Sermon Tone Analysis

In 2017 Michael Talley took his kids to Canyon Lake in Texas to enjoy his daughter’s 12th birthday

His daughter Daja will never forget her 12th birthday as it is the day her father gave his life to save her

She was riding on a jet ski with her dad when a sudden turn caused them to fall off

"My dad had made a sharp turn and we both fell into the water," Daja said

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Daja was wearing a life jacket, but he still went under water.

After she resurfaced, she started crying out for her dad

She said her dad took off his life jacket and gave it to her

"He thought I was going to drown," she said.

Her dad struggled to stay above water until someone arrived with another jet ski to help

But her dad was so worn out by this time, he slipped off the Jet Ski into the water & never resurfaced

It was an absolute tragedy

Daja said that “he was an amazing and heroic dad, and we will love him, and pray for him every day and talk to him in heaven"

https://abc13.com/family-remembers-father-who-gave-his-life-for-daughter/2284708/

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There’s nothing a Dad wouldn’t do to save his little girl

Daja was 12 yrs old - the same age as the Synagogue ruler’s little girl - & Luke tells us that she was his only daughter

Jairus’ daughter was at the point of death &, no doubt, as a father, this man was beside himself

1. Jesus Helps the Great Mk.5:21-24

No matter what he thought of Jesus, Jairus knew that there was something special about Him

This man who was a Synagogue ruler - someone of great notoriety - fell at His feet & begged Jesus

No doubt, this man knows full well the attitude of his fellow leaders in the Synagogue & those of the Scribes who are from Jerusalem

That they consider Jesus a fraudulent person who is using the devil’s power to drive out demons - by Beelzebul

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In going to Jesus for help, this man is doing something very brave, but very damaging to his career & reputation, at least, amongst the so-called “respectable” upper echelon of the religious community

But he is desperate & he is a father who loves his child

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A father who loves his child will swallow his pride; will go against the ruling narrative; will jump through hoops; indeed do anything to protect his child

It’s ironic, I think, that people so succumb to false narratives in life, until push comes to shove & something very precious to them, threatens to be lost

It’s then, that these people push back; cut across the grain; stand tall & do what needs to be done

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Regardless of the way this man lived; regardless of what he thought about Jesus in his heart, Jesus was willing to go with him & to heal his daughter

When people think about whether they should believe in Jesus or not, if life is going well, they are happy to leave Him alone & to not pursue faith in Him any further

However, it is in those moments, when life is fragile; when something precious is about to be lost, that a person finally puts aside all that pride, that ego & that nonsense of negativity towards Jesus and they ask Him for help

Q.

Why not before?

Why does Jesus have to be the last & final port of call?

Q.

Why do Christians get scolded for believing; why are they looked down upon when these very people when in desperation reveal that they believe more than they let on

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Is it pride; is it arrogance; is it fear?

Fear that they may lose something

Is it respect among other people; is it embarrassment by having to admit that you believe

Surely, this should raise questions about what really is holding people back

What is so evil; so wrong, about believing in Jesus

Here’s one such person who broke the mold of the unbelieving Jewish community in order to save his daughter

2. Jesus Helps the Small Mk5.25-34

The singer, Laura Story, has a sad story to tell

That as a young wife, within the first 2 yrs of marriage, her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumour

He survived an operation, but is now somewhat disabled

She has a great song called, “Friend of Sinners” & it emphasises how Jesus is the servant of us all - to both great & small - I’ll play that later as we lead into communion

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We see a no greater example in what happens here in this passage where Jesus is on the way to Jairus’ house to help his daughter

If the majority of the religious leaders would be outraged by Jairus’ conduct in begging Jesus for help, what would they think of this next situation?

Here we have a woman who had suffered menstrual issues with constant bleeding for 12 yrs

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She has suffered greatly, it says, at the hands of doctors & has spent all her money on trying to get healed - she was not helped at all, but rather made worse

Who knows what the doctors have done but they certainly seem to have botched up her treatment

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I was out at Brad & Amy’s the other night & we were watching this show, that was set in the early 1960’s, called “The Call of the Midwife” & in this episode a baby had been born with deformed arms & legs

The mother had been on a treatment called Tha/lid/omide

The BBC did an article in 2011 on Tha/lid/omide where they say “Fifty years ago (now 60), the sedative Tha/lid/omide was withdrawn after thousands of mothers gave birth to disabled babies” (https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-15536544)

What a terrible tragic mistake by the medical community!

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History also tells us of the practise of bloodletting where a doctor would make a cut to bleed blood out of the patient

The intention was to help but as we know now, you mostly weaken a patient if they lose blood when they are trying to fight disease

The idea at the time was that the humors - as they were called - were out of balance

The thought was that the human body contains 4 humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile

Draining some blood was thought to help bring back the balance

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Now modern medicine has been a wonderful blessing to the world & we would not be without the great care that we get

We get so much help for our health ailments that words just cannot express & we are so thankful & grateful for the treatment & medicines & painkillers we receive

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But its not all upside since people are human (they’re weak), sinful (they can act corruptly) & fallible (they make mistakes)

I believe there will be some sober reflection once Covid is behind us into the interplay between politics, media & the conflicts of interests that are now being revealed in tie ups with Pharmaceutical companies

Let’s be honest, their first priority is not to be benevolent, but to make profits - they are a business so there are bound to be temptations put in front of people

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Again, we have benefited immensely from the work of the medical community & I would not want to take anything away from that

But a point is being made in this passage by way of contrast that show that people are still human & fallible & yes, sinful

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This woman was not helped by the many doctors but, in fact, had spent all her money & was made worse

It says that she endured or suffered much, not from her ailment, but at the hands of the human physicians

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This gives us an idea into the condition of this poor woman

Not only the physical condition, but her mental & psychological condition

She not only had to put up with her medical issue, but she suffered as well - for 12 yrs - under those she thought & trusted would have helped her, rather than make her condition worse

So the impression we’re to get here is that she is in a very desperate state & this here sets us up to understand how inept humans are in the face of what Jesus Christ can do

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Now if you thought that was bad enough, we’re not finished

Since she has a menstrual bleed, it meant that she was permanently unclean

She could not go to worship; she could not have contact with people - there was really little difference to being that of a leper

She had no status & no dignity - she is at the bottom of the honour scale

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Jesus halts His progress to Jairus’ house to speak with this woman

Now Jesus had people crowding around Him all the time - He got very little rest

Remember when He came home to Capernaum, there were so many people there in the house & its surrounds that He couldn’t even eat a meal

It got so bad that the only practical way to address the people was from a boat just out off the shore on the Sea of Galilee

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Out on Brad’s farm, there are a number of electric fences

Ordinarily, you can grab hold of the fence & you’re fine, but if you grab hold of the wrong part of the fence, you’re going to know all about it

This was an experience Ros “enjoyed” recently - as most of Brad’s kids have in the past

Touching the fence becomes second-nature until one such touch has you feel a power surge that you never expected

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Jesus felt a power surge from one such person amidst the touches of many people

They all were neutral & made no impact, but this woman causes a surge of power to leave Jesus

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With so many people crowding around Him, how come this woman was singled out amongst all those people

The power that proceeded from Jesus gave immediate & complete healing to this woman

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Q.

What has happened here?

Usually, when healing takes place, it is Jesus who touches the person

But this woman touches Him from behind amongst all the others who were crowding around Him & touching, even, grabbing Him

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Q.

How it is that she received the cure?

There is something in the heart & mind of this woman that made the difference - did you pick up what it was?

Your faith has made you well

Q.

How can we tell the difference between the faith or otherwise of all these people crowding around?

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Well, consider what the title of this sermon is

The awesome power/authority of Jesus