Faith of our Daughters
Notes
Transcript
21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea.
22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet
23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”
24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years,
26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.
28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?”
31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 And he looked around to see who had done it.
33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Introduction
Have you ever had a crisis of faith? I did not come to a saving faith until I was 21 years old, but I remember certain moments in my life when I felt like I had what you would call a crisis of faith. There were times even before salvation when I was a younger child that I remember struggling with believing in things. I had this belief in something greater and believed in God but struggled with any sort of understand of what it meant to follow Jesus. But to consider that a crisis of faith would be a stretch.
It wasn’t until after I came to a saving faith in Jesus that I truly had a crisis of faith. At the time, I was working for a heating and air company. And in most industries like that, people with strong faith and Christ like character are in short supply. I was bold in my faith after salvation. I would share my faith and beliefs with the men that I worked with. I would bring my bible into the break room at lunch break and read it. But this did not stop the fact that I looked up to the men that I worked with for a long time, and now we did not see eye to eye. So the teasing began.
On one hand, I had these men that I looked up to that I wanted to approve of me and be happy for me. But I also had my faith. I had been saved by Jesus. And now, I had to make a decision. This was a crisis of faith. I guess you can tell where it led me, but it wasn’t an easy road. I no longer work there and rarely speak to any of the people that I worked with. But I still follow Jesus. More today even than I did then.
Today, we have somewhat of a crisis of faith that we will see. There is this woman who has a decision to make. Stay unwell or go to the one who can heal her.
First off, our passage starts with a story that we will pick up next week. But it is going to set the scene for the bulk of our passage today.
Setting the scene:
21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea.
22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet
23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”
24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
These verses set the scene for the rest of our passage today. Jesus and his disciples got in the boat, went across the sea and were now back where they began. They are back in Jewish territory. We hear the beginnings of this story of a man named Jairus. Jairus is a ruler in the synagogue. He has a daughter that is very sick. And he has heard and possibly seen what Jesus is capable of. So he asks Jesus to come and lay his hands on her. Jairus understands the gravity of his daughters situation. First, he says that she is on the brink of death. But then he asks Jesus to come and lay his hands on her so that she may be made well. But not only made well, but that she may live. Death is about to rob this man of his daughter.
But this isn’t the only thing that is going on. This man is not the only one that has come up to Jesus. We are told once again that a great crowd is surrounding him. These people were seeking the same thing that Jairus was seeking. They wanted a miracle from Jesus. The situations will vary in their degrees of criticalness. But they were all seeking Jesus.
As we go through the rest of this passage, let’s focus in on this theological theme of Faith.
Big Main Idea: Faith in Jesus gives us Spiritual Healing
Big Main Idea: Faith in Jesus gives us Spiritual Healing
With Jairus, we see faith in him that Jesus has the power to heal his daughter. For the most part, we are going to table the rest of the story of Jairus and his daughter till next week and pick that up. For the rest of our time today, we are going to be focusing on the second daughter in this passage and the faith that she displays. So I want to get your wheels turning this morning and ask you a question.
Probing Question:
Does your faith in Jesus guide you to the spiritual healing of Jesus?
Does your faith in Jesus guide you to the spiritual healing of Jesus?
I know that many of us would give the church answer to the question and say that absolutely it does. But when we break it down to the brass tax, does it really? I am talking about when everything is falling apart, when you experience trauma, when you experience tragedy, does your faith in Jesus guide you or is it your lack of faith in the sovereignty of God that is guiding you?
As we go through this story of the woman who grabs the clothes of Jesus, I want us to see 3 ways that we are to have faith in Jesus
Have Faith that Jesus is God
Have Faith that Jesus is God
Most of us here will hear this and think, well of course Jesus is God. This is fundamental to the Christian faith. We absolutely believe this doctrinally. But do we believe this devotionally. It is one thing to say it, it is another to live it. Let’s see what happens.
25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years,
26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
Not to go into great detail about her condition, simply this woman had a problem going on that even stumped doctors. She was bleeding, and whatever was causing this condition, could not be fixed by doctors. She had been to many doctors and instead of getting better, she actually got worse. This woman was apparently intelligent because she knew that she needed to find a new doctor when they couldn’t fix her instead of going to the same person over and over again. But she was so invested in finding a cure, that it not only broke her physically, but it broke her financially. She had exhausted all of her finances trying to find a doctor that could help her. But she could not.
27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.
Word was spreading about what Jesus was doing for people. Remember Jesus was back in Jewish territory. He was back where he had been in the synagogues. He was back where people were noticing the things that he was doing. Let’s do a quick recap of all of the things that Jesus had done in the book of Mark.
demon possessed man in the synagogue
Simon’s mother in law (sick)
cleansed a leper (skin disease)
paralyzed man (friends drop through roof)
man with withered hand (healed on Sabbath)
Calmed a storm (disciples terrified)
healed a man possessed by thousands of demons
Now, the last two things, you could say happened away from the people that were in the area. But all of the rest would have been shared in great detail with everyone who was there. Including this woman. So she wanted to get to Jesus. She was considered ceremonial unclean, like a leper would have been. So she couldn’t go to the synagogue. She had to wait till Jesus was on the move. And she would be fighting for her spot in this great crowd.
As we have been slowly working through the book of Mark over the last several months, we have come across this idea of “great crowds”. Our idea of a great crowd is probably much different than the biblical idea of a great crowd. I can assure you that there is not a church this morning in Albemarle that has a great crowd gathering. This great crowd would have been thousands of people. And everyone in this culture would have viewed her as this unclean person. It was her faith that Jesus was the last option that helped her to make it through this crowd of people (people that would have despised her) to be able to touch the clothes of Jesus.
Does your faith in Jesus guide you? This woman, who possibly never heard Jesus teach before (remember that she was culturally unclean and was not welcome in crowds), who had possibly never before seen Jesus heal someone, had heard stories about this man. This man named Jesus. This man that could teach and could heal. Who had brought people back from the brink of death. Who had casted out demons. Who had cured a man of leprosy. And she had probably overheard a conversation between other people (because no one would be near her), and thought that if this man could heal a man of leprosy, then he could heal me. And her faith, that came from hearing about the miracles of Jesus, guided her to a place where she knew that this man was her only hope.
And this is a place where we should all be. Of knowing that Jesus is our only hope. Our only way out of eternal suffering. Our only way to God.
28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.”
The only way that someone would have the power to do this is if they were God. Now, we could get into a big philosophical debate about whether or not she truly believed that he was God. But that doesn’t change the fact that he truly was. The truth of the matter is that any healing that comes to anyone is because of God. God is the one who determines our days. God is the one who knows the number of hairs on our heads.
This woman knew that she had no other choice than to seek out the man who could heal her. And she went to great lengths to be able to touch his garments.
What we cannot see in our translations that we have in english is that this phrase “made well”, the Greek word that is used for this is the same word that is used for salvation. So she is not only saying that she will be healed, but that she will be HEALED! She will be saved. We will get into that more in a little bit.
So I ask you today, how many of us have been seeking the wrong places for spiritual healing. How many of us have exhausted all other avenues for us to experience freedom and relief. But now, the only place that you have not pursued is Jesus. For you to truly do that, you must have faith that Jesus is God. Just like this woman here. And her faith is what changes everything for her.
29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
Immediately. Mark has made it known that this is one of his favorite words when describing things that Jesus is doing. This healing was immediate. And it was so drastic of a healing for this woman that she didn’t even have to go and check to see if she was healed. He tells us in this verse that she felt it in her body that the disease was healed.
12 years. She dealt with this for 12 years. It broke her both physically and financially. And now, in an instant, she felt relief. What a joy it must have been. To be healed not only by Jesus but to be healed in the presence of Jesus. If you are here today and have been saved by Jesus, you have experienced a spiritual healing. You have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit coming into your life. But this woman got to experience something that we are all looking forward to one day. She was in the physical presence of the bodily manifestation of God. And, in the presence of Jesus, in the presence of God incarnate, she experienced this healing. And this healing, as we will see soon, is not only a physical healing but a spiritual healing. Point 1 - Have faith that Jesus is God.
Have Faith that Jesus sees Us
Have Faith that Jesus sees Us
Growing up in school, every kid in some way wanted to fit in. They wanted to be seen. We have spent many conversations with our daughter talking about fitting in at school. You want to fit in because there are people who are overlooking you and you want them to see you. Maybe they feel like they are invisible and just want to be noticed. We try to teach our daughter that it isn’t about how other people see her but it is about how God sees her. And we need to have faith that Jesus sees us.
30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?”
This was not a stupid question or a question that Jesus did not already know the answer to. The exodus of power from Jesus causes him to turn around, not to see who had touched him but to point out the miracle that had happened. And the disciples were right there with him and answered his question.
31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
We have established the fact that the crowd was massive. And the crowd was pushing in on Jesus. Everyone was touching him. But Jesus wanted to point out the one person that not only was touching Jesus but was touched by the power of Jesus.
32 And he looked around to see who had done it.
Two things are going on right here. Jesus knows that this woman touched him. And this woman knows that she has been found out. And we must remember that for 12 years, this woman was hated by society. She was unclean. And now, Jesus is looking for her specifically in this crowd. Jesus was going to call her out and bring her to light.
Have you ever been found out when you were trying to be sneaky about something. Maybe as a teenager, you were like me, and when you got your drivers license, you thought you were on top of the world. You get in that car, and nothing could stop you. And you decide that you are gonna look cool in front of your friends and be dumb while behind the wheel. Most of us have done this. But then you get home. And maybe your dad was not a police officer like mine was, but we don’t live in a big town and as a teenager, you begin to understand that your parents know everyone. And there was someone who saw you acting like a dummy behind the wheel of the car. And your parents find out. You walk in the door, and you hear the words that no teenager ever wants to hear, “we need to talk”. You have been found out. You wish that you had not been seen. But the truth of the matter is that you are always seen.
At some point in our lives, we have all felt like God does not see us. Maybe we have thought that we are not important enough for God to care about. Maybe we just feel like our lives don’t matter to God. Look at this story and be encouraged.
This woman was written off by the world. No one wanted to be around her and everyone was terrified that they would catch whatever disease she had. But God. God did not write her off. Not only that, God wanted her. He wanted her so much that he put her in this crowd that was pushing in on Jesus and healed her by the power of Jesus. She had the faith to grab on his garment and was healed by Jesus.
This is not a sermon about being healed by our faith and how you haven’t been healed because you don’t have enough faith. This is false teaching and you will not hear me preach that. What you will hear me preach is spiritual healing through faith in Jesus Christ. And as we continue this, we will see the spiritual healing that takes place in this woman’s life. Faith in Jesus Christ brings us eternal spiritual healing which is far greater than being healed from cancer, heart disease, being crippled, or having a blood disease for 12 years. Faith in Jesus is what the gospel is about.
(gospel presentation)
To have faith that the gospel saves us means that we truly believe that Jesus sees us. That he saw us in our sinful state and still went to the cross for our sins.
Have faith that even though we are sinners, that Jesus sees us and still went to the cross for our sins.
Have Faith that Jesus Heals Us
Have Faith that Jesus Heals Us
Almost every year, right here in this county, there is a church that has what they call “healing services”. A couple of years ago, they had it at the YMCA park. They brought in their “healer” and had hundreds if not thousands of people come to it over a weeks time. This church is promoting a man that is fraud and a charlatan. Now, you might be thinking, that is harsh David. And you are very right, I am being harsh. Because he was less than a half a mile from the hospital and if he truly was this healer that he says he is, then he wouldn’t have bothered with the tent, he would have just set up shop in the hospital.
I still want us to see in scripture that we must have faith that Jesus is going to heal us. But what I pray that we can do is shift our focus from the now to the eternal .
33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
She was healed. She felt like her life had been fixed. But she was still terrified because Jesus was calling her out in front of everyone. So she came forward. She went to him, fell down in front of him and told him everything. She told him that she had been sick for 12 years. She told him that she had went to all the doctors that she could go to and spent all of her money seeking to be made well. She told him that she had been written off by everyone around her because of this disease. She told him that she came to the end of her own attempts and came to him. She told him that she believed that if she could only touch his garment that she thought that it might be enough to fix her of this nasty disease.
Wow.
34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Her faith has made her well. The word in the original language her for “made well” is also the word for saved. Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” It is our faith that saves us by grace. This woman’s faith was what saved her. And because of that faith, Jesus declares her to be one of his.
He calls her “daughter”. How many people in this life do you come across that are just looking for that validation from someone. They want to be loved, they want to be accepted. And they continue to pursue this desire in the things of this world. They go down the avenues of sin. They try to find it in ungodly relationships, they try to find it in addiction, they try to find it in religious activities. But true acceptance can only be found in Jesus. And it comes through faith.
In this here and now world that we live in, we want to make this bible passage about achieving physical healing through our faith. The reality is that this is not truly about physical healing. It does not matter how much physical healing you experience over your life. The reality is that each and every one of us have an expiration date.
Conclusion
We must have faith in Jesus. And this faith must guide us. It must guide us to the spiritual healing that everyone needs.
As I close, if you have never came to a true saving relationship with Jesus, I want you to listen in closely to what I am going to say. Today, you have heard the gospel message of Jesus clearly. (gospel presentation). Now, what do you do with that?
Mark 1:15 “repent and believe in the gospel.””
Repent - to turn. What do you turn from? Sinful ways. The life of sin and destruction. Turn to Jesus. He is the one who can heal us and restore the destroyed relationship with God that we have.
Believe - What do you believe? Believe that you cannot work or earn your way to God. Believe that Jesus was sent to live the perfect, sinless life that you could not live. Believe that when Jesus went to the cross, that he did it on your behalf. And believe that Jesus doing this was enough for you to have salvation.
If this is you today and you believe this for the first time, come and talk to me. We do not believe in lone ranger Christians. The church is for us to have relationships to help us grow in our walk with Jesus.
But most of us here today are believers. So you are probably wondering, what does this passage mean for me. The overarching theme of this passage is faith. The woman had faith that Jesus would heal her, and he not only did physically, but more importantly, he saved her. Today, be reminded of your salvation. Be reminded of you coming to the end of yourself and going to Jesus because he was your only hope. And then we can sing…
In Christ Alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
