Get Up! - Luke 7:11-17

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup.

The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the New Testament, Luke 7:11-17 (NIV). In this passage of Scripture, Jesus travels to the little town of Nain to comfort a grieving mother and widow whose only son has died. As we read the story, the emotions of the mourners and accompanying crowd at this miracle of Jesus raising the dead son to life remind us of the full scope of our emotions at Easter. As the partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember Jesus who offered His life to save us. We join with those present in Nain that day who said, "God has come to help His people!" All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Get Up!" I read from Luke 7:11-17 (NIV). All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version and are used with permission.

11 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.

Nain was a little town in Galilee, just a few miles from His hometown of Nazareth. Jesus was traveling with His disciples and a large crowd of people. There is no information to suggest that He stopped at Nain while enroute to another location; it appears that Nain was His destination. I like to think He had a divine appointment with the grieving widow who had just lost her only son. When He saw her crying, He was moved with compassion. He comforts her and raises the son to life! Can you picture this in your mind? Literally, the mourners are on their way to the cemetery when the deceased is brought back to life. Can you "hear" the sudden silence of the mourners and the collective gasp of awe as the dead man sits up and begins to talk? Can you hear all present erupting into joy and happiness and praising God? In Hawaii, we would call this a chicken skin moment! Actually, we do have some insight into this moment; it describes the flood of emotions we feel at Easter! We mourn the moment of His death on the cross and again as Nicodemus and his helpers wrap His body in a linen cloth and place it in the tomb and seal it shut. Just as the realization of what has happened sinks in, our sorrow is transformed into joy and happiness at His resurrection from the dead. We praise God! Just like the scene at the town gate of Nain, we all exclaim, "God has come to help his people." Today, as we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember His death on the cross and our part in sending Him there, but we also celebrate the faithfulness of God who raised Him from the dead. Maybe God used the same words with His Son, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" And He did. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father. What a great day is this day as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead! Yes, the world tries to divert our attention with baby chicks and bunnies and easter eggs, but our eye is on the spectacular truth of how You have come to help Your people. In His resurrection from the dead, we have more than hope in the resurrection, our resurrection from the dead is a fact as true as Jesus is the Son of God. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember Your Son, Jesus, and how He suffered to save us. As we remember Him, may we remember His love for us. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NLT).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV), “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!