West Village Church Podcast
West Village Church Podcast
…and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering...
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Series: …AND… | The Movement of God and His People through Mark
Title: Week 12 “…and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”
Text: Mark 5:21-43
Palm Sunday And Shattered Expectations
SPEAKER_00Today, uh, the church worldwide celebrates Palm Sunday. That is today. Um, this is the day that Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Uh, this is the week before his death, right? So he rides in on a donkey into Jerusalem. People, they lay their cloaks and the palm branches down, and Jesus rides the donkey over them. Not the people, the cloaks and the okay, got that clear. Um, and all of the people are shouting, Hosanna to the son of David, right? Save us, rescue us, right? And so this is the start of Holy Week today. On Sunday, they cried, Save us, O God Most High. And on Friday, they cried, crucify him. What a change. What a massive shift. This massive shift is because what they expected, what they thought was their need, that they were making known, well, Jesus didn't fit their need like they wanted him to. And the cost was his life. You are not the king we want. Crucify you. This is a shocking turn of events when their needs weren't met how they wanted. All right, today we are going to be in Mark chapter five. We're gonna start in verse 21. And in this passage, we get to interact with people who are in need and how Jesus actually meets them in that. Okay, so turn with me. Mark chapter five. We're gonna start in verse 21. This is our series and the movement of God and his people. So last week we watched the movement of God go all the way across the lake, across the Sea of Galilee to the eastern side. That's where the Gentiles were. That was their territory. And when Jesus got there and he came on the shore, all of the Gentiles said, Yay, hooray! We needed you. And they ran forward and they fell on their knees and they said, Praise God. They did none of that. In fact, they said, Get out. Because Jesus had driven demons from a man who had been possessed by them into some pigs, and then those pigs ran off a hillside, died a watery death. People were freaked out. They were in fear. And they told Jesus, we don't just want, we don't want what you're selling right now. We don't want you or what you're talking about. Get out. Right? So, so Jesus and the disciples make their way back across to the western side of the Sea of Galilee, to the Jewish territory. And wow, what a difference that makes. Verse 21. When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large cow crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake, right? This is nothing like the reception he had on the other side. People are crowded, they're eager, they're excited. Verse 22. Then one of the synagogue leaders named Jarius, Jairus, came and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live. And so Jesus went with him. All right, so context synagogues are the local meeting spot and the place where the people worshiped, right? So it's the civic aspect and the religious aspect were one in the synagogue. There was a chief or like a president who was over the synagogue, and then there were a bunch of leaders who were like elders at the synagogue. Gyrus filled that elder spot only because there is a word that Mark could have used to demarcate him as the chief of the local synagogue. Since he didn't use that, we just understand he is one of the elders. He is one of the leaders there. So if you have not been with us as we've been walking through this, for the most part, the Jewish leaders weren't big fans of Jesus. Jesus comes and says that he is the Messiah. They say, yeah, right, stop talking. Right? They are working against what Jesus is saying and doing. And yet here we have a Jewish leader of a local synagogue coming and running before Jesus and asking for his help. So already, things that should shock us and might not, upon quick reading, one, a Jewish leader is asking something from Jesus. Big change. Two, he runs before him and falls at his feet. This is not somebody, this is not something somebody in that type of position would ever do. They would not be caught coming and falling down before a rabbi, because that would be very unbecoming of them in their status and station. And yet, this is what Jairus does.
SPEAKER_01And then the last thing well, he did it in public. I know this is like obvious.
SPEAKER_00This is what we're reading. Gyrus did not go in the cover of night to come to Jesus to talk with him and say, I am in need. He has nowhere else to go. His daughter is dying. His religious status doesn't matter. His societal status doesn't matter. The embarrassment that would come from somebody in his position falling at Jesus and begging for his daughter's life to be spared, it was all worth it because he had nowhere else to go.
SPEAKER_01Join me again.
Twelve Years Unclean And Alone
SPEAKER_00Verse 25, and a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. How long has she been bleeding? How long has she been bleeding? Twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. So these are the Jews who followed the Mosaic law, right? Again, Western side, Sea of Galilee, Jewish town. This is what is their normal. Okay, well, the Mosaic law actually spells out how people are supposed to act in all sorts of situations, how they are to obey the law. And the law actually does address how a woman should act during her period. This is what this is describing. So read with me. It'll be on the screen. Leviticus chapter 15, 19 through 23. When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days. And anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean. Anything she sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches her bed will be unclean. They must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean until evening. Anyone who touches anything she sits on will be unclean. They must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean until evening. Whether it is the bed or anything that she sits on, when anyone touches it, they will be unclean until evening. Now, that is for a woman, a normal woman on a normal period. She is temporarily separated from society. She is temporarily ostracized. She is temporarily regarded as unclean. She is temporarily seen as a liability to others, and every month she's reminded decisively she is not pregnant. How long has this woman, this woman, been afflicted? Leviticus chapter 15, verse 25. When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period, or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge. Just as in the days of her period, any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period. Anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period, anyone who touches them will be unclean. They must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean until evening. How long has this woman been suffering? For twelve years she has been separated from society. For twelve years she's been ostracized. For twelve years she's been regarded as unclean. For twelve years she's been seen as a liability to others. For twelve years she's been reminded that she cannot have children and she won't be able to anytime soon. And in addition to all of that, she has shelled out all of her money to get better, and it hasn't happened, and she's gotten worse.
One Touch And A Public Stop
SPEAKER_01And poorer. Verse 27.
SPEAKER_00When she heard about Jesus, when she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and she touched his cloak and like the tassels that are hanging off of his cloak. She touched that because she thought if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. Unlike Jairus, who came to Jesus from the top of society, she comes to him from the rejected depths. There's a huge difference here between Gyrus and this woman coming to Jesus. It's about what this outing could cost her. I just read the painstaking description of what somebody has to do if they come into contact with a woman who is on her period. She went out into public. She went out among the people. Just by being there as an unclean person, anybody who touched her would also be ritually unclean. If she was found out, that whole crowd could turn on her.
SPEAKER_01What have you done to me? And yet.
SPEAKER_00She had nowhere else to go, just like Jairus. She had no one else to turn to. She had no other options to lean on. It was Jesus or nothing. It was Jesus or nothing. And she says, All I have to do is touch his clothes, and I'll be well. That drove her to action. So she acts and she grabs. Verse 29. Immediately. I love Mark and his words of fast action. Immediately her bleeding stopped.
SPEAKER_01And she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. I love how the NIV captures that. She was freed from her suffering.
SPEAKER_00Immediately. Verse 30. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, Who touched my clothes? You see the people crowding against you? His disciples answered, And yet you asked, Who touched me? Note. They asked, Who touched his clothes?
SPEAKER_01Anyway, disciples. Verse 32. But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I'm not going to answer this big question that we all have decisively, because what why why didn't Jesus know? Why didn't he know? The man who had all the power, the man who was God, 100% God, 100% man, and yet he asks, Who touches me? Who touched my cloak? Who touched the tassel of my robe?
SPEAKER_01How does he not know?
SPEAKER_00Scholars disagree. There's lots of it in fighting. Some say it was like Jesus, like kind of playing coy, like he knew, and he was actually trying to restore her publicly. I just like the plain reading and understanding. Jesus really didn't know. He limited himself in his human capacity, where his omniscience did those sort of things. He he kept himself from knowing. So when there is somebody who touches his cloak and by faith they are healed, he doesn't know who. I think Jesus is honestly asking, who touched my clothes? Right? Can you imagine this? I I was I forgot. I'm certain that somebody has painted this, which is why it's in my mind. This scene. You've got Jesus following Jairus and the people with him to go heal. You've got the crowd behind Jesus. They're all walking. You've got the woman in the crowd, and she reaches out and she touches the cloak. She touches those tassels, and she realizes she's healed. She stops. The crowd keeps going. Jesus stops. Crowd's really confused.
SPEAKER_01What might the woman be doing? Quietly backing away.
SPEAKER_00And yet Jesus continues to stop. He isn't moving on. Who touched my clothes? Who touched my clothes? The woman now cannot realize what she realizes she can't she can't duck this. Verse 33, then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. Remember what she risked. Remember what she risked in going there.
SPEAKER_01She told it all. How long had she suffered? Twelve years.
SPEAKER_00Twelve years of being on the outside of society, being separated, suffering, suffering, suffering. And in an instant, Jesus heals her. And then he asks her to cop to it. To make herself known. I actually think her fear is not so much in regards to who's gonna be mad at her because she came out in public. Because let's be honest, is she unclean now?
SPEAKER_01Nope. So did they have to go wash themselves? Probably not. Because Jesus healed her. So now she's not unclean.
SPEAKER_00I I don't think that's I don't think that's what she was in fear of. I think this is very much like we saw with the disciples on the water when Jesus calms the storm, or like the townspeople with the demon-possessed man. She knew the severity of the disease that she had had, the suffering that had kept her captive and rejected from everyone. She now has experienced a power greater than the one that held her down for twelve years. And what she experienced was fear. Because she finally experienced a power greater than all that she had ever known. She was afraid. She met Jesus in his fullness and was afraid.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so verse 34. He said to her, daughter, just right off the bat, he doesn't say woman. Daughter. Immediately it is a term of love and care. Daughter, your faith has healed you.
SPEAKER_00This was not a magic act, right? She didn't put together the right string of words or the right string of actions and happened to stumble in the exact place where Jesus was, and the magic act, ta-da! She's healed. No, no, no. Your faith has healed you. It is your faith in me, in who I am, that has healed you.
SPEAKER_01It is the object of her faith that brought her healing, not the strength of her faith. Your faith has healed you. Go in peace. Go in peace.
SPEAKER_00This woman who has suffered, Jesus says, go in peace and be free from your suffering. We've talked about this and we are just going to keep coming back to it. The Bible is keen to point us to the fact that Jesus is the one who restores peace. He invites us into peace. He invites us to shalom, to wholeness. When he tells her, go in peace, he is inviting her back into society. Back to the people who can care for her, back from where she was rejected. In a very public way, Jesus says, You're back. Go fully healed. Go in that full shalom. Your life has been given back to you.
SPEAKER_01Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. Literally my favorite verse in this passage.
Fear Not Just Believe
SPEAKER_00So I'll try to jump off the train. Verse 35. While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. Your daughter is dead. They said, Why bother the teacher anymore? All right? Imagine the scene, right? You've got the big crowd. You got Jairus at the front, and Jesus addressing the woman, and they're having this conversation. And then just like your mom saying you're saying something that you swear your mom can't hear, and she hears it all. Jesus overhears the murmuring. He overhears what they're saying.
SPEAKER_01Don't bother the teacher. She's already dead. Let's just let's go quietly.
SPEAKER_00Verse 36 overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, Don't be afraid. Just believe. Jesus has already relented to heal the girl. For Jesus, the circumstances actually haven't changed. But a new obstacle has come up, Regirus. Does he still have faith that Jesus can heal? He had enough faith to ask Jesus to heal her from almost dying. Does he have the faith to believe that Jesus can heal her from actually dying?
SPEAKER_01Is death something that Jesus has more power than? And Jesus' words to him are don't be afraid.
SPEAKER_00Just believe. Now I trust with absolute certainty that everybody in this room listening. Isn't dealing with the same death issues as the little girl. You're alive. You are here. In the same way that last week, when I taught about the man who was possessed by demons, I believe that you all were not possessed by over 2,000 demons. Right? So I'm going to make that same assumption here. You all are alive. So you are not experiencing the exact same problems that this little girl is experiencing. But I do believe fear is definitely something we deal with.
SPEAKER_01100%.
SPEAKER_00We deal with fear. We are confident in Jesus, confident in what he has done up to now. But then, oh my goodness, like this bad situation, it comes up and we're faced with a new issue that we've never had to deal with, and we are confronted again. I have never experienced this. Do I still believe? Do I still believe Jesus can actually do the thing that I said I trusted him to do?
SPEAKER_01Can he? Will he? And he says, Don't be afraid, just believe. Different translation, same phrase. Fear not. Have faith. Fear not. Have faith.
SPEAKER_00Verse 37. He didn't let anybody follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. And when they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly, and he went in and said to them, Why all this commotion? Why all this wailing? Child is not dead but asleep.
SPEAKER_01But they laughed at him. They laughed at him. It's like a bitter laughter. This this little girl who we loved.
SPEAKER_00Or at that time there were professional, professional mourners. Can you imagine that, John? When somebody died, mourners would be hired so that everybody would know this was a big deal. They would wail loudly, right? So the professional mourners have already been hired. They are already present. They're doing their thing. And Jesus says, No, what? No, she's not dead. She's just asleep. Because when you have a Jesus around, what is death to him? It's like sleep.
SPEAKER_01For us, death is the barrier that once we cross, we're not coming back. But not with Jesus. Because he's he's Lord of death. He's Lord over death. To him, the little girl really is like sleeping.
SPEAKER_00Verse 40, after he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and they went in there where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, Talathikum, which means, little girl, I say to you, get up. A more act uh a closer translation. So this is in Aramaic. So it is in a language that is sometimes in the Bible, but not really often. It really actually is translated um lamb.
SPEAKER_01Get up. Little girl. Little lammy. Get up.
SPEAKER_00And when I read this, because of the way that Jesus is, I don't see this big uh like cinematic scene where Jesus comes into the room and stands over the little girl and with a loud voice tells her, Talisha Coon.
SPEAKER_01He just kind of comes and says, Hey Lamb.
unknownGet up.
SPEAKER_01It's time to get up.
SPEAKER_00To the bleeding woman, he said, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering. To Gyrus, he said, Don't be afraid. Just believe. And to this little girl, he said, Lamb, get up.
SPEAKER_01Can you see the tenderness of Jesus?
SPEAKER_00The care? The love? Verse 42. Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around. She was twelve years old.
SPEAKER_01How old was she? Hmm. At this, they were completely astonished.
SPEAKER_00And he gave strict orders not to let anybody know about this. And he told them to give something to her to eat. I know it sounds funny, but like she's like alive, alive. Like real alive. What do living people do? They eat.
SPEAKER_01Hey, she's alive. She's hungry. Can we bring her some food? Because she was kind of asleep. Jesus brought her back from the dead and healed her.
SPEAKER_00After twelve years of suffering, the bleeding woman was given freedom and life. At twelve years, two parents watched their hope die. And then they watched their life be restored. At twelve years old, this girl went from death to life.
Jesus Meets Needs Only He Can
SPEAKER_01Everybody in this story had a need. And that need could not be met by anyone other than Jesus.
SPEAKER_00They needed life, and he was the only giver of life. This woman for twelve years suffered, Jesus healed. Her need was immense. This family had a daughter who was dying and then dead.
SPEAKER_01They had a need that could only be met in Jesus. And Jesus.
SPEAKER_00A power unmatched, that is absolutely top. No one has more power than Jesus. The power over all things. The kingdom of God comes. He is the king. He is walking. And these people are at the end of their ropes. They know their need. They know nothing and no one can help them.
SPEAKER_01And they say, Jesus, please. I need you. I don't believe.
SPEAKER_00I don't believe that we see Jesus as the disciples and the people at that time see him walking around. Right? This is uh this is a sermon that it's not like I can tell you, do you realize both your need and what you want? And you're like, yeah, I'm gonna go downtown Victoria and I'm gonna find Jesus, and now I'm gonna go ask him. Because we don't have that opportunity.
SPEAKER_01We don't get to go and literally yank on Jesus' clothes. We do have prayer.
SPEAKER_00And prayer is not a step down. I don't mean to make it sound like because we can't actually go and attack Jesus or uh crowd around him, right? Is that that sounds nicer? Because we can't go crowd around him, that we are any less able to bring our needs to him.
SPEAKER_01I'm l looking around at faces here, at people who we've prayed with. And I have watched prayers be answered. I've watched Jesus come and meet you in your need.
SPEAKER_00I'm also looking at folks that I'm still praying with, and we are waiting for Jesus to show up and answer that prayer need.
Three Questions About Our Need
SPEAKER_01But the reality is Jesus begs for us to come to see him as Lord, to bring our needs to him. So will you? I have three questions for us to ponder as we land the plane here. First question. How does your need? Is that actually on the screen?
SPEAKER_00This is hilarious. My little cheaty monitor tells me a bunch of different words than the ones that are above. And I was like, I'm not gonna read those because that's not my sermon. So how has your need reflected the need of the father and the woman and our story? Want to be you to begin to process. Do you understand your need?
SPEAKER_01Actually, it is a lot closer to them. Your need is actually high.
Praying Together And Responding
SPEAKER_00Do you realize it? Or are you still running to other people and other things to meet that need? That's that second question. What prevents you from acknowledging your need? What have you been proof to? What have you been running to? Where is the person, the thing, the idol that you have said, Jesus, you're Lord, but only in this area, because I want this thing to be Lord and deal with my need. Jesus wants it all. He's Lord of all. So go to Him. Last thought. Where do we need to come to Jesus as Lord in prayer? And I use the word we here intentionally because we are a community. We are not just a bunch of individuals. And then you, as the individual here, and you go into your individual house, into your individual prayer space and say it's me in Jesus time. That's really good. But we need each other, and we as a community are a needy community that needs Jesus to show up as Lord. We as a community cannot talk about wanting to hopefully see that every man, woman, and child has the opportunity to experience Jesus daily. We aren't having that if we think we can do it on our own without Jesus, without each other, without the brothers and sisters who are throughout Victoria as well. We are in need. And Jesus says, come to me in prayer. Come to me. Just like we see our examples here in this text. Jesus is inviting us to as well. So in one moment, I'm going to invite you to actually do the thing we're talking about. We're going to pray together. Ask these questions. Bring to the Holy Spirit all that you have. Imagine all of your need can fit in the palms of your hands. Good luck. I know it can't, but imagine. And imagine you, like Jairus, are running before Jesus and laying them down before him. Bring it all to Jesus. We're going to do that together in a second. I'll give you space for it. When we are done, we are going to transition to communion and other ways to respond in worship. And you might still say, I have laid all of these things down with Jesus, but I still need to pray with somebody. We will have prayer partners on either side. Come and pray with us. We want to join you in going to God. We've talked about this, but I really want to have like a solid plug. On Tuesdays at noon, every week at the church offices, 2244 Suk Road, Suite 112. We know where the subway is, little Caesars, and the positive pet grooming, that little area. Tuesdays, noon to one, join us in prayer. We go before the Father together. We say, Jesus, we want to intercede for these people who don't yet know Jesus. Let them know Jesus. We pray for the impossible to be made possible in the Holy Spirit. We want you to be a part of it. But for right now, you can't show up on Tuesday just yet. It's Sunday. Why don't we go before our Father? So close your eyes. What do you need to bring to Jesus? And I'll transition us in a moment. Jesus being needy is our very first step to acknowledging you as Lord. So I come with my brothers and sisters and we present our need to you. Our need for you. Our need for healing from you, for strength, for forgiveness, for wholeness. Lord, we need you. Holy Spirit, please meet us here with all of our need. Show us your face, Lord. We behold your face. It is good to come to you in prayer. Meet us here. And for those of us, Lord, who have come to you as Lord, we have called you, Lord, your King. We believe in you, Lord. We thank you for the forgiveness that you have offered us for our sins. And we bring you back our lives. Hold us up, Jesus. In your name we pray.
unknownAmen.