JESUS KNOWS…
A funeral procession was coming out as He approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. Here again, we see a widow whose name is not mentioned, no class or creed can be associated with her, a seemingly nobody who has suffered so much loss already, and now her only son is dead. They are taking him for burial, imagine the devastation, the hopelessness, the anguish this woman would have been going through, the Finality.
Even though we do not know who she is, it seems she may have been well known in the village, or maybe her dead son was, because, so many people came out to join the funeral procession to bury her only son, obviously to everyone around, that seemed like the most important thing to do for her at the moment, help her carry the burden of having to bury her son, the least they could possible do, but that was the assumption everyone had, no one thought otherwise. You may be surrounded by so many people, no matter how much men try to, no man can truly meet another man’s need, not even those with the best of intentions. But not Jesus, He sees beyond what anyone else sees, He sees into the deep recess of our hearts, our deepest longings and heart desires, He feels what we are going through, and He is not judging, He is waiting for you to allow Him to help you turn that situation around. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” He said. this woman has lost everything, and here is Jesus telling her not to cry. He must have seen beyond the facade, the front she had been putting up, to help her get through the day.
It may just be a longing of the heart for something we desire but feel is not possible, “how can it ever happen”, we may think, but Jesus knows. Even after Jesus had spoken, the bearers kept going as if the Master hadn’t spoken, hell-bent on taking the dead boy to his grave. Then He walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” He said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
What the mother wanted, was to have her only son back, although burying him seemed like the most logical thing to do at the time. So against hope, she went along with the crowd to bury her only joy, her only hope, her dream… Nevertheless, by God’s divine intervention, Jesus was in the neighborhood, right on the same road where the burial procession was on, and He turned the situation around for good. Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.
You reading this today is not a coincidence, Jesus is in your neighborhood, He sees and knows, let Him help you, and you will see that circumstance turn around for good right before your eyes.
