How do you react when you recognise someone great?
Not everyone recognises a great person.
We are going to look at the reactions of two people when they recognised Jesus for who he is.
Lets read Mark 5 v 21 onward.
They recognised Jesus for who he is. They both came in faith and both fell at his feet.
These are both public acts of will by two people at opposite ends of the spectrum, one seen as religious, the other as unclean, yet they both have the same reaction when they meet Christ.
They differ from the crowd. The crowd, when they recognised Jesus saw him as a magic man, someone who would put on a show. Whereas Jairus and the sick woman recognised Jesus as a healer, as loving and merciful – more than just another prophet.
But this recognition is nothing by itself, Jairus and the sick woman both acted on it.
Jairus put that initial recognition into action by falling at Jesus’ feet. This was as an act of submission. He was saying –“I’m giving up, and putting this problem in your hands.” Submission is the act of surrender and obedience, an offering. Jairus was saying more than you’re my last chance. He was saying, ‘I’m a synagogue ruler, highly respected in this area. But I’m on my knees now, and I’m giving up and offering you my life and my status.”
I expect that Jairus was quite frustrated when Jesus stopped because someone had touched him. And I expect he was going mad, when Jesus wanted to find out who that person was. A massive crowd, hundreds of people all pressing to get close to see what Jesus would do next, of course someone was going to touch him!
The sick woman recognised that Jesus was someone special. She acted on this recognition by reaching out and touching him. And instantly she felt her body had been freed from suffering. When you put something in someone’s hands, you hand over the responsibility to that person. When your car breaks down and you know you can’t fix it, you hand it over to a garage, and you give them the responsibility of fixing the problem. You put your faith in them to restore your car to you in better condition than when you took it in, even though, when you take it in, you find that the job is bigger than you thought, and there are a lot more problems with it than you first thought. Like the woman who had suffered with this illness for 12 years, despite going doctors, she had got no better. Yet when she put this problem in Jesus’ hands it was taken from her and he took his responsibility seriously.
Around this time, people did believe that a healers’ power was in the clothes that they wore. Which today, is like the TV evangelist who tells you that if you touch the screen while he prays you will be healed. But Jesus wanted this woman to know him as more than a person who could heal just physical pains. So he made a point of singling this woman out. Because of this personal call, she recognised Jesus’ power, and fell at his feet. Through this new understanding of who this man was, she was healed for a second time, as Jesus healed her spiritual pains. She knew the peace and freedom that an unclean person could never have hoped to experience. When the sick woman, now healed, fell at his feet, she was saying “I had faith to touch you and you were there and honoured my faith.” In other words, she fell at his feet in praise thankfulness and she testified to the crowd of what Jesus had done in her life.
Is Jesus calling you to fall at his feet and be a witness for him?
Through the healing of a sick woman, Jairus saw what Jesus was capable of. He saw the real power of Jesus.
Then what happened? Jairus’ daughter died. I expect at this point, a desperate man got even Jesus reminded him that the responsibility had been taken from him when he gave the situation over to Jesus and he had to trust that his daughter would be well. Going back to the car in the garage analogy, it’s like when your car goes in to have its tyres changed, and you find out that the suspensions gone. Sometimes, problems get worse before they get better. But if you hand the problem over to Jesus he tells you “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”
Should we fall at Jesus’ feet?
Do you have something you need to give over to God? Something to sacrifice or a problem that you haven’t yet given to him?
Perhaps God has honoured you in some way, do you need to thank him for that in praise and worship?
This may be a personal thing, like it was for Jairus, when Jesus sent away the crowds, or it may be something you need to do out in the open, in the same way that the sick woman testified to her healing in front of the crowds.
Neither Jairus nor the sick woman knew who Jesus really was when they recognised him, but they started on their journey to discovering him. We all need to keep learning about who Jesus is. And we need to give him more of ourselves so that he can show us more of himself. In a friendship, or at least, the ones I’ve had, it’s a journey, you go through life learning about that person, and learning about yourself, and as you share who you are, they share more as well. When troubles come, either just a life a situation something within the relationship, you stop and take another look at the friendship, and you learn a lot about your relationship and what it really means to you.
How can we fall at Jesus’ feet?
Firstly, we need to recognise him, who is and what he has done for us.
Then we need to take action, in the same way that Jairus fell at his feet, and the sick woman reached out to touch Jesus, we need to come to him ready to submit to him, to give him our lives as an offering, asking him to heal us, and restore us.
The passage speaks of the results we get from this, healing, strength, a greater understanding of who Jesus is, and we get restored.
We then come back to the sick woman’s response of worship, and again find that we should fall at his feet.
Submitting our lives to him, on our knees, we find healing and restoration. Surely the right place to be after this is on our knees again, in praise and worship.
But what does this mean? That we should be constantly at Jesus’ feet? Jesus has saved us, and called us friends. When we submit our lives to him, and allowed him to work in us, he picks us up.
Jesus calls us to stand up, in verse 41 and 42 Mark says: “he took her by the hand and said to her “Talitha Koum!” (which means “little girl, I say to you get up!”) Immediately the little girl stood up and walked around. And in Mark chapter 9, when a boy with an evil spirit was brought to Jesus, Jesus commanded the spirit to leave, and then took the boy by the hand and lifted him to his feet. Jesus instructs Jairus’ family to participate in the restoration of the young girl, by feeding her. We can take part in the growth of others, by encouraging them and feeding them.
I want you to think about where you are now.
Do you need to fall at Jesus’ feet? To submit your life, or a certain situation to him.
Do you need to reach out to him, and believe that he will change you?
Do you need to fall at his feet, in praise and worship, for something he has done for you recently?
Do you feel as though you are part of the crowd? Along for the ride, just seeing what’s going to happen? Do you want that to change?
Do you need to take Jesus hand so that he can help you to your feet? So that you stand with him.
What if we aren’t falling at Jesus’ feet?
It maybe that we are happy walking with him, and he is speaking to us in that way, he has already picked us up, and we are continuing our journey with him. But that shouldn’t stop us falling at his feet in worship, he is worthy of our praise, and if we think about who Jesus is, we should be submitting our lives to him regularly.
Or it may be that you don’t see the need to fall at his feet. Are you running away from his calling? Are you trying out other options? Have you recognised who Jesus is?
(We are going to go into a time of ministry, and just)
Think about where you are with God, should you be submitting more of your life, or a specific need that you have to him?
Do you need to fall at his feet in worship?
Do you want to recognise more of Jesus?
Do you need to reach out for healing?
Do you need Jesus to pick you up off the ground?
There are people here who will encourage you to take this step. And the important thing is that this step is taken, recognising Jesus is one thing, but acting on that is another.
Jesus isn’t too busy with someone else to have time for you. Reach out and touch him.
