April 19 "Delayed, But Not Denied" (Mark 5:21-43)

Pastor Jeff Manning's latest sermon in the series, The Gospel of Mark: Living With Kingdom Urgency, deals with Jesus' healing of the woman who touched the hem of His garment, and the raising of Jairus' daughter back to life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

So this morning, Mark chapter 5. My title of my sermon this morning is Delayed but Not Denied. Delayed but Not Denied. Now, I had not mentioned this yet, but if if it feels like I am going even faster than I normally do, it's because we've got baptism after I finished preaching. That's why come our song service was a little shorter. We'll have another congregational in a few moments, but I know I have I've got a certain time that I got to keep aware of. And hopefully I won't have a stroke by looking up and seeing that it's later than it's supposed to be. So here we go. Previews. We've all seen them, right? You might see this two-minute clip advertising an upcoming movie or a television series. And that two-minute clip might present a little bit of the story, the drama, uh the tension that's going to be there. And it makes you think whether it's going to be Toy Story 5 or the next Star Wars movie or whatever. You're thinking, man, I don't want to miss that. Well, actually, when you think about all that Jesus does during his earthly ministry, it's almost as though he's giving us a preview of the future. So we've already seen Jesus in the recent context of Mark 5, verses, I mean chapters 4 and 5. He's already stilled a disturbance on the sea. He is told the wind and the waves, peace, be still, and they obeyed. We saw him last week cast an unknown number of demons out of a man who identified himself as legion, for we are many. And we've seen Jesus on some other occasions, and we'll see him do it again today, having mastery in the power to heal people of whatever illness they might have. But what about death? So far, in Mark's gospel, we've not seen Jesus deal with anybody who had already died. But we're going to see him being able to give us a preview of his power over death as well. And all of that will make us be reminded of the new heaven and the new earth, where all God's people will dwell, where the devil will be forever defeated and cast into the lake of fire, where disease and disturbances and demons are no more. And anybody's got good sense, they don't want to miss that. Mark chapter 5. I'm going to do like I often do with narrative passages. I'm going to give you some plot points just to kind of keep track of what's going on. And then toward the end, I've got four timeless take-home truths that all of us need to be reminded of. First, we're going to see a bleeding, pleading, bleeding, a pleading, believing father. I'll get to the bleeding part in a few moments. Oh, and by the way, for those of you who at some point along the way are thinking, does he have a black eye? Yes, I do. Thanks for asking. And uh, you think my wife is so dainty? She's got a mean left hook. No, actually, I just had a little biopsy. I had no idea it was gonna bruise like it did. I thought you would never know I'd had anything done, but nonetheless, that's that's what went on. Uh Mark 5, verse 21. And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, that is the other side of the Sea of Galilee, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jarius by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, My little girl is at the point of death. Come and lay hands on her so that she may be made well and live. And he, Jesus, went with them. Now, being one of the rulers of the local synagogue suggests that Jarius had some authority. He had some privileges. He would make sure the scrolls are cared for, he would help prepare the order of service, he would make sure that the facility was welcome for those who would come to worship there. Now, by this time, there's no doubt about it, he is fully informed about the growing hatred of many of his religious leaders who are peers of his. I don't know for sure what his heart response is to Jesus, but I do know this. His daughter is deathly ill, and he doesn't care what anybody thinks. He doesn't care what criticism that might come his way after the fact. He is going to the only person he thinks might possibly help his dying daughter, and he goes to Jesus. Now, we're told that he fell at his feet. Matthew, in his account of this, says he bowed down. That word translated bow down in Matthew's gospel, it's the same word used in the other passages, translated worshiped. So here's a man of dignity, here's a man of prestige, and he bows down right there in the sand. He bows before the Lord and lets me know that this is an act of homage, this is an act of reverence. And then he says, My little daughter is at the point of death. Luke tells us that it's his only daughter. So that just adds to the intensity, that adds to the desperation. Not that it would not be as impactful if he had seven kids, but it just like it's his only child. In a few moments, we'll get to verse 42. It tells us she's 12 years old. And so if you're a 12-year-old girl in the Jewish first century, you were actually about ready to start being married and living an adult life. Different context then from now for sure, but 12 and 13-year-olds, they were often given in marriage in that first century Jewish culture. Now, don't know what the illness is, don't know how long she's been ill, but she's at the point of death. She's at death's door. And some of you, you've been with your family, you've been with friends who were at death's door. And in my sanctified imagination, her breaths are starting to get a little further apart. She's not needing intensive care. She's at the end of hospice care. My little girl, my little sweet daughter, she's at the point of death. Can you please come? Lay hands on her, pray over her, touch her, heal her. And so his faith was without reservation. There's not one hint of doubt when he asked Jesus to come. He swallows his pride, he swallows whatever fear he may have had. He did not care what neighbors, family, friends, he didn't care what anybody thought. I'm going to Jesus. He's the only one that can help my sweet little girl. And so he goes to her. Now, with that in mind, we turn our attention from a pleading and believing father to a bleeding, believing woman. Verse 24. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. We've seen this great throng of people around Jesus before, right? People everywhere. It's like it's a human traffic jam. Now, how would you feel if you you've come to Jesus, you've bowed down, and you've dusted the wet sand off your clothes, and you're on your way to see your to for Jesus to go to your daughter. The last time you were there, however many minutes ago it was, you you know she doesn't have long. And now, I mean, it's like we're not getting anywhere fast. Imagine that you're going to an emergency situation. Somebody in your family, maybe it's your daughter, and she's deathly ill, and the doctor is with you, and you're in a traffic jam. Come on, let's move. Well, not only is it a traffic jam, but it comes to a grinding halt. Verse 25. And there was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. We're not told why this lady had this bleeding issue. We're not told what caused it to last for 12 solid years. I don't know whether she had a tumor. I don't know whether she had some kind of a disease of her uterus. But, folks, you've got to understand something too. This just adds to the intensity of what this woman's dealing with. In the Jewish culture, according to the Old Testament laws, she was ceremonially unclean. Which meant for 12 years she's not been able to go to the marketplace. For 12 years, she's not been able to go to the temple, she's not been able to go to the synagogue. For 12 years, she has basically lived in isolation, just wondering, God, when will this ever stop? And so she's not supposed to be in this crowd of people. When you're ceremonially unclean like that, as unclean as a leper, you're not supposed to be out in the public. You're supposed to wait till you're clean again. And she said, you know, I'm not going to let anything stop me. And so, again, in my imagination, she maybe covers her face even more than she would normally, and she makes her way. Um, we're told that she has suffered much under many physicians, had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. So not only is she desperate, she's destitute. She's spent everything she's got. She's on welfare, if you will. Financially, she's drained, emotionally, she's exhausted. But she believes if I can get to Jesus, that will change things. Verse 27. She had heard the reports about Jesus, and she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, If I touch even his garments, I will be made well. She'd heard the news. Pretty much everybody in that part of the Middle Eastern world had heard the news about Jesus healing all sorts of illnesses, and so she thinks if it happened to them, it can happen to me. It's possible that maybe there's a little bit of superstition in her belief because she's thinking to herself, if I can just touch him, if I can just touch his clothes, there will be a transference of power and I will be delivered. So her theology may be a little off, but folks, flawed faith in Jesus is better than great faith in anybody or anything else. And so she might not have fully understood how things work, but man, she believed that Jesus could change her life. Verse 29. And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Hundreds thronged about him. Dozens of them, no doubt, touched him, but scripture only records one person, just one, who touched him in life-changing faith. You see, she was determined to get to Jesus. And once she did touch the hem of his garment, she knew. She knew instantly. And what 12 years of medical consultations and home remedies couldn't cure? Jesus healed in an instant. She knew and Jesus knew. Verse 30. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned around in the crowd and said, Who touched my garments? Now, keep in mind, he did not say it, who touched my garments? No, who? Who touched my garments? And the disciple said to him, and I you need to you need to read a little bit of humor into this. The disciple said to him, Uh, you see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, Who touched me? Jesus, come on. Who knows how many people have touched you? I don't think Jesus was asking them, just be quiet, fellas. He wants to draw attention to the woman, not so that people will put their eyes on her, but he wants her to put her eyes on him. And he wants to look her in the face and solidify the legitimacy of her faith. Verse 32. And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. I do not know how long that took. Again, I'm not jarious, but if if it's Jeff and it's my 12-year-old daughter, I'd be thinking, Lord, we don't have time for this. But she told the whole truth, the whole 12-year story. How many doctors she'd been to, how many different medications, how many different remedies. She told the whole story. And then Jesus, man, he affirms her faith. Look at verse 34. And he said to her, daughter, um, I think I read that's the this is the only woman that he addressed with this tender term. Daughter, my sweet lady, my sister, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease. Now, when he said, Be healed of your disease, the tense of the verb means you were healed permanently. Never again will you have this bleeding issue that will cause you to be ostracized and kept away from your people of belief. But but when Jesus said, your faith has made you well, the verb translated made well, folks, that's the word usually used for being saved from sin. So when it says your faith has made you well, made well, that's the same verb that is used with regard to the repentant prostitute who had bowed before the Lord and washed Jesus with the tears that came from her eyes and dried them with her feet. The same word, Jesus said to her, Your faith has saved you. Your faith has made you well. So, folks, this woman, not only does she have a physical complication, she's like all of us. She had a spiritual problem that was worse than the physical, and yet her faith was such that Jesus considered it salvific in nature. You've put your faith in me to the point where not only has your body been healed, not only are you going to now enjoy the beauty of having your health restored, you're going to also enjoy the beauty of being reconciled with God Almighty. And that's why Jesus said, go in peace. You've got the sweet peace of being right with God. Can I just pause for a moment and ask you, do you have that sweet peace? Do you have the peace that passes all understanding because you've been declared righteous by Almighty God, no condemnation? Now, Jarius is probably wondering, when can we get moving again? This woman has been sick for 12 years. Couldn't she have waited another 30 minutes? And if you don't know the story, that brings us to a shocking, devastating message in verse 35. While he, while Jesus was still speaking, there came from the ruler Jarius's house some who said, Your daughter, sir, your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further? She's dead. And unless this Jesus guy works for the funeral home, you don't need him anymore. He might be a healer, but you don't need a healer now. You need somebody that can raise the dead, so you don't need this guy anymore, right? Wrong. Keep reading. We're going to see now in verses 36 to 43 a caring, resurrecting Savior. Verse 36. But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, do not fear, only believe. It can literally be translated, stop being fearful, keep believing. And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John, the brother of James. So we're not going to have any more impeding progress. Everybody else, stay back. Peter, James, and John, just you three. Come with me. Everybody else, you stay back. Do not fear, he said, only believe. Luke tells us in his account, Jesus also said, and she will be made well. Folks, Jesus is now asking this man to not only have to take his faith and turn it into resurrection faith. Resurrection faith. Jesus dismissed the crowd, thinned the ranks of his disciples, and then verse 38. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion. People weeping and wailing loudly. Now, in the Western world, the funerals that I do, and I've done over 300 of them, the funerals that all of us attend in a Western world context, they're rather quiet, right? Oh, you may have some family members weeping or some close friends weeping, but for the most part, they're quite reverent. They're quiet. In the Jewish first century culture, radically different. Radically different. As a matter of fact, you were expected to hire people to wail and play music to help signal to the whole community, we've lost somebody. So these professional wailers, women who just knew how to wail and how to just give off these sounds that just let you know, man, something bad has happened. A family member, a friend has died. At the minimum, you were supposed to have, I think it's uh two flute players and one female wailer. But this is not your average, ordinary person. This is a ruler of the synagogue. He's probably got scores of people that were already hired in anticipation of her possible death, and they're there, and it's just, and you can hear from who knows how many hundreds of yards away. Verse 39. And when he, Jesus, when he entered, he said to them, Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they laughed at him. They laughed at him. Now, folks, if you're if you're fairly new to the Bible, Jesus is not saying, no, no, no, she's not dead, she's in a comatose state. No, scripture often, as here, uses sleeping as a metaphor or a euphemism for death. And it's only used of people who die in Christ. So, if you will, the body sleeps, but the soul does not. The soul, when you die, your soul is going to one of two places, heaven or hell, to make it super simplified. So Jesus, he knows the girl's dead. And keep in mind, these are professional mourners. Who knows how many other homes they've been in? They've seen death. They've been there when somebody, when somebody truly breathed their last, and they knew it was time to begin their commotion. So they laugh because they think this man's out of his mind. We know good and well this girl's dead. I don't know how long she's been dead, but they know she's dead, and that's why they laughed. They ridiculed him. Um, verse 40. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Put them outside. Jesus evicts, if you will, everybody who's unbelieving. Get them out now. Peter, James, and John, mom and dad, come with me. And so they go into the room. Now, Jesus could have raised her by only speaking the words. But we're gonna see him touching her and speaking to her, and old folks, it's gonna be full of compassion and tenderness. Verse 41 taking her by the hand, he said to her, Delete a kumi, which is um Aramaic, Jesus. Often spoke in Aramaic, which means, little girl, I say to you, arise. And immediately the girl got up and began walking, for she was 12 years of age. And they were immediately overcome with amazement. Now think about it. God spoke the whole universe into existence. Come forth on the given days. And they did. And now, maybe with not, in my imagination, such a majestic voice, he leans down and says, Sweet girl, arise. And she does. Verse 43. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this. I I find that a little humorous. But really, really, Jesus? Yeah. You're telling them not to tell anybody. It may be one of those times where it's like, Lord, aren't you asking a little too much? You know the word's going to get out, but I think he's just telling the family, look, I don't want you going around and telling everybody all about this, because I did not come here just to be known as a healer. I did not come here just to be known as a great teacher. I came here for another ultimate purpose. And these are things to authenticate my Messiahship leading up to the day when I'm going to die for the sins of the world. A healer, it comes with it. A teacher, yes, but ultimately I came here to be a savior. So let's not go broadcasting this unnecessarily because it'll draw so much attention to an aspect of my ministry that's not the ultimate goal of my ministry. Now, four take-home timeless truths. Number one, I'm imploring everybody in here, especially those of you who know the Lord, believe in God's ability. Believe in God's ability. Both the bleeding woman and the pleading father had faith in Christ's ability. Now, I'm imploring you, take God at his word. Believe that he can do anything he chooses to do. Listen to the Lord Himself as He speaks in Jeremiah 23, verse 27. Behold, I am the Lord, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? That's a rhetorical question. The answer is, the answer is what? No. Is anything too hard for the Lord? No. Believe with Job. I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. So, folks, believe in God's ability and pray accordingly. Believe in his ability and pray accordingly. Listen to Hebrews 4 verse 16. It teaches us that we have a great high priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of the living God. And therefore, let us come boldly, believing, not timidly, boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in need. So the first take on truth. Believe in God's ability. Number two, trust his sovereignty. Trust his sovereignty. God honoring faith does not doubt God's ability to act, but it does not presume to know how he will choose to act. Look, I don't want to discount our believing that God can do anything by this truth, but it is biblical. It is biblical. So, real quick, Shabrat, Meshat, Nebednego, as you may be recall from Daniel, they had a choice. Either you bow down to the golden image or you're going to suffer the consequences in an incredibly hot, instant death fire. And they said, We're not bowing down. And then when they were asked, how in the world can you just stand there and not bow down? Listen to their response. Such wisdom in it. Daniel 3, verses 17 and 18. Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, we believe in his ability. And we have this assurance that he's going to. Well, matter of fact, we know he is one way or another. If you burn us up, that don't mean you won. So we we think he can deliver us. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image which you have set up. You see, numbers one and two need to merge together. Believe in God's ability and then trust his sovereignty. Those two need to be married together. They need to come together. And can I give you a couple of different ways that we merge those two truths together? Here's the first one. Never question God's ability, but never dictate or predict his activity. Folks, I'm telling you, believe that God can do anything, but don't tell somebody that God's going to do what you're believing him to do. You're setting yourself up for potential disappointment. God is sovereign. We've got to have faith. But biblically, believing and trusting are closely related, but they're not identical. Faith is confidence that God can do what the Bible says he can do. Trust is reliance on the Lord to do what he knows is best. You see, I could also say this, I think we should say this along with Shadrach, Meshet, and Abednego. I believe that God can, and I expect that he will, but I will trust him if he doesn't. That's golden right there. I believe that God can, no doubt about it. In some cases, I I expect that he will. But if not, I'm gonna trust him anyway. Folks, if if you can live your life like that, it will make a tremendous difference in your life. Faith believes in an all-powerful God. Trust relies on an all-wise God. You see the nuance, the difference? Faith believes in an all-powerful God, trust relies on an all-wise God. Number three, keep believing and trusting despite difficulties, delays, and even tragedies. We saw all of that in our stories. Two stories merged together. Believe and trust despite difficulties, delays, and even tragedies. After learning his daughter had died, you know that Jarius plunged immediately into disappointment and dismay. But so quickly the Lord said, no, no, no, no, no, keep believing. And folks, look, our loved ones are gonna continue to die. You're gonna die. And sometimes those loved ones and family and friends, they're gonna die sooner than you thought they were going to. Don't let the devil perch on your shoulder and scream into your ear that the Lord is not worth believing in. No matter what kind of difficulties come, no matter how long it seems you're waiting for the Lord to act, or even if tragedy happens, keep believing. And then number four, stay focused on eternity. Stay focused on eternity. Evil, sickness, and death will continue until the Lord comes back. Even those with God-pleasing faith still hear the dreaded word from the doctor. Sir, we did everything we could. Ma'am, we did everything we could. And your child is gone. Your spouse is gone. Your sibling is gone. Your friend is gone. Folks, just remember that one day all believers will enjoy the full realities of Revelation 21, verse 4. He, the Lord, will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things are passed away. At one of Martin Luther, he was one of the reformers, the Protestant Reformation reformers. At one of the lowest moments of his life, Martin Luther, his beloved daughter, was dying. She was barely 14 years of age. She was stricken with some uncurable plague. Brokenhearted, he knelt beside her bed and begged God to release her from her pain. When she had died, the carpenters were nailing down the coffin, the top of the coffin. And Luther screamed out, Hammer on! On doomsday she'll rise again. On doomsday she'll rise again. And so, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I'm encouraging us, believe, trust, keep on believing despite whatever comes, and keep your focus on eternity. Let's pray. Father, it's in Jesus' name that I ask you, Lord, to encourage those who might need it the most, those whose faith might be teetering a little bit. Circumstances of life have caused them maybe to entertain some doubts. And I pray, Lord, you would give them victory over that. Lord, maybe there's someone in this room listening online that does not have that sweet peace that comes from knowing Christ as his or her Savior. Would you continue to work and draw them to yourself, I pray. Until the day you call us home. In Jesus' name. Amen.