Verse of the Day 2/23

Through the Bible - Numbers 10-12, Mark 6:1-29

For several years CSI, crime scene investigators, has been one of the most popular TV shows, so popular that we now have the "spinoffs" CSI Miami and CSI New York.  One of the reasons for the popularity was that the show used a new way to present the mystery of solving crime.  It showed how crime solving has become high tech.  One of the ways that it showed this was to have the camera zoom in, in microscopic detail the path of a bullet, knife or even the effects of a drug on the nervous system.

 

As we go through the Bible we see many "scenes" which give us details, sometimes in very few words, as to what is going on.  It's easy to gloss over and miss things.  Perhaps we need to be BSI's, Bible scene investigators, to slow down and see what has been given to us to help us understand what has truly taken place in the passage, follow the path of Jesus healing and saving power.

 

For today's verse we'll go to the book of Luke where we have the account of the raising of the son of the widow from Nain.  As you read it, look at it this way.  Picture the camera zooming in to the woman as Jesus "saw" her, to the coffin when Jesus touched it and the men stood still.  To the effect that His touch, his call, had upon the dead son.  Think of what has to take place for someone to come back to life, for the heart to start pumping and for the blood to flow (among other things).

 

Luke 7:13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep."  14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."    NKJV

Jesus sees her among the crowd of mourners.  He saw that she was a widow, her husband and son gone, what were her prospects for the future.  What hope was there for her, what would her life be like in that society from that day on being on her own.  Basically, hopeless.

See the touch of Jesus.  Did power go out from Him as he touched the casket?  Did the men feel it, is that why they stopped?  Or was it because He would reach out and touch the casket, touch the dead person, were they amazed that He would defile Himself?  Was He being disrespectful?  While wanting to show compassion were His words of "don't cry" insensitive?

 

The raising of this young man was one of the most commanding and instructive of Jesus' miracles.  There is no question that he was dead, the large processing giving evidence, and the destination was burial outside of the city.  Jesus is headed in the opposite direction, he had to see what was coming.  He could easily have avoided them as the pharisees avoided the injured man in the story of the good Samaritan.  Instead, he reached out to the woman and her son with compassion.  As with Lazarus, Jesus call was decisive and the young man responded immediately.  Who of those present could doubt Jesus' authority, by a word, he had restored the young man's life and hope for his mother.

 

"The whole scene was affecting. Here was a widowed mother who was following her only son, her stay and hope, to the grave. He was carried along-one in the prime of life and the only comfort of his parent-impressive proof that the young, the useful, the vigorous, and the lovely may die. Jesus met them, apparently a stranger. He approached the procession as if he had something important to say; he touched the coffin and the procession stood still. He was full of compassion for the weeping parent, and by a word restored the youth, stretched upon the coffin, to life. He sat up, and spoke. Jesus therefore had power over the dead. He also has power to raise sinners, dead in trespasses and sins, to life. He can speak the word, and, though in their death of sin they are borne along toward ruin, he can open their eyes, and raise them up, and restore them revived to REAL life or to their friends. Often he raises up children in this manner, and gives them, converted to God, to their friends, imparting as REAL joy as he gave to the widow of Nain by raising her son from the dead, And every child should remember, if he has pious parents, that there is "no way" in which he can give so much joy to them as by embracing Him who is the resurrection and the life, and resolving to live to his glory". - Barnes notes

 

What do we learn about compassion?  The first element is seeing, then the heart is "moved" to react, to the point of overflowing, then comes knowing how to respond, not worrying about 'the rules" (such as touching a dead person) but using the powers and resources that you've been given.  All from a heart for others and for God's glory.

As you read through the Bible, try to "picture" the scene, the setting, and the action words, their purpose and the outcome of the situation.  What can we learn from it?

 

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
More tools available at: http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Luke 7:11-18

 

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

 

11 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow's only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. "Young man," he said, "I tell you, get up." 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

 

16 Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, "A mighty prophet has risen among us," and "God has visited his people today." 17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.  NLT