IN TIMES OF DESPAIR CHRIST COMES TO US
Despair is “the feeling that there is no hope and you can do nothing to improve a difficult or worrying situation.”[1] Often, despair begins with a catastrophic loss or a bewildering circumstance that plants fear in our hearts. Gradually, hopelessness takes root, convincing us that no one, not even God, can help.
As missionaries, it’s easy to slip into despair. Sherry and I are witnesses to the devastating face of poverty. Daily we are barraged by children, mothers, and the disabled who see us as a momentary solution to their dilemma. Our hearts are crushed by the sheer volume of need surrounding us. We have to guard our hearts or be overwhelmed to the point of despair.
Luke seven contrasts a powerful story of faith (Luke 7:1-10) with the despair of a mourning mother (Luke 7:11-17). This chapter shines a light on the compassion of Jesus as He responds to four kinds of people:
People in Despair (Luke 7:11-17)
People Who Doubt (Luke 7:18-35)
People Who Love (Luke 7:36-50)
This week let’s explore how Jesus responds to us in those moments of hopelessness. This passage consists of three paragraphs, the first two show us how Jesus responds to despair, and the third paragraph shows us how we respond when Jesus acts on our behalf.
A MOTHERS DESPAIR
Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry” (Luke 7:11-13).
Let me try to paint the picture of this story. Jesus left Capernaum and made the day-long trip to the town of Nain. Christ’s disciples and a “large crowd” followed Jesus on this trip from Capernaum and Nain. As Jesus approaches the town gate, He sees a funeral procession.
Most of us are used to seeing funeral processions in cars but not in Jesus’s day. Today, people should pull their vehicles to the side of the road to show respect to the bereaved. In the time of Christ, and especially in the Jewish world, others were expected to join the funeral parade. Someone described this scene in Luke as the collision of two parades: the Jesus parade and the death parade.
Think about the contrast Luke shows us. Jesus and his followers are coming from Capernaum with the joy of seeing a Centurion’s servant healed by the word of Jesus. They are filled with hope, but then they come upon this funeral procession. A procession of wailing and weeping mourners grieving a mother who has lost everything. Her only son is dead, and she is alone. The future without a son to care for her is bleak.
The widow leads the parade of funeral-goers. Behind her are those carrying her son on a “bier.” This is a couch where the deceased is laid and carried up high. Behind the carriers is a train of people in despair for this mother who had lost her beloved boy.
So, they join when Jesus’s crew comes upon the funeral procession. But notice what Luke tells us about Jesus:
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Do not cry” (Luke 7:13).
Think of all the noise in this scene. The shuffling of feet on the dry ground. The wind. Mournful cries of the bereft. The swishing sound of fabric rubbing together as people walked close to one another. But in all the noise, Jesus’s eyes go directly to this widow.
What He saw with His eyes immediately caused a reaction in His heart. He saw her, and His heart went out to her. The Greek word translated in the NIV as “heart went out” is only used two times by Luke: here and in the story of the Good Samaritan when Luke writes that Jesus “took pity on him” (Luke 10:33).
In both cases, the person having compassion – whose heart went out – was accompanied by action. They didn’t just see the problem and say, “Wow! That is so sad. I hope somebody does something about it!” NO. The Good Samaritan reached out and took care of the man – he did something. Jesus’s heart was broken for this mother whose husband and son had died. He felt for her to His very core and did something about it, but what did He do?
The first thing Jesus does for the widow is speaking words of comfort, “Do not cry.” Those who just yesterday saw a servant healed at the very mention of Jesus were probably getting excited. Jesus is speaking to this poor woman; what is about to happen?
JESUS RESPONDS TO A MOTHER’S DESPAIR
Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still.
He said, “Young man, I say to you get up” (Luke 7:14).
Jesus does not stay still! Instead, He went up to the bier and touched it. His touching of the bier caused those carrying it to stand still. Now, what about this made these people bring this funeral march to a sudden halt?
The Jewish law states that touching the dead makes one unclean. The law goes on to say that touching anything that is touching the dead would also make one unclean (Numbers 19:11-22). Being unclean meant not being able to come into the tabernacle to worship God or into others’ homes for fellowship.
One would have to go through seven days of purification through rituals of washing the body and clothes, sacrificing an animal, and sprinkling the ashes of that animal: much trouble. The people carrying this dead man are unclean, and they will submit to the rites of purification. Jesus voluntarily touches the bier and is willing to become unclean so a mother can have her son back.
Again, Jesus speaks. He doesn’t talk to those carrying the dead, and he doesn’t speak to the crowd. Instead, Jesus speaks to the dead! The dead man hears the command, sits up, and begins to talk.
Now look at these next few words – they show the amazing, compassionate heart of Christ….
“…Jesus gave him back to his mother” (Luke 7:15b).
Wow! What a heart! What a Savior! What a JESUS! Jesus responds to the desperate mother by restoring her son to her.
Now you really must get what is happening here. This miracle is almost the same miracle done by the prophet Elijah. Elijah raised the son of a woman from death and gave him back to her (1 Kings 17).
This is not lost on all the Jewish people standing there. They all knew the stories of Elijah’s miracles, and Jesus was showing them that He was LORD over death and was also a true prophet of Israel. We know this because the people in the crowd say so!
But this is not the end of the responses. Jesus responded to a mother’s despair by doing a resurrection miracle and restoring a son back to a mother. But look at how the “crowd” responds to what Jesus did.
THE RESPONSE OF THE CROWD
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country (Luke 7:16-17).
When the boy sat up, talked, and returned to his mother, there must have been a lot of jaw-dropping. Can you imagine being there when a dead man was brought back to life? The people were filled with awe and praised God. Some of your Bibles will say that “fear came on the people.” This is not to say that the people feared Jesus; they were in awe of what had just happened.
But their jaw-dropping awe moved them into praise! They GLORIFIED God. But how did they do this? Well, quite simply, they praised God by becoming a witness! Look at the Luke 7:16-17
“A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said, “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
The people’s reaction to the miraculous power of Christ is summarized in three words: awe, praise, and witness.
CHRIST RESPONDS TO OUR DESPAIR
I am trying to answer the question, “How does Jesus respond to people in despair?” I think this story teaches us three essential things:
1. Jesus sees us in our desperation and speaks into our lives.
Do you find comfort in this? I do! Every one of us, at one time or another, will walk through a season of desperation. It may be the death of a loved one. It may be a broken marriage. It may be a child who goes the wrong way. It may be a health issue personally or our kids. No matter what the form – all of us will face moments in life where we will feel despair.
Please hear me! In those moments of desperation, remember that Jesus sees you, He will come to you, and He will speak life into your situation! He will fill you with the Holy Spirit’s comforting presence and speak peace that overcomes fear.
He hears your cries, and he sees your mourning, and he sees your downcast face. That is why the apostle Paul could declare:
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed (1 Corinthians 4:8).
2. Jesus doesn’t just speak to us; He gets involved in our despair.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).
The same Christ who stand perfect and without sin – is not afraid to enter into our weakness and become our hope and help. He came as a man. He walked as a man. He experienced the despair of the Cross. And because of that and more, Jesus can and will come to us in times of great distress and our greatest joys.
3. I can tell others about Him because of what Jesus has done in and around me.
The power of your testimony not only helps repel fear in your life, but it also emboldens others. So, go and tell someone what Jesus has done. Offer a sacrifice of praise that pushes despair from your heart.
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[1] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/despair
