurrected, given new life from Lord Jesus!

-“And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins”.

If you don’t have spiritual life pulsating in your heart this morning; this is your greatest need!

Just as Jesus raised this young man from the dead physically; he can raise you from the dead spiritually; whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, given new life.

When your heart is broken; #3 be assured of:

3. The Wonderful Future of Jesus!

V:15-“And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother”.

What Jesus did for this young man and his mother, he will do for all the dead in Christ one day. This is the hope of every believer! Through the crucifixion of Jesus we have forgiveness for our sins, and through the resurrection of Jesus Christ we have eternal life. When we die, our soul leaves our body and goes to be with the Lord, but one day Jesus will raise our bodies from the dead.

And our spirits will rejoin our bodies and we will be reunited with our loved ones.

The greatest joy of heaven will be seeing Jesus our Savior face-to-face! But one of the secondary blessings of heaven will be seeing our loved ones once again!

Jesus raised this young man and delivered him, to his mother; what a beautiful, wonderful reunion that must have been!

This is a great picture of the happy reunion we will have in heaven; the reunion of every believer in Christ! -“An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out”.

We have a wonderful future because we know the Lord Jesus; the resurrection and the life!

Jesus interrupts the procession to the graveyard; Jesus interrupts every procession to the graveyard for saved people. No, Jesus didn’t raise my mother up when we cared her body to the graveyard; but he touched the heart of my family with hope and assurance that one day he will raise her from the dead, and I will see her again! -“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live”. One day Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes; and we will enjoy his presence, and the presence of those we love for all of eternity.

One day the last enemy; death will be destroyed! Death is not the end for the child of God; one day there will be a resurrection; and a reunion!

-“the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, and the dead in Christ will race first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words”.

When the young man was given life by Jesus, he sat up and began to speak. When your raise from the spiritual dead, you have something to say, you testify.

I wonder what he said? Put me down, mom you look tired, I’m hungry, who are these people?

You can’t believe where I’ve been!

If your heart is broken today, because of the death of someone you love dearly; Jesus promises you a wonderful future with that person if you know him as your Savior!

Notice how the people respond to Jesus raising this young man from the dead, V:16-17-Read.

Fear grips their hearts, their mouths fall open, they’re shocked, alarmed; a sense of awe falls on them. After all a dead man has been brought back to life!

They begin to glorify God, saying that God has visited his people. They responded with a sense of worship for what they had witnessed! They began to glorify, honor, magnify, and give God the glory that’s due his name.

There is a holy reference for what Jesus has done, they recognize that the dead could only be raised by the power of God.

They praised Jesus; they said he was a great prophet, they do not yet know that he was the son of God, but they could not deny his power and that he was a great prophet. This is the same language that was used to describe Elisha who was the last prophet to raise the dead back in second Kings, 1000 years earlier.

It had been 1000 years since anyone in Israel had witnessed this kind of miracle. And just over the hill from Nain, was the village of Shunem, where Elisha had raised a little boy from the dead. It is amazing how the stories of the Old Testament pointed us to and prepare us for the ministry of the Lord Jesus. It’s as if one divine author wrote this whole book!

God had visited his people again; in raising the dead, and they were full of praise to God!

We too should be full of praise to God this morning for visiting us in the person of his son Jesus Christ! Who died on the cross for our sins, and was raised for our justification. We gather on Sunday, the very day that Jesus was raised from the dead, we come before God in worship, for spiritual life, and the hope of eternal life. These people but only worshiped; but they witnessed!

V:17-“And this rumor of him went throughout all Judea, and throughout all the region round about”.

The gift of resurrection life is far too wonderful to keep to ourselves. When the people of Nain saw someone come back to life, they could not possibly keep it a secret! They want to tell everybody they saw and knew what they had witnessed. So it is with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and our own salvation, or at least it should be.

When we know that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave on the third day, we want everyone to know about it!

Word needs to get out from Crossway Baptist Church, that Jesus raises people from the spiritual dead!

When was the last time you told someone about Jesus and his resurrection? When is the last time you told someone that Jesus raised you from the spiritual dead; and gave them your testimony?

Everyone needs to know that through faith in Jesus Christ they can have spiritual life; and that there is life after death; the dead will rise to everlasting glory one day! There is coming a day when Jesus will say to the dead, arise!

Jesus loves you today; Jesus has the power to raise you from the spiritual dead if you will hear his voice, and respond to him today. Child of God there is a wonderful future for those of us who know the Lord Jesus, this is heaven’s help for broken hearts.