Introduction:
A. I read a story about a little girl named Tess went to her bedroom one day and pulled her glass jelly jar bank from its hiding place in the closet.
1, She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully.
a. After placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way to drug store down the street.
2. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give his attention to her, but he was too busy talking to a well-dressed man.
a. Tess made a scuffing noise with her feet, but the pharmacist didn’t acknowledge her.
b. Tess loudly cleared her throat, but still no response.
c. Finally, she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
3. “And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “Can’t you see I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages?”
a. Young Tess answered back with the same annoyed tone: “Well, I want to talk to you about my brother. He’s really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle.”
b. “I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.
c. Tess continued, “My brother has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”
d. Softening a little, the pharmacist said: “We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you.”
e. Tess replied, “Listen, I really need a miracle and I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
4. The well-dressed man, who was the pharmacist’s brother, stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
a. Tess replied with her eyes welling up with tears, “Mommy says he needs an operation, but my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
b. “How much money do you have?” asked the well-dressed man from Chicago.
c. “One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly.
d. “Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the well-dressed man, “A dollar and eleven cents is the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.”
e. He took Tess’s jar of coins and said, “Please take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
5. That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a neuro-surgeon.
a. To make a long story short, Dr. Armstrong was able to do the operation without charge and it wasn’t long until Tess’s brother was home again and doing well.
b. One day as the family was happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place health and harmony, Tess’s mom said, “That surgery was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”
c. Tess smiled and said, “It cost one dollar and eleven cents.” …plus the faith of a little child.
B. I don’t know if that story is true or not, but I know that desperation and the hope for a miracle are powerful and can lead to a demonstration of faith.
1. Vance Havner said: “Holy desperation is the door to God’s greatest blessings. Those who proved him best in the Scriptures were at the end of everything.”
2. That is certainly the case in the stories of two people we will explore in today’s section from the Gospel of Mark.
3. Both people had come to the end of everything, and their desperate faith took them to Jesus.
4. Today we will complete this section of Mark that focuses on the miracles of Jesus that help us to understand who Jesus is and what Jesus can do.
5. Jesus is God in the flesh and the miracles of this section show His power over nature and power over a large demonic presence.
6. In today’s section, we will see Jesus heal someone with a long-term illness that had baffled doctors, and we will see Him defeat our greatest enemy – death.
7. Who is Jesus? He is the God who can overcome the dangers of the deep, the dangers of demons and disease, and the danger of death!
8. But beyond Jesus’ incomparable power, we also see His mercy, gentleness, and love.
9. Both Jesus’ greatness and His goodness are on display, side by side, in these two miracles.
10. Let’s explore today’s section like it is a play with three acts.
I. Act One: A Desperate Father’s Plea
A. Mark wrote: 21 When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea. 22 One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him. (Mk. 5:21-24)
B. Mark reports to us that Jesus returned to the western side of the Sea of Galilee and that the crowds He had previously left there gathered around Him when He returned.
1. In Luke 8:40, Luke reports that the people welcomed Him for they had been waiting for Him.
2. What a contrast: On East side of the lake the people had asked Jesus to leave, but on the West side of the lake they greet Jesus and welcome Him.
C. Mark then introduces us to a man named Jairus who is a synagogue leader – which means he is an important and respected man in his Jewish community.
1. It must have been difficult for Jairus to come to Jesus for help.
2. By this time in Jesus’ ministry, many of the Pharisees stood in opposition to Jesus.
3. But if Jairus had any prejudices towards Jesus, they were overshadowed by the need of his child.
4. Jairus’ little daughter was dying and he had surely heard about Jesus’ power to heal or had witnessed it himself.
5. Luke tells us that this sick girl was his only daughter and was 12 years old. (Lk. 8:41-42)
6. Mark dramatically describes Jairus’ humility and desperation: he came, he fell at his feet, he begged him earnestly.
7. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt that helpless and desperate, and so you humbly threw yourself down before the Lord? If you haven’t, then you will someday.
8. We must not miss the faith that Jairus expressed in Jesus’ power: He believed that if Jesus came and placed His hands on his daughter that she would get well and live.
D. Can you imagine the relief and the joy that Jairus must have felt when Jesus agreed to go with him?
1. Jesus could have easily denied his request, especially with the crowd around Him and perhaps the many other requests that were being made of Jesus.
2. Jairus must have known what a long shot it was when he went to find Jesus.
a. What were the chances that he would even be able to get close enough to Jesus to make the request?
b. What were the chances that Jesus would say “yes”?
3. Once Jesus had agreed to go with him, Jairus must have done everything he could to hurry Jesus along.
4. Can you picture Jairus clearing a path for Jesus through the crowd and pulling Jesus along?
II. Act Two: A Desperate Woman’s Touch
A. Mark wrote: 25 Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years 26 had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. 28 For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.” 29 Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction. (Mk. 5:25-29)
B. Doesn’t your heart go out to this woman?
1. The women in our church family can identify with her far better than any of us men can, because you women have suffered with just the regular monthly period you experience.
2. It’s hard to imagine her enduring a constant flow of blood for 12 years.
3. Imagine how frustrating it was to her to have spent all her money on doctors without it leading to a cure (If she lived in our day, she could have brought a malpractice lawsuit!).
a. Incidentally, when Luke, the doctor, wrote his Gospel he didn’t mention the failure of the medical establishment. (I guess doctors always have each other’s backs!)
4. The Jewish Talmud offered no fewer than 11 cures for the problem that afflicted this woman.
a. Some were tonics, while others were mere superstition – such as carrying the ashes of an ostrich egg in a linen rag in summer and in a cotton rag in winter.
5. Undoubtedly, this woman had tried everything to remedy her situation.
6. And now, financially drained and emotionally exhausted, she suffered both the physical discomfort and the social humiliation caused by years of sickness.
7. Her affliction made her ceremonially unclean which excluded her from Israel’s religious life and isolated her from normal social interactions.
C. This woman was beyond human help – she was helpless and hopeless…until she realized her one last hope…Jesus.
1. Jesus’ reputation as a healer had spread throughout Galilee and had reached this woman.
2. Just like Jairus, this woman was compelled to go to Jesus by the desperation of her need and the strength of her faith.
3. Imagine a faith that believed that all she had to do was touch the edge of Jesus’ cloak and she would be healed.
4. She believed Jesus had enough power that it could flow out of Him without His permission.
5. Her faith in Jesus immediately paid off for the second her finger touched His clothing, she was instantly healed.
a. Can you imagine the joy she felt the second she knew she was healed?
6. She had hoped that she could be healed without Jesus even noticing her, but she was wrong.
D. Mark tells us: 30 Immediately Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But he was looking around to see who had done this. 33 The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.” (Mk. 5:30-34)
1. We can understand the reaction of the disciples to Jesus’ seemingly ridiculous question: “Who touched my clothes?”
a. I would have responded, “You’ve got to be kidding! Who touched you? Everyone is touching you!!”
b. Jesus was making His way through the crowd trying to get to Jairus’ house and people were everywhere and Jesus was brushing up against people with every step.
2. But Jesus could tell the difference between the touch of faith and a brush of fate.
3. Jesus stopped the parade and demanded the person come forward not only for her sake, but for the sake of others.
a. Jesus wanted her to know that her faith was rightly placed and therefore rewarded.
b. And Jesus wanted the crowd to know that her healing had come through faith in Him.
E. The woman wanted to hide and escape, but Jesus was speaking directly to her and so she was compelled to come forward and admit to what she had done.
1. And so she came with fear and trembling, and fell down before Jesus and told the truth.
2. I’m sure she expected to be chastised and feared that Jesus might reverse her healing.
3. How relieved she must have been when Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”
4. Don’t you love how tenderly Jesus spoke to her?
5. This is the only passage in the entire NT where Jesus ever used the word “daughter” – it is a familial term of affection and acceptance.
6. We notice that Jesus praised her for her faith and sent her off restored – physically and socially.
a. Jesus didn’t say that her touch made her well, or touching his garments made her well.
b. There was no magical power in Jesus’ robe or some mysterious force in Him.
c. Jesus wanted her to know that her healing came because of God’s gracious response to her faith.
d. It isn’t faith in faith that makes a different, but faith in God makes a difference.
F. Surely everyone was happy with this interruption and the healing of this woman, right? Wrong.
1. I’m sure Jairus was frustrated by this interruption.
2. Jesus had agreed to go and heal his daughter, and he knew that there was no time to lose.
3. What this woman did interfered with Jairus’ life-saving plans for his daughter, but the text doesn’t mention that he said anything about it.
4. When Jesus stopped and started looking for the person who had touched Him, if I was Jairus, I would have been tempted to say, “Don’t worry about it Jesus, let’s just keep moving. Remember, my daughter is dying!”
III. Act Three: A Desperate Faith that Maintains Hope
A. Mark wrote: 35 While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36 When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” (Mk. 5:35-36)
1. We don’t know how long Jesus’ interaction with the woman took, but it was long enough that while He was still speaking to the woman, messengers came from Jairus’ house to report that his daughter was dead, and that there was no reason to bother the teacher anymore.
2. Can you imagine how Jairus’ heart must have sunk?
a. He had been so desperate, but was then so hopeful when Jesus had agreed to heal his daughter.
b. Now the interruption and delay had turned deadly.
3. Jairus had believed that Jesus had the power to heal his daughter while she was still alive.
a. The people from Jairus’ house wrongly assumed that Jesus’ power could do nothing once death had arrived and therefore there was no reason to waste His time.
b. How ironic that the delay to restore one daughter had resulted in the death of another daughter!
c. But this tragedy wasn’t outside of God sovereign purpose and the delay resulted in an even greater miracle (much like the delay in the case of Lazarus resulted in a greater miracle).
4. When Jesus heard what the messengers told Jairus, Jesus countered their conclusion with a very difficult command: “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”
a. We can imagine Jairus’ thoughts spinning in his brain: “What do you mean don’t be afraid? And only believe what? Believe that they are wrong and my daughter isn’t dead?”
b. According to Luke, Jesus added the promise: “She will be made well.”
5. The experience of most everyone in the history of humanity is the reality that physically dead people don’t come back to life physically. Right?
a. But that was exactly what Jesus was encouraging Jairus to believe.
b. I don’t know how much further they had to go to get to Jairus’ house, but I’m sure along the way Jairus struggled to believe that his dead daughter would come back to life.
c. Yet his only hope was that Jesus could make a difference, surely no one else could.
B. Mark concluded the story: 37 He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother. 38 They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was. 41 Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”). 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. 43 Then he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and told them to give her something to eat. (Mk. 5:38-43)
1. Jewish customs around death and mourning were quite clear and extensive.
a. The professional mourners had already arrived and were in full swing.
2. Jesus announced that she wasn’t dead but was just sleeping, which brought scorn and ridicule from the crowd of mourners.
a. Jesus might have done that to downplay the miracle.
b. Or He may have just been making a spiritual point that all death is just sleep and is not permanent, but that there will be a resurrection.
3. Only five people were allowed to accompany Jesus to witness this miracle.
a. Jesus took with Him the inner three: Peter, James and John, and Jairus and his wife.
b. Three witnesses were required by the Law to establish something as fact.
c. Peter, James and John would also be the three who witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain and witnessed Jesus’ private prayer time in the garden of Gethsemane.
4. Then, without any theatrics, Jesus took the girl’s hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, get up” and immediately the girl got up and began to walk.
a. So One second that little girl was a corpse, pale and lifeless, and then next second whew a alive, walking around and ready for a good meal.
b. The grief of Jairus and his wife instantly gave way to joy and praise.
c. Mark says: At this they were utterly astounded. Who was astounded?
d. Jairus and his wife were astounded, but so were Peter, James and John.
e. No one had every seen anything like this.
f. Jesus had immense and unlimited power – not just to heal, but to raise the dead.
5. But Jesus told them not to tell anyone but to give her something to eat.
a. I’m sure these five people were eager to tell everyone, but Jesus needed to control the speed of growth of His messianic expectations and slow the growth of His opposition.
b. Jairus’ daughter had likely not eaten in a long time because of her sickness, so with great compassion and essential practicality, Jesus said: “Get her a burger and fries!”
Conclusion:
A. So what does God want us to learn from this section in Mark’s Gospel?
1. God wants us to understand who Jesus is and to put our faith in Him.
B. In this section on the miracles of Jesus, we get a better and bigger picture of Jesus’ power to bring restoration and healing.
1. We see His power over nature in His ability to calm the storm.
2. We see His power over a legion of demons which results in the healing of a broken man who is made whole again.
3. We see His power over disease which results in the healing of a woman’s body and her restoration of health and community.
4. And then most dramatically, we see His power over death which results in the restoration of the life of a little girl.
5. This, of course, is a preview of Jesus’ coming victory that includes His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the tomb.
C. Ultimately, God wants us to conclude that Jesus is worthy of our faith and we should put all our trust in Jesus.
1. Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood both had enough faith to seek Jesus for what they needed and they were both rewarded for their faith.
2. The faith of these two people stand in stark contrast to episodes in Mark on either side of them.
3. The episodes before show the failure of the disciples to believe in the midst of the storm, and people’s rejection of Jesus after the healing of the demonic and the death of the pigs.
4. And in the next episode that we will explore in our next sermon, Jesus will face the rejection of His own people in His hometown of Nazareth.
5. But here in the middle, we see the desperate faith of two people who trusted in Jesus and were blessed by doing so.
D. When we put our faith in Jesus it doesn’t mean that God will always rescue us from every danger or heal every sickness.
1. But it does mean that we trust in a God who holds the ultimate authority over everything and for that reason we need not fear anything.
a. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Romans 8:37)
b. Jesus is our only hope for here and for eternity.
c. Whatever or whoever Jesus touches is blessed and changed.
2. Nevertheless, believing in Jesus doesn’t make us immune to the normal parts of life and death, or the pain and suffering that comes from persecution for our faith.
3. But by faith, we look forward to the time when God will usher in the New Heaven and the New Earth, where we will be with God forever and He will wipe away every tear, and death will be no more, and grief, crying, and pain will be gone forever.
4. But in the meantime, we put our faith in Jesus who has the power to do anything.
5. And we must continue to live with the “even if He does not” kind of faith that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had – They believed that God could rescue them from the blazing furnace, but even if God didn’t, they still were going to trust in God and obey God.
6. God is pleased when our desperate faith says we will trust in God no matter what – even if God doesn’t heal our diseases, or keep our loved ones from death, or keep us from persecution, or keep us from losing our job, or bring us success and prosperity.
7. Let us trust in God’s sovereignty and God’s faithful provisions and plans.
a. ‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus!
8. I hope you are trusting in Jesus all the time – in the times of desperation and in times of plenty.
9. I hope you are trusting in Jesus alone for salvation – for as Peter declared: There is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven give to people by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
Resources:
• Truth for Today Commentary: Mark 1-8 and 9-16, Martel Pace, Resources Communications.
• The Difference Jesus Makes, Sermon by David Owens
• Two Daughters, Sermon by Nate Shinn
