Sunday
Morning Bible Study
August
9, 2015
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
For those of you who have been praying, here’s an update on what’s going on
what God is doing through our friends the Bellers in Hungary…
Luke was a doctor and a travelling companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was in prison.
In writing his book, Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel
of Mark, as well as extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry has begun, and the people have been amazed not just at the
things He’s been teaching, but the things He’s been doing.
Last week we saw how Jesus healed the servant of a Roman centurion in the
city of Capernaum.
Jesus did this as a response to the “great faith” He saw in the centurion.
7:11-17 The Widow’s Son
:11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called
Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.
the day after – hexes–
successively in order; the next following, the next in succession
city – polis
– a city
went with – sumporeuomai
– to go or journey together; to come together, to assemble
many – hikanos
– sufficient; many enough, enough; sufficient in ability, i.e. meet, fit
:11 into a city called Nain
Nain = “beauty”
Video: Nain map
Nain is about 20 miles southwest of Capernaum, and about six miles
southeast of Nazareth.
Today, a small Arab village is still there, called “Nein”.
Here’s a picture of “Nein” today.
:12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was
being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large
crowd from the city was with her.
came near – eggizo
– to bring near, to join one thing to another; to draw or come near to, to
approach
the gate – pule
– a gate; of the larger sort
:12 came near the gate of the city
We’ve talked about city gates before.
I’m excited that this last week
they uncovered the gates of Gath, the hometown of Goliath the giant.
Many of the ancient cities had gates that were quite extensive, where you
would have to pass by several rooms built into the wall at the gate before
actually entering the city.
I want to give you a better picture of a gate by showing you a gate in the
Galilee area that dated back to the time of Solomon in the city of Geshur,
known in Jesus’ day as Bethsaida.
It was at the gates where the leaders would hang out, where the courts
were.
This was where the markets would be, where the merchants would sell their
wares.
My point? What is about to happen
didn’t happen in a back room in the dark with nobody to verify. This was a very public miracle.
:12 a dead man was being carried out
being carried out – ekkomizo
– to carry out
from – komizo
– to care for, to take up or carry away in order to care for and preserve
This isn’t some sort of haphazard dumping of a body.
The words speak of a solemn funeral procession.
We take funeral processions serious too.
The other day I was at the stoplight at Raymond and Chapman when a slow
moving funeral procession came through the light moving down Chapman.
There must have been 100 cars, and we had to wait through three cycles of
stop lights for them all to pass by.
This woman also had a large procession, a “large crowd”
from the city was with her.
dead man – thnesko
– to die, to be dead
Perfect participle. He had died and he is still dead.
:12 the only son of his mother
only – monogenes – single
of its kind, only; used of only sons or daughters
This is the word used in
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
This woman has had a tough life.
She’s lost her husband. She’s a
widow.
Now she’s lost her only child.
widow – chera
– a widow
large – hikanos
– sufficient; many enough, enough; sufficient in ability, i.e. meet, fit
:13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do
not weep.”
saw – horao
– to see with the eyes; to see with the mind, to perceive, know
:13 He had compassion on her
had compassion – splagchnizomai
– to be moved as to one’s bowels (for the bowels were thought to be the
seat of love and pity)
From – splagchnon
– bowels, intestines, (the heart, lungs, liver, etc.); the bowels were
regarded as the seat of the more violent passions, such as anger and love; but
by the Hebrews as the seat of the tenderer affections, esp. kindness,
benevolence, compassion; hence our heart (tender mercies, affections, etc.)
We might say that Jesus was deeply moved in His gut when He saw this woman
and the funeral procession.
Lesson
Being Moved
Last week we were talking about submission and I played a clip from the
movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”.
Video: Big Fat Greek Wedding – Head
and Neck.
The Bible talks about Jesus being the groom, the head of the church, and we
as the church are His bride, His body.
(Ephesians
5:23 NKJV) For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the
church; and He is the Savior of the body.
Do we as the bride, as the “neck”, ever turn or move the Head?
Yes we do.
We see an example of this in our story.
Jesus changed what He was doing when He saw the funeral
procession and was “moved” with compassion.
Matthew tells us He could be moved by the multitudes.
(Matthew
14:14 NKJV) And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved
with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
Mark tells us He was moved by a single unclean leper,
(Mark
1:41 NKJV) Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand
and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
When two blind men
ask Jesus for mercy,
(Matthew 20:34 NKJV) So
Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes
received sight, and they followed Him.
He is moved when He sees us.
He is moved when we pray and ask Him for help.
The Bible describes God as being
the Almighty who dwells in unapproachable light, but God says of Himself,
(Isaiah 57:15 NKJV) For
thus says the High and Lofty One Who
inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Whether you’re the “head” or you’re the “neck” in your relationships, are
you ever “moved with compassion” by the needs of others?
Maybe if we learned to “see” or “listen” to each other a little more, we
too would be moved with compassion.
Note: Nobody asked Jesus to do anything. He was
simply moved with compassion for this poor widow who had just lost her only
son.
:13 Do not weep
weep – klaio
– to mourn, weep, lament; to weep audibly
For most of us to say this to a
grieving widow who has just lost her only son would be cruel.
But Jesus has reasons to say this.
He is being motivated by His
compassion.
He is planning on doing something
that will give her reason to stop weeping.
:14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him
stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
He came – proserchomai
– to come to, approach; draw near to
touched – haptomai
– to fasten one’s self to, adhere to, cling to
This is the word Jesus used after
the resurrection when Mary was clinging to Him…
(John 20:17 NKJV) Jesus said
to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go
to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father,
and to My God and your God.’ ”
open coffin – soros
– an urn or receptacle for keeping the bones of the dead; the funeral couch
or bier on which the Jews carried their dead forth to burial
those who carried – bastazo
– to take up with the hands; to take up in order to carry or bear, to put
upon one’s self (something) to be carried
stood still – histemi
– to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set; to cause a person or a
thing to keep his or its place
Young man – neaniskos
– a young man, youth; used of a young attendant or servant
arise – egeiro
– to arouse, cause to rise; to arouse from sleep, to awake; to arouse from
the sleep of death, to recall the dead to life
:14 touched the open coffin
In Jesus’ day, just like they do today in the Middle East, people were
buried the same day they died.
This man was not placed in a casket like we might think, but on an open
pallet, a “bier”.
He would be typically placed in a sarcophagus made of limestone that would
cause the body to decay quickly, and then just the bones would be buried.
In the Law of Moses, touching anything that has come into contact with a
dead person would make you “unclean” and unable worship God. (Lev. 22:4)
(Leviticus 22:4 NKJV) —4 ‘Whatever
man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a discharge,
shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever touches
anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission of
semen,
Lesson
Touching the untouchable
But Jesus’ compassion leads Him to “touch” the coffin and stop the
procession.
He didn’t just have sympathy for the woman, He did something about it.
Illustration
One night in 1935, Fiorello H. La Guardia, mayor of New
York, showed up at a night court in the poorest ward of the city. He dismissed the judge for the evening and
took over the bench. One case involved
an elderly woman who was caught stealing bread to feed her grandchildren. La Guardia said, “I’ve got to punish
you. Ten dollars or ten days in jail.”
As he spoke, he threw $10 into his hat. He then fined everyone in the courtroom 50
cents for living in a city “where a person has to steal bread so that her
grandchildren can eat.” The hat was
passed around, and the woman left the courtroom with her fine paid and an
additional $47.50.
The word translated “touch” is the
same word used to describe how Jesus handled the leper who came to Him for
healing.
Touching a leper also could make
you unclean. But Jesus touched the
leper.
(Luke 5:13 NKJV) Then He put out His
hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the
leprosy left him.
You might feel like you too are “untouchable”.
Jesus wants to reach out to you today.
This is what Jesus does.
He touches those that are “unclean” and makes them clean.
He touches those who are broken and makes them well.
Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 53:5 NKJV) But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His
stripes we are healed.
When Jesus died on the cross, He took all our sins, our
“uncleanness”, and our brokenness.
He paid the price so we could be made whole.
:15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to
his mother.
sat up – anakathizo
– to raise one’s self and sit upright, to sit up, erect
dead – nekros
– one that has breathed his last, lifeless; deceased, departed, one whose
soul is in heaven or hell; destitute of life, without life, inanimate
speak – laleo
– to utter a voice or emit a sound; to speak
He presented – didomi
– to give
:15 he who was dead sat up
Reminds me of a story…
Illustration
Three buddies die in a car crash and they go to heaven to an orientation. They are all asked, “When you are in your
casket and friends and family are mourning over you, what would you like to
hear them say about you?” The first man
says: “I would like to hear them say
that I was a great doctor of my time, and a great family man.” The second man says: “I would like to hear
that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher who made a huge difference in
our children of tomorrow.” The last guy
replies: “I would like to hear them say LOOK!
HE’S MOVING!”
:15 He presented him to his
mother
I imagine this was the best present
this mother had ever received.
:16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great
prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”
came – lambano
– to take; to make one’s own; to receive (what is given), to gain, get,
obtain
fear – phobos
– fear, dread, terror
glorified – doxazo
– to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate; to honor; to make glorious
Imperfect tense. Continual glorifying God. They
were glorifying God.
visited – episkeptomai
– to look upon or after, to inspect, examine with the eyes; in order to see
how he is, i.e. to visit, go to see one; the poor and afflicted, the sick; to
look upon in order to help or to benefit; to look after, have care for, provide
for: of God
:17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the
surrounding region.
report – logos
– a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea;
anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative
surrounding region – perichoros
– lying round about, neighboring; the region round about
:16 fear came upon all
These people aren’t afraid because a dead man is now talking, like some
sort of a zombie.
They have a renewed fear of God because of the power God has just displayed
in raising someone from the dead.
Lesson
Fearing God
This is how we ought to respond to God when we see His power and He does something
amazing.
Fearing God is like going to court for the first time and learning to
respect the judge.
Video: Judge Judy says be quiet
A few years ago I spent quite a few hours sitting in court to support a
friend.
I saw people come into the court with complete disrespect
of the judge. More often than not it was
someone on the younger side, who came in dressed inappropriately, or who acted
as if they didn’t care what was going on.
But after they got a taste of what a judge could do to
them, every single one of them gained a new respect or “fear” of the law.
We will one day face a Judge with far more authority than a North County Superior
Court Justice.
(Psalm
98:9 NKJV) For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge
the world, And the
peoples with equity.
Isaiah caught a glimpse of God. He
saw angels around God’s throne. He heard
them proclaiming God’s “holiness”, His “purity”. And this is how Isaiah responded:
(Isaiah 6:5 NKJV) So I said: “Woe is
me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell
in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah was terrified of God’s purity and realized that he
was not so pure.
God in His compassion didn’t leave Isaiah in a state of
impurity. God cleansed Isaiah.
You see the fear of God through the book of Acts. For example…
After the day of Pentecost, God did some amazing, wonderful things, and many
people came to the Lord.
(Acts
2:43 NKJV) Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done
through the apostles.
There wasn’t anything scary being done, just amazing wonderful
things.
When Ananias and Sapphira fell dead after having lied to the apostles about
their gifts to the church,
(Acts
5:11 NKJV) So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these
things.
This “fear” I get, this seems terrifying.
Saul had been persecuting the
church until the day that He met the resurrected Christ on the way to
Damascus. His life was radically
changed…
(Acts 9:31 NKJV) Then the
churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified.
And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they
were multiplied.
When Jewish exorcists who didn’t
know the Lord tried to cast a demon out using Jesus and Paul’s names, they got
beat up by the demon possessed man…
(Acts 19:17 NKJV) This
became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on
them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Proper fear of God comes as a response to seeing God at work, whether it’s
through something terrifying (like Ananias and Sapphira) or something wonderful
(like thousands coming to Christ).
Proper fear of God is a smart thing.
Solomon wrote,
(Proverbs 9:10 NKJV)
“The
fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proper fear of God doesn’t mean that you are terrified and running away.
We don’t run away because our fear of God is balanced by His love for us.
(1
John 3:16a NKJV) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us…
He is actually for us, not against us.
(Romans
8:33–34 NKJV) —33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who
justifies. 34 Who is
he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Proper fear of God means that you change your lifestyle.
(Proverbs 8:13
NKJV) The fear of the Lord is
to hate evil; Pride and arrogance
and the evil way
And
the perverse mouth I hate.
For some they change because they are “afraid” of
disappointing God.
For others they change because they are “afraid” of facing
judgment.
Both reasons are good.
The point is that you take change seriously.
:16 they glorified God
Lesson
Bringing glory to God
“Glory” is all about who you shine the spotlight on.
Our society is filled with narcissism.
We do everything for “me”.
We do everything to bring attention to “me”.
Even this last week with the first set of presidential debates, one of the
things each candidate was sure to do was to talk about the things they’ve done.
I get it. This is how our electoral
process works. People are elected by
getting the most votes.
The candidates need to let people know of their
qualifications if they expect to get elected.
But this is not the way to be a Christian.
Let others be the ones to praise you.
(Proverbs
27:2 NKJV) Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger,
and not your own lips.
Do things because they are right, not because you want
attention from people.
(Matthew
6:1 NKJV) “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to
be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
We shine the spotlight on God in how we do good works. Jesus said,
(Matthew 5:16 NKJV)
Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father in heaven.
Our good works ought to be powering the spotlight that
shines on God.
If we do our good works properly, then God gets the
attention and they say, “Wow, God is
sure good!”
Illustration
In our generation movie theater lobbies are plain but
necessary entrances. They are a place where you deposit your ticket or purchase
your popcorn, candy, and beverage.
But in the hard days of the Great Depression, the lobbies
of show palaces were places of awe-inspiring beauty. (Like the The
Los Angeles Theater, built between 1911-1931) The typical lobby was a feast
for the eyes because it was designed to offer a transition from the grind of
daily life. Theater architects wanted moviegoers to feel a sense of
anticipation for what is coming next. Vaulted ceilings, museum-worthy art, lush
tapestries, beautiful fixtures, and uniformed ushers gave customers a
sneak-peak at what they could expect once they entered the theater itself.
During the Depression era movie tickets cost about 27 cents apiece. That wasn’t
cheap for those times, but movies offered Americans a chance to escape
loneliness and fear, bringing strangers together for a moment of beauty and
hope.
The Church is a lot like those classic theaters. God has
called us to give the world a preliminary picture of another world—not an
imaginary film world, but a real world filled with God’s glory. We help people
get excited about God’s kingdom and our heavenly home. Even in our sin and
brokenness, we’re called to model a way of life that is different from the
world around us. Our love, our hope, our forgiveness should offer the world the
beautiful alternative of life with Christ.
Submitted by
Greg Asimakoupoulos, Mercer Island, Washington
Illustration
The city of Cairo has its own unique version of poverty
called Garbage City …. Each morning at dawn some seven thousand garbage
collectors on horse-carts leave for Cairo, where they collect the garbage left
behind by the city’s seven million citizens. After their day’s work they return
to Garbage City, bringing the trash back to their homes, sorting out what’s
useful …. In Muslim countries there are certain religious restrictions on
sifting through refuse, so the inhabitants of Garbage City are either
nonreligious or from some Christian heritage …. These are the poorest of the
poor—outcasts among outcasts.
In 1972, a young Egyptian businessman lost his wristwatch,
valued at roughly $11,000. As you can imagine, it would have been unthinkable
to have a valuable timepiece returned by a member of Garbage City. Yet an old
garbage man dressed in rags, [found the man’s name on the watch] and returned
it, saying, “My Christ told me to be honest until death.”
Because of the garbage man’s act of obedience, the
Egyptian businessman later told a reporter, “I didn’t know Christ at the time,
but I told [the garbage man] that I saw Christ in him. I told [him], ‘Because
of what you have done and your great example, I will worship the Christ you are
worshiping.”
The [businessman], true to his word, studied the Bible and
grew in his faith. Soon he and his wife began ministering to Egypt’s physically
and spiritually poor. In 1978, he was ordained by the Coptic Orthodox Church
and now leads [a church that meets] outside Garbage City.
Rick
James, A Million Ways to Die (David C. Cook, 2010), pp. 14-15;
Source: Men of
Integrity, "Garbage City" (May/June 2011)
Be sure to shine your spotlight on God.
Illustration
I read a true
story about an Iranian pastor and his wife who had stopped in a small Iranian
village to buy some water.
Before going into
the store, the pastor noticed a rough looking man with a machine gun leaning up
against the wall. The pastor’s wife
encouraged the pastor to give him a Bible.
The pastor said “No way”. She
asked him to pray. He still didn’t do
it.
As they drove
away, she began to pray. The pastor felt
ashamed and said, “If you want me to die, then I’ll do it”, and went back to
give him a Bible.
When the pastor
returned to the store, the man with the machine gun was still standing against
the wall. The pastor approached him and placed the Bible in his hand. When the
man opened it and saw it was a Bible, he started to cry. “I don’t live here,”
he said. “I had to walk for three days in order to get to this village. But
three days ago an angel appeared to me and told me to walk to this village and
wait until someone had given me the Book of Life. Thank you for giving me this
book.”
The pastor became
a courageous witness for Christ. Eventually, along with many other co-workers
in the Iranian church, he was martyred for his faith.
Michael
Ramsden, “An Uncompromising Faith Lived Out with Grace,” Just Thinking (1-26-09)
Illustration
An early Christian
document known as the Epistle to Diognetus (c. A.D. 120-200)
is believed to have been written by a man named Athenagoras. In one important
section the author describes how Christians are alike—and different from
others:
The difference
between Christians and the rest of mankind is not a matter of nationality, or
language, or customs. Christians do not live in separate cities of their own,
speak any special dialect, not practice any eccentric way of life. … They pass
their lives in whatever township—Greek or foreign—each man's lot has
determined; and conform to ordinary local usage in their clothing, diet, and
other habits. Nevertheless, the organization of their community does exhibit
some features that are remarkable, and even surprising. For instance, though
they are residents at home in their own countries, their behavior there is more
like transients. … Though destiny has placed them here in the flesh, they do
not live after the flesh; their days are passed on earth, but their citizenship
is above in the heavens. They obey the prescribed laws, but in their own
private lives they transcend the laws. They show love to all men—and all men
persecute them. They are misunderstood, and condemned; yet by suffering death
they are quickened into life. They are poor, yet making many rich; lacking all
things, yet having all things in abundance. … They repay [curses] with
blessings, and abuse with courtesy. For the good they do, they suffer stripes
as evildoers.
James Bryan
Smith, The Good and Beautiful Community (IVP, 2010), pp. 28-29