May 14, 2025
My Death is Not Final
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.
Luke 7:11-17
As believers in Christ, the very foundation of our faith is that Jesus has power over death. Every Easter we celebrate a Risen Savior who conquered death and sin when he was resurrected after his death on the cross. If Jesus had merely died for our sins, he would have simply been a martyr, but it is the Resurrection of Christ where victory was gained over death and sin and the way was paved for us to have fellowship with a Holy God.
He had to live a sinless life to be a worthy sacrifice for our sins, but he had to overcome death to forever break the power of sin and death.
But have you ever stopped to think why Jesus raised others from the dead during his three years of public ministry?
On three occasions, Jesus brought someone back to life - the widow’s son in Luke 7:11-17, Jairis’ daughter in Luke 8:40-56 and Lazarus in John 11:1-44.
In every case, the person was clearly dead before Jesus arrived and Jesus miraculously brought them back to life. But as great of a miracle as it was to bring them back to life, there’s no evidence that they were permanently raised from the dead. They weren’t raised in glorified bodies or anything. And each of them at some point later would again breathe their last breath on this earth.
Let’s look at the three accounts and then we’ll examine why he raised them and look at the implications for our life.
In the passage in Luke 7, Jesus stumbles upon a funeral procession in Nain where the boy who had passed away was being carried in a coffin. Jesus saw the mother mourning and had compassion on her. He tells the mother not to cry, touches the coffin and tells the young boy to get up. As soon as Jesus utters the command, the boy sits up and begins to speak. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be at that funeral service? Nothing like a corpse sitting up and speaking to change the mood of the ceremony! I would guess there were gasps, shrieks, a few people fainting and an entire crowd left utterly astonished.
Then there was Jarius’ daughter. Jarius’ daughter was dying, so as a last hope of saving her, Jarius - a synagogue leader - left his daughter’s side and went to find Jesus. When he found Jesus, he was being pressed and followed by a large crowd due to the miracles he had been performing. People were coming from far and wide because of the miracles they had heard or even seen Jesus perform. Perhaps Jarius himself had heard of Jesus raising the boy in Nain back to life. Whatever the case, Jarius knew that Jesus was his best hope.
But as he seeks him out in the crowd, Jesus is waylaid by another person desperate for answers - the woman with the issue of blood. The Bible says she had suffered under the care of many doctors for 12 years. She was desperate for answers and believed that if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, she would be healed. She did and she was! Even in the midst of the crowd pressing around him, Jesus knew someone had touched him because he felt the power go out of him. He knew that someone had touched him in faith. And he stopped what he was doing to seek out the woman. She immediately fell before Jesus and confessed that she was the one. Jesus responded, “Daughter, your faith has healed you.”
But while all this was going on, Jairus was sent word from a messenger that his daughter had passed away. The messenger told Jairus not to waste Jesus’ time but Jesus insisted on going. He brought with him Peter, James and John as they sojourned to Jairus’ house. By the time they arrived, the professional mourners (yes that was a thing back then) were already in place, wailing aloud. When Jesus indicated that he intended to raise her back to life, the crowd of mourners mocked him. Jesus only allowed the three disciples and Jarius and his wife into the room. He took the child by the hand and said, “Child, get up,” and immediately she rose.
The story of Lazarus has always been curious to me. This involved some of his closest friends. Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha. He had been in their home and eaten with them. This wasn’t some stranger in passing. Yet when Martha sent word that her brother Lazarus was dying, it seems that Jesus intentionally delayed going there. By the time he arrived, the Bible says Lazarus had been dead for four days. They’ve already had the funeral at this point.
To her credit, Martha expressed faith that if he had been here earlier, Jesus could have healed her brother.
Jesus tried to comfort Martha by declaring that Lazarus would rise again. Being familiar with Jesus’ teachings and the teachings of the apostles, Martha knew that, indeed, Lazarus would rise again at the resurrection of the saints. She had her theology right. She just didn’t know that Jesus meant TODAY. Jesus was like, “No, Martha, I’m talking about right now!”
So he goes with Martha to the tomb where Lazarus is buried and he sees the people still gathered at the tomb mourning and the Bible says Jesus wept at the breaking hearts of those who loved Lazarus.
He asked that the stone be rolled away but Martha objected because by now there would be a strong odor from Lazarus’ very dead body.
In John 11:40, Jesus said the people would not see the glory of God unless they believe. It was a lesson for then and a lesson for us now.
The people rolled the stone away and Jesus commanded that Lazarus come out of the grave. Then Lazarus walked out of the grave with his grave clothes on. We read these accounts and somehow allow ourselves to gloss over the power and wonder of what transpired that day. Put yourself in Martha’s shoes or any of the eyewitnesses that day. Their lives were forever changed that day from what they witnessed.
Who was this man who had power over even the finality of the grave?
It was Jesus, the Son of God! That leads us to the why behind these temporary resurrections.
Jesus raised these people to establish his divinity, to prove beyond a doubt that he was who he said he was. They were standing before the Christ, the Holy One, the one and only Son of God.
It was also a foreshadowing of things to come. Jesus on a number of occasions predicted his death and that he would be raised on the third day. These temporary resurrections were just an appetizer for things to come,
On that fateful day in history, Jesus’ resurrection from the grave would make it possible for all to have fellowship with God The Father.
But as Jesus told those standing outside Lazarus’ tomb, it requires faith to see the glory of God. It’s available to all, but we must believe that Jesus died for our sins, that he rose from the grave to defeat the power of sin and death and we must ask for the forgiveness of our sins.
To the one who confesses and believes, the good news of the gospel is that your death is not final. Once you breathe your last on this earth, an eternity awaits in the presence of God The Father, God The Son, God The Holy Spirit and a whole host of believers who have gone on before you.
Whatever hardships and trials we endure in this life are but a grain of sand on a beach in comparison to the glory that awaits for those who believe in Christ!
As we have seen in the passages we have examined today, God always responds to those who exhibit faith. He heard the faith cries of the woman with the issue of blood, Jarius, Martha and those in attendance at Lazarus’ grave. And He will hear you as you cry out in faith as well.