 Hope
in a Fallen World
Luke 7:11-17
Rev. Jeff Suhr
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
Disclaimer:
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