Mark 5:21-43
“Do You Believe?”
By: Ken Sauer, Pastor of East Ridge United Methodist Church, Chattanooga, TN
Most all of us are familiar with the saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”
And tonight’s Scripture Lesson gives us a good picture of this.
When hard pressed on all sides, when things begin tumbling down; how long does it take for us to turn to God?
Sometimes we try and tough it out on our own.
Pride can get in our way.
Doubt can keep us from being set free.
Peer pressure can stop us from seeking the Real Help we need.
A kind of self-loathing or a feeling of “I’m not good enough” can create great obstacles to our healing.
So many of us come to Jesus as a last resort.
So many come to seek the help of Christ because they have reached their “wit’s end.”
They may have battled with temptation until they couldn’t fight it any longer…
…They may have struggled with some exhausting and overwhelming situation until reaching a breaking point and then cried out for a strength which wasn’t their own.
They may have tried and tried to be good, only to become utterly frustrated.
But whether we reach out to God right away…
…which of course, would save us from much heart-ache…
…or whether we wait until we’ve tried everything else, Jesus never sends us away!
Jesus is the Helper of the helpless; He is the Great Physician and the Lover of our Souls!!!
There is nothing beyond facing, and there is nothing beyond conquest—not even death—when it is faced and conquered in the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!!!
We have two really awesome stories this evening!
We’re getting double for our money!!!
We have a story inside a story, so to speak.
The outer story is about Jairus, a leader in the synagogue and his 12-year-old daughter, the inner story is about a much older woman, who for the same 12 years has suffered from severe bleeding.
Both stories are about fear and faith, desperation and wholeness, the marginalized and the powerful, and the power of Jesus to take people from one side to the other!
Since Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum He couldn’t have been an easy Person to have living in one’s village.
Experts in Jewish Law were upset about some of the things He was doing, and rumors suggested that if Herod got wind of this “new kingdom movement” there would be big trouble!!!
Jairus, probably didn’t feel too good about the possibility of a spotlight being shown on his town for all the wrong reasons.
At best, he probably would have wanted to keep a safe distance between himself and Jesus.
And this works until disaster strikes!!!
Jairus’ 12-year-old-dauthter was very, very sick, and apparently about to die.
We can see pretty clearly into his agonized household…
…the traumatized father…
…filled with fear…
…hope is slipping away like sand through an hour-glass.
Jairus is desperate, so he pockets his pride and forgets his political agendas, and rushes off to Jesus…
…throwing himself down at Jesus’ feet.
Imagine the scene; how undignified!!!
What would they be whispering about him come the next Sabbath?
But desperate times lead to drastic actions.
When it comes right down to it; nothing else matters when death comes knocking at the door!!!
“So Jesus went with him,” along with the eager crowd.
But something happened on the way.
Within the crowd is the woman with chronic bleeding; one of the main causes of impurity in that day.
She would have been forbidden to attend the Temple or any public events for that matter.
She should not even be out in public at all…
…let alone touching other people, especially a man!!!
But amazingly, this nameless cast-away is the one who shows the greatest understanding of Who Jesus really is and what it means to have faith in Him!!!
Jesus stopped in His tracks, even though He had been called to take care of an emergency at the home of one of the most prestigious and elite folks in town, in order to heal a sick woman that the world cared nothing about!
“Who touched my clothes?” Jesus asked.
“Then the woman…came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.”
And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
Never forget that when life crowds in with all its pressures, there is always room for us to creep up behind Jesus—if that’s all we feel we can do—and reach out to touch Him, with that strange mixture of fear and faith that comes with so much of our journey with Jesus.
How often have you reached out to Christ with both fear and faith?
How many times have you been rescued when you have been at your wit’s end?
And when we do reach out…
…when we do head toward the light rather than remaining in the darkness…
…our lives are transformed so radically that we can hardly contain it!!!
But, boy oh boy, so often these things are a near miss.
We almost didn’t reach out.
We almost gave up the battle.
We nearly caved.
And that is when the grace of God shines the brightest, is it not?
“But for the grace of God go I”!
Jesus will always rescue us; never give in to the temptation to give up!
Hope is always alive!!!
God is always near!
Jesus never leaves our side.
So, after Jesus stopped to heal the woman, and while He was still speaking, “some men came from the house of Jairus.”
They told Him that Jairus’ daughter was now dead, and then they basically told Jesus not to bother coming after all.
But Jesus ignored what they said, and continued toward the home.
“Don’t be afraid; just believe,” Jesus told them.
And isn’t this what Jesus is telling you and me tonight?
Whatever is going on in our lives.
Whatever the circumstances…
…however dire and awful things are…
“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
There is nothing more powerful in all the universe!
Apparently, Jairus and his household believed that Jesus might be able to heal the girl as long as she was still alive, but they didn’t believe Jesus had the power to bring her back to life once she was dead.
Have you ever felt as if you were dead and that nothing could bring you back to life?
I know I have.
And when these feelings arise, this is the time we need the Church more than ever.
But this is also the time when many of us decide to cut-out.
A month or two ago, I was having one of those days.
I can’t remember the reason, or if there even was a reason…but I was bummed out.
I felt pretty much dead.
Clair had heard it in my voice.
And I guess she was a bit concerned.
Anyhow, there is a good thing about being the Pastor—whether you feel like it or not—you gotta show up!
Anyhow, later that evening, Clair and I got together and I was in a great and exuberant mood, but I wasn’t even aware of it.
Clair, knowing how I had sounded earlier in the day asked me, “Why are you in such a good mood?”
“What happened?”
The answer was not hard to find, “I’ve been to Bible study!!!”
This may seem laughable to those who have not had such experiences, but Jesus really does raise the dead—both figuratively and literally!!!
In our story, when Jesus reached Jairus’ home, and let it be known that this was not an incurable problem, the people “laughed at him,” as people have laughed at Christ’s followers from that day to this!
But Jesus goes on to do what has to be done, no matter what others might think or say.
What an example for us to follow!!!
Derisive laughter is one of the things we humans fear most, and it’s one of the things that hurts the most…
…even more than many physical ailments.
This is most likely the reason that in surveys, Americans say that the only thing they fear more than death is public speaking!!!
Embarrassment, or the fear of being embarrassed is absolutely mortifying to most of us.
And we will often do many self-destructive things in order to avoid it.
Again, Jesus says to us, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
We are told that Jesus left the crowd behind, and six people went into the room where the dead girl is lying.
And this time, it is Jesus Who reaches out His hand; this time He says a word of command…
…and an accurate translation for what He says is this, “Time to get up, little girl!”
“Immediately the girl stood up and walked around…”
And at this, the people with Jesus
“were completely astonished.”
To be astonished by God is one of the things that makes being a Christian so exciting.
For when we come to Him with faith and sometimes even fear…
…or we allow Him to come to us…
Desperate situations are transformed into miracles!!!
Fear and faith, desperation and wholeness, the marginalized and the powerful...
…it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from or how grave your situation may be.
The power of Jesus can take us from one side to the other!
Do you believe?
