Disappointments May Be His Appointments Series

INTRODUCTION

In the past few miracles we’ve seen that Jesus has power over danger. He calmed the scary storm. He has power over demons; He transformed a scary man. Jesus has power over disease; He healed the woman with the scary sickness. In this miracle we’re going to see that Jesus has power over death. We need to pay close attention to this miracle because unless the Lord returns, we are all going to face death.

I always like the funny story I heard about a pastor who was preaching about death. He said, “Every member of this church is going to die!” And a little boy on the front row giggled. The preacher didn’t like that so he increased his volume. He yelled, “I said, EVERY member of this church is going to die!” The little boy laughed out loud. The preacher stopped and said, “Son, what’s so funny about that?” The little boy said, “I’m not a member of this church!”

Well, everyone is going to die. And some would say that death is no laughing matter. But for a believer, death isn’t a scary thing. In fact, I love that little verse about the Godly woman found in Proverbs 31:25, “She can laugh at the days to come.” That’s a picture of faith. But when you know Jesus, you can laugh at whatever this life throws at your and you can even laugh about the prospect of death.

Mark 5:21-23. When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him... This is where Jesus is interrupted to perform a miracle on the way to a miracle, so let’s pick up the story in Mark 5:35-43: While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?”

Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”

But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “‘Talitha koum!’” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

What would have been the worst day of the lives of Jairus and his wife turned into one of their best days. What would have been a day of Disappointment turned out to be an Appointment with God. So, why do you think Jesus asked the parents not to tell anyone about this miracle? If word had spread about this can you imagine all the people who would have been dragging corpses to Jesus? It would have looked like a zombie parade!

Jesus didn’t want this miracle advertised because His main purpose for coming to planet earth wasn’t to heal the sick, raise the dead, or teach moral lessons. He came to die on a cross. He came to fix the death issue once and for all. Let’s learn four practical lessons from this miracle.

I. WHEN YOU’RE DESPERATE, CRY OUT TO JESUS

Jairus was hurting because his daughter was dying. If you’re a parent, you probably understand what is to hurt when one of your children are suffering. One of my worst memories is from a cold winter day when Laura Grace was about four years old. I had come home for lunch and Cindy had cooked hot soup. I set a bowl of steaming soup to cool on the table in front of LG’s chair. While we were distracted with the rest of the meal, neither of us noticed LG crawling up into her chair to sit down. I turned around in time to see her pull on the placemat and it seemed as if everything went to slow motion as the hot soup spilled onto her and soaked the sleeve of her sweater. As she screamed with pain, I picked her up and dashed over to the sink and started running cold water on her arm. But the sweater had absorbed the hot soup long enough to cause severe burns on her arm. We rushed her to a local clinic they treated her burns. But what I recall the most is the frustration and agony I felt as a father as my child was suffering. Many of you who are parents have had the same gut-wrenching experience.