(21) And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. (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, (23) And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: [I pray thee], come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. (24) And [Jesus] went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. (25) And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, (26) And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, (27) When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. (28) For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. (29) And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in [her] body that she was healed of that plague. (30) And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? (31) And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? (32) And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. (33) But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. (34) And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
A little context to these passages before I get into the message. Any time you read your Bible I recommend that you always read the verses before and after those promises we so quickly cleave to, because you will find that there are always conditions that must be met before you can claim those promises. Also, the same should be said of familiar stories in the Bible to better understand what is going on.
You will find this story repeated in Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48 which will help fill in the setting and timeframe of this beloved miracle. All three accounts give us a crowd of people and the woman with the issue of blood. Now to get the full picture we must go back a few verses in Mark 5, Matthew 9, and Luke 8 and we see that before this meeting was the deliverance of the demonic of Gadara. He was the one that was possessed with the Legion of demons that were cast out of the man and they fled into a herd of 2000 swine that then ran violently into the sea of Gailee and drowned and the keepers of the swine run into town and tell everyone what just happened.
When they arrive, they see the man no longer naked but sitting clothed and in his right mind and they become afraid and ask Jesus to leave. Then the one delivered from the demons ask to go with Jesus, but He tells him in Luke 8:39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. In Mr 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all [men] did marvel. Take a mental note now where it says the men did marvel, we will get back to that. Then we go back to Lu 8:40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people [gladly] received him: for they were all waiting for him. Which sets up my original text.
But before I get into the message, I want to go back to Mark 5:20 where it says that all [men] did marvel. Throughout the Bible you will only find the word marvel or marvelled only 34 times with the bulk of the use found in the New Testament. It is a word that has no association with faith or belief in Christ. That word simply means to wonder, to be astounded, be stunned, be amazed, be dumbfounded. Not once did you read that they believed or accepted Jesus as their Messiah they were simply caught up in a feeling. When Jesus comes back, they are no longer afraid of Him, but they aren’t believers either they came only to see a show. This gathering of people that are pressing and thronging Him would be compared to how the world reacts to a celebrity. To borrow from an old term, they were nothing but a bunch of looky-loos. To me this is heart breaking that with all those people in the crowd there was no faith in Christ except for one, who I will get to later.
I. This message has been etched into my heart since the beginning of this year. This is a spiritual check engine light message. It is a word to the church the body of Christ not just for you but for anyone that hears this message. We need to make sure we aren’t lost in the crowd.
There are crowds but where is the faith? The problem with the crowd is they want to be apart of the moment with no real connection. Just a slight acquaintance, a curiosity for Jesus. Being swept up in the moments, in the feelings, but never making any commitment in faith.
We have a problem with people being a follower of Jesus because today a follower is nothing more than a number on social media, we just pick who we follow based off the content they produce it has to be relative and appease you in some way, when it’s something you like then you’re willing to give it like, a share, a heart. Jesus doesn’t respond to heart emojis. He wants your heart and devotion. He wants you only following Him and him alone. Your attention doesn’t need to be on anyone else but Him.
There is a famine in our churches of God’s Word, and we have become illiterate to God’s Word. I can’t stand it when people say they need a fresh word like the 783,137 words in the KJV Bible has somehow spoiled! What they need to do is know the 783,137 words that are there now and apply them to their life, instead of being a picky child only eating the stuff that appeals to them.
We have a lot of hearers of the word but not a lot of doers. James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (15) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (16) Do not err, my beloved brethren. (17) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (18) Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (19) Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: (20) For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. (21) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (23) For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: (24) For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. We are to live by every word of God this isn’t a buffet meal where you pick the good stuff that appeals to your wants and needs. You must take it all even when it makes you check yourself.
Rev. 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
We are told to repent, to turn from our wicked ways, to not give in to the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. 1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. Ga 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed. (12) The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. (13) Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].
Christians don’t drink, they don’t smoke, they don’t cuss, they don’t shack up, they don’t lie or steal they don’t have sex outside of marriage, etc… We are told to put away all filthiness and uncleanness.
If you’re uncomfortable right now, good because that means the word is working.
Praise and Worship is for Him, it is not for us. We are not to Praise Him for feelings or for sensory stimulation, it is about Him. Praise and Worship is not about the flesh it comes from the depths of our faith in God, it’s not attached to stuff and feelings. It’s not about making you feel good, it’s about making Him feel good. The Holy Ghost is not an aerobics instructor just trying to get you to sweat!
We don’t answer to them, we answer to Him, we are not supposed to be like them, we supposed to be like Him. The only way we can be like Him is living for Him, reading, and receiving His word. We don’t gather for a show, but we gather to lift up the name of Jesus.
II. The blame isn’t just on faithless crowds but also on weak preachers. Mr 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
Exodus 32 will answer the question that every preacher has about why people just can’t seem to get settled in their faith.
Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. (2) And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which [are] in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring [them] unto me. (3) And all the people brake off the golden earrings which [were] in their ears, and brought [them] unto Aaron. (4) And he received [them] at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (5) And when Aaron saw [it], he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow [is] a feast to the LORD. (6) And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. Only 17 verses in the Bible use the word play but this is the only instance in the OT that this one is used with a specific meaning the only other time it is used is in the New Testament referencing Exodus 32 in 1Co 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as [were] some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. The Paleo Hebrew definitions of play tells us it is a desire to have separation and to place behind, the Israelites desired separation from God and put Him behind them so they could indulge in their own fleshly carnal desires. It became all about them. Their worship wasn’t for God it was for them. They fashioned a god for the flesh, they didn’t want to crucify the flesh, they wanted to indulge in it.
(7) And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted [themselves]: (8) They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (9) And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it [is] a stiffnecked people: (15) And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony [were] in his hand: the tables [were] written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other [were] they written. (16) And the tables [were] the work of God, and the writing [was] the writing of God, graven upon the tables. (17) And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, [There is] a noise of war in the camp. (18) And he said, [It is] not the voice of [them that] shout for mastery, neither [is it] the voice of [them that] cry for being overcome: [but] the noise of [them that] sing do I hear. (19) And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. (20) And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt [it] in the fire, and ground [it] to powder, and strawed [it] upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink [of it]. (21) And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? (22) And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they [are set] on mischief. (23) For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. (24) And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break [it] off. So they gave [it] me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.
Exodus 32 tells us why pastor’s struggle with their congregations. This is where we are in the church you got real men of God going to the mountain to hear from God, to receive instruction to give to the people, but while they are on the mountain between Sundays the people are being influenced by an Aaron, someone that is willing to take their gold/money and fashion them a god to worship.
These Aarons only care about pleasing the people as long as they keep handing over their gold they give them a god that says its ok to cuss, to sleep around, to allow gay and trans lifestyles to be accepted, etc.. they keep fashioning a false god because the people have itching ears and only want to please their flesh.
The people need to listen to those on the mountain and when they bring a thus saith the Lord, they need to receive it and read it for themselves.
Ps 119:105 Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. God’s word does don’t lead you into darkness but out of it.
III. The woman with the issue of blood she isn’t in the crowd she stands alone. She was different than everyone else.
She was bound by the law and those that added to it.
The Woman with the issue of blood had a dilemma, she had been sick for 12 years but the law said she was unclean. She knew that the religious zealots that monopolized the church would call her out if she got near anyone. These religious elitest took Leviticus 15 and added to it. They took the law and weaponized it for their own personal form of holiness. They created a system where they were on top and everyone else was on the bottom. They made themselves appear holy and righteous.
Jesus didn’t have anything good to say about them just read Matthew 23 the entire chapter is dedicated to them and what Jesus had to say about them. He had 7 woes dedicated to them for not letting others enter the Kingdom of heaven and not entering themselves, converting people away from God to be like them, blindly leading God's people to follow man-made traditions instead of God's Word, involving themselves in insignificant details and ignoring what is really important: justice, mercy, and faith, keeping up appearances while their private world is corrupt, acting spiritual to cover up sin, pretending to have learned from past history, but their present behavior shows you have learned nothing.
When you read this story you will notice that she was sick for 12 years, Jesus was on his way to heal a 12 year old girl who would later die. There are 12 sons of Jacob, 12 Tribes of Israel, 12 gates in New Jerusalem, 12 stones on the priest’s breast plate, Jesus was 12 years old when he astounded the scholars with His knowledge of scripture. 12 has significance it symbolizes God's power and authority.
The woman with the issue of blood did everything she could to be cured. The Talmud gave at least eleven possible cures for her ailment, which she probably did in an attempt to be free. It wasn’t until she made her 12th attempt by breaking free from the religious bondages and mindsets knowing that she could be stoned for spreading her uncleanliness and with faith and on her knees, she reached to Jesus.
I have to ask where are you? Are you caught up in a crowd? Are caught up in sensory stimulation? Are you caught up in the flesh? Or are you on your face reaching for Jesus. The only one that can make you whole, the only one that has life more abundantly, the only one that is the way, the truth, and the life, the only one that can make you free indeed.
