Death Meets Life at the Gate of Nain (Shorter Version)

Death Meets Life at the Gate of Nain

Luke 7:11-17 NIV

[11] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. [12] 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. [13] When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

[14] 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!” [15] The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

[16] 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.” [17] This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

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Luke 7:11-17

The scene is Jesus, being followed by a large crowd, approaching the town gate of Nain. Coming from the other direction is a large funeral procession carrying the body of a young man out of the town for burial. The two groups encounter each other at the town gate. One group represents death, and the other, Life. Death meets Life at the gate of Nain.

Jesus is Life

John 14:6 NKJV

[6] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Life is in Jesus:

John 1:4 NIV

[4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

Jesus came to offer life to mankind:

John 10:10 NIV

[10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

God the Father granted Jesus authority over all people to give eternal life to all whom God has given Him. Eternal life is knowing God and knowing Jesus Christ:

John 17:2-3 NIV

[2] For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. [3] Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Jesus's heart went out to the mother of the dead boy in Nain. The woman not only lost her son to death, but she was also a widow who had suffered the loss of her husband to death.

Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus.

Death causes Jesus to grieve. He came to give life and to defeat death. Perhaps it was out of His grief that Jesus raised the boy and Lazarus from the dead.

Life and death are in opposition with one another. They are enemies. Death is the enemy of Life. Life is in Jesus and Jesus came to give life. Jesus defeated death at the cross. Death will be thrown into the lake of fire at the Judgement. There will be no death in the eternal Kingdom.

There is eternal life in the eternal Kingdom. The eternal Kingdom is now - God's people have been conveyed out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Light, who is life. Those who have been given eternal life in the eternal Kingdom because they serve the giver of life and the one who conquered death, are death's enemy. We are in opposition with death, and therefore we cannot even slightly compromise with it. Life is the Light of men, and if God's people compromise with death by not supporting life, then they will not be witnesses of the Light. They will not be a lamp on a hill, or representatives of the Light of the world. They will be representatives of Death, the enemy of God. 

Of all political issues, life should be the most important issue for the Christian, and there should be no compromise. Even if the other promises that are made are important and will make life better for us, a servant of Jesus denies Himself and dies to himself for eternal life and God's honor:

John 12:24-26 NKJV

[24] Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. [25] He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. [26] If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

This is where our faithfulness to God comes into play. Are we going to be faithful to Christ and His sacrifice made to defeat death, or are we going to be faithful to Satan and stand with Christ's enemy?

Death causes Jesus to grieve. Let's grieve with Jesus over death and pray against the death of the innocent and those who are not only promoting death, but pushing for it. Let's repent of compromising on this most important issue, which we do when we vote for politicians who support death and mass genocide. We say we are pro-life, but when the political candidates we support, support abortion, we continue to support them and make abortion a secondary issue to our own well being. Abortion is a moral issue, while the others are not, making it the most important issue on the ballot for a Christian. We need to repent, deny ourselves, and follow Jesus.