Lurking.

“Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As 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. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited his people!’ 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country” (Luke 7:11-17).

Below the surface of our humanity, there is something horrible lurking. It is death, the ultimate brokenness. This week we get to see and experience Jesus’ display of death-breaking power. A young man had died and left his mother in a very unstable situation. Not only was she saddened by his loss but she would have a very difficult time making it in this culture. His death was an emotional blow and a huge financial collapse about to happen.

But Jesus does what Jesus can do and wants to do: He raises the dead. He breaks the brokenness of the natural human frame. Death reigns in each sinful human but the sinless Son of God breaks that by His own merciful death. He smashes the hold that death has on us and the widow of Nain got a taste of the resurrection power when Jesus came to her town.

Jesus is giving each of us a precursor for that special final day when the dead will be raised by His power and we will live forever; death can no longer maintain its stranglehold on us. He Lives; He cares; He has broken that which has broken us.