Mark 5:21-43
Following the deliverance ministry in Gadara, Jesus crosses by boat over to the other side of the lake and there once again Mark demonstrates that his gospel is focused on action as he describes the press of the crowd around Jesus. The action is vividly told as the synagogue leader, Jairius, comes and falls at the feet of Jesus, and pleads with Jesus to come and heal his daughter who is dying. Jesus responds promptly.
Now I want you to picture this. Jesus is on an emergency ministry call. I don’t want to liken this too much to the calls that ministers get in the middle of the night to rush to the hospital because some loved one is seriously ill, but it is something like that. There is a pressing need to get to the home of Jairus and Jesus is heading there and I don’t believe that there was any thought of delay on his part. In fact, if he had a car with lights and siren I think they both would have been blazing away. However, something happened.
Along the way, the woman with the issue of blood reached out in hopes of touching nothing more than his clothing. She didn’t want to disturb him, she just hoped that somehow she could connect with something stronger, something more positive, something with more hope and promise than she had ever touched before.
Here’s where I want to make an important point. It takes an intentional act on our part to fully connect with Jesus Christ. Jesus called the disciples by the seashore, but they intentionally dropped their nets and followed him. Jesus called Matthew from the tax collector’s table, but Matthew made the choice to follow him.
Think for a moment on Romans 10:13 – “Whoseover shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Once again, an intentional act of obedience and belief is called for. A tangible act is necessary for salvation. We have to believe and confess.
Jesus stopped and looked around and said “Who touched me?” Jesus often knew the hearts and minds of men. He knew the future. I don’t want to get into some great debate about whether or not he knew exactly who touched him. Bear with me as I share that I think that he already knew the answer to the question. I don’t believe Jesus asked this question to gain information.
If God knows everything then why does he ask questions? In the Garden of Eden, God asked Adam “Where are you?” and I don’t think that He did not know that Adam was hiding in the bushes, ashamed of his personal sin. God asked that question to confront Adam with his sin, much as a parent catches a child with their hand in the cookie jar and says, “What do you think you’re doing?”
God asked Elijah “What are you doing here, Elijah?” when Elijah fled from Jezebel’s threat to hide in the wilderness. We can be sure that God knew about Jezebel’s threats and Elijah’s fear. God was asking a question in order to confront the prophet in his sinful lack of faith.
Jesus even asks the disciples what they had argued about on the road as they traveled. They did not wish to answer him because their petty argument had been about who was the greatest among them. Jesus asked them about the argument for the sole purpose of confronting them in their own pride and then turned it into an opportunity for teaching.
What do these Biblical illustrations show us? They show us that one reason that God asks questions is for the purpose of confronting man in his sin.
There is another purpose. God asked Moses “Who made man’s mouth?” I want to shout out the answer because sadly, Moses misses an opportunity to make a powerful declaration of faith. He could have said, “Lord, you are the one who made my mouth and therefore you can speed up my slow speech and give me the ability to speak boldly on your behalf!” Instead, he continues his excuses.
Jesus asked the disciples what people were saying about his identity and they offered multiple responses. Then he asks who they said he was. It is Peter who responds with a bold statement of faith, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus confirms Peter’s statement of faith by declaring that Peter’s answer had come from revelation through God’s Holy Spirit.
In the temple, after his cleansing, Isaiah hears God ask, “Who shall I send? Who will go for us?” This question was not asked because God was wondering aloud what he should do next. Rather, God asked the question for the purpose of allowing Isaiah to respond with his impassioned plea, “Here I am, LORD, send me!”
These Biblical illustrations that God asks questions to allow His people to respond in faith and obedience. In this case, Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” His purpose was to allow the woman to step forward in faith, which she did.
The importance of confession is sometimes overlooked. By asking the question that he asked, Jesus gave this woman a chance to even more fully connect. He gave her a chance to find more than healing, but to find peace. He takes time to offer her words of comfort.
Hold up a second! He TAKES TIME! Did he momentarily forget that he was on an emergency ministry call? Did the lack of the lights and sirens allow him to forget where he was going. This woman had lived years with her disease, but the daughter of the synagogue ruler was dying! Yet, Jesus takes the time to minister to her.
This brings me to the next point of the message. Never let where you are going interfere with where you are at!
What do I mean by that? I mean that I am glad that Jesus took time to minister to people as he met them. He met the tree climbing Zaccheus and took the time to go to his house. He took the time to minister to blind Bartimaues and the ten lepers. Jesus never let his destination interfere with ministering right where he was at.
A contrast to that would be the religious men in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Before the Samaritan came along there was a priest and a Levite who saw the wounded man and passed on by. Their religious activity and spiritual cleanliness was more important to them than the suffering of the man and so they left him be.
At times in our Christian walk we let our spiritual activity take the place of ministering in the lives of those whose paths we cross. We refuse to minister to people because we are too busy.
Here we have our example: Jesus is on an emergency call and takes time to minister to a person in need. Jesus took the time to offer comfort to this woman who had been hurting.
Most of us are familiar with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. We are aware that we are commanded to go forth and share the gospel. One translation says “As you go…” and I like that a lot. Everywhere I go I should seek an opportunity to share the gospel. I should seek that opportunity at my gaming group. I should seek that opportunity in the supermarket. I should seek that opportunity in my neighborhood. I have the absolute greatest message in the world and I should seek to share it along the way.
After offering comfort to the woman, Jairus is met with some people with bad news. They declare that his daughter is dead. That’s not a great way to say things. I don’t want anyone to ever tell me that my loved one is dead! Can’t they use some more politically correct wording? I prefer to hear that “he’s gone to be with the Lord” or maybe “she’s passed on.”
Note that Jesus ignored them (verse 36) and encouraged Jairus as well. “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” There is a classic Christian chorus that we sing that is likely based on this Bible verse. “Only Believe—Only Believe—all things are possible, only believe!”
These people were realists. They came with the news that there was no longer any hope. They came to bring Jairus an update on the situation. They came with cold, hard, facts.
Recently, I heard a testimony from the pastor of a new Hispanic church. They had planned a block party to reach out to Hispanics in their community. However, several days into the planning the church treasurer told the pastor that after paying the outstanding bills, etc. there was only $77.00 in the bank. The treasurer presented the cold, hard, fact that there wasn’t nearly enough money to being planning a block party. The pastor met with the church leaders and they prayed over it. They decided that God was leading them forward and they began to plan. They were shocked when funds began to pour in. They held the block party and a number of people came to know the Lord and later were baptized into the church.
We have to be realists. God would not want the church to write hot checks. Still, there are times when the cold, hard, facts say that something cannot be, but God continues to lead us forward.
