The Gospel according to St. Luke records Jesus raising the widow's son saying, "¹¹ 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!”  Jesus raised the widow's son. This is not a trick as if the boy wasn't dead, but pretending, and Jesus performed and fooled the people. No. Jesus went up to a man who was dead and spoke and in His speaking, raised him from the dead. In this act, Jesus declared to the people and to us today that He is Lord, even over death, and that in Him death is finished.

Luther wrote on this saying, "These very facts our Lord Jesus wished to impress upon our minds, so that we may not fear when pestilence and death itself draw near, but that we may learn to say : O death, what can you do even in your worst form? You have terrible teeth, which you show to frighten me, for I do not like to die. But I will not merely behold your work when you, like an executioner, draw the sword; but I will remember what our Lord can and will do when you have slain me; namely, that He is not afraid of you and does not care for you raging and destroying, but says, "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction." If you can kill my Christians, I can destroy you and recall them to life again" (Treasury of Daily Prayer Monday of Easter 3, page 228).  Luther's point in his sermon is that, in Christ, death has lost it's threats. Yes, we still fear death because we are sinners, and we would rather death come much later in life, but for we who are in Christ death is not the end, but the portal to life immortal. When death's threats terrify us and when death's finality troubles us, we must not act as if we are not afraid of death, but instead repent of our fear and cling to Jesus who is death's conqueror. Let us not pretend that there is some aspect of death that scares us. We are afraid of death itself, the process of dying, and we are depressed when our loved ones die. Death is a mighty warrior who torments us day and night. Only in Christ is there victory over death and forgiveness in the midst of our anxiety over it.

Jesus raised the widow's son and He raised Lazarus from the dead to proclaim to all that He is the Lord, even of death. By His death He destroyed death, and by His rising again He brought to us life and light. Jesus is the only one that can reverse the sting of sin, the punishment for our transgressions, and the finality of death. Jesus did this by dying on the cross, by dying in our stead, and suffering all the wrath of the Father. Because Jesus died, and because He rose, death is now defeated and can harm us no more. Yes, death will threaten us and tempt us to despair, but that is all it can do. Jesus has defeated death and made death now nothing more than a brief nap for those who are in Him. May you have this confidence then today my friends, that you are in Christ and one who receive His mercy. My friends, in Christ, death cannot harm you.

I leave you with a verse from Gerhardt's hymn, "Why should cross and trial grieve me," which sings, "Now in Christ death cannot slay me, though it might day and night trouble and dismay me. Christ has made my death a portal, from the strife of this life to His joy immortal, Amen." (LSB 756.5).

Peace be with you. may the devil be silenced, the world be hushed, and the Old Adam drowned anew so that you hear only the voice of your Savior Jesus who says, "Arise, have no fear, I have defeated death and all that torments you. In Me you are safe and I will never let anything harm you," Amen.

Jesus' Sheepdog,

Pastor Hull