A Beautiful Collision

A Beautiful Collision: Luke 7:11-17

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is joined with His disciples (Luke broadly uses the term to include more than the Twelve) and a great crowd of people. The massive throng of people around Jesus leads to the gate of a town called Nain. (v.11) No sooner does Luke report this than we, the reader, are called to direct our attention to another scene. Luke slows us down with a fourfold description: (1) a dead man being carried out; (2) only son of his mother; (3) the mother is a widow; (4) and a considerable crowd is with her. (v. 12) Behold the traffic at the city gate! Jesus is with His following, and the woman with her crowd. The scene could not be more picturesque. Jesus, the Lord of life crashing in on the funeral procession!  Life meets death! A beautiful collision!

Jesus Christ, the bearer of God’s Gospel shows compassion for the woman. She is distraught, lost, disoriented and in misery. The Lord sees her in her bereavement and speaks a word of comfort, “Do not weep.” (v.13) Jesus turns to the casket and stops the procession of death in its tracks. Jesus speaks to the one lying dead, “Young man, I say unto you get up!” (v.14) The simple command wills creative new life. A beautiful collision!

The first thing that happens is the man who was once dead sits up and imitates Jesus by beginning to talk. Luke does not tell us what he says; only that he is talking (v.15). New life at the gate of Nain! The deathly procession is no more and turns into a worship service to celebrate in fear and joy the wondrous works of God (v.16). The beautiful collision is the title of a song by David Crowder:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbPe_EimQCU&feature=kp

I invite you to listen to it and let this story soak in. When life meets death, life wins out because Jesus Christ is at the gate bringing victory.



 

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