Pentecost 6 (7)
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21 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. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and 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.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Last week Pastor Schlenner preached a sermon on Job. I don’t know what was said in the sermon about the Lord and Job, but I would like to note something important about that book of the Bible. It was written to address several important matters regarding our faith and the outward circumstances of life.
Matter #1 Some believe that the true believer should not suffer any misfortune or calamity in this life. This was at the heart of Satan’s accusation against the Lord when he claimed that Job was righteous only because the Lord had put a hedge around him. Satan claimed that if Job would suffer calamity, he would curse the Lord.
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” 9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
Matter #2 Some believe that if calamity does come into a person’s life, that they have been forgotten, abandoned, or even are being punished by the Lord. (See friends’ accusations).
7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? 8 As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. 9 At the breath of God they are destroyed; at the blast of his anger they perish.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. 4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
What is the truth? The Lord certainly does protect his people. (See passages of that promise).
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the Lord, who is my refuge— 10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
But because we live in a world that is impacted by sin (The Fall, our sins, and the sins of others) we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. Note that in the Psalm passage that at the same time the Lord promises to protect us, he says that at times we will be in trouble — during which time he will be with us. “Who shall separate us from the love of God?”
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Even though we suffer hardships, we can and do approach our God with faith trusting that he can and will help us in our time of need.
We have just one example of that in our text (and another in the verses that are skipped from Mark 5.
21 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. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and 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.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.
The specific trouble being faced was not uncommon. A child was sick. So sick that she was about to die. This was much more common before the last century and is still common in certain parts of the world today. We may hope and pray that people will live to be 70 or 80 if the Lord gives them strength (and even beyond that) and that no one will die young. Due to better conditions and health care, this is more common, but I have noticed the number of children’s graves in our cemetery and am aware of how vulnerable children were to disease. Even now children are not 100% immune from deadly diseases. This would have been much more common and still heart breaking in Jesus’ day. Jairus’ daughter was sick unto death. (It can be noted from the missing section that they did have doctors even then.) Doctors even in that town. So maybe Jairus had sought medical help. This doesn’t seem to be a problem in our faith community — going to the doctor. But in some over zealous faith communities Christians emphasize taking it to the Lord in prayer so much that they neglect God’s gift of health care and medicine. Although we don’t know if Jairus had done this, we do know that he seeks Jesus’ help. Mark 5:22–24 (NIV84)
22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and 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.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.
We are no strangers to difficulties in our lives. (cite examples)
Illness.
Weather related disasters.
Victims of Violence.
Consequences of sinful decisions and actions.
Cruel people.
Accidents.
What can we do? Limit risks. To avoid or limit the impact of health risks, we do well to practice good hygiene, have good diet and exercise habits, decide whether or not to make use of vaccines,
Seek medical attention and surgery or medication when deemed necessary.
As Christians we can approach our God with confidence in prayer. The well known passage encourages, even commands this: “Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
The hymn we sang before the sermon gives us this advice.
1When in the hour of utmost need
We know not where to look for aid,
When days and nights of anxious thought
Nor help nor counsel yet have brought,
2 Then is our comfort this alone
That we may meet before your throne;
To you, O faithful God, we cry
For rescue in our misery.
3 For you have promised, Lord, to heed
Your children's cries in time of need
Through him whose name alone is great,
Our Savior and our advocate.
4 And so we come, O God, today
And all our woes before you lay.
Be with us in our anguish still;
Free us at last from ev'ry ill,
5 So that with all our heart we may
To you our glad thanksgiving pay,
Then walk obedient to your Word
And now and ever praise you, Lord.
It should be noted that the author of this hymn was no stranger to trouble and the he wrote from personal experience.
Eber, Paul, son of Johannes Eber, master tailor at Kitzingen, Bavaria, was born at Kitzingen, Nov. 8, 1511. He was sent in 1523 to the Gymnasium at Ansbach, but being forced by illness to return home, was on his way thrown from horseback and dragged more than a mile, remaining as a consequence deformed ever after. In 1525 he entered the St. Lorentz school at Nürnberg, under Joachim Camerarius, and in 1532 went to the University of Wittenberg, where he graduated 1536, and thereafter became tutor in the Philosophical Faculty. He was appointed Professor of Latin in 1544, then in 1557 Professor of Hebrew and Castle preacher, and in 1558 Town preacher and General Superintendent of the Electorate, receiving in 1559 the degree D.D. from the University. He died at Wittenberg, Dec. 10, 1569 (Koch, i. 271-278; Allgemeines Deutsche Biog., v. 529).
At Wittenberg he was a close friend of Melanchthon, was privy to all his plans, and conducted the greater part of his correspondence. After Melanchthon's death in 1560, he became leader of his party, and had to engage in various controversies with the Crypto-Calvinists, &c.; the seeds of his fatal illness being sown on his return journey from the fruitless conference held at Altenburg with the theologians of Jena, which lasted from Oct. 20, 1568, to March 9, 1569.
Eber was, next to Luther, the best poet of the Wittenberg school. His hymns, some of them written for his own children to sing to Luther's melodies, are distinguished for their child-like spirit and beautiful simplicity. Seventeen hymns have been attributed to him, four of which are certainly his, and probably two others. Of these six, five have been translated into English, one of which is noted under "Dicimus grates,"
Marks gives an example of how Jesus can and does answer prayer even in the worst of circumstances.
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?” 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
The Gospels contain many other examples of Jesus’ power to do miracles and how he frequently helped people.
Jesus did this to demonstrate that he is the Messiah.
Can we expect such astounding miracles even today? Can we be certain that our God will remove all of the troubles from our lives and correct any and every situation when we are in utmost need by giving us complete healing and restoration?
I would say “No”. Not because he can’t. “With God all things are possible.” but because history has shown that the ministry of Jesus was unique as were times when God would intervene in the Old Testament on occasion.
But I would say that our God helps us in other ways which involve increasing our faith, helping us focus on what is most import, comforting us in times of loss, giving us hope for the future, relieving our pain and grief, etc. 2 Corinthians 1:8–11 (NIV)
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
