Mark 5:21-43 NIV
21 When Jesus had again
crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered
around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of
the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell
at his feet. 23 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.” 24 So Jesus went with
him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And
a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 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. 27 When
she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his
clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her
bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her
suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized
that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and
asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people
crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who
touched me?’ ”
32 But Jesus kept looking
around to see who had done it. 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. 34 He said to
her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in
peace and be freed from your suffering.”
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?”
36 Overhearing what they
said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just
believe.”
37 He did not let anyone
follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When
they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with
people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and
said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing?
The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But
they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and
mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He
took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha
koum!” (which means “Little
girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately
the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this
they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict
orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her
something to eat.
Maybe You?
Most time, when I contemplate Scripture reading, it gets
personal. God’s Word gets real personal most of the time. I read the passage
and over time it works on me. At first, I don’t get it, for the most part, but
as it sinks in, over time, I hear a message of grace and comfort, inside a law
that points me, bids me, turns me around in my sin, to see the face of Jesus
and to fall into his arms for healing.
This Gospel text is no different. Here are two miracles wrapped,
one inside of another of bodily cures that pull me into Jesus’ realm of love
and grace for me and for all people, to point us to something more. Something
in this life, in this life of disease, illness, and death, to a life forever in
resurrection with God.
Jesus has all authority over disease and death. We witness,
in these two healings the outward proof of Jesus the Messiah. We see here,
Jesus as God, Servant, Man, Creator, and Savior.
We also see, in these two miracles of healing, how these
miracles are both accompanied by faith. The miracle does not generate faith,
rather, faith is present as the miracle occurs. This faith that is present, is
a gift freely given by God. Faith as a gift to all bringing us to believe.
Let’s look at the woman suffering from bleeding. Her
healing does not come about by the touching of clothing. Jesus knows when she,
or even we, reach out in need to touch Him. You see, Jesus knew the difference
between the touch of the crowd around him and the woman’s touch. Jesus knows
when we reach out to touch Him in our need of healing and salvation.
Yes, in both cases of healing, Jesus pays attention to
individual needs. Jesus busts the schedule of His day for a person, an individual,
for the bleeding woman, for Jairus, for Jairus’ daughter, for you and for me.
Jesus busts His schedule. For you too, Jesus busts His schedule to bring
healing, life, and resurrection. Even healing and life beyond this world of
sin, disease, death, to a world we have yet to know.
Maybe you? Yes! Jesus’ agenda IS you!
Look at it. In place of death, the death of the woman
bleeding and in place of the death of Jairus’ daughter, comes blessing. Even if
we look at the life of Jesus, in the place of His own death comes resurrection
and blessing and life eternal.
Jesus comes to us concerned for us, not himself. Likewise, see, Jairus, he comes to Jesus
concerned for the “other.” Jairus comes concerned for himself, for sure, but
even more, for the life of his daughter. Ask yourself. Do you come to Jesus,
concerned for the need of someone else? Should you? Maybe you?
And what about this “Faith” stuff. Witness and see Jairus’
open mind. Jairus comes to Jesus with an open mind, Jairus comes to Jesus with
faith that Jesus can heal and give life. This is a faith that makes him fall on
his knees before Jesus.
Jairus begs Jesus for a touch of Jesus’ healing hand upon
his daughter. Jesus, laying on of hands changes the direction of things. Jesus’
touch changes the direction of things, here and now, and things forever. Jesus’
touch, spins us around, to look into His eyes and see God.
Jesus busts his schedule to touch us, to spin us around
from this world to eternity.
So, my schedule can NEVER be more important than Jesus call
to live life with Him, now and forever. Yes! When Jesus arrives at my door or
your door, day after day, and bids “Can Billy come out to play?” --- or will
you walk with Him this day --- the answer must and will always be, for me, Yes!
Billy can come out to play! No matter what! Jesus seeks for us to bust our own
schedules to come out to play and to serve God and to serve our neighbor and
all those God gives to us each and every day. We come out to play and to walk
this life with Jesus into eternity.
And when we walk our life and meet up with disease and
death and pain and suffering and tests that go on and on; we, like the bleeding
woman and Jairus and his daughter, first and foremost, must turn to Jesus for
healing.
As we walk our life with Jesus we will suffer. But that’s
not all there is. As we walk in this broken, diseased, sinful world we can
still, spread the Gospel of Jesus salvation, so others may see Jesus first. We
report about our life with Jesus, we witness our time in this world, so that,
others may hear our story of Jesus healing and journey as we follow, or “come
out to play” with Jesus. In Jesus IS hope.
The bleeding woman touch of faith, given to her by God, was
sensed by Jesus. Jesus busted his daily schedule and healed her. Jesus sought
an open confession from this bleeding woman. Perhaps Jesus wanted all to hear
her confession that day. Perhaps Jesus wanted all those present to be open to
reach out and to touch Him for healing. Healing with and from a faith that God
gave to this woman and to all those present in that crowd. Why? That they may
come to believe in Him and how He is saving them from way more than an illness
of bleeding.
It is faith in Jesus that saved that bleeding woman. It
wasn’t about the touching of the garment. And it’s not about our touch of Jesus
that saves us. But it’s about the faith given to us to believe that there is
life eternal in Jesus.
Jesus bids us, do not fear. Only believe. For death leads
to resurrection and life forever. Death
is not the end. Witness Jesus dealing with his own death. Yes, Jesus suffered
and died. It was not easy. It was horrible. Yet, there is and was more. God’s
WORD come after and in and through death. God never reaches the “end of His
rope,” so to speak. Never! We fear death for sure, but we really need not fear
the power of death. We need to only believe in Jesus. And… that’s LIFE!
Jesus faced death. Jesus faced death for us, once and for
all time and chased it away. Now hold on! I will die, no doubt, but the power
of death and its finality has been chased away by Jesus.
Yea, right! And the crowds laugh at Jesus. Why? These people
do not have faith. They choose to NOT believe. They choose to show no faith. Even
any morsel of faith they have been given by God, they spit out in contempt and
disgust for Jesus’ word of healing.
Yes, the Believer in Jesus will be laughed at. Expect it.
Jesus was laughed at and the Believer will be too! Remember, the disciple is
not above the Father.
See, in the face of laughter; Jesus brings healing and
life. In the face of illness and death, Jesus takes your hand and the hand of
Jairus’ daughter and says, “Arise!!!”
Faith is opposed to fear. “Rise up!” Resurrection brings victory
over death and fear.
Astonished and amazed, we are overcome with resurrection life
Let Jesus bring life into your house. Let Jesus bring life
into the temple of God given to you, your temple of death, and let Jesus raise
you up to life in Him. Believe! Yes, believe, just as we proclaim in the Apostles
Creed--- I believe in the resurrection! This is the faith that drives out fear.
This is the faith brought to life from God that leads you to believe, in God
the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Faith that leads you out into
the world God sets you in to love God and to love all those God gives to you
each and every day.
And then… and then… see what happens with Jairus’ daughter?
You too, just as Jesus did after his resurrection, will take in a feast of
food. A feast of life-giving bread and wine. We will have a great feast of life
to come.
Thanks be to God that He is eternally generous to us
through His gift of Jesus. As we reach out to touch in faith, Jesus busted his
schedule to love YOU! Joy truly comes in that great morning of Jesus
resurrection from the dead. Joy will come to us as Jesus raises us up to new
life in eternity with Him.
Miracles in the midst of illness, suffering and death. Yes,
miracles from God in and through Jesus. Feel the touch of Jesus, today,
tomorrow and forever! --- Amen
May God bless you today and always.
I leave you with this YouTube video of music…
You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban
"Rebekah at the Well" is a painting created by Judy Crowe
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