Did you know that during Jesus' time handling dead people was ceremoniously unclean? Rabbis of the day would do everything they could to make sure they didn't get near a dead body or they, the leaders of the religious people, would become unclean.
You know, Jesus didn't bother with these ceremonious issues. I love that.
At Passion, Louie Giglio talked to us about Luke 7. The passage begins in verse 7, where a widow is fixing to bury her son. A funeral is in procession. This woman was a widow, so she lost her husband, and then she lost her son. She had nothing.
Jesus had compassion on this woman. He said to her, "Don't cry" and then touched the stretcher - the one the dead body was on - telling the boy to rise from the dead.
This is a totally awesome picture of what Jesus does for us. A lot of us have funeral processions going on. Satan is using something in our lives to kill and bury us. But Jesus is waiting to intersect the funeral procession.
So, on hearing this message, I had to ask myself, "What is Satan using to bury me? What is carrying me away that Jesus has to heal? What is causing my funeral procession?" It was super convicting. And as I asked myself, I knew exactly what it was: anger. I am angry. I know I'm angry because I'm often irritable and agitated and I harbor a lot of feelings against some people who have done me wrong. For the first time, I realized that this is what was burying me and I needed help.
I'm so glad Jesus listens to me and hears my cries for rescue. How beautiful. Rabbis wouldn't even come near a funeral, but God came to one, had compassion and touched a body in order to heal it. I'm so unclean compared to my Jesus. He didn't have to touch me, but He did. He didn't have to intersect my funeral, but He did. He has a plan for my life.
Guys, I know this wasn't a really deep post, but I want you guys to think of something. What is burying you? What is it that Christ needs to bring you out of? If there is a funeral about to happen in your life, why is it happening? Have you trusted your own works instead of Christ's grace to save you? Are you harboring anger, like I was? Are you trapped in a cycle of lust? Are you afraid or worried about the future? Search yourself and pray that God will stop your spiritual funeral.
The best part of the passage is that it didn't end with the boy coming back from the dead. It ends witht he people at the funeral freaking out! They were spazzing. A dead boy came to life before their eyes! They witnessed a miracle! And they said, "God has come to help His people!"
2 comments:
That's such an interesting concept! That's really cool! I'd never really looked at it as a funeral. I like to look at it as, What's keeping you from a deeper relationship with God? What area needs the most improvement? Which area can be improved the easiest?
So you're basically saying it's important to evaluate yourself to see where you need improvement? I really like that! I've written about that a lot and agree that it's really important if you want to have an constantly growing relationship with Jesus.
Oh, and I love how Giglio pointed out that Jesus was willing to be "unclean" to reach more people and bring glory to His Father.
Thanks Logan.
Thats exactly what I'm saying. If we don't evaluate ourselves for the sake of improvement, we have basis to wonder if we're Christians. :)
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