Hope in a Fallen World

Introduction
I will never forget the first time I attended a funeral. One of the college students at our church died in a car accident when I was in high school. He was immensely popular and loved by all. His death was a huge jolt to our community. I will never forget his funeral because there were many firsts for me. It was at his funeral where I first saw what grief looked like as I embraced the sonless mother. It was at his funeral where I first heard what wailing sounded like as a myriad of voices cried out for comfort. It was at his funeral where I first came to the sober realization that life in this fallen world is often painful. There is nothing more sobering than a funeral. A funeral has a tendency to focus all of our spiritual senses on the reality and promises of God’s Word. And if there’s one resounding Biblical truth that both Christian and non-Christian walk away with, it is this: we live in a fallen world.

In today’s narrative, Jesus encounters death for the first time in Luke’s Gospel. During one of his journeys, Jesus comes across a funeral procession—a funeral procession for a widow’s only son. There are a few things we can focus on in our passage. We can talk about the role of compassion in the Christian life. We can talk about the important task of ministering to widows in the church. We can talk about the parallels that exist between Jesus and the prophet Elijah, remembering that Elijah too brought back to life the son of a widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 17). But today, I want to focus on the big picture. I want to focus on the significance of this miracle in light of God’s over-arching history of redemption, and I will do so with three main points.

The Widow
First, we must understand that the widow carries great significance in the Bible. You’ll notice that much attention is given to the widow throughout the Old Testament. This is quite surprising since the widow comprises a relatively small demographic in Israel. The reason why the widow appears quite often in the Old Testament is because the widow was one of the most destitute, dependent, and vulnerable classes of Israelite society. To be a widow was to be completely dependent upon others for provision and daily sustenance. Under the Israelite theocracy, it was through your husband that you received the inheritance of the land. It was through your husband that you gained financial security. It was through your husband that you received physical sustenance. Unlike today in which the modern woman has the freedom to work and to care for herself, the Israelite woman could not provide for herself in such a way. Women were totally dependent upon men for their physical well-being. As a result, the worst thing to happen to a woman was for her to lose her husband. If she lost her husband, she was left in the most vulnerable and destitute of conditions.

As a result, the Old Covenant law protected the widow and made provisions for her. For example, in Deuteronomy 24, there are regulations that prevent the Israelite from harvesting their fields more than once. Why? So that whatever remained in the harvest after the first pass would then be given to the destitute of society which included the widow. The first harvest was for the land-owner. The remaining harvest was given to the widow. She was left completely dependent, then, upon the graciousness of the landowners and their obedience to the law. What a precarious state this must have been—to be dependent upon others who do not know you, who have no vested interest in you, other than the provisions made by God’s commands!

This vulnerable and destitute state can be attributed to only one thing: the reality of death. Death totally changed the widow’s life. Death totally changed her outlook, her financial security, even her identity. No longer was she known as Mrs. So-and-so, but as the one who lost her husband. If anyone could testify to the reality of the fall, it would be the widow. From her grieving and broken heart, to her collecting the remainder of a landowner’s harvest, her life was a living testimony that this world is fallen.

And in our passage, this message of the fallenness of this world is compounded and multiplied to the nth degree. The widow in our passage had not only lost her husband, but she has also lost her only son. Talk about a tragic figure! Talk about a figure who is surrounded by death. It is one thing to have to bury your husband. It is quite another to have to bury your only son. As a result, the widow of our passage stands as a symbol—a symbol of just how fallen and cursed this world is. She is a visual aid, if you will, of just how fallen and hopeless this passing evil age is.

But you don’t have to be a widow to understand that this world is fallen. I am sure that all of us here can readily testify that we live in a fallen and cursed world. Babies are born addicted to drugs. Helpless children are abused and kidnapped. Natural disasters destroy homes and thousands of lives. Terrorism and war fill the pages of our newspapers every day. Lives are lost to drunk driving and senseless accidents. Couples grieve over miscarriages and infertility. Yes, this world is definitely fallen. And Luke presents to us in vivid colors this tragic widow in order to hammer this point home.

The Kingdom of God
This brings us, then, to the 2nd point of my sermon. If the widow represents what it is like to live in this fallen world, then Jesus Christ represents the intrusion of the age to come. Jesus represents the arrival of a new world order. He represents the arrival of the kingdom of God. Indeed, what we have here in our scene is the clashing of two ages.

In our passage, we see that Jesus has come to deliver His people out of this world that is fallen and passing away. He came to usher us into a country whose builder and foundation is God. He has come so that we may have a better home, so that we can call heaven our home.

We must understand that Jesus does not raise the son from the dead just for the sake of showing off his divine powers. He doesn’t do it simply to wow the crowd. Rather, he raises the son to life in order to communicate the nature and character of His kingdom. We must always remember that Jesus continuously talks about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God was the central theme of his ministry. Whether it be through his parables, his sermons, and even his miracles, he is always talking about the kingdom of God. If he heals people of their disease, it’s because there is no disease in the kingdom of God. If he feeds 5,000 with a couple loaves of bread and fish, it’s because he is the manna of God’s kingdom. If he raises the dead, it’s because there is no death in the kingdom of God.

Jesus is not simply a miracle worker. No, he has come to perform much more than miracles. He has come to deliver his people from the hopelessness and cruelty of this fallen world. He has come to deliver his people from the clutches of sin and death, and to usher in a kingdom that is imperishable and everlasting. In the resurrection of the widow’s son, Jesus demonstrates that in his kingdom there is no death, no suffering, no heartache, and no goodbyes.

Jesus, the Curse-bearer
Finally, our passage makes one third and final point. It not only tells us about the nature of this fallen world. It not only tells us about the nature of God’s kingdom. But it also teaches us about how Jesus was able to deliver us from this fallen world. You see, it took more than simply an act of power on Christ’s part for him to bring in God’s kingdom. Unlike Genesis 1 and 2, it took more than simply a spoken word to deliver us from sin.

Notice how Luke makes it a point to tell us that Jesus came up and “touched the coffin.” This act is quite peculiar because of two reasons. First, touching the coffin did not seem to play a role in the son’s healing. Jesus healed the boy not with his hands but with the power of his Word, much like the Centurion’s dying slave in the previous passage. The widow’s son came back to life after Jesus declared with his lips, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” Touching the coffin does not seem to play a role in the son’s healing.

In addition, touching the coffin violated the Old Covenant law. The ceremonial law clearly commanded against coming into contact with the dead. The books of Numbers and Leviticus declare that all those who come into contact with the dead, or even things of the dead, will become ceremonially unclean. Yet Jesus purposely disregards these ordinances and touches the coffin. What is more, instead of covering up Jesus’ apparent guffaw, Luke records it for his readers!

In light of these two reasons, we must ask what compelled Jesus to touch the coffin. It was an unnecessary act that violated the ceremonial law. I believe Jesus was hinting at how he would deliver us from this fallen world and free us from the effects of sin. He was foreshadowing the cross. In order to deliver us from the curse of sin, He had to first bear the curse of sin in our place. In order to deliver us who are unclean before God, Jesus had to first become unclean in our place. As a result, by touching the coffin of the widow’s son, Jesus was identifying Himself with the widow’s son, declaring to the world that He will one day die and “be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Oh wonder of wonders, it is not through God’s might and power that He delivered us from the clutches of this world but through the frailty of His Son.

Conclusion
There’s a word that I learned in college that I hear more often as I get older. It is the word “jaded.” More and more I meet people who are jaded by this world. I see people whose hearts have become hardened over time, heart that have been hardened by years and years of frustration and disappointment—a struggling marriage, financial difficulty, rebellious children, to name a few. It comes out in their cynicism. It comes out in their dark countenance. They’ve resigned themselves to the belief that there is no joy in life.

Perhaps you are one of them. You look back and notice that a younger you was much more happy and joyful than you are today. Sighs have replaced laughter. Cynicism has replaced joy. Drudgery has replaced hope. You have become a shadow of your former self. Like the widow, perhaps your life is a clear testimony of the effects of the fall. Perhaps your life is full of heartache, injustice, and disappointment.

Well, I have good news for you. The only antidote, the only hope we have from becoming jaded like the rest of this world is to know what Jesus Christ has done for us. The only way you and I can break free from the miseries of this life is if we are able to believe, understand, and should I dare say experience the blessings of the age to come. We must always keep in mind that in addition to the reality of the cross is the reality of the resurrection! By faith, you and I are seated with Christ in the heavenly places and are given access to the spiritual blessings of God’s kingdom. We are able to approach the throne of grace and commune with our Lord to our heart’s delight and satisfaction. It is in heaven where we find the storehouses of God’s blessings. It is in heaven where we experience the abundance of God’s love. And it is towards heaven that God beckons us to seek and enjoy each day. Yes, our experience of heaven may be limited and partial this side of glory, but it is real and refreshing nevertheless.

Oh brothers and sisters, let us rejoice in our heavenly hope. Let us remember that as painful and disappointing as life is “under the sun,” we have been given a new life in God’s Son. As a result, let us continue to persevere through this pilgrim journey with hope and may our lives be living testimonies that Jesus Christ has indeed ushered in the kingdom of God.

Rev. Jeff Suhr
Pastor
New Life Mission Church Cerritos

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