Only Jesus Alone, Part 2 – Luke 7:11-13

Why must we consider Jesus alone? In part 1, we learned it is because Jesus is providential and Jesus is Lord. By His sovereignty, Jesus headed toward the small village of Nain and provided what the widow needed. In that moment, Luke calls Jesus ‘Lord’. Jesus must be confessed as Lord for us to be saved (Romans 10:9). He is the living Lord who has conquered sin and death. He is truly God and Lord above all things. Nothing happens without his permission. These are two of the reasons why salvation belongs to Jesus alone.

Jesus is full of compassion – “He felt compassion for her” Luke 7:13.
Jesus is truly compassionate. In fact, He is love (1 John 4:16). The Savior was not mechanical or robotic in his miracle work but His actions were a result of a genuine and visceral compassion towards the widow. His love is full of kindness and goodness. He knows what we go through and feels it deeply. Our days are full of trials and trouble and we fail many times, yet Jesus is always compassionate towards us. See how He wept for Lazarus (John 11:35). Still today, He continually pours out His mercy from His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:15). He already knows your sins, that you are wretched sinners, vile and unclean, yet kindly invited to the mercy seat. What compassion and kindness! Mark 1:40-41.

How does Jesus show compassion to us now? Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit who does the same things He does (John 14:26). We often forget that the Holy Spirit is here with us, within us. The Holy Spirit who is God also (Ephesians 1:13). Also Jesus also still intercedes for us (Romans 8:34). Jesus even prayed for His enemies, how much more does He pray for you (Matthew 5:44)? Love and compassion are always accompanied with prayer.

You must be humble to know the compassion of Jesus. It requires an honest humility that admits we are absolutely worthless before Jesus. A humility that realizes we cannot do nothing on our own but we need Jesus (Luke 15:18-19). The prodigal son confessed and was willing to be a slave, and the Father showed compassion (Luke 15:20-22). When we humble ourselves and beg for mercy, we avail ourselves to the wonderful compassion of our Father.

Jesus knows everything (omniscient)
The Lord says to the widow “Do not weep”. A strange response considering His compassion and Her situation. The widow was weeping loudly for she had lost her only son. She was now alone. Jesus saying “Do not weep” is saying He knows everything and He knows what to do. Jesus is omniscient. He knew everything about the widow and her situation. Jesus knows everything past, present and future. He spoke in His foreknowledge, not harshly or spitefully, but out of His goodness. His commands are love and holiness to us. The coming year will also have its hardships. Society will get more sinful and more illogical. More unbiblical ideas will continue to gain popularity. We don’t know how bad it will be but God knows.

Why does the omniscience of Jesus matter?
– Jesus knows us individually. His knowledge is a person to person knowledge. His knowledge is not just facts about us but relational. Like Jesus knew and treated Apostle Paul, He also deals with us individually.
– Jesus knows everything about everything. He is Lord of all. Jesus is not just Lord on Sundays and He is not just Lord of the church but Lord of all. From nature, to nations, to money, to health to all peoples, to all existence, He is Lord. This Lord of all walks with you. So bring all your matters to Him, He is Lord of those too (Daniel 3:25, Psalms 23:4-6).
– Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. To be honest, we don’t know ourselves very well. We can’t even watch our own backs. We need someone to do that for us. In our extremely limited knowledge, how can we face an unknown future? We must walk with Jesus by faith (Hebrews 11:1-3,8). Jesus knows you perfectly, what you will face and what you need. Have faith in Him.

Jesus is full of compassion and knows all things. He is the Lord of all and provides what we need. We must trust in Jesus. He is the only one who is trustworthy.