“Don’t be afraid, just believe”

Intro

(Not sure if I am using this just yet)

Last week I told you about something that was not national news yet…The Asbury Revival that is happening. This week, it is national news.

And on top of that people from all over America and the world are flocking to Kentucky to witness what is happing there

And I am just continually amazed by all that is unfolding there. And not just that...

There was a massive worship gathering happening in Time Square new York, another in Jerusalem

These revivals are happening all over the world

And I now that I have talked to a number of people who have been to Asbury, what I am hearing is that it is not a flashy thing…

I mean we had a popular church band come through Sacramento a few months back and they have great music and everything but it could be anywhere from $50 to $500 for a ticket

What I love about what is happening at Asbury is that it doesn’t cost anything

No one is selling tickets and at this point they are trying not to get attention from the media...

God is pleased to pour himself out on people who are desperate for him.

And that is really the theme of what we are going to cover today in the book of Mark.

So flip your Bibles open to Mark 5…and as you are getting there

Markan Sandwich:

I want to remind you of something we talked about in the beginning of this series....

Mark has a way that he likes to write

He will write a story…He will interrupt his story…Tell another story and then go back to the first story

Mark does this because he is trying to make a point…He wants you to compare the stories to look at them and to get the bigger point

We are going to see that this morning and it invites you to compare

So lets get into the text this morning:

Mark 5:21–24 NIV

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. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named 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.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.

Ok Jesus is back, and although we don’t know where “back” is we can assume that this is probably Capernaum where Jesus had been doing his ministry...

It is probably Capernaum because mobs of people surround Jesus right as he gets off the boat...

And the first thing that happens is that a synagogue leader named Jairus comes to Jesus and falls at Jesus feet and begs him to come lay his hands on his daughter who is dying

The Synagogue leader: So who is this guy Jairus. We don’t know who he is but we know about his position. The Synagogue leader was not a Rabbi or part of the clergy, but he was a layman who was in charge of keeping the scrolls, he was in charge of maintaining the building of the synagogue and even helping to arrange sabbath services. The Synagogue leader was even entrusted with the orthodoxy of the teaching that happened in the synagogue. This person oversaw all elements…Visiting rabbis

Just the fact that we are met with a synagogue leader here should make you recall the two other synagogue scenes that we have already looked at in the book of Mark.

1. Jesus heals a demon possessed man on the sabbath

2. Jesus heals a man with a shriveled hand on the sabbath

If this was the same synagogue then Jairus would have been there for these events (But we don’t know)

Even if it wasn’t the same one then Jairus for sure would have heard about these events...

and they are impotrant because it was the second healing that kind of threw the pharisees over the top.

and we know what happened after that second healing

Mark 3:6 NIV

Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

So when we think of Jairus coming to Jesus and falling at his feet…You have to understand the desperation that he was in to do this.

His employer is trying to kill Jesus...

He is going against his employer

he is going against the religious structures

This information helps us to see Jairus as not just some guy…But he is part of the structure and in relationship with the community that is trying to kill Jesus

They have already decided that Jesus is a false prophet....But Jairus has seen or heard what Jesus has done....and he has faith!

Falls at his feet

So not only is Jairus taking a huge risk by coming to Jesus but he falls at his feet...

In chapter 5, three people will fall at the feet of Jesus

The demon possessed man from last week

A synagogue leader

and a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years

The word that Mark uses here is the word for prostrating yourself before Jesus...

It is an act of worship, out of his desperation Jesus is his daughters only hope and at this point…he doesn’t care about the social stigma or the pressure...

he has to get to Jesus

It is interesting that in chapter 5 you see people fall down before Jesus and in some way, the power of Jesus is poured out...

Now don’t hear me wrong, you can not control God…If you walk up here and face-plant into the alter you can’t make God do anything

But it is really interesting to see that the power of God is poured out onto a people who are willing to risk it all to worship Jesus

The power of God is poured out on a people who are desperate for God.

This is what is happening at Asbury…we talked about this last week and its still going and even bigger now. people who are desperate for Jesus in their lives are falling down and experiencing a massive renewal and revival.

And its not like Kentucky is holy ground or anything…God can do it literally anywhere…He is not limited by anything...

God is pleased to pour his power out on a people who are desperate for him

People who fall down at his feet in Desperation for a word, for a touch....

Now I feel lie I have to say this, God Can’t be controlled..you can’t just waltz up to him and fall down at the alter and expect something to happen…No it is in the deep longing of a desperate soul that you bring to God that he honors....

All though this text we are going to see something that is really key

Jesus is interruptible

Here Jesus is with this huge crowd and he is interruptible.

Mark wants us to see Jesus commitment and desire to minister to the human needs

He wants us to see the inestimable worth of the human individual for Jesus

Just as we see that Jesus is interruptible from the crowds…we see that he is interrupted again

Mark 5:25–34 NIV

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 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. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

So this woman has a quieter desperation than Jairus…and less urgent…I mean Jairus daughter is about to die and this woman had been bleeding continuously for 12 years…What is a few more minutes right?

So while her need is great…Its not as urgent as imminent death

Jesus doesn’t have a moment to spare, and yet he spares it!

So first I want us to understand about what it means that this woman was bleeding for 12 years…

Leviticus 15:19-27 tells us the rules for menstruating women

A woman was unclean for 7 days after her period

If a woman had a gynecological problem then she was unclean for the duration of that time

If anyone came in contact with a menstruating women then they were unclean until the evening

So obviously, not only Jesus but the entire crowd would have touched this woman and been unknowingly ritually impure

So what kind of faith must you have if all you want is to simply touch the clothes of Jesus

I mean this woman must have heard of Jesus and all the healings that he had done that is why she is there

But in the other instances of Jesus healing it had been Jesus initiated

Jesus had said the word

Jesus had touched the person

You couldn’t just walk up to Jesus, touch him and get what you wanted, no one had ever done that

Some biblical experts think that this woman would have had this verse on her mind…But no one can really know what the woman had on her mind

Exodus 29:37 NIV

For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.

See in the Old Testament the Alter of God is Holy.

Its not a crazy logical leap for this woman to look at Jesus and see him as a Holy Man...

Literally a walking alter of God

I mean this woman had faith enough to go to an area where she should not be and to break the law just so that she could get the chance for a healing...

And in the same way that Jairus is desperate for Jesus this woman is so desperate she risks it all

See in our desperation we can lead out of faith or fear

In Both cases this woman and Jairus were desperate and instead of being afraid and doing something dumb they acted out of faith and fell prostrate before Jesus

In their desperation they worshiped Jesus

What is amazing is that 12 years of shame

12 years of frustration

12 years of loneliness

are all resolved in a momentary touch of Jesus

Maybe your here and you have had years of anger

Years of shame

Years of feeling like you are not worthy

years of brokenness and regret

That can be resolved in a second when you take your desperation to Jesus and fall at his feet. Jesus is interruptible…and he loves you

And then one of the things that you might notice in this text is that Jesus asks who touched me...

Like over and over again he asks and his disciples are even Like Jesus everyone is touching you what do you mean who touched you

See the persistence of Jesus in searching out who touched him reveals the persistence of the woman and how hard she must have worked to get to him

I don’t know but if I were this woman needing healing for something that socially ostracizes me I think I might just try and slip out of the crowd:

But this woman shows us what it means to be a disciple:

Mark 5:33 NIV

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.

Unable to escape the searching eyes of Jesus

The bleeding woman tells Jesus the whole truth

And what we have to realize is that in telling Jesus the whole truth she also tells the crowd the whole truth

She comes right out with her testimony of her shame…of having to be unclean and away from society for 12 years and how she touched everyone in the crowd and Jesus…and when she did so she would have been unclean

I mean everyone there would have been angry…The entire crowd would have had to go bathe in the Jordan, with till night and then come back into the city

But Jesus’ healing makes the whole thing clean

we get to spaces in our life where it is scary to tell the whole truth

We don’t want to tell the whole truth to the Lord let alone our spouse or our kids...

But it is in telling the whole truth that we find freedom with Jesus...

where there is openness, there is healing

This woman shows us what discipleship is like...

It begins by coming to Jesus and telling him the whole truth!

And after she tells Jesus the whole truth, Jesus says

Mark 5:34 NIV

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

So as this scene ends...

We are reminded of the urgency of the last scene.

Remember, Jesus didn't have a moment to spare and yet he spared it...

In fact, he had no time Jairus’ daughter was actively dying and Jesus is just lingering in the crowd asking “who touched me?”

Here is what happens next:

Mark 5:35–43 NIV

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?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 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. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Jesus overheard what Jairus’ friends were saying and he says don’t be afraid just believe

Jesus is challenging him and us

Don’t give into despair, instead lean into faith

“ ‘Don’t be afraid; only believe.’ ”

This is the challenge before Jairus, and before everyone who meets Jesus:

to believe only in what circumstances allow, or to believe in the God who makes all things possible?

One thing only is necessary—to believe.

The present tense of the Greek imperative means to keep believing, to hold onto faith rather than give in to despair

It is a challenge to you today!

Jesus is standing before you, the God who makes all things possible…He makes the impossible, possible…Don’t let fear win…Don’t let shame win....Don’t let the junk that used to define you have the loudest voice in your life.

Just like a father who is about to lose a child…Run to Jesus

Just like a woman who has lived in pain and shame for 12 years run to Jesus

So then they approach the house and there are already professional mourners there.

So these people are wailing and mourning and Jesus comes in and shuts them up…He is like what are you doing...

She isn’t dead but asleep

And the professional mourners…the ones who see dead bodies on a regular basis…they laugh, because they know what it means to die...

See the professional mourners are the people of every generation who are hard-core realist....the kind of people who let empirical realities foreclose on divine possibilities

Church we are those mourners…We come to church weekly and we worship Jesus…We declare that God stepped out of heaven, took flesh on, died on the cross for our sins then he beat death and rose again....Church what we believe in is super-natural....What we believe in is divine

Yet many times in our realism we ourselves foreclose on divine possibility

So Jesus kicks everyone out except a few close disciples and he raises this little girl from the dead

Again, the interruptible God blesses those with a desperate faith...

What does Mark accomplish by sandwiching the woman’s story into the story of Jairus?

Jairus and the woman have only one thing in common: both are victims of desperate circumstances who have no hope apart from Jesus.

Otherwise their stories diverge sharply.

Jairus has a name and a position. As ruler of the synagogue, he has enough clout to summon Jesus to his house. The woman has none of these. Her name is not given (or remembered), and she has no position.

Her only identification is her shame, an incurable menstrual hemorrhage.

She must approach Jesus from behind, whereas Jairus approaches Jesus face to face. Jairus, in other words, is a person of status and privilege.

But Jairus does not hold an advantage regarding the one thing that matters. It is the woman who exemplifies faith, and in this respect their roles are reversed.

Despite her embarrassing circumstances, she pushes through both crowd and disciples to reach Jesus. Her gender, namelessness, uncleanness, and shame—none of these will stop her from reaching Jesus. To this undaunted woman comes the healing and liberating word, “ ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you; go in peace.’ ”

When Jesus says, “ ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe,’ ” how should Jairus understand the command to believe?

What kind of faith should he have? The answer is that he must have the kind of faith the woman has (v. 34)!

The woman exemplifies and defines faith for Jairus, which means to trust Jesus despite everything to the contrary. That faith knows no limits—not even the raising of a dead child!

Response

Jairus & the bleeding women fall at the feet of Jesus desperation and worship...

In their desperation they have both exhausted all other possibilities

They come to Jesus and simply fall on their faces…and they plead for him to move

The woman tells Jesus the whole truth of her life...

And God’s power is poured out.

The alter is open…

I don’t know where you are at today but maybe you need forgiveness

Maybe you need healing

maybe you just need prayer

Maybe you want to come and start a relationship with Jesus or re-kindle an old one...

Jesus is interruptible…He Loves you and when we come to him in our desperation and tell him the whole truth then you wont believe what is possible