From Desperation
To
Deliverance
Text: Mark 5: 41, 42
Intro: Most of us here have experienced, at some point in time, what we would consider desperate circumstances. It may have been searing physical pain, a long-standing financial problem, or perhaps, as in the case of our text, the grave sickness of a loved one. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary Of American English, to be desperate is, “having a very great desire, need” (Victoria E. Neufeldt, Editor-In-Chief, and David B. Guralnik, Editor-In-Chief Emeritus, Webster’s New World Dictionary Of American English, Third College Edition, copyright 1991, published by Simon & Schuster, Inc.; pg. 374). However, there is usually an aspect of anxiety attached to this feeling of great desire or need. So much so, that one is willing to do almost anything to have that need met. You see desperation drives us to seek a solution—to find deliverance.
Such was the case with Jairus (Ja-i’-rus), a religious leader in the synagogue of Capernaum. His twelve-year-old daughter was deathly ill, and he wanted her to live more than anything in the world. When he heard of Jesus’ miracle-working power, he knew that this must be the solution to his dilemma.
This situation gives us a picture of what our attitude in prayer should be in matters of dire importance. Far too often we pray with an attitude of aloofness and virtual unconcern. If I read my Bible correctly, that kind of praying is unproductive. I do not mean to imply that God is so disinterested in us that we have to somehow convince Him to hear and answer our prayers. Quite the contrary. But a prayer that has no sense of urgency will likely receive no response from Heaven.
A desperate person possesses a sense of need. They don’t just want what they are requesting from God, they must have it. That’s the attitude with which we need to pray for the lost; the spiritual and physical growth of our church; as well as our personal walk with the Lord. We don’t need to pray depressed prayers, but desperate prayers; prayers characterized by urgency and brokenness.
Theme: In the story of Jairus we see:
I. AN ATTITUDE OF CONCERNED DESPERATION
A. Jairus’ Respect.
Mark 5: 22 “And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,”
NOTE: [1] It is rather significant that the name “Jairus” means, “whom Jehovah enlightens” (Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies From The Greek New Testament, Vol. I, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; pg. 108). Jeremiah 33: 3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty (hidden) things, which thou knowest not.” There is always an element of enlightenment in the process of prayer. Jairus was about to receive enlightenment concerning the power and person of Jesus Christ.
[2] When Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus; he was showing adoration and submissive respect. Matthew, speaking of this same incident, translates the idea as, “worshipped him” (Matt.9: 18a). This simply means that Jairus “…bowed down before him as an expression of profound respect” (Alvah Hovey, D.D., LL.D., An American Commentary On The New Testament, published by The American Baptist Publication Society, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; pg. 204). This should certainly be our attitude when we pray.
Clark Clifford shares this reminiscence of his former boss, Harry S. Truman:
Every morning at 8:30 the President would have a staff meeting. One day the mail clerk brought in a lavender envelope with a regal wax seal and flowing purple ribbons. Opening it, the President found a letter from King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, whose salutation began, “Your Magnificence.”
“Your Magnificence,” Truman repeated, laughing. “I like that. I don’t know what you guys call me when I’m not here, but it’s okay if you refer to me from now on as ‘His Magnificence.’”
Truman subsequently sent a message to the United Nations supporting the admission of 100,000 Jews into Palestine. Soon afterward he received a second letter from King Ibn Saud. This one began: “Dear Mr. President.”
Clark Clifford.
B. Jairus’ Request.
1. His request was characterized by urgency.
Mark 5: 23a “And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death…”
NOTE: [1] The English version somewhat softens the meaning of this phrase. The words “besought him greatly” mean that “…He kept begging, perhaps repeatedly and desperately” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, Editors, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 998). This is a picture of importunate prayer (Luke 11: 1-13).
[2] The words “…at the point of death…” mean, “to be in the last gasp” (Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies From The Greek New Testament, Vol. I, Mark In The Greek New Testament, pg. 108). Jairus was simply relating to Jesus in the most urgent terms, that his daughter’s death was imminent.
Bissel’s Ride
Thanks to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, everyone has heard of the “Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” But few have heard of Israel Bissel, a humble post rider on the Boston-New York route.
After the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Bissel was ordered to raise the alarm in New Haven, Connecticut. He reached Worchester, Mass., normally a day’s ride, in two hours. There, according to tradition, his horse promptly dropped dead. Pausing only to get another mount, Bissel pressed on, and by April 22, was in New Haven—but he didn’t stop there! He rode on to New York, arriving April 24, and then stayed in the saddle until he reached Philadelphia the next day. Bissel’s 126 hour, 345 mile ride signaled American militia units throughout the Northeast to mobilize for war.
Today in the Word, October 1, 1991.
2. His request was characterized by compassion.
Mark 5: 23a “…My little daughter…”
NOTE: Most scholars agree that Jairus used these words as a term of endearment. They obviously do not refer to her size, since we are told in verse 42 that she was twelve years old. According to Luke 8: 42, this was Jairus’ only daughter. Her well-being was very important to him.
3. His request was characterized by faith.
Mark 5: 23b “…I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.”
NOTE: This father exercised some bold faith in Jesus Christ. He said, “Lord, if you’ll just lay Your hands on my daughter, she’ll live.” I believe we need to come to God with this same kind of bold faith. If God ever lays His hands on this church, dear friends, it will live. It will burn more brightly for Christ than ever. If God ever lays His hands on the cold, spiritual deadness of the majority of Christians’ hearts in this country, they will come alive.
4. His request was characterized by an immediate response.
Mark 5: 24 “And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.”
II. AN ATTITUDE OF CONSTANT DEPENDENCE
A. A Message That Engendered Fear.
Mark 5: 35 “While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?”
NOTE: [1] My how this father’s heart must have leaped to his throat when he heard the word, “Thy daughter is dead.” Perhaps he began to blame himself for not having found Jesus sooner. But my dear friend, your biggest fear does not disturb Jesus in the least. God’s power does not end with the possible. He specializes in impossibilities.
[2] Can you imagine what a blessing ole Jairus would have missed if he’d followed the advice of the messengers of fear: “Why troublest thou the Master any further?” The idea of this message seemed to be that there was no more hope. The situation was final.
B. A Message That Encouraged Faith.
Mark 5: 36 “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.”
NOTE: [1] God is never the author of fear. The Bible plainly tells us, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Tim.1: 7). It may seem obvious, but we need to be constantly reminded that anytime we are living in fear, we cannot be living in faith.
[2] Jesus was telling this man, “…to continue believing, even in the presence of death” (Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies From The Greek New Testament, Vol. I, published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Mark In The Greek New Testament, pg.115).
III. AN ACT OF COLOSSAL DELIVERANCE
A. The Commotion Of Hopelessness.
1. The sorrow over the fatality.
Mark 5: 38 “And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.”
NOTE: [1] The word translated “tumult” means “a noise, uproar” (Ibid, pg. 115).
[2] The words “them that wept and wailed” refer to professional mourners who were hired to put on a demonstration of sorrow for the occasion.
2. The scorn of faithlessness.
Mark 5: 39 “And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
40a And they laughed him to scorn…”
NOTE: [1] The meaning of Jesus’ assertion that the girl was “not dead,” was simply that her condition was not permanent. As Albert Barnes explains: “The meaning of this passage, then, is, the maid has not ceased to ‘exist;’ but, though her body is dead, yet her spirit lives, and she sleeps in the hope of the resurrection” (Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible). By the same token, death is not a permanent condition for anyone who dies in Christ.
[2] Some so-called religious scholars suggest that this young girl wasn’t really dead, but that Jesus merely awakened her from a coma or some such condition. However, Luke, the physician, recounting this same event, says that the people, who laughed at Christ’s statement that the girl was not dead, did so, “knowing that she was dead” (Luke 8: 53). The question is do you believe the miracles of the Bible?
An alcoholic [who] became a believer, was asked how he could possibly believe all the nonsense in the Bible about miracles.
“You don’t believe that Jesus changed the water into wine do you?”
“I sure do, because in our house Jesus changed the whiskey into furniture.”
R. Stedman, Authentic Christianity, p. 36.
B. The Comfort Of Christ’s Help.
Mark 5: 40b “…But when he had put them all out (ekballo—“to throw out”—Wuest Word Studies In The Greek New Testament, Mark In the Greek New Testament, pg. 116), he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him (Peter, James, and John), and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.”
Theme: In the story of Jairus we see:
I. AN ATTITUDE OF CONCERNED DESPERATION
II. AN ATTITUDE OF CONSTANT DEPENDENCE
III. AN ACT OF COLOSSAL DELIVERANCE
Check out the author’s book, "Meditations of the Heart: Thoughts on the Christian Life" at:
http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Heart-Thoughts-Christian-Life/dp/1453739238
