A Message Of Supreme Importance Series

A MESSAGE OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE

Mark 5:24-34

We often receive messages that are considered to be extremely important. When the president addresses the nation, whether it be an address from the Rose Garden, the Oval Office of the State of the Union, it is covered on numerous channels. In our state, when a child is abducted and in grave danger, we will receive an “Amber Alert” warning on our phone. When a mass shooting, a terrorist attack or any other significant news event occurs, the news channels will interrupt regular scheduled programming to inform us of the situation. When severe weather is in our area the EMA will sound the warning sirens, our weather radios will come on and the local meteorologist will come on the air and encourage us to go to our “safe place”.

All of these messages are very important and it is necessary that we are informed of the events that are taking place. But the most important message that anyone can receive is the message concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the message that I would like to share with you today. I would like to preach “A Message Of Supreme Importance”.

This message is certainly not of supreme importance because of the one who is delivering it. It is of supreme importance because it is a message concerning eternity. It is important because it is a time sensitive message. It has been said that “good news is only good when it gets there in time”. Our selected text tells of a woman who was in a desperate situation. Time was running out and she needed a miracle. I am excited to share with you that she received the miracle that she was looking for. As we examine her story we will see several important truths. We will see:

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF HEARING ABOUT JESUS

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEVING IN JESUS

III. THE IMPORTANCE OF RECEIVING JESUS

IV. THE IMPORTANCE OF CONFESSING JESUS

Every year in Bible School we teach the children about the “ABC’s of salvation. The transformation of the woman with the issue of blood illustrates this process very well. Let’s look at her story and see:

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF HEARING ABOUT JESUS

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest news that we could ever receive. Jesus had recently delivered a man who was possessed with a legion of demons. He sent those many demons into a nearby heard of swine. Those swine “ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.” (v13) When the people saw what had happened, the begged Jesus to leave the area. And Jesus did what they asked Him to do. While one crowd rejoiced at His departure, another crowd rejoiced at His arrival. Jesus and the Disciples returned to Galilee. When He returned, there were two people who were desperate to see Him. A woman came to Him for a personal healing, and a ruler of the synagogue came to Him on behalf of his daughter who was at the point of death.

The first to reach Jesus was a man named Jarius. Verse 22 tells us that Jairus fell at Jesus feet “And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.” Jesus desired to help him and they immediately headed for Jarius’ house. (v24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.)

As they journeyed great crowds surrounded Jesus. In that crowd was a woman who had heard of the many miracles that He had performed. She was in a desperate situation herself. (v25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years) This woman had an “issue of blood”. This speaks to the fact that she was hemorrhaging. She suffered from a chronic internal bleeding. We are not told what the specific cause of this hemorrhaging was. But it was a sickness that was severe for many reasons. Not only did this condition involve physical problems, as a result of the bleeding she was ceremonially unclean.

Leviticus 15:25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. 26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.

Anything and anyone that this woman touched was considered to be unclean. Due to her condition, she was required to inform anyone in her presence that she was unclean. Because of this, we can be certain that she endured social isolation as well. It is likely that she was shunned by her family, her friends and society as a whole. Also, she would have been banned from the Temple and any of the synagogues.