Now I Know That Your Word Is Truth

Sermon on 1 Kings 17:17-24

Text: Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the LORD, “LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”
22 The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”

The name “Pontius Pilate” does not carry positive feelings. He is, after all, the Roman governor, who presided over the sham trial of Jesus. He tried to pass the buck so that he wouldn’t have to deal with Jesus. Finally, he caved in to the demands of the Jewish leaders and sentenced Jesus to death. While Jesus was on trial before Pilate, Jesus said, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37) Pilate’s response to this was, “What is truth?”. His statement is one that echoes across the centuries. People question what truth is. I recently read a survey that stated that 67 percent of Americans don’t believe that there is any such thing as truth. They say, “What is true for you may not be true for me. It all depends on our experiences.” Where can we find truth? The woman in our text points us to the source of all truth and the confidence that is ours. NOW I KNOW THAT YOUR WORD IS TRUTH. 1. I’ve Seen Its Power Over Death. 2. I’ve Seen Its Power In My Life.

Here is the background of our text. God called Elijah to be his prophet in Israel during the reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. They were very wicked and tried to do their best to get rid of the worship of the true God. As a result, Elijah was told by God to announce that there would be a three-year famine on the land. In order to provide for Elijah, God told him to go to to the Kerith Ravine, which was east of the Jordan River. There God fed Elijah by having ravens bring him bread and meat. When the brook in the ravine dried up, God told Elijah to go to Zarephath, which was northwest of Israel. There Elijah met a widow who was gathering wood to bake a last meal for her son and herself, since this was the last of the flour and oil. Elijah told her to make him bread first. The woman trusted Elijah and baked the bread for him. As a result of this trust, we are told that the flour and oil did not run out while the famine was ravaging the land. This is the woman and her son, which are spoken of in our text.

After Elijah had stayed with this woman and her son for some time, tragedy struck the household. “Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.” (Verse 17) As great and as gracious as God’s physical care is, it did not cure the terminal disease of sin. The only family that this widow had was now gone. She was on her own.

As a result of this huge loss in her life, the widow speaks out in agony to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (Verse 18) It’s almost as if she felt that, before Elijah’s arrival at her doorstep, she was insignificant enough to have escaped God’s notice. She was just some poor widow in a small town. Once Elijah came, however, her life had come under God’s righteous scrutiny, and her son was dead as a result. Prior to Elijah’s arrival, she was partially aware of what was right and wrong, as evidenced by her conscience. Now that she had opportunity to more fully know God and his will for people’s lives, she is acutely aware of her failures to live up to God’s standards. When faith is feeling the stress of great pain, the powerful presence of God, made obvious by death, inspires dread.

Elijah shows that he is a man of God, highlighting God’s grace and steadfast love. Instead of rebuking the woman for talking that way, he said, “Give me your son.” (Verse 19) Elijah carried the young boy to the room in the widow’s house that she had given him. Elijah is also deeply moved by the death of this boy. He placed the boy on his bed and prayed, “LORD my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” (Verse 20) Elijah showed that he didn’t understand why God would allow this to happen. Yet, even in his grief, we see Elijah’s faith. He prayed, “LORD,” which highlights God’s steadfast love to the world. Elijah addressed this prayer to “my God.” Elijah knew that God had not turned his back on them, nor had Elijah given up on God.

Elijah continues his prayer, “LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” (Verse 21) Elijah prayed that the boy would be brought back from the dead. As amazing as this request is, there is something that shows the strength of Elijah’s faith. Prior to this, in the history of the entire world, there had never been someone raised from the dead. Elijah was asking God for something that had never happened before. Our text continues, “The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.” (Verse 22) God, in his mercy and all-surpassing power, did what was humanly impossible. Where there had been death, there was now life. The word of God was stronger than death.

This is the first of the resurrections that we read about in the Bible. There are nine others that are mentioned there. In each of these instances, we see God’s power over death. Of course, the greatest resurrection took place on Easter Sunday. There the Word, as Jesus is referred to in John 1, showed his power over death by rising from the dead. He had died in payment for the sins of all people. He died on the cross for you and for me. The death and suffering that he experienced were ours. In love for us, he stepped into our place and bore the guilt and punishment for all of our sins. In his resurrection, the Word showed that he had power over death. His resurrection assures us that our sins have been forgiven. In addition, Jesus’ resurrection assures his followers that, on the Last Day, all who have fallen asleep in the Lord will be raised from the dead and will have eternal life with him in heaven.

We have seen the power of the Word over death in the pages of the Scriptures. We have, also, seen the power of the Word over death in our lives, as well. I am not talking about someday, at the end of time. We have already seen it in our lives in the fact that we have been brought to faith. We remember that we were born dead, that is to say, spiritually dead. We could not make the first step toward God, nor did we want to. However, by the working of the Holy Spirit through the Means of Grace, the gospel in his Word and the sacraments, we were brought from death to life. The apostle Paul puts it this way, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins . . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.” (Ephesians 2:1,4,5) We have not only seen the power of the Word over death in the pages of the Scriptures. We have experienced this in our own lives, as well.

After the Lord heard Elijah’s prayed and brought life back to this boy, “Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’” (Verse 23) Elijah didn’t elaborate what had happened. He simply presents the boy to his mother. The woman responded, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.” The woman saw the child and spoke her glad amens to every word of God that she had heard from the mouth of his prophet. The fact that her son was living showed the power of God. Her faith was strengthened through this display of God’s power. I wonder how many times during the rest of this woman’s life that she thought back to this day. Of course, we have no way of knowing. However, it stands to reason that she would have thought of this day often. When she ran into a difficult situation, she would have thought of this day and be reminded of God’s power. When she was feeling weak in her faith, she could have thought that God didn’t dismiss her, when she cried out in agony at the loss of her son. When it came time for the end of her life, she could think of this day and know that she did not need to fear death. The same God, that raised her son, would also raised her from the dead on the Last Day. The power of God’s word changed her life.

The Word, Jesus Christ, also has power over my life, as well. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we no longer want to live as the rest of the world does. This is not to say that we will no longer be tempted to sin. As long as we are in this world, we will face temptations from the inside and the outside. However, because of the Word that is in me and his word that I hear, I can say “No” to those temptations. The Word has power in my life, when I do stumble and fall. I don’t need to live my life in despair, because I know that Jesus has paid for my sins. The truth of the Word changes my priorities in life. Having seen all that God has done for me, I want to pit my relationship with him above everyone and everything else in this life. The truth of the Word affects me in other aspects of my life, as well. There will be situations in my life, when it would be easy for me to become worried. It looks like I won’t have enough. The truth that is expressed in God’s Word gives me the assurance that he will always take care of my needs, giving me what I need for this life. When I run into those times when it would be easy for me to be afraid, God tells me in his Word that he is always there with me. He will protect me, guide, and direct me. The truth that is expressed in the Word also calms my fears when I think about death. I can face death unafraid because I know from his Word that Jesus has come to be my Savior. He lived for me. He died for me. He rose for me. I know that when I close my eyes in death, I will be with my God forever. I know that I will open my eyes on the Last Day, when my body is raised from the dead and I will enjoy all of the blessings of heaven forever. The truth of God’s Word changes my life, as I wait for him.

How sad it is that so many people have fallen into the trap of saying that there is no truth. They are just floating around, with nothing solid to base their lives on. They say that they are living in true freedom. However, they don’t know true freedom, because they are enslaved by their sins. In addition, they can never know true love, because they don’t know what God has done for them and wants to do for them. In their cynicism and their searching, they echo the question of Pilate, “What is truth?” We thank God that we have come to know the truth of God’s Word and the effects it has. We have seen its power over death, as we have been brought to faith. We have seen its power as we live for him. May we make it a priority to be ever more immersed in the truth of God’s Word. We also pray for those who are searching for the truth, that they might know the peace of knowing the truth. May God give us opportunities to share the truth with others. Jesus prayed for them, and he prayed for us, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17) Amen.