Kingdom Keys - Mark Series

So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried and failed. Our hope as leaders is that all of us will pick up God’s word and come to understand the true nature of God. After all, the bible is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. The Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.

This week we move to the second of the four gospels entitled “Mark.” As the video highlights, the book’s larger message is to report the facts about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. It’s written to the skeptic and leaves us with the open-ended question: “What are we going to do now that we have heard the facts? What are we going to do with this scandalous claim that God became man?

There are three stories in Mark that tell how people react when they first encounter a living God. One happens at the tomb, a second happens during the transfiguration (when Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus) and a third occurs when Jesus is demonstrating what it means to be on mission while in the community. It’s this scene I want us to dive into today. If you have a bible, Let’s open to Mark 5: 32.

Let me pray for us…

(briefly tell the story of the woman who had a bleeding issue leaned out to touch his garment)

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

There are many aspects of this life which create fear - death, mutilation, loss of autonomy, being alone and even ego deflation. We fear failing, succeeding, losing, being judged, rejected, being inadequate and change. It’s been said all fear can be reduced to two things, fear we will lose something we have and fear of not getting what we desire. The great truth in this scripture is that when we have had enough of living in the thousand forms of fear, we can approach Jesus in our humility and our desperation knowing He wants to heal you or your situation.

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

Culture will always judge the world by what it sees and believes. Culture is pragmatic. The crowd was just expressing their belief about death. However, we know the current understanding, that death is permanent, is not true. The divine spark connected to the eternal flame of Jesus offers a different worldview. In it, we know life encompasses more than this plane of existence. A thought Jesus reinforces in the next verse.

36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the ability to accept the fear and do what’s being asked anyway.

There was a great story on the Sydney Olympic website a few years ago about a marathon run during the Olympic Games, Mexico, 1968. The marathon is the final event on the program. The Olympic stadium is packed and there is excitement as the first athlete, an Ethiopian runner, enters the stadium. The crowd erupts as he crosses the finish line.

Way back in the field is another runner, John Stephen Akwhari of Tanzania. He has been eclipsed by the other runners. After 30 kilometers his head is throbbing, his muscles are aching and he falls to the ground. He has serious leg injuries and officials want him to retire, but he refuses. With his knee bandaged Akwhari picks himself up and hobbles the remaining 12 kilometers to the finish line. An hour after the winner has finished Akwhari enters the stadium. All but a few thousand of the crowd have gone home. Akwhari moves around the track at a painstakingly slow pace, until finally he collapses over the finish line. It is one of the most heroic efforts of Olympic history. Afterward, asked by a reporter why he had not dropped out, Akwhari says, “My country did not send me to start the race. They sent me to finish.”

Courage for a Christ follower is not to run the race to beat everyone else. Jesus already did everything for you to assure you a prize in heaven. We are asked only to run and finish the race.

Jesus came upon a situation the world would have said is futile. He knew their unbelief and fear in coming to Him. Afterall, many a Jew believed He was a rabbi who had authority, maybe even a prophet (it had been over 400 years after all) but many were slow to believe He was the coming Messiah. So Jesus seeing their unbelief shows his compassion on another. A person totally different from the first. She was poor. He had a position. She was powerless. He had power. She was seen as unclean and less than. He was somebody in the city. Let's listen to what happened when he went to the house …