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Mark 5
22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus
by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,
23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the
point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may
be healed; and she shall live.
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged
him.
I. Jairus
A. He came to the right person.
1. Jairus was a religious official.
2. He acknowledged that Jesus was the healer.
3. He worshipped - fell at Jesus' feet.
4. He prayed - pleaded earnestly.
B. He believed the right thing.
1. He knew that a touch from Jesus could bring healing.
2. He believed could heal her even at the point of death.
C. He said the right thing.
1. "come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and
she shall live."
2. He verbalized what He believed. He stated his faith.
3. There was no doubt or question in his voice. He knew Jesus
could do this thing.
(Note: He did not demand Jesus' healing; he did not say
"My daughter is going to live!" He said, "Lord, if you will touch her she
will live.")
Now, while they were traveling to Jairus' house, something happened.
II. The woman with the issue of blood.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all
that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and
touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she
felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone
out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my
clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude
thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in
her,
came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole;
go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
A. She came to the right person.
1. She had already tried all the doctors. She had spared no
expense. She wanted healing desperately.
2. When she saw Jesus coming, she knew He could heal her.
She pressed her way through the crowd.(Luke says the crowd almost
crushed him.)
3. She got close enough to touch his cloak. She was determined
to get to him.
B. She believed the right thing.
1. She knew that if she could just touch even the clothes he
wore, she would be healed.
2. She knew that the power of God surrounded him and that that
power could heal her. She knew that His power could do what the doctors
could not.
C. She said the right thing.
1. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be
whole.
2. She said this thing to herself, not to those around her.
3. She did not say, "God is going to heal me!". She said,
"If I can just get close enough to him, I will be healed." (The
emphasis was not on God's obligation, but upon her getting close
enough.)
III. God's miracles don't come easy.
Note the discouraging conditions in these stories.
1. The Woman.
A. She had to push her way through the crowd. The
prospects of a sick woman, weakened from much hemorrhaging, getting
through this crushing crowd were pretty slim.
B. It was sheer determination on her part, and that
based on her strong belief that Jesus could heal her.
C. To receive from God requires a faith, a belief,
which outlasts every obstacle and discouragement.
2. Jairus.
35. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's
[house certain] which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou
the Master any further?
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto
the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
A. What a letdown! He had gotten Jesus to come, and
now before they even get -there, the girl died. It was too late! But
Jesus said, "Only believe."
B. All the way home, Jairus is probably thinking,
"It's too late! We're just wasting His time. Why didn't I get there
sooner? If it hadn't been for that woman in the crowd. My daughter
is dead. There's no use. What can He possibly do now?"
Have you ever had times when you thought it was too late, even for God?
Circumstance can crush you like that.
C. When they got to the house, there was the
disbelieving crowd.
37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and
John the brother of James.
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and
seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this
ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out,
he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were
with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha
cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the
age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and
commanded that something should be given her to eat.
Notice how Jesus thinned out the crowd. He took only James, John and
Peter, and the girl's parents in with him. Then he ran out the
doubting crowd of mourners. Then, after all that discouragement and
despair, He did the impossible - He raised her from death back to life.
IV. To receive from God, several factors are important:
1. You must go to the right person.
Ultimately, God is our source. We may go to doctors, bankers,
counselors, and others, (and sometimes we need the help of other
humans), but our ultimate source is Jesus. When all others have
exhausted their resource and abilities, Jesus is still on the job.
He is the one who ultimately comes through.
Psalms 20
7 Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember
the name of the LORD our God.
2 Chronicles 32
8 With him [is] an arm of flesh; but with us [is] the LORD our God
to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves
upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
2. You must believe the right thing.
Hebrews 11
6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him.
When you come to God with a need, you must know that He can fill that
need. Indeed, He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that
we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"
(Ephesians 3:20)
3. You must say the right thing.
That is, if you believe it, then say it - verbalize it - speak to the
issue. But don't get that confused with those who try to confess some-
thing into existence as if the power were in their words. No! The
power is in God. Jairus said, "If you will touch her, she will be
healed." The woman said, "If I can touch him, I will be healed." In
their confession, they did not deny the problem, they just centered
on the answer.
I believe our confession is important. I think if you believe
something, you should say so - you should be vocal about it. You need
to hear it! You need to remind yourself of the truth. But, mind you,
our confession does not make it true. We confess it because it is
true. It is true that is Jesus will touch me I will be healed. But
it is not true that I am healed simply because I believe that. I must
have that touch. It is true that if I get close enough to Jesus I will
be made whole. But I am not made whole simply because I believe that.
I must get closer.
You must BELIEVE that Jesus can do it, and you must STATE that fact
boldly.
4. You must exercise a faith that outlasts every discouragement.
In a recent meeting, Ralph Reed made a statement about politics that
I believe is true of spiritual matters as well. He said one of the
first things he learned in Washington was that the last person in the
room is the one who wins. That simply means - you get your way by
outlasting everybody else. You have to stay in the battle despite the
discouragements and setbacks that come. You must never give up. You
must be determined to win. To receive from God, you've got to face
obstacles and discouragements head on. Don't expect God to take away
every problem or discouragement. Expect God to get you through them
in spite of it all. You must hang in there.
5. Finally, you must surround yourself with people of faith.
Your allies must be those who believe as you do. Do surround yourself
continually with people who challenge every belief, downtalk every
situation, and expect the worst from every problem. Surround yourself
with people who believe God can do anything and see problems as
challenges that come into every life, only to be vanquished like any
other enemy.
Jesus drove out the money-changers - those who cheapened the
reverence of God's house. He drove away the Pharisees - those who
used God's ordinances for their own selfish power hunger. And he
drove out the mourners - those who were more concerned with having
a funeral than having a resurrection.
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