A Passage for People in Pain

Let's pray together. Father, we are grateful for the one true fact that you truly are the eternal king of the universe and we can worship you, we can know you, we can honor you, we can love you, we can serve you because of your great grace toward us. Today, Lord, as we have the opportunity to study once again the glorious gospel, I pray that you'd open our eyes to see you and thus worship you in all of your glory. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Luke chapter 7, Luke chapter 7.

And as we study this wonderful story today in Luke 7, we will see that this account is the only record in scripture of what takes place in a little city called Nain. No other gospel records what Luke records in Luke 7 verses 11 to 17. It is unique to his gospel and therefore it becomes very powerful for us to understand why it is Luke records this story in this section, and why it is it's important to all of what Luke is trying to portray to us as Jesus Christ in all of his glory, the one who was deity, the one who was human, who was completely God and completely man.

And so we begin to see that Christ preached the greatest sermon ever preached, and upon preaching that great sermon no record of any conversions is recorded. And so Christ leaves that hillside there in Galilee, makes his way to Capernaum, and there was a man named, well we don't know his name, but he was a centurion. He had a slave who was very sick to the point of death. And this man had the greatest faith in all of Israel. He was a Roman centurion, and Christ made a unique effort to point out how great this man's faith was compared to all the people he had known in Israel.

This man who had great faith experienced the healing of his young servant. And now we come to a place called Nain. It's 20 miles from Capernaum. It happens soon after the account in Capernaum. We don't know how long after the account in Capernaum. It just says, and soon after that account. We come to a woman who has absolutely no faith. From one man who has the greatest of all faith to a woman with no faith. To a man whose servant was almost dead to a woman whose son was completely dead. And the woman with no faith experienced something that was absolutely incredible, never before seen by these people.

And that was a resurrection. The very first record of the resurrections of Christ. There were three of them. There was this one in Nain. There was another in Luke 8, in Jairus' daughter. And then in John chapter 11, of course, Lazarus. But this becomes the first one.

So the question comes, why is it our Lord would take all these people? Remember, there were thousands of them on the hillside. Thousands of them that followed him to Capernaum and heard the story about this centurion. And he had the greatest of all faith. No one in all of Israel had faith like this man had. And so soon after that account, we find ourselves in a city called Nain. Why would Christ track all these people, thousands of them, some 20 miles to a little village, a little city called Nain?

What did he have in store? What was going to happen? Why does Luke record this next? Why is it Luke is the only one who records this story? It's a powerful story, but he is the only one who records it. And it emphasizes the fact, the fact of what Jesus will say when he comes to Luke chapter 16, verse number 31. They have Moses and they have the prophets, yet they will not believe the one be raised from the dead. You see, Jesus wants you to understand, he's the greatest preacher of all. And he can preach the greatest gospel message and nobody come to saving faith.

He can give you an illustration of somebody who embodies the greatest sermon ever preached in Luke 6, and that is a Roman centurion. And this man had the greatest of all faith. And he can talk to this great multitude about the one man who had the greatest faith in all of Israel. And no one in that crowd wonder why it is they don't have faith like that. And then he moves us some 20 miles from Capernaum to a little city called Nain to show us that even though he raises somebody from the dead, people still will not believe.

They won't. Nain is a little village. About 200 people live there today. Those of you who have gone with us on our journeys of Jesus have visited that city. Nobody goes to that city. We do. Nobody goes because there's nothing there. But yet what happened there is paramount to the ministry of Christ. So when we make our way through the Jezreel Valley to that little village called Nain where nobody really of any prominence lives, there's no hallmark there. We know that what took place in that village is something that explains to us the greatness of our God.

So as Luke unfolds for us the story, we will notice at least three things about our God. His providence, his presence, and his power. And with that, come to understand how it is Luke wants us to see how those attributes affect your life and mine. This passage is entitled A Passage for People Who Are in Pain. This is a passage that meets people where they are at the greatest pain they could ever face. There is no greater pain in all the world than the loss of an only son. How do we know that? We all experience pain, right?

And the pain we go through always seems to be the greatest of all pains. But how do we know that the greatest pain that one can face is the pain of losing your only son? We know that because that's what the Bible says.

So if the Bible says it, it must be true. No matter how great you think your pain is, there is no greater pain in all the world than to lose your only son. It becomes the hallmark of illustrations when the Lord God speaks of the pain that people experience. You can read about it in Zechariah chapter 12 verse number 10. You can read about it in Jeremiah 6 verse number 26. You can read about it in Amos 8 verse number 10. And so we find how it is our Lord meets us in our greatest hour of need. In the greatest pain that we can ever experience, our Lord meets us.

And he meets a woman who has no idea who he is. He meets a woman for all practical purposes, doesn't even care who he is. He meets a woman who has no faith, who does not believe in him. And yet he gives her the greatest gift he could give her, this side of eternity. He gives her back her son who has just died. Let me read to you the story and then we'll look at three principles this morning.

Luke 6 verse number 11. And it came about soon afterwards that he went to a city called Nain and his disciples were going along with him accompanied by a large multitude. Let me stop right there for a moment.

Now you remember this is a large group of people. These are his disciples. Some of them are true, some of them are not. But it's a large multitude of people. When the Bible gives us the number a large multitude, it is a large multitude. That's the best way I can define that for you. It's a lot of people. It's thousands of people. You can imagine Christ walking through this Jezreel Valley with thousands of people, thousands of followers, because he has something he wants them to see. He has something he wants them to experience.

To show you that no matter how great the miracle, people still will not believe. Even though they see it with their very own eyes. And there is no record of the woman whose son died coming to saving faith. There is no record of the son who died and rose again experience saving faith. None. It's not about them. It's about the Lord, see. And there's no book written 90 minutes in heaven by the boy who just died. Let me read on verse number 12.

Now as he approached the gate of the city, behold, the dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother. And she was a widow and a sizable crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he felt compassion for her and said to her, do not weep. And he came up and touched the coffin and the bearers came to a halt. He said, young man, I say to you, arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother and fear gripped them all. They began glorifying God, saying a great prophet has arisen among us and God has visited his people.

And this report concerning him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district. The first principle I want to share with you deals with the providence of God.

The second, the presence of God. The third, the power of God. First of all, the providence of God. It guarantees one major important thing for you and me. It guarantees his control over my destiny. The providence of God guarantees his control over my destiny. This is so important. Why is it our God would move all these people from Capernaum, take them a day to get there, 20 miles. You can probably walk 20 miles or 25 miles in a day. So they'd have to leave fairly early in the morning to get to where they were going.

God had a purpose. God had a plan. Remember, Jews don't bury people the next day. They bury them on the day they die. So when the Lord left that morning, the boy was not yet dead, but he would die as the Lord would make his journey to the city of Nain. Once dead, they don't embalm Jewish bodies. They wrap them in spices. And so the boy would die. They would wrap him in spices. They would put him on a stretcher. Bible I know says a coffin, but it was like a large plank. And they would begin to make their way out of the city at the exact same time our Lord would approach the city.

Folks, this is the providence of God. What took place happened in Galilee. If it happened in Judea, the woman would be at the back of the procession. But because that happens in Galilee, the woman is at the front of the procession and the mourners are behind her. That's very important because she is leading the way toward the cemetery. Jesus is leading the multitude toward the city. And so Jesus and the woman will meet outside the city gate. Why is it the woman would lead? Because according to Jewish history, one author notes that women who brought death into the world ought to lead the way in the funeral procession.

And that's why she was leading. And the one who is the God of life would meet her as she would lead her son who is dead out of the city. If the Lord would have been late, just a few minutes late, he would have missed her. If he'd have been early or came the day before, her son would not yet have been dead. And so we realize that our Lord in his providence came at the right time, at the right moment. Our Lord is never too late. Our Lord is never too early. He is always on time. That's what we call the providence of God.

Define this way. God's providence is his superintending control over all human action and events to affect his predetermined purpose. In other words, he takes all natural events and orchestrates them perfectly to affect his purpose. This is a staggering attribute of our God, the providence of God. Let me illustrate it to you this way.

Proverbs chapter 16, verse number nine says, the mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Don't think for one moment that you have a plan for your summer vacation where God does not direct your steps. Oh, he does. Don't think for one moment that you have a financial plan for your future, because God directs your steps. Proverbs 16, 33 says it this way, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. The lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord.

You've heard it many times over in Acts chapter one, that when disciples cast lots and it fell on Matthias and he became the one to replace Judas, people say, well, they should have waited because that one to replace Judas should have been the apostle Paul. Oh, not on your life. Don't even go there, because our Lord wanted Matthias to place, replace Judas among the 12 apostles. You see, God is in complete control of everything. God is into the details of life. We don't think he is, but he is. Every detail of your life is under his complete control.

The Bible says, in Amos chapter three, verse number six, these words, if a calamity occurs in a city, has not the Lord done it?

Now we don't like those kinds of verses, but that's the truth. God's in complete control of everything. The winds, the waves, everything. When fires sweep across our nation because it's hot and there's a Santa Ana condition, do you think for one moment that God's not in charge of the wind? When the floods have overtaken the Midwest like they have, do you think our Lord is not in charge of the rising waters? Where do we stand theologically? On the providence of almighty God. He's either in charge of everything or he's in charge of nothing.

Let me read to you these verses. Jeremiah chapter 29. You know this verse. Verse number 11, for I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. As God speaks to Israel, he tells them he has a plan for them. Did God come about that plan as a result of their captivity or did God always have that plan before they ever existed? God says, some of your translations says, I know the thoughts I have towards you.

You see, God doesn't just think up a thought because there was something he didn't know and now he knows it and think to himself, that's a good idea. Maybe I'll try that on them. No, God doesn't think up a thought. God always has the right thought because the thought that was thought way back when. You see, God never has to remember anything because God never forgets anything. And so he doesn't have to remember.

He knows. That's what omniscience is. God knows everything. No one has taught him something. No one explains something to him. Nobody gives him information or gives him counsel so he can make a better decision down the road because he didn't make as good one in the past. No, God knows everything. That's why in Isaiah 55, verse number 11, he says that when my word goes forth, it goes forth to accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. So when God's word goes out, it has a purpose. And it will always accomplish that exact purpose.

Listen to the words of Isaiah in Isaiah chapter, I'm sorry, yeah, Isaiah 46, verse number 9. The Lord says, Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there was no other. I am God and there was no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure, calling the bird of prey from the east, the man of my purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken. Truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it. Surely I will do it. The Lord declares the beginning from the end because he has a purpose, because he has a plan. There is a new man-made theology sweeping the country. It's called open theism, the openness of God. And many, not just some, many theologians and many churches believe this. And that is that God does not know all that's going to happen. And so therefore he makes decisions as time progresses. Folks, that's blasphemous. That's absolute heresy. God knows everything. And not because somebody told him.

It's because he plans everything. Read Psalm 139, verses 1 to 5. It speaks of your existence, how you were formed. You look like you look because that's the way God wants you to look. Accept it. Okay? You are the way you are because that's what God wants for you. Accept it. But we fight against it constantly. God's in complete control of all things. And he was in control of this event. It was prearranged in eternity past. Because God is going to give you what you need only at the moment he thinks it's time for you to have it.

And so this woman, experiencing a great amount of pain, loses her only son, is in great turmoil. And now she is leading him out of the city in complete despair, realizing she has nothing else left. Why? Because she has lost her only son. To lose your only son is to lose your future. If you have one son, the only opportunity for your name to continue is through that son. If he dies, your family has no future. And she has no future. Nothing. It's her only son. Her husband's already dead. That's why she's called a widow.

She's a widow. She loses her only son. The only son is her provider. The only son is her protector. The only son is her means of support. She loses it all. And not only that, she loses the future of her family. Every Jewish woman longs for one thing. One son. Just one son. Remember Hannah way back in 1 Samuel? She wanted one son. Just one. It's all about the family name. It's all about the future of the family. It comes through the son. And the one she had, this woman, this widow, dies. And yet God knowing all that's going to happen, handles her turmoil.

Now remember, she has no faith. Remember, she has no idea that this is Jesus. She doesn't even know for all practical purposes who Jesus is. And so she meets him at a time that he himself has designed. Listen to the words of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. He says this, Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse number 14. I know that everything God does will remain forever. There is nothing to add to it, and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear him. Solomon says, I know that what God does remains forever.

It is set in stone. Nothing can alter what God does. Later he would say in the book of Ecclesiastes the 7th chapter, verse number 14, he would record these words. Ecclesiastes 7 verse number 14. Verse number 13. Consider the work of God for who is able to straighten what he has bent. In the day of prosperity be happy. In the day of adversity consider God has made the one as well as the other. He made them both. So that man may not discover anything that will be after him. In other words, Solomon says God has made the day of prosperity.

God has made the day of adversity. Realize that God has a straight path. No one can bend what God has made straight. And in that straight path is the day of adversity, the day of calamity, as well as the day of prosperity. And God has made them both so that you will never understand how it is God does it and why he does it. God never wants you to think you're in control. God never wants you to think that you know more than he does because you do not. He's in charge of everything. So Solomon earlier says in Ecclesiastes 3, I know that what God does remains forever.

It's solid. It's permanent. Nothing can alter what God has done. In fact, the Bible would say this in Psalm 33, 11, the counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. God's counsel stands. It cannot be changed. It says in Psalm 119 verses 90 and 91, your faithfulness endures to all generations. You establish the earth and it abides. They continue to stay according to your ordinances for all are your servants. In other words, all the heavens and all the earth is a servant of God.

And God has designed the heavens and earth to function as they do. And nothing about them will ever change because God's in charge. Acts 2 verse 24 says that the Lord God, Jesus Christ being delivered by the determined counsel and the foreknowledge of God, his own son was a predetermined part of his plan to come to earth, to die for your sins and mine. God does what he does and it remains forever. It cannot be altered. It cannot be changed. And he also says, Solomon does, nothing can be added to it or taken from it.

You know what that means? That means that whatever happens in your life, that nothing could be added to your life or nothing could be taken from your life that would make your life any better than it already is. Now you think about that. People say, well, if I hadn't lost my only son, things would be better. That's something that I lost. Oh, but Solomon says very clearly that nothing can be added to God's plan and nothing can be taken from his plan that will make your life any better than it already is.

Why? Because God has a perfect plan for your life. Book of Genesis, 18th chapter, as for God, his way is perfect. As for God, his way is perfect. I'm sorry, that's Psalm 18, verse number 30. Psalm 18, verse number 30, as for God, his way is perfect. Nothing can be added to God's plan that will make it better than it is and nothing can be taken away from God's plan to make it any better than it already is. Why? Because God's way is always perfect. Always perfect. Genesis 4, verse number 5 says, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born into the law.

Right? In other words, at the right time, the son of man did not come earlier or later. He came at the perfect time for Israel. The Bible says in Colossians 1, verse number 17, that God holds all things together by the power of his word.

Holds it all together because it's all a part of his plan. And why does God do all this? Solomon tells us he does it for a simple reason, that man should fear him. God does it so man will be in awe of who he is. And does not our story in Luke 7 say that great fear came upon the people in the city of Nain? And great fear came upon the multitude that was with him because they experienced something they had never seen with their own eyes. A resurrection. And great fear, phobos is the word in Luke 7, great fear came upon all of their lives.

And Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 3, that the reason God does this is that man will fear him. They'll come to realize that God is great, that God is awesome, that God is all powerful, that God has a perfect plan, nothing can be changed. He does it so that man will be totally captivated by the greatness of God. The providence of God guarantees his control over my destiny. Folks, we need to come to grips with that because there are events that have taken place in your life that you're having a hard time swallowing.

And there's going to be events that happen this week and next week and the next month and the next year that you're going to have a hard time digesting. But you've got to believe that the providence of God controls every aspect of your life. And you need to be able to understand what's taken place in Luke chapter 7, when all of a sudden this woman leading the procession comes face to face with Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth is six miles southeast of Nain, not too far away. And this woman would experience something from God that she could have never ever imagined.

The providence of God guarantees his control over my destiny. Number two, the presence of God guarantees his compassion for my infirmity.

The presence of God guarantees his compassion for my infirmity. Now think about that. God shows up, the text says, and the Lord saw her. Sometimes we wonder whether or not the Lord ever sees us. Somehow he's so busy handling everything else in the world that he doesn't see my pain, he doesn't see my infirmity, he doesn't see my difficulty, he doesn't see my adversity, because he's just too busy. But oh no, the Lord saw her. He went there specifically for her. He took all these people that they might see him in all of his glory.

And so nothing happened by accident, nothing happens by happenstance, it all happens by providence. Everything does. God's in charge. And so he sees her, he meets her at her point of greatest need, because the Lord is going to do something specifically for her, and she never even asks him. She never says a word. She doesn't ask, Lord help me. She doesn't cry out like the centurion said, Lord if you just speak the word, just say the word, and I know that my servant will be healed, because I'm a man of authority, and I know what it means to respond to those who are over you if you just speak the word.

I know my servant will be healed. The woman says nothing, nothing. But the Lord saw her, and the Lord met her in the midst of her greatest pain, and does something unique specifically for her. He wants to take care of her greatest need. She's a widow. She loses her only son. Luke accentuates her pain. He wants us to know that everything that she relied on is gone. She has nothing. Luke wants us to understand that in the humanity of Christ, he feels your loneliness. He feels your pain, because the Bible says that when the Lord saw her, he felt compassion for her.

Compassion for her. Splant nidzomai. It's a word that has the feeling of inner pain that seeks to relieve that person's pain. It does more than just feel the pain the person has. It sets to relieve the pain the person has. And that's our Lord. You read Psalm 103. Speaks all about the compassion of God. Read Judges chapter 10, how God had such great compassion for Israel. Read Exodus chapter 34, when God described himself to Moses, when he put him in a cleft of the rock and hid him so that he wouldn't see all of the glory of the Lord.

The Lord says, I am the Lord God who is compassionate. That's how he described himself. You see, Christianity is the only religion with a God who's compassionate. With a God who's a savior. With a God who's a deliverer. Because Christianity is the only religion with a true God. Every other God is not compassionate, because they're not the true God. They're a false God. And our Lord God is compassionate. He's a redeemer. He is a deliverer, because that's who he is. And he had compassion upon this woman in her great need.

That's why the Bible calls our Lord a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Do you think he doesn't know and understand your pain? Do you think he doesn't know and understand your turmoil? Do you think he doesn't understand and know and feel your rejection? Do you think he doesn't understand and know and feel your physical infirmities? Of course he does. That's why he became man and dwelt among us. So he could become the perfect sympathetic high priest. That's how Hebrews describes him. He is that perfect sympathetic high priest who knows exactly what it is you're facing, what exactly it is you're going through, and how it is you feel about what it is you're doing or not doing.

He knows. He knows this woman. She does not know him. He knows what she needs. She doesn't even have to speak a word. He knows this woman's pain. So what does he say? Does he go up and give her a hug? Say, here now, it's going to be okay. No. He says very emphatically, stop weeping. You ever been to a funeral with a woman who lost her only son and said, stop crying. Come on. It's not that big a deal. Stop weeping. See, he could say that because he knew what he was about to do. Right? He knew. Stop weeping.

Stop your crying. No need to cry anymore. None. Stop. Cease from weeping. Why? Because he was going to give her a glimpse of eternal glory. He was going to give her a glimpse of a time where there would be no more tears. He would give her a glimpse of a time where there would be no more crying, no more weeping, no more sorrow. Please remember that when Jesus Christ came, the reason he banished all disease and all illness from Israel was to give a picture to the people of what the kingdom will be like when he rules over it.

The perfect kingdom with a perfect king. And so he comes to reveal once again his kingship. To show her that he's in charge of everything. That he rules over all. She never says a word. She's too busy crying. She's too busy weeping. And all of a sudden, the Lord comes face to face with this woman amidst all of her pain, having seen her, feeling compassion for her, says, do not weep. Why? Because the presence of God guarantees his compassion for my infirmity. Guarantees it. Absolutely guarantees how it is.

He and he alone not only feels my infirmity because he's experienced firsthand my infirmity, but how he seeks to relieve the pain of that infirmity. And it comes, listen carefully, only because of his presence. The Bible says in Ephesians 2, he himself is our peace.

We go before the throne of grace in our time of need, Hebrews 4 tells us, that we might find grace and mercy during that great need. Doesn't guarantee that God is going to relieve or deliver us from our enemy or that God is going to take away the thing that caused the pain, but he does guarantee that because of who he is, his grace and mercy will be sufficient during my time of need. Because he's a compassionate God who seeks to relieve me of all my anxiety. And so our Lord comes to her, his presence guarantees his compassion for her infirmity because the providence of God guarantees his control over her destiny.

Just like he does for you and me, which leads us to the power of God. Listen carefully, which guarantees your claim and my claim to immortality. The power of God guarantees your claim and my claim to immortality. Let's know what the text says. And he came up and he touched the coffin. You can't do that because it's unclean. You can't touch anything that has a dead person on it or in it. You can't even touch the dead person. Book of Numbers, 19th chapter speaks about the unclean thing. And yet the book of Hebrews says that there's nothing in unclean about our Lord.

He's completely clean. So why does he touch the coffin? Because he was going to make that which is supremely unclean, absolutely clean again. That's why. So he comes up and he touches the coffin. He knows about the ceremonial defilement. He knows all about that. And he touches the coffin. And you can imagine what the disciples must be thinking. They have seen miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle, yet they've never seen anything like this before. This is completely new to him. This is to them.

This is the first. They've never seen a resurrection. So they don't know exactly what he's going to do. They have seen how he cast demons out of those who are possessed with demons. They have seen how he does supernatural events with fish and with loaves. They have seen supernatural things take place. They've seen those with mental illness healed, those almost dead not die. Yet they've yet to see a dead man raised. What must be going through their minds? What is our Lord thinking? What is he going to do?

So he touches the coffin and the bearers come to a halt. That's the authority of Christ. Instead of pushing him away, they come to a complete halt. Why? He said, young man, I say to you, arise. Wow, what power. Arise. The young man sits up and begins to speak. What did he say? I don't know. It doesn't make a difference what he said, does it? It doesn't make a difference if someone claims to have been dead and comes back to speak about it. It makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. It only makes a difference about who God is and what he says.

That's it. Young man, the simplicity of his words. Young man, arise. In Luke 8, maiden, arise. In John 11, Lazarus, come forth. That's it. That's all he says. The centurion said, just speak the word. Just speak the word and my servant will live. Christ speaks the word, his servant lives. Here he speaks the word, the young man arises. Remember what I told you earlier? They have Moses and the prophets. If they believe not them, they will not believe, though one be raised from the dead. It's the power of the word of God.

That's it. Young man, arise. The young man sits up. What did he say to his mother? What am I doing here? How come I'm all wrapped up in these spices? Get me out of here. What's going on, mom? We don't know what he says because it doesn't make a difference, does it? But the Lord gives him back to his mother. That's what it says. The Lord gave him back to his mother. Wow, what an incredible scene. But the power of God guarantees your claim and my claim to immortality. Because if Jesus can raise the dead, and if Jesus is God, and he is, and he raised himself from the dead, then there's a guarantee that I, too, will be raised from the dead.

But this is where the story gets really, really sad. You think it was sad when the woman's son died? Oh, no. That's not near as sad as what happens next. Listen.

It says, And fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited his people. Wow, wow, what a powerful statement. People say, Wow, that is amazing. God is so, God has visited his people. They began to glorify God. Great fear came upon those people. But it doesn't say that anybody got saved. It doesn't say that, does it? Now think with me for a moment. The Jewish people had longed for God to visit them. They had longed for God to visit them.

I mean, that's the longing. Go back to Exodus chapter 4, and it's an Old Testament phrase. It talks about when God comes among his people and does great acts among his people. You can read all throughout the Old Testament how God would visit his people. Though they hadn't seen an angel in 500 years, right, before Luke chapter 1. They had no recollection of all of God coming to man and speaking to him. There had been no prophet that had arisen in Israel that was so great that would speak for God. So they hadn't had a message from God in over 500 years.

And now all of a sudden, God has visited his people. God is among us. You think, Wow, isn't that great what they said? Remember Zacharias? In Luke chapter 1, Zacharias said these words. Zacharias said in verse 68 of Luke chapter 1, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited us and accomplished redemption for his people. Verse 78, because of the tend and mercy of our God, with which the sunrise, which is a term for the Messiah, from on high shall visit us, equating the Messiah with God himself.

That was Zacharias' song. And here the people cry out, God has visited us. The problem is they didn't recognize that Jesus was God. That's the problem. You see, there's a major flaw in their statement. They say a great prophet has risen among us. They did not say the great prophet has come down to us. Big, big difference. When Christ was in Caesarea Philippi, he said to his men, who do men say that I am? They said, well, some say you're Jeremiah. Others say you're Elijah. Most say you're what? One of the prophets.

Remember that? How do they come to that conclusion? Luke 7, because news went out about him around all the surrounding district, right? That a great prophet has risen among us. God has visited his people. God is so good to us, he has given us a prophet. Really? That's what the Mormons say. That's what the Muslims say. Jesus was the great prophet that had risen among us. But they don't say, as Deuteronomy 18 says, as Moses prophesied, that he is the great prophet who has come down to us. Big difference.

Remember Luke chapter 19? Luke chapter 19, verse 41. And when he approached, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, if you had known in this day even you the things which make for peace, but now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the day shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you and surround you and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

See that? You did not recognize that not only was God among you, I am your God. See, that's important. See, they came to the conclusion that every Mormon comes to. They came to the conclusion that every Muslim has come to. That Jesus is just another prophet who comes from among us. Folks, Jesus didn't come from among us. He came down to us from above, because Jesus is God in the flesh. You see, it was the wrong confession. And they have Moses, and they have the prophets. If they don't believe the word of Almighty God, young men arise.

They won't believe the one be raised from the dead right in front of their eyes. They will not believe. See how clear that is? Jesus is making it very clear that there just isn't very many people who truly are saved. He's making that very clear from the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest preacher who ever lived in Luke 6, and no record of any conversions, to his confrontation of a man who lived out that sermon, and no record of any conversions, to the resurrection of a young man, of a lonely widow, in front of a multitude of people, and there is not one conversion.

Not one. See, you need to understand this, folks. Because when we get to Luke 13, they ask the question, are there only a few being saved? Oh, yeah. Less than that. Less than that. That's why you need to get the tape from Wednesday night, by the way, if you weren't here. You need to get that tape. It'll help you understand why there's only a few. 2 Timothy 2, verses 11 to 13. What's the right confession? Listen to this. John 11. Jesus says to Martha, your brother shall rise again.

The power of God guarantees your claim and my claim to immortality. Your brother shall rise again. And Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. I know that. I know that, Lord. And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me shall live even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Here it is, verse 27. She said to him, yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Messiah, the son of God, even he who comes into the world.

See the difference between her confession and the people in Luke 7. You are the Messiah. You are the we are of God. You are equal with God. You have come into our world. I know that, Lord. I know who you are. These people in the city of Nain did not know who he was. Can you imagine that? And all he did was raise a young man from the dead who had no idea who he was and gave him back to his mother, who had no idea who he was, and asked him for anything to prove, to prove once again, no matter how great the miracle.

It's not the miracle that saves. It's the message and the message only that saves. Let's pray. Father, thank you for today, all that you do. Thank you for the truth of your word. How clear, how concise, how true it is. I pray that, Lord, we would read this story and see you in all of your providence, all of your presence, and all of your power, and believe only in you as the Messiah, the Son of God who has come into our world. Thank you for the revelation of truth, and I pray if anyone today hears this word and is not saved, that today would be the day of their salvation.

In Jesus' name, Amen.