Nain was a small town in Lower Galilee that appears in Luke 6:11-17.  It is the only time this little town is ever mentioned in the Bible which indicates something significant is about to happen!  Nain was situated on a small hill a few miles southwest of Nazareth.  However one rather important miracle of the Old Testament occurred near Nain- Elisha raised a son from the dead in Shunem (2 Ki. 4:18-37).  With that in mind it causes one to think it is no coincidence then that Jesus encounters a funeral procession for an only son just outside of this slightly obscure town.

            Luke's wonderful writing highlights several important aspects of this story.  First and foremost was the fact that this woman was a widow and this man was his mother's ONLY son.  She had no other means of support.  In Jesus' day women did not have the vast resources and opportunities available to them that many of us have today.  If they lost the income of their husband or children, and there was no extended family to take them in, they had two options.  The first was begging; the second was prostitution.  So when Jesus and His disciples approached this funeral, led by its professional mourners and accompanied by the townsfolk, they were coming upon a scene of desperation.

            Luke emphasizes that Jesus SEES the widow.  This word, esplagchinisthe, means to see physically as well as to be moved inwardly; to yearn with tender mercy, affection, pity, empathy and compassion. It is the deepest movement of emotions from the deepest part of one's being.  There is possibly no stronger word in the Greek language and the Gospels use it time and time again concerning Jesus.  The scene moves Jesus in the deepest part of His heart which causes Him to touch the funeral bier (a wicker stretcher used to carry the body to the grave) which is a complete no-no according to the Torah.
  
            Jesus speaks directly to the man.  You can imagine what thoughts were entering the minds of those in attendance!  The man responds by anakthizein, a special medical word used to describe a person who gets up after a long illness.  The understanding is that only God can make this happen.  And that is certainly what the crowd understands to have taken place.  They know the story of Elisha and immediately connect Jesus’ actions with his.  Luke even uses a phrase right out of the Elijah story (1 Ki. 17: 8-24) in saying that Jesus gave the man "back to his mother" (1 Ki. 17:23).   The reaction of the crowd is similar to the stillness that falls over sports fans when an athlete is severely injured on the playing field.  When the player is able to get up and walk off the field an awestruck applause breaks out.  The funeral crowd is deeply in awe and although they misidentify Jesus as a prophet like Elisha, they nonetheless give credit to God.

            It would be easy to let this story go at face value and store the information in a mental file named "Cool Things I Learned About Luke 7" and a month or two later forget what was in the file.   Disciples (which you and I are) don't do that.  We must move the information into application by looking at Jesus and doing what He did.  To truly be a disciple, it means more than compassion, it means touch.  Although considered "unclean" Jesus was willing to touch the bier and speak the words of life into a dark and desperate situation.  We also speak for Jesus.   We are His hands, His feet and His body on this Earth.  An effective disciple not only speaks the worlds of life to a dead world, he or she reaches out and touches it as well.  Our compassion must be coupled with actions, otherwise, as James would say, our faith is dead (Js. 2:17) and useless.  What or who will move you to respond as Jesus did?  Be willing to move when you see "the widow of Nain" in your world.

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre
 

            Jeff and I are not huge television watchers and especially now since the television died and we decided not to replace it.  But when we did watch TV one show that always entertained us was the popular science program called Mythbusters.  In its original 14 year run of the show each episode examined a cultural or historical "myth" by scientific methodology to either prove or disprove whether its claim was true or not.  One of my favorite episodes involved the myth that elephants are afraid of mice.  The hosts headed off to a wildlife preserve somewhere in Africa to run the actual test.  Surprisingly the results indicated that elephants are at least respectful of mice in that they very cautiously avoided the little critters when one crossed their path.  The evidence was not conclusive, but there was some sort of evidence nonetheless.

            Within our culture there is embedded a full-scale belief that if something can be scientifically proven then it is worth believing.  Proponents of this belief are often heard quoting “the experts” who apparently have done all that testing for you.  At the same time, and often in conflict with this mode of operation, is the belief that one's experiences also offer a valid way of gauging whether or not something is true.  In this form of belief no testing, no empirical evidence gathered through observation or experiments is necessary.  If you feel it, think it or like the idea, then you can believe it.  The problem with the “experts” is that they are often funded by companies who want the evidence to be interpreted in their favor.  The problem with experiences is that they are inconsistent and our feelings about them can change.  One may enjoy a walk in the rain on a hot summer’s day but no one enjoys a walk in the rain in the freezing cold of winter.  The Truth- which both of these beliefs endeavors to confirm- appears to be an impossible thing to find and of all the impossible things to prove the Resurrection would certainly be a target to discredit through either of these methods.  But the proof and truth of Christ's physical resurrection is crucial to Christianity.  No other faith makes the claim that God rose from the dead.

            Through the centuries many theories have been concocted to explain how Jesus did not physically rise from the dead.  Some believe the resurrection to be part of a hoax and others believe it is purely the stuff fairy tales are made of.  But when the Gospel accounts are read and history is examined, there is evidence and then some to prove the contrary.  Take, for example, the passage which appears in Lk. 24:36-48.  Jesus presents physical evidence of His suffering to the disciples and then invites them to touch the scars.  "A spirit does not have flesh and bones," He states.  And as if to drive the point home, Jesus proceeds to ask them for something to eat.  A ghostly apparition would certainly not be interested in food.  Each Gospel writer makes a point of noting that Jesus had a physical body after the resurrection (Mt. 28:9; Mk. 16:6-7; Lk. 24:39; Jn. 20:20) and Luke records in the Book of Acts that Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection "alive" for a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3) offering them "many convincing proofs and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God”- empirical evidence at its finest.

            Not only did Jesus present Himself physically to the disciples, Scripture also records that there were other witnesses of Christ's bodily resurrection.  The most notable testimony of this is Paul's list in 1 Cor. 15:5-9.  Paul states that Jesus "appeared to Cephas (Peter) and the twelve" (v.5), more than 500 witnesses (v. 6), to James and all the "apostles" (v. 7), and finally to Paul himself (v.8).  Many of these witnesses died for the wonderful news they proclaimed.  The fact that they considered this point worth dying for argues from a practical perspective that Jesus physically rose from the dead.  There are not too many people who will die for a myth. 

            Likewise, had the Resurrection been added to the Gospel at a later date to bolster support for the teachings of Jesus (like those experts who bend their findings to support their sponsors), there were enough people alive in the first century of church growth to contest its truth had it been a lie.  And finally, the disciples themselves, by their transformation from doubting and clueless followers to outspoken champions of the faith also demonstrate that their faith in a risen Lord was not a whimsical fantasy, but a fully trustworthy and proven fact. 

            People had doubts about the Resurrection of Christ almost immediately after that great event.  People still have doubts today.  But the same confidence that propelled the early believers to take the Gospel to the "ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8) because they knew the Resurrection to be a provable fact, can be shared by us today, so that we too can boldly proclaim our faith in the Risen Lord (Col. 4:5-6; 1 Pet. 3:15).  The Resurrection is not a myth!

Ann LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre

            The Children's Choir made its way to the front of the sanctuary.  The choir director made sure we were in straight rows and that everyone was ready to speak.  With all the confidence we could muster, we boldly recited the Nicene Creed for the congregation.  Then, like a flock of startled birds, we fluttered quickly out of the sanctuary with our newly earned hymnals in hand.  It was a tradition of the church I grew up in that always brought a smile to the faces of the congregation.  But I never forgot the main points of that creed, even though I have a hard time repeating it word for word from memory!

            The central issue of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Through the centuries since this pivotal event in human history, many have tried to disprove it, and others have come to faith because of it.  We all know there are many factions and denominations within the Christian faith, but Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection are universally accepted by all believers as the payment for sin and the salvation of sinners.  Catholic, Evangelical, Protestant, and Pentecostal all recognize without Christ's atoning death, humankind is fallen, lost, and without hope.

            As the church grew, believers struggled to keep the central issues of faith sound and true to the teachings of Scripture.  In an effort to clarify Biblical truth, Christian leaders assembled and formed creeds which specifically stated what The Truth was, and what it wasn't.  Many of the early creeds were testimonies of Jesus' appearances after the resurrection.  Several passages in the New Testament are what Bible scholars believe to be early creeds recorded by Paul.  1 Corinthians 15:3-8 is the most definitive of them with Philippians 2:1-11 (particularly verses 5-11) being regarded as both a hymn and possibly a creed.

            Within the first century of Christendom, unsound doctrines compelled leaders like Polycarp and Irenaeus to compose statements of faith for new believers.  The Apostle's Creed was the first of these creeds.  Although the apostles never said or composed it, the creed was believed to contain the Truth which they taught.  The Nicene Creed followed in 325 AD, reaffirming and clarifying some of the tenets of its predecessor.  But a sound grasp of the Truth was important to both Jesus (Jn, 1:14; 8:31-32, 46; 14:6; 16:12-13; 17:13-19) and Paul (Rom. 1:18, 25; 1 Cor. 13:4-7; 2 Cor. 13:8; Eph. 4: 15, 20-24; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 4:1-5; Tit. 2:1).

            One phrase in the Apostles' Creed which has caused some confusion over the years (and is not found in the oldest copies of it) is the statement concerning Jesus bodily “descending into Hell”.  Not only is this contrary to Christ's own statements (Lk. 23:43), but it also misinterprets the very passage that is supposed to support it: 1 Pet. 3:19-20.  In this passage the Greek word used is Tartarus which means abyss, not Gehenna, which was the word for Hell.  The first copy which contains this phrase appeared in 390 AD, a good 300 years after the apostles, and not again until 650 AD.  Rufinus, a monk who studied the first copy, rightly believed that the phrase was a metaphor which was added to emphasize that Jesus truly died a physical death (Hell to him was that moment where Jesus experienced separation from His Heavenly Father when the Sin of the world was placed upon Him, not that He bodily went to Hell- Mt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34).  His analysis supports the Scriptures which repeatedly emphasize that Jesus physically died on the cross (Mt. 27:50; Mk. 15:37; Lk. 23:46; Jn. 19:30-34).

            But why did Jesus have to die?  When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they brought sin into the world and broke the relationship God had with His creation (Gen. 3:22-24).  From that point on, in order for there to be any relation at all between God and man, sin had to be atoned for, otherwise the result of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).  However, animal sacrifice was never a permanent solution (Heb. 10:1-4).  Jesus' death however, not only atones for our sin (1 Jn. 4:10), it restores us to God because Christ was both human and divine (Heb. 9:11-14).  In His humanity He is associated with our sin (2 Cor. 5:21), but by His deity, He conquers sin (Rom. 6:8-10).  Jesus had to die to pay the penalty for sin according to God's will (Rom. 8:1-4), but His resurrection affirms that God found His sacrifice acceptable and death will no longer be able to hold on to those who profess faith in Him (Acts 2:21-24).  This is not only the greatest Truth in our creeds, but the joy of Resurrection Day as well!  Oh grave where is your victory?  Oh death where is your sting (Hos. 13:14; 1 Cor. 15:55)?

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre

            One time, in the days when we had a TV, I happened upon the end of a movie involving a wedding when I was browsing cable channels.  I landed on a scene where the bride walked down the aisle with her father.  She wore a beautiful dress and carried a bouquet of flowers.  He looked dashing in his tuxedo and beamed with pride as he gave his daughter to the groom.  There was only one thing wrong with the scene.  Someone on the production staff had not done their homework. Instead of the traditional "Here Comes the Bride" or a contemporary processional the music playing as the bride walked down the aisle was Mendelssohn’s classic wedding recessional.  Everything looked lovely but if one was “up” on wedding protocol, the music made no sense.

            This Sunday we will celebrate Palm Sunday; a monumental day in Jesus' final week of His earthly ministry.  But carefully looking over the accounts of the Gospels writers will reveal some things that just don't make sense.  After years of ministry in which Jesus downplayed His identity, why all of a sudden does He allow public adoration?  With the village of Bethany located within a short walking distance of Jerusalem, why go to the trouble of stopping in the next town (Bethphage) to pick up a donkey's colt?  With a multitude of people praising God and shouting joyfully over His arrival, why does Jesus stop, gaze upon the city of Jerusalem and weep?  And lastly, after the "big parade", why does Jesus merely enter the Temple mount, look around and leave?!

            Jerusalem was Jesus' "city of destiny". This was the place where all the prophecies concerning Him would come true.  These prophecies focused on the long awaited descendant of King David, who would return to Jerusalem, ascend to the throne and reign over Israel.  Jesus' acknowledgement of the peoples' praise (and His refusal to follow the Pharisees' request and quiet them) is a claim to that kingship.  Although the people were expecting an entirely different kind of king, Jesus' triumphal entry was His ascension to the throne of David as promised through the Prophets.

            The prophet Zechariah wrote that a king would come to restore Israel riding on a colt (Zech. 9:9).  And it is well-known in ancient times that a king who came in peace would enter a city riding on a colt.  The little village of Bethphage was in the path of Jesus' route to Jerusalem.  By sending His disciples ahead to pick up the colt and entering upon its back, Jesus fulfills this well-known prophecy- a fact that Matthew points out in his account of this monumental day (Mt. 21:4-5).  The people also make this connection, immediately spreading their garments before Him (a custom performed for royalty also seen in 2 Ki. 9:12-13) and greeting Him with psalms that recognize Him as the awaited Messiah (Ps. 118:25-26).

            The four Gospels allow us to see Palm Sunday from different perspectives- different camera angles as it were.  Luke's Gospel focuses on Jesus' state of mind and is the only one which records Jesus' reaction as He descends the Mount of Olives and the city of Jerusalem comes into view.  Jesus' lament in Lk. 19:41-44 is that of a deep sorrow in contrast to the excitement and joy of the crowd.  For Jesus, it must have been heart-breaking to know that the rejection of the Prince of Peace would have devastating consequences on the City of Peace.  About 40 years after Jesus said these words, the Romans would totally destroy Jerusalem.  Barclay wrote in his commentary on Luke, "The tears of Jesus are the tears of God when He sees the needless pain and suffering humankind experiences as a result of their foolish rebelling against God's will."

            As quickly as the Triumphal Entry begins, it ends.  Mark notes that it was late, so Jesus takes a cursory glance around the Temple and leaves.  Such a strange ending for a day of fulfilled prophecy!  But maybe not; perhaps Jesus was looking ahead to what was about to come in His final week on Earth- overturned tables, challenges to His authority, a Passover meal, betrayal, desertion, and finally the cross.  The Triumphal Entry allows us to see Jesus in full; His destiny as Messiah, the Son of God and Jesus the Son of Man who weeps to the core of His heart over those whom He loves and is willing to give His life for.  The exuberant entry into Jerusalem may fade into the sorrow and desertion of Good Friday but it is a small hint of what is to come after His betrayal and crucifixion.  So let’s join with those ancient voices and proclaim, “Hosanna!  Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” (Mt. 21:9; Mk. 11:9; Lk. 19:38; Jn. 12:13) and look ahead to the angel’s declaration, “He is not here.  He is risen just as He said.” (Mt. 28:6; Mk. 16:6; Lk. 24:6).

Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre