The Power of the King over Death

Introduction: Have you ever witnessed the dead coming to life? Now, I am not talking about someone’s conversion to Christ. It too is a death to life experience. No, I speaking about someone who was dead coming back to life? I have never witnessed anything like that in my life. Now, with that said, allow me to share with you two different stories.

Bethel Church Praying

Olive Heiligenthal, a two-year old died on Saturday, December 14, 2019. She was the daughter of one of the song leaders of Bethel Church, out of Redding, California. Her death made national news because the church gathered to pray for her resurrection. If my memory serves me, they prayed as a church for three days. A video I watched showed the congregation jumping up and down with their hands raised singing, “Come alive, Come alive, Come alive , dry bones, Awake, arise, Inhale the light.” The pastor of Bethel Church, Bill Johnson stated, “There was biblical precedent for believing in resurrection. He based his statement on Matthew 10:8, which reads, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” I remind us that those words were given to Jesus’ disciples. Bethel Church prayed and there was no resurrection. On Friday, December 27, 2019, Bethel Church and its community gathered for the funeral of Olive Heiligenthal.

That is such a sad story. I can’t fathom the loss that the family felt. There is not a parent alive who wouldn’t want their child resurrected.

Vanuatu Resurrection

Several years back Debbie and I were invited to the wedding of Joshua Rogne on Lake Coeur d’ Alene. We boarded one of the CDA Resort Cruise Ship to be taken to the site of the wedding. After the wedding we boarded the ship to be taken back to the Coeur d’ Alene Resort dock. However, while on the cruise back across the lake Debbie we sat next to Chris’ Rogne’ brother, Dave and his wife Gail. They serve as missionaries in Vanuatu – located east of Australia, south of Papua New Guinea, and north of New Zealand. It is one of 13 islands. The people are overwhelmingly Melanesian. Dave told us all kinds of wild missionary adventures, and then he asked me, “Do you believe that God can raise the dead?” Now, in my head I was processing that question. Theologically, I believe that God can do anything, but on a practical level I have never seen a dead person raised to life. Can God raise the dead -YES! Does God raise the dead today? I haven’t witnessed it, but Dave Rogne told us he had.

He said that he was traveling through a village on a journey to another village he came upon a group of people that were weeping and wailing. A woman in the village had died. Dave said the people asked him to pray that God would bring the woman back to life. He prayed, and she revived. The breath and spirit of life was returned to her. Dave left the village and continued his journey. A week later Dave passed back through the village and the woman that was raised to life had died exactly one week later. She lived for one week. Dave didn’t try to explain this to me. All he said was, “Perhaps the woman had work still to do for one week.”

Well, I don’t know what you think of that account, but I’m only sharing with you what a missionary shared with me. In our text today we are going to see the power of the king over DEATH. Jesus Christ is going to raise from death a twelve-year old girl, Jarius’ daughter.

Again, I remind you that the purpose of signs and wonders was to authenticate the man and his message as being from God.

I. The ruler’s daughter dies – 9:18-19

18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” 19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

A ruler came and worshipped Him. We know from the writings of Mark and Luke that this ruler is identified as Jairus (Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41). We discover that he was a synagogue ruler in Capernaum (Mark 5:22).

Dr. Constable writes, “He was a Jew who enjoyed considerable prestige in his community because of his position as synagogue ruler.”

William Barclay writes, "The ruler of the synagogue was a very important person. He was elected from among the elders. He was not a teaching or a preaching official; he had 'the care of the external order in public worship, and the supervision of the concerns of the synagogue in general.' He appointed those who were to read and to pray in the service, and invited those who were to preach. It was his duty to see that nothing unfitting took place within the synagogue; and the care of the synagogue buildings were [sic was] in his oversight. The whole practical administration of the synagogue was in his hands.” (Barclay, 350-51)

This ruler recognized Jesus’ authority, and no doubt had heard about His many miracles.

Our text tells us that he “came and worshipped Him”. This means that he gave to Jesus proper respect. But notice what follows. This ruler spoke to Jesus and said,

“My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.”

Jairus came to Jesus because he was facing one of the most painful crises a parent could ever face. The death of his daughter. We are told in Luke 8:42,

for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.

We read in Mark’s Gospel that when Jairus went to Jesus that his daughter was near death but wasn’t dead at that moment. However, Jairus knew that by the time he got to Jesus that his daughter would have died.

One of the things that impresses me is that Jairus apparently knew where to turn in his time of trouble. He turned to Jesus, and he believed that Jesus had the authority and the power to raise his little girl to life.

I once was asked to do a funeral service for a couple who had lost their small child through what was termed as, Crib Death. The parents were not Christians. After the service concluded I stood at the coffin with the father and mother. Both were weeping. The mother kept asking me, “Will I see my baby again?” I was able to offer them biblical hope through Christ. I have no idea what they did with the information I shared with them.

As I read verse 18, I see the great faith that Jairus had. He believed that if Jesus came and touched his daughter that she would live.

We read that Jesus got up and followed him (the ruler) and that His disciples also followed. Here we have Jesus and His disciples on their way to the ruler’s house so that He could raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead. This is going to be miracle number 8 in these two chapters - Matthew 8-9.

No doubt Jesus knew what He was going to do, and it was certain to happen, and the miracle of a dead body rising was going to be the proof of His deity.

Now, in this same storyline there is another miracle that takes place first – it is miracle number 7 in these two chapters – Matthew 8-9. Let’s look at it together.

II. The woman with an issue of blood – 9:20-22

20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

As Jesus was on his way to the Jairus’ house out from the crowd came a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years. She had a hemorrhage. She had been bleeding for twelve years. No doubt she was anemia. No doubt she had little energy, and that she was very weak. That’s a long time to losing blood! She had tried medical doctor after medical doctor. We read in Mark 5:26,

26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

She suffered many things form many physicians. And can you imagine spending all your money on doctors and not finding any answers. This was her lot in life. She didn’t get better, she got worse.

This woman’s health issue would have socially ostracized her from her own community. She would not have been able to participate in any religious affairs because she was considered ceremonially unclean. And her family and friends would not have even been able to hug her for fear of defilement themselves (Leviticus 15:19).

Can you imagine not being hugged by another person for twelve years? How awful! Talk about no hope.

In this story we find that Jesus brings hope in the midst of despair. Jesus was this woman’s last-ditch effort. She believed that if she could but touch the hem of Jesus’ garment she would be made well. Bible teachers believe that she was reaching to touch the tassels that Jews wore along the bottom of their garments (Numbers 15:37-41; Deuteronomy 22:12).

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Great fear kept her from facing Him; great faith led her to believe that a touch of his robe behind Him would cure her.”

How did she know that she would be healed if she only touched Jesus’ garment? Well, she too had probably heard of Jesus authority and power to heal diseases and to cast out demons. This woman came out of the crowd and reached out and touch Jesus’ garment. Mind you, she touched just the hem of Jesus’ garment.

No sooner had the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, that Jesus knew it. In Mark 5:30 we read,

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

In this verse we see the POWER that I have been speaking about concerning the miracles of Jesus Christ in Matthew 8-9. Our king has POWER over all sickness and disease. Jesus knew who had touched His clothes. Jesus looked into the woman’s eyes, and she knew that He knew that she had touched Him. Jesus spoke to the women,

“Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith has made you well.”

At that very moment (within seconds) this woman was made well – she was whole again. No more flow of blood. Jesus had healed her. Again, in Mark 5:29 we read,

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

Pastor David Guzik writes, “Jesus insisted on making public notice of her, and He did this for good reasons.

· He did it so she would know that she was healed, having heard an official declaration of it from Jesus.

· He did it so others would know she was healed, because her ailment was private in nature.

· He did it so she would know why she was healed, that it was by her faith and not because of a superstitious touch in and of itself.

· He did it so that she would not think she had stolen a blessing from Jesus, and so she would never feel that she needed to hide from Him.

· He did it so that the ruler of the synagogue would see the power of Jesus at work and therefore have more faith himself for his ill daughter.

· He did it so that He could bless her in a special way, giving her an honored title that we never see Jesus give to any other: daughter.

Warren Wiersbe writes, “It is interesting that Jairus and this woman—two opposite people—met at the feet of Jesus. Jairus was a leading Jewish man; she was an anonymous woman with no prestige or resources. He was a synagogue leader, while her affliction kept her from worship. Jairus came pleading for his daughter; the woman came with a need of her own. The girl had been healthy for 12 years, and then died; the woman had been ill for 12 years and was now made whole. Jairus’ need was public—all knew it; but the woman’s need was private—only Jesus understood. Both Jairus and the woman trusted Christ, and He met their needs.”[1]

Allow me to also remind you that had this woman not been healed she would have eventually died. So, again we see the king’s power over death. Jesus gave this woman life!

III. Jesus raises the ruler’s daughter to life – 9:23-26

23 When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went out into all that land.

Let’s walk through these three verses together. What do we discover in them? We have the following taking place:

· Jesus enters the ruler’s house – 9:23

· Flute players were playing – 9:23

· A noisy crowd was wailing – 9:23

In the days of Jesus Christ when someone died the family would hire professional flute players and mourners to come to their home. This was how others knew that someone near them had died.

What we discover here is that even though Jairus believed that Jesus could raise his daughter from the dead, others had already hired the professional mourning and were planning a funeral.

· Jesus spoke, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” – 9:24

· They ridiculed Him. They knew what a dead person looked like, and to them this little girl was dead – 9:24

· The crowd was put outside – 9:25

· Jesus went in and took her by the hand… - 9:25

· And the girl arose – 9:25.

This is a resurrection from the dead! Death is no match for the Lord of life.

Here is an interesting insight, the Greek word for “arose” is the same word used to describe Jesus’ own resurrection over in Matthew 28:6-7,

6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

Jesus brings life in the midst of death. Don’t ever underestimate the power of the king.

In verse 26 we read,

“And the report of this went out into all that land.”

Do you think that just maybe word of a little girl being raised from the dead spread throughout all the land? I think so. The dead coming to life is new worthy, right?

Preacher David Platt writes, “When we put Matthew 8–9 together, this life-giving miracle actually makes sense. The One who has authority over disease, natural disasters, and demons, and the One who has severed the root of all suffering with His authority over sin, has authority over death itself. This authority will ultimately be shown when Jesus dies on the cross. And make no mistake, as the One with power over death Jesus really died and was placed in a tomb. His heart flat-lined for three days before He walked out of the tomb on His own authority. Death does not have the last word; Jesus does. The Canadian scientist G. B. Hardy once said, When I looked at religion, I said, I have two questions. One, has anybody ever conquered death, and two, if they have, did they make a way for me to conquer death? I checked the tomb of Buddha, and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Confucius and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Mohammed and it was occupied, and I came to the tomb of Jesus and it was empty. And I said, There is one who conquered death. And I asked the second question, Did he make a way for me to do it? And I opened the Bible and discovered that He said, Because I live, ye shall live also.” (As cited in MacArthur, Matthew 8–15, 75)

Do miracles happen? Yes! Can the dead be raised today? Well, I think I’ll leave that one for God to determine.

Conclusion: So, what are our take-home truths?

1. Come and worship even in your loss – the loss of a child, or the loss of your health.

2. Believe by faith that God does miracles. I love the small chorus, Only Believe.

3. Got a health problem – reach out and touch Jesus.

4. God always arrives on time – funeral music and mourning may be present, but God is never late.

5. Share all the good things that God does. Be one of those who spread the report of Jesus Christ to everyone.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 35). Victor Books.