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. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
– Luke 7:12–15
What an appropriate text to read and pray according to even in my own life today, as I prepare to preach a celebration of life for Mr. Louie. I mentioned Mr. Louie a couple of weeks back on a podcast from Psalm chapter 145. The quick story was that I didn’t even know when I was talking about this man who taught me in Sunday school. Who just served so faithfully in the church I was a part of growing up and not just me.
So many lives he has impacted in so many different ways, just literally countless people. But I didn’t even realize he was nearing specifically the end of his days. And the Lord just broadened mine when I was praying through Psalm 145, about the blessing of those whose God is the Lord. And that podcast episode came out and a couple of hours later, God had brought Mr. Louie home with him. And I had the opportunity, the privileged honor of speaking today at his celebration of life.
Luke 7:12–15 reminds us Jesus has authority over death.
So to open my Bible reading and to come to Luke 7 and to see this passage… Whenever Jesus showed up at funerals, things didn’t last very long because people came back from the dead. This dead man sits up and starts to speak and everyone glorifies God. And I read Luke 7, and I just want to remind all of us today for all who are in Jesus, you don’t have to worry about death because Jesus has authority over it.
So yes, until Jesus returns, all of us in this world will die at some point. But when your faith is in the one who is the resurrection and the life, you can know even though you die, you live. That’s straight from John 11. That’s straight truth from all over Scripture that we celebrate today as we look at Mr. Louie’s life and celebrate his homegoing. And I just want to encourage you today, you have hope that transcends death in your life and for all those who trust in Jesus.
Luke 7:12–15 encourages us to rejoice in the hope of eternal life.
So let’s live today and every day in the confidence, in the joyfulness, hope, strength, and power of the Spirit of Jesus in us who has conquered death itself. Oh God, we praise you for sending Jesus to live a perfect life, to die a substitutionary sacrificial death for us, for our sin in our place to die for us, to die the death we deserve to die, to experience the judgment we deserve to experience.
And then we praise you, God, for raising him from the dead. We praise you for his authority over sin, satan, and death itself. And so we rejoice in you, even if it’s grieving in this world. God, we praise you for the hope we have in Jesus. We praise you that Mr. Louie, even though he died, he lives. And we praise you for that reality. For all of us who are in you.
And God we pray, help us to live then with eternal urgency today to share this good news with other people. God, I pray that people today at Mr. Louie’s funeral would come to know eternal life in Jesus. God, we pray that you would help us all to be sensitive to and bold with the opportunities we have to share the gospel today so that people might go from death to life, from eternal death to eternal life.
Prayer for the Tunisian Jewish People
We praise you, Jesus, for the gospel and we pray for the spread of this gospel all around the world to thousands and thousands of people, groups who have yet to be reached with this good news. God, we pray please cause resurrection life to go to all the unreached in Tunisia. Specifically today, we pray for the spread of the gospel throughout Tunisia, for the spread of resurrection life, and hope throughout Tunisia. We pray all this according to your Word in Luke 7. In Jesus’ name, we pray the name of the one who lived and died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. And right now intercedes for us at your right hand and in whose power we will be one day brought home to you. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
