"Back into the City"

"When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, 'Do not weep.'"  (Luke 7:13)

 I love just how loving the God we serve is.  First to humble himself and take the form of a child, to become sin yet He Himself did not sin, to sacrifice his life to give life, and to become a priest forever in the presence of God to make concession for our sins.  He took our sorrows, our anxieties, and He took pain in them.  What a marvel it is to even think that my God came to experience pain just for me.  Compassion is not what Jesus had, compassion is what Jesus is. 

This woman that Jesus saw, and had compassion for, had lost her only son.  He was her only means of survival, income and protection.  She had no husband; a widow, left on her own to fend and provide for herself.  So here she is walking out of the city with a sizeable crowd that is carrying her dead son. 

"When He saw her, He felt compassion for her..."   Now this man, this womans son has been dead for a while.  The mourning of a person would last for at least 40 days; Jesus knew this and still He came 25 miles out of His way just for this woman.  He heard her cry, her heartache miles and miles away.  How often we tend to forget that our God hears us in our deepest sorrow and pain.  At times it may feel like God is miles away but He is closer than it appears.  And what we see here is so beautiful why? Because Jesus CAME TO HER.  Christ met her on her level, went out of His way by choice to meet her needs, not her wants, her needs.  And whats neat is that God has perfect timing. 

God is never late for a meeting, He never overschedules His book, He never forgets his appointments and His employees...God never forgets YOU.  Lets say you just lost your parents and all you have left is your sibling.  Its almost inevitable that you will eventually embrace somebody.  But if you've ever felt a hug from someone who truly cares for you the embrace is intense, its firm, filled with all the grief and sorrow that has built up in you it is in them. And it has at times a CRUSHING EFFECT, they hug you with a death grip seeming to never let you go and you have to mimic that hug or be crushed, yet in that embrace it releases something within the grief stricken person that gives them a brief moment of relief, a sense of understanding, a knowing that they are loved by the things that are unspoken.

God looked from on high and He saw you in your grief and your loss, and so He sent Compassion in the form of His Son Jesus Christ, to embrace you with a forever love to CRUSH the death grip that once held you down in your sorrows.  To give you not a brief moment of relief, but a forever moment with Him, to give you a deeper sense of understanding, a knowing that you are loved by the things that were spoken unto you and written for you in blood; HE SAW YOU AND HAD COMPASSION...

"Do not weep.  And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt.  And He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise!'"

What powerful truths Jesus spoke not only into the woman but also into the young man.  I understand and know why you are weeping but there will be no need for that, so do not cry no more; I understand and know that you are dead and are condemned by death, but there will be no need for that soon enough, arise!  Dearest Christian, arise and weep no more for you have a salvation unlike any other.  Christ came to die so that you may live.  As the young man was being carried out of the city because of his death with a sizeable crowd following him, Christ raises you back up because of His (christ) death, marches you right back into the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10) and you join in His crowd, His following of believers; where there is no tears no pain but eternal life with God.

Nothing that hasnt died cant be resurrected.  You were once dead in sin but Christ looked on you and HAD COMPASSION ON YOU. Salvation is knocking at your door, are you going to answer it?

God knows you, He sees you, He hears you, He comes to you, and He touches you.  May Christ continually touch you in all of your endeavors, hardships and pain. 

"If I should say, 'My foot has slipped,' Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.  When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul."  (Psalm 94-18-19)

"I am willing; be cleansed"

"...there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, 'Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.' And He stretched out His hand and touched Him, saying, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' And immediately the leprosy left him." (Luke 5:12-13)



I find it interesting how the bible uses leprosy as a symbolization of sin. First Leprosy causes a person to lose the sensation of touch, heat and pain. It weakens your physical state; weakening your muscles and it leaves a numbness to your arms, hands, feet and legs. You lose the ability to feel the warmth of a fire that should be comforting on a cold night, you lose the ability to feel pain when you step on a prickly thorn. You basically become a walking zombie. Sad right? But thats what sin can do to you; leaving you in a leprous state, numb to the things of the Lord, numb to His gentle touch. In the bible the lepers would remain outside the city walls; sin secludes us from having a personal relationship with our Father in heaven because in Him there is no shadow of darkness no sin at all for He is Father of lights.


But look at this man, this leper in his current state of leprosy he broke what he was commanded to do in leviticus 13. Instead of crying Unclean! Unclean! He goes straight to the feet of Jesus and implores Him asking for help and mercy. Being one that lived outside the city you can assume that he heard the travelers that came and went talking about Jesus how He was performing miracles, how HE WAS IN TOWN. And you can bet that this mans heart was enlightened to hear this because his hope had run dry.


So there he was on his knees before Christ imploring Him. "Lord if you are willing, You can make me clean." This man drew near to Jesus' in his weakened state, he was within arms length of Jesus close enough for Him to touch him. With every weakened muscle in his body, with every numb step he took closer to Christ, his hope in Christ to heal him grew. "And He stretched out His hand and touched him saying, I am willing; be cleansed." And he was immediately healed.


Dearest Christian, are you willing to humble yourself before Christ, to come to Him in your weakened state running to His feet and falling on your face? CHRIST IS IN TOWN and He wants to do some serious business in your life, but how can He do business if you don't first come to Him? The bible says in Isaiah 40:29-31 that, "He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power, though youths grow weary and tired and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will walk and not get tired, they wil walk and not become weary."


The Lord doesnt rejoice when you are in a 'numb state' for He desires to have fellowship with you. Come to Christ, get right with God, and get out of that leprosy that is weakening you from coming to Him. The LORD is willing if you are willing to be cleansed. God desires to touch your life, if only you would come to Him. He suffered outside the gate where you once were so that you would be holy by means of His blood (Hebrews 12:12) so that you would pass from death to life (John 5:24). I leave you with this verse; Isaiah 42:3 says, "A brusied reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish..."


May the love of Christ so shine upon you in a way that it will make clear the path that is set before you.