Luke 7,11-17 4822
16. Sonntag nach Trinitatis 63
Leodegar, Bishop of Autun, France. Martyr 678
2. Oktober 2022
1. ℣ O Lord, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble:
℟ Their heart is certain that Thou wilt incline Thine ear (Psalm 10,17).
O Lord God, Heavenly Father, Thou knowest that because of our human weakness we are not able to stand fast in so many and great dangers: Grant us strength both in body and soul, that by Thy help we may overcome whatever troubles us because of our sin. Amen. (Martin Luther, AE 53,141 © 1965 Fortress Press).
2. »Soon afterward Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12As He drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her: „Do not weep.“ 14Then He went up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said: „Young man, I say to you, arise.“ 15And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying: „A great prophet has arisen among us!“ and „God has visited His people!“ 17And this report about Him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.«
3. Early in Jesus’ ministry, the crowd in Luke 7 made 2 confessions: 1. Jesus is a great prophet among us, and 2. God has visited His people. The Prophets were those in the Old Testament whom God sent to His people. They spoke His word. They called Israel to repentance. They gave numerous Messianic prophecies. All told, there were at least 29 named Prophets in the Scriptures, but many more unnamed Prophets. Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel were attested by Israel to be their great prophets. The crowd in Luke 7 put Jesus in this illustrious category. When a prophet spoke or acted it was acknowledged that God was speaking and acting through His prophet and therefore God was among, in the midst of and visiting His people. By Jesus’ day, 400 years after Malachi, there was a nostalgia for the days of the Prophets.
4. The event that elicited theses praises to Jesus was His raising of the man who had died. There were only 3 recorded instances of Prophets raising the dead prior to Jesus: Elijah (1x) and Elisha (2x) (1. Kings 17,17-24; 2. Kings 4,18-37; 13,20-21). The crowd has put Jesus in a very exclusive company: Elijah, Elisha and now Jesus. Elijah is furthermore important because in Jesus’ day the pious opinion among the Jews was that Elijah would return to herald the arrival of the Messiah. Recall that Elijah did not die, but was taken up bodily to heaven by horses and chariots of fire and a whirlwind (2. Kings 2,11). Elisha, his prophetic successor, witnessed this momentous event.
5. Elijah was an esteemed prophet: he spoke Yahweh’s word, called people to repent, raised the dead and did not physically die. The crowd says Jesus reminds us of Elijah. Jesus even asked His disciples: »„Who do the crowds say that I am?“ And they answered: „John the Baptizer. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the Prophets of old has risen“« (Luke 9,18-19). Then Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, and they answered: You are the Christ of God (Luke 9,20).
6. Gabriel told Zechariah that his son, John, would go before Yahweh in the spirit and power of Elijah to make ready for Yahweh a people prepared (Luke 1,17). Jesus told the crowds: John the Baptizer is Elijah who is to come (Matthew 11,14). Elijah would prepare the people for the arrival of the great and awesome day of Yahweh (Malachi 4,5), thus John the Baptizer prepared the people for the arrival of Jesus the Christ.
7. The Christ brings with Him the kingdom of God. Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is in your midst (Luke 17,21). The raising of the dead was one manifestation of the kingdom of God, and Jesus has done that in today’s Gospel pericope. The raising of the widow’s son was a type of what was to come. The antitype and fulfillment of today’s miracle was Jesus’ own resurrection. The Gentiles would kill the Christ, and on the 3. day He would rise (Luke 18,33). Since Christ has risen, when He returns the dead in Christ will also rise to always be with Him (1. Thessalonians 4,16-17).
8. The Jews were awaiting a great prophet like Elijah, and God gave them someone better – the Christ. The Son of God was in their midst. The longing of the Prophets was being fulfilled. The awesome day of Yahweh had come (Malachi 4,5). About this day Jesus said: »The Spirit of Yahweh is upon Me, for He has anointed Me to proclaim the gospel to the afflicted. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor« (Isaiah 61,1-2; Luke 4,18-19). That Scripture was fulfilled in Jesus (Luke 4,21). Yahweh’s favor is found in Christ Jesus in whom we have salvation, forgiveness, grace and eternal life.
9. But when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in—
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin;
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
(How Great Thou Art, Carl Gustav Boberg 1859-1940 lsb 801,3)
This is most certainly true.
10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
11. Let us pray. O Everliving Jesus, You have won for us salvation: make our lives whole and pure; help us to resist all worldly vices and strengthen us when weak, so that our confidence is always grounded upon You. Amen. (Jesus lebt, mit ihm auch ich, elkg 458,2 Christian Fürchtegott Gellert 1757)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
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