Mark 5: 21-24, 35-43 Pentecost 6
A Lutheran pastor who grew up in a missionary family in Papua New Guinea recalls living through some of the tremendous thunderstorms that are common in that region. As a child, he was quite frightened when the storms came in the middle of the blackened night. In the dark, he would cry out, "Mom, come quickly! I’m scared!" Immediately, mom would come and wrap her arms around him in the darkness. "Don’t be afraid," she said. "It’s all right. God is here with you." On one occasion, he remembers replying, "I know God is with me, but sometimes I just need God with skin on."
Friends, that’s what we have in Jesus Christ - God with skin on. Our God came into this world to become one of us. He experienced first hand trials, afflictions, and temptations. He witnessed the pain of his people that was caused by guilt and shame, by sickness and death. In our text, he witnesses first hand the helplessness of a father who stood by while his only daughter lay on her deathbed. But don’t let this God with skin fool you. He became a man like us to be our Savior. He experienced our every weakness except the weakness of sin. But He is still almighty God and able to help us in our every time of need. And in our text, he invites us to do the same thing that he invited Jairus to do.
DON’T BE AFRAID! JUST BELIEVE!
I. COME TO JESUS IN FEARFUL TIMES
From our text, it would seem that Jairus came to Jesus as a last resort. Why didn’t he come sooner? Was he put off by the large crowd that always seemed to be about Jesus? Did he think that he would have to wait in line and that Jesus would no have time for him? Our text tells us that he was the ruler of the synagogue. No doubt, the rabbi’s were already jealous of Jesus’ popularity and speaking against him and his teaching. Perhaps he was afraid to jeopardize his position as ruler of the synagogue by coming to Jesus. But he had no choice. His daughter was dying. With tears in his eyes, he fell at Jesus’ feet and pleaded as only a father could plead. "MY LITTLE DAUGHTER IS DYING. PLEASE COME AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON HER SO THAT SHE WILL BE HEALED AND LIVE."
Friends, why do we so often make Jesus our last resort? "Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!" Do we think that Jesus is too busy to listen to our small requests? Do we think that his arm is too short to help us when we are in real trouble? Do we think that we can turn to him only for spiritual problems, or for the forgiveness of sins? Don’t we know that he also cares for us in times of sickness? Or when the bills aren’t being paid? Or when we haven’t been able to cope with our loneliness when a loved one has passed away?
Friends, Jesus cares. Our text says simply, "SO JESUS WENT WITH HIM." It is just a simple statement of fact. But there is so much comfort in those words! He left the large crowds. He set aside the urgency of preaching and teaching. Whichever disciple was in charge of his busy schedule that day probably threw up in hands in despair and said, "There he goes again! How can I possibly keep his schedule in order!" But Jairus needed Jesus at that moment. He needed a God with skin on. So Jesus went with him.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, Jesus gave us a wonderful promise. "AND SURELY I WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE." This promise was spoken to us by our Savior who rose bodily from the grave. He is exalted at the right hand of God. But he is still a God with skin on. He knows our troubles. He sees our afflictions. He feels for us in times of sorrow. Why wait until we are at wit’s end, or we’ve reached the end of our rope? Come to Jesus when you are troubled. And Jesus will go with you, too.
But do recognize that when we come to Jesus, our time of testing may not immediately be over. Doesn’t it seem that about the time we reach the end of our rope, things seem to get even a little worse? That’s the way it was for Jairus in our text, too. "Don’t be afraid. Just believe," Jesus said. These words are given to further encourage us.
II. DON’T BECOME DISCOURAGED
You’ll notice that there are some verses missing in our text. While Jesus was going with Jairus, a woman had come to him to be healed. She only wanted to touch the hem of his garment. But Jesus stopped to talk with her, too. Can you imagine the anxious father, Jairus, while this was happening? His daughter lay at home, close to death. He wanted to be there at her side. He wanted to bring Jesus to her - right now. About that time, some men came from home and said, "YOUR DAUGHTER IS DEAD. WHY BOTHER THE TEACHER ANYMORE?" Can you imagine how this father felt at that moment? His only daugher was dead. And he wasn’t even there by her side when it happened!
"Why bother the teacher any anymore?" Those words most have been like a stone in Jairus’ heart. Why bother with anything anymore? Why bother believing if God couldn’t keep his daughter alive? Why bother with being the ruler of the synagogue, if being close to God didn’t seem to make any difference when it came to his precious child?
"Why bother?" Those words have probably echoed in our own thoughts from time to time. If we’ve prayed and prayed and it seems that our prayers haven’t been answered, Satan is quick to pose the question for us. "Why bother praying to Jesus? What difference will it make?" Or if we’ve prayed and prayed and our worst fears have been realized and that loved one we prayed for did not recover, why bother? Why bother with going to church every Sunday and hearing the Word? Why bother believing in anything at all? After all, what difference does it make?
At that moment in our text, Jesus spoke to Jairus. "DON’T BE AFRAID; JUST BELIEVE." And Jesus continued on his way with Jairus, not letting him alone in this time of despair. But how can Jesus say that to him? "Just believe," he told Jairus. Nothing had happened yet - except that Jairus had witnessed the miraculous healing of the women who had come to Jesus and touched the hem of his garment. But nothing had happened to Jairus. To his knowledge, his daughter was still dead. How could Jesus possibly fix that? Blindness? A crippled arm? A woman who was bleeding? Perhaps this was "believable." But what could Jesus do for him now? Yet Jairus went with Jesus into his home. Somehow, he believed that if he went with Jesus, it would be alright.
Isn’t that what faith is all about? Isn’t faith the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen? There is a famous painting of the healing of the blind man near Jericho. The blind man is begging Jesus to restore his sight. An interesting detail in the picture shows that the blind man had left his cane lying alongside the road. With that little detail, the artist portrayed the faith of the blind man. While he was still blind, he believed that the Lord would heal him and that he would not need his cane again.
Friends, when you have reached your darkest hour... when you absolutely cannot go on any farther... when it seems as if God has not been listening to your prayers... when your sorrow is so deep that it feels as if you will never smile again... when you think things cannot get any worse but they do... then listen to Jesus’ words in our text. Don’t be afraid. Just believe. Go with Jesus just a little while longer. Because if you do...
II. YOUR FAITH WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED
When they got to Jairus’ house, the mourners were already there. It was the custom in those days to hire mourners who would weep and wail. Together with members of the family, who mourned in all earnestness, there was quite a commotion. Jesus said to them, "WHY ALL THIS COMMOTION AND WAILING? THE CHILD IS NOT DEAD BUT ASLEEP." Perhaps it was the professional mourners who laughed in Jesus’ face. And can we learn from what Jesus did not do? In the face of such open mockery and unbelief, he did not turn and leave. Nor did he rail against them. He just calmly excused all of them from the house while he took the child’s mother and father and his three disciples, Peter, James, and John, into the little girl’s room. Now he would demonstrate for this man whose faith was stretched to the breaking point that he was indeed "God with skin on" - the Messiah come in the flesh. "HE TOOK HER BY THE HAND AND SAID TO HER, ’TALITHA KOUM!’ (WHICH MEANS, ’LITTLE GIRL, I SAY TO YOU, GET UP!’). IMMEDIATELY THE GIRL STOOD UP AND WALKED AROUND (SHE WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD). AT THIS THEY WERE COMPLETELY ASTONISHED." The translation doesn’t do justice to the reaction of this little girl’s parents. Literally, the Greek says that they were ecstatic with ecstasy. They were beyond joy and happiness.
Can you imagine how they felt? Perhaps not. But someday we will. Because in a way, we have also been asked to make this leap of faith. We stand by the graves of our loved ones - a father, a mother, a son or daughter, a husband or a wife. And Jesus says to us, "Don’t be afraid. Just believe. He’s only sleeping."
Can we make this leap of faith? In a recent article in the Northwestern Lutheran, a woman describes her feelings at the death of her father. "As we watch the casket go into the ground, I feel almost nothing. That isn’t my Father in there. It’s just some mannequin dressed up in Dad’s new suit, bought only last month. I make myself touch his cheek - that soft, talcum-smelling skin crinkled from years of smiling - and I shudder at the plastic feel of it. That’s not something God made anymore; its chemicals and funeral-parlor artistry. It is not my dad. When he left, he took the essence of his body with him. My mind understands this, but my heart yearns to talk to him again. I wish I could share musings, jokes, and puzzles..." Can we look at the lifeless body of our loved one and believe Jesus’ words, "He’s only sleeping"?
We can. We must. Because our God with skin on proved his power over death. He raised Jairus’ daughter. And the young man of Nain. And Lazarus. But most importantly, he himself rose from the dead. And the disciples touched the Risen Savior - our exalted Savior, our eternal God with skin on.
Therefore, we too will be ecstatic with ecstasy someday. We will rise from the dead. We will witness the resurrection of our loved ones. We will leave the troubles and sorrows of this world behind and be eternally with our God with skin on - our Savior, Jesus.
Jesus says to us this morning, and in our times of trouble and sorrow, "Don’t be afraid. Just believe." God give each of us faith and hope and joy in our Risen Lord and Savior. Amen.
