The Gospel of Mark #14:
Jesus’ Authority Over Death & Disease
Text: Mark 5:21-43
Thesis: To stress that we must come to Jesus if we wish to be healed.
Introduction:
(1) After healing the demon-possessed man, Jesus crossed back over to the crowd from which he had previously departed.
(2) Jesus will encounter 2 individuals who needed His healing touch.
Discussion:
I. The Story:
A. As Jesus stepped out of the boat, He met a man named Jairus, who needed Him to heal His daughter.
1. Jairus was one of the synagogue rulers.
a. “Officials of Jewish synagogues included a ruler or president, who had the responsibility for conducting worship and instruction, and the attendant (Luke 4:20), who was in charge of the building and its contents” (Brooks 93).
b. Jairus’ “responsibilities included building maintenance and security, procuring of scrolls for Scripture reading, and arranging Sabbath worship by designating Scripture readers, prayers, and preachers” (Edwards 161).
2. Despite what others thought, Jairus ffell down before Jesus and begged Him to come and heal his daughter.
B. Jesus agreed to go with Jairus and the large crowd followed Him.
C. A woman, who had a 12-year hemorrhage problem, fought her way through the crowd to get to Jesus.
1. This woman had been declared ceremonially unclean (cf. Lev. 15:25-27).
a. Therefore, “she was ostracized from normal society and debarred from worship in the synagogue and Temple” (Hughes 1:125).
b. She had tried everything that she knew of to get better, but to no avail.
1) “The Talmud listed no less than 11 cures for this specific illness” (Hughes 1:125).
2) However, she refused to give up.
2. She believed that Jesus, even just a touch of His cloak, could make her whole.
D. As soon as she touched Jesus’ cloak, she was healed.
1. “Twelve years of shame and frustration are resolved in a momentary touch of Jesus” (Edwards 164).
2. For the first time in years, she felt whole.
E. Jesus decided to talk with her about the healing.
1. At first, he asked: “Who touched my clothes?”
a. He was “not content to dispatch a miracle, he wants to encounter a person” (Edwards 165).
b. “The public embarrassment caused by singling her out signifies his individual care for her. He will not allow her to slip away and remain anonymous. He forces the issue so that then she leaves healed, she will leave knowing that they one who healed her knows her and cares for her. She is a person who is worth taking time with and addressing” (Garland 221).
2. After she revealed herself, Jesus commended her for her faith and expressed His desire for her to “go in peace and be freed from … suffering.”
F. As Jesus was talking, some people from Jairus’ house came and informed Jairus that his daughter was dead.
1. The people encouraged Jairus to leave the teacher behind, which is basically a “subliminal message … that Jesus is only a teacher, and death marks the limit of whatever power he may have” (J. Meier, A Marginal Jew 2:786).
2. Jesus “is not deflected by the report, and proposes to press on regardless” (France 238).
a. “Though he did not tell the ruler how the crises would end, Jesus urged him to believe that all would end well” (Brooks 94).
b. “This is the challenge before Jairus, and before everyone who meets Jesus: to believe only in what the circumstances allow, or to believe in the God who makes all things possible” (Edwards 166).
G. Jesus and Jairus continued on to Jairus’ house and went into the room where the little girl was lying.
1. As soon as they got to the house, they encountered “professional Jewish mourners who were always summoned when a death occurred. It was traditional for them to wail loudly, to weep, and to lead the family and friends in lamentation” (Wiersbe 1:128).
2. Jesus responded by saying that the mourning was not necessary because the girl was “asleep,” which meant “that in spite of the girl’s real death, she has not been delivered over to the realm of death with all its consequences. Mourning is inappropriate because she experiences a sleep from which she will soon awake” (Lane 197).
3. Many of the people there laughed at Jesus’ statement; therefore, Jesus puts them all out except for the mother, father, and Peter, James, and John.
4. Jesus then brought the girl back from the dead.
II. The Application:
A. Everyone, whether rich or poor, needs Jesus.
B. Jesus can do for us what no one else can do.
C. We must come to Jesus with great faith, which:
1. Opens the door to the power of God
2. Shows persistence in overcoming any obstacles
3. Is embodied in action
4. Is impelled by desperation that Jesus is sufficient to meet whatever need one has
Conclusion:
(1) “This poor woman represents humanity – all of us. We are ill. We have spent our resources trying remedies which do not work. Christ comes to us from the Cross. We need to touch him by faith. Do not fear that he will not respond. Do not fear that you are too ignorant. Do not fear that you are too selfish. Fear only – that you will let him pass without reaching out in faith to him” (Hughes 1:129).
(2) Will you come to Jesus and be made whole today?
