Dear Christian friends:

If you went to a cemetery and happened to see a lady sitting on the grass and talking to her dead husband, you would probably smile and think, "That old lady is a bit crazy."

Here in our text we see Jesus stop a funeral procession and then He talks to the dead man in the coffin. But you do not think Jesus is crazy when you read about Him talking to dead people. Why? Because you know that the dead can hear Jesus' voice and obey it. Jesus has shown His power over death. He raised various dead persons to life and He Himself died and after three days He arose from death.

Jesus said to the young man who had died, "Arise!" Jesus says the same word to you and me, "Arise!"


When Jesus says, "Arise!" He gives both physical and spiritual life.

In our text Jesus shows His great power over both kinds of death. He told the young man, "I say to you, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak." (verses 14-15)

Without doubt, the young man was very impressed by Jesus' great power. His mother certainly was, as was the crowd. (verses 16-17) No doubt, the young man now believed in Jesus. He accepted Jesus as the Son of God and the promised Savior. Jesus gave him both physical life and spiritual life. Perhaps before he died this young man was spiritually dead. But now he is spiritually alive. He is alive to God.

If you believe in Jesus, you like the young man have arisen from spiritual death to spiritual life. Paul told the Ephesians, "You He has made alive, you who were dead in trespasses and sins." (Ephesians 2:1) Through Holy Baptism Jesus has commanded you and me to arise from death and live. In Holy Baptism Jesus washes away our sins and gives us new birth and new life by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5-7)

Through His Word and the Holy Supper Jesus keeps our faith alive so that we do not fall again into spiritual death. And we are able to show others that we are alive to God.

Paul says that God gave us new lives in Jesus Christ so that we can praise Him and give glory to Him by our lives and spend our time helping others.

A farmer had a heart attack. His heart had stopped for five minutes, but the doctor worked on him, and finally he began breathing and his heart beat again. Later when he was home on his farm recovering he said, "I was born again. The morning sun looks brighter. The spring season is thrilling and people who before did not seem interesting to me now have new value, and I have been born again to a new awareness of life."

A person who is alive to God sees the world and everything in it in a different way than the person who is dead to God.

A Christian psychiatrist, George A. Benson of St. Louis, Mo., tells about Becky, a 19-year old girl who became a drug addict and then became a prostitute so she could earn enough money to pay for the drugs. When she was almost dead and broke she visited Dr. Benson and he advised her and helped her. After many visits to his office, with the help of Jesus, Dr. Benson lead her from spiritual death to spiritual life. One day while Dr. Benson counseled her she joyfully cried out, "God, I'm being born!"

Those who are alive to God have joy and peace, hope and comfort which those who are dead to God cannot know.

When God makes someone alive in Jesus Christ that person really lives here on earth and he does not lose that life and joy when he is old or near death or dead.

Often we prefer to be young, and we think old people are near death and not alive. But often it is the opposite. Here is an example: a young farmer who does not believe in God looks at his corn field and sees the money he will earn from his corn crop: he sees money growing. An old man who believes in God will see the corn field in a different way. He sees the beauty of the fresh, green leaves, the softness of the corn silk and the yellow plumpness of the kernels, and he gives praise and thanks to God who invented corn and who makes it grow and multiply to feed many people. The young man looks at the corn field with greed and sees only money and all the many things he can buy with the money, but the old man sees a beautiful plant and gives glory to God.

Now I ask you, which man is dead and which is alive?

How about you? Are you dead or alive? Have you heard what Jesus says to the dead? Have you awakened to new life in Christ? Have you risen from death? Are you living the good life? Are you praising God and helping others as God wants you to do? Do you see the world in a new and different way?

Jesus says, “I am come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) He says, “Arise from death and live."

Amen.