Authority over Death

Introduction

Last month we had the very fun time of spending the hours between 9PM-2:30AM together as a family in the ER! And by fun, I mean not fun at all. We were there because our two-year-old had a very minor injury, but her doctor recommended that we go to Emergency. Now, as her father, there comes over me this deep desire to make my daughter well, to make sure that she’s going to be OK so we go to the ER. Of course, by the time we’re at the hospital, she is laughing and playfully talking all of the nurses. I thought, you know if she could just act a little more upset about this injury, if she could really play it up maybe we’ll be seen by a doctor sooner! Because what did I want? Immediate attention for my daughter! And of course, if her situation had been dire, had been a real emergency, I would have expected to be seen right away, I would have expected the attention and care of the doctors immediately. Instead, she giggled her way through to 2AM and at the point, she was the only one laughing! She’s fine, by the way.

But I tell that story, because we should be able to relate to what we see in our text today—two people coming to Jesus, a father in desperate, dire need for his daughter and a woman who is at the point of total despair and hopelessness in her chronic condition. And we see Jesus, a terrible triage doc—any professional would say you go to the girl who’s at the point of death before attending to the woman who’s been at this for 12 years. But though he’d be a bad ER doc, Jesus is a good savior, a good healer, a good King. This story is the culmination of what we’ve been looking at for the past three weeks. Two weeks ago it was Christ’s authority over nature and creation when he calmed the storm, last week it was Jesus’ authority over evil when he delivered the demon-possessed man from an army of evil. This week we see Jesus’ authority extends further still and this is our main idea—

Jesus has authority over all trials and suffering, including disease and even death; therefore—this has been the same as the last two weeks—fear must give way to faith.

Jesus answers us in his own timing

Let’s look at the timing of Jesus in these miracles. Jesus and his disciples have made their way back across the Sea of Galilee and, once again, a great crowd is following him. A man named Jairus seeks him out. We know that Jairus was a prominent figure in this community, a leader, his position as a ruler in the synagogue indicates he was probably a man of means and wealth. He was a man with dignity and great respect. And he was in despair. His daughter is dying. She was not just sick but her illness had taken her “to the point of death,” the text says.

Jairus, probably a man who has no problem getting what he wants or needs, he is at the end of his rope when it comes to help for his daughter. There is an urgency to his need. He was willing to humble himself to the point of throwing himself at Jesus’ feet to make this request known. And how does Jesus respond? “And he went with him.” What a reassuring statement. And He went with Him. The healer is on his way, the savior is coming!

It would be hard to describe the depths of this man’s despair—racked with anxiety for his little girl and at the point of total loss. Yet now there is hope! So can you imagine how Jairus felt when all of a sudden Jesus stops because someone in this crowd touched him? The disciples can’t even believe he’s asking the question about who touched him. We’re only left to imagine the inner turmoil of Jairus. Having to wait while Jesus attends to someone else.

What may have felt like unnecessary delay from Jairus’ perspective was actually a long-awaited answer to prayer from the perspective of this woman. The other main figure in our text: the woman who has had a chronic bleeding discharge for 12 years. She’s been suffering for as long as Jairus’ daughter has been alive!

And it has been a suffering. [slide 4] She’s been bleeding for 12 years and in that time as long as she had this condition, she would have been considered unclean in her community. She would have been barred from the temple and, in fact, anyone who touched her would also be considered unclean temporarily. Mark reports that she SUFFERED much under MANY physicians, none of whom could relieve her or offer any help. She had EXHAUSTED all of her material resources to find a cure. And at the end of all that she was NO BETTER, it says, and actually her condition had grown worse.

Mark uses this word that gets translated “disease” in the English. It’s the Greek word mastix which is a word that elsewhere is used to refer to a flogging or to torture. This is not merely a chronic illness, but the deep pain of physical suffering and the suffering of shame. This is a woman at the end of her rope, totally hopeless and despairing. Sounds like Jairus and they’re both looking to Jesus.

And Jesus pauses for her. Like I said, not a good triage doctor if he stops for this woman while a 12 year old is dying. But what do we learn about Christ in this? First, he views both of these events as important; the healing of the woman is as important as the healing of this daughter. The urgent need of one doesn’t crowd out his care of this woman with a chronic condition. We might be tempted to think of our problems, our needs from Jesus as unimportant compared to the needs of those who are “really going through it!”

No! The authority of Jesus is such that he can attend to the needs of this woman and the needs of this desperate father and they are both dearly important to Him. Jesus may be interrupted but it doesn’t mean that he is ignoring Jairus or has forgotten about his daughter. And we never see Jesus frenzied, instead he is entirely focused.But he is never running around in a frenzy unsure of what to do or who to help, always present and attentive where he is needed.

It comes down to this: at no moment in this story is Jesus out of control. Just like he is in total control on that boat when he’s napping on a cushion in the middle of a hurricane, just like when he goes straight to the demon-possessed man who could not be controlled by anyone, Jesus is never out of control. Period. Remember Paul’s words from Colossians 1:16–17 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” And he uses that authority and control to meet the needs of those around him, even exceeding the needs they thought they had.

Jesus heals beyond what we expect

Jesus, in his goodness and wisdom, heals beyond what either of these individuals initially expects or asks for. First, there is the woman. “She had heard reports about Jesus,” she had heard something about this Jesus and she responds in faith. To act on what one hears about Jesus is an expression of faith in Him She has heard the good news of the one who has come to heal the sick and she had faith that he really could heal, “if only I can touch his garments.”

And you can see what a decade plus of shame and being an outcast has done to her. For 12 years she has been ostracized in her community, she wants to reach out for this healing in the most unobtrusive way possible. She is afraid of further rejection, does not want to be seen. If she were in church today, she might try to sneak in late, get out as soon as service is over. Forget about her coming up to the prayer banner after service! She’s doing the Starbucks Mobile Order prayer request here—I don’t want to be known, nobody notice me!

Right, this is what shame has done to her! And it is important to note when the healing takes place. Right when she touches him, immediately this disease, this torment, has been relieved! But Jesus isn’t done with her yet. Jesus could have kept on walking, he could have headed straight to Jairus’ house knowing what else he had to do. He knew that someone had touched him, he knew she had been healed. Jesus didn’t accidently heal someone! Instead he stops to gives her what she didn’t know she needed: to be restored from a over a decade of shame and rejection.

Who touched my garment? He wants to address her, he wants to know: who touched me? NOT to rebuke her or further shame her, NOT to embarrass her. No, instead of rebuking her, he commends her faith with a tenderness and gentleness. This is what she needed. He created space for her to admit her need and he meets her there. It says that with fear and trembling she fell down before him and told the whole truth. Probably fearing a rebuke or further condemnation. Remember, Jesus would have been made unclean if she touched him, there’s a real risk in what she’s doing. But he’s not worried about that.

She ends up in the same place as Jairus: at Jesus’ feet, beyond all pride and shame, admitting her need for him and his healing. And he says: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

This is the character of our savior, his goodness and gentleness. Though you may be tempted to think he has been ignoring you for years and years, he knows your need more than you do. She wanted a cure, Jesus desires a personal encounter, a relationship. She wants relief, he wants her heart. Jesus sees you, he sees your hurt, he sees your pain, the suffering you’ve been through. He’s inviting you to confess your needs to him, to share with him the deep cries of your heart. Have you shared those things with him lately? Remember this, he is over all things and he sees your burdens He wants you to come to Him, to share your heart with him.

With the woman, her restoration is done publicly, so the whole community could hear from the savior’s lips that she is now released from this suffering.. He restores her in front of everyone, and all she wanted was a secret healing yet Jesus restores her place in society. From outcast, to made clean! More than just a healing, he’s restoring her value. Look at these two figures: the woman and Jairus. Beyond their desperate need, what do they have in common? Very little. He’s a leader in the community; she’s an outcast. But in the eyes of Jesus they are of equal importance and value. At the foot of the cross we are all equal. Equal in our desperation, and yet equally loved by our savior and no matter where we came from, now brought fully into His Kingdom.

Likewise Jairus gets more from Jesus than he wanted. He came asking for a healing, but because of the delay, a report comes that a healing is no longer needed for Jairus’ daughter, for she has died. You can feel Jairus’ anguish. All is lost.

But how does Jesus respond? “Do not fear, only believe.” Like the woman’s trembling fear that Jesus upends in a moment of restoration, Jesus upends Jairus’ fear with a reassurance. Jairus came to Jesus expecting a healing from a severe fever, instead he gets a resurrection! For as we will see, Jesus is Lord over even death.

Jesus is Lord over even death

Jesus allows only a handful of people to be with him as they go to Jairus’ home, a contrast from the very public healing that just took place. And in this home there is a group of mourners that are entirely dismissive of Jesus, totally lacking in faith that there’s any possible hope left in this situation. Now, we should cut them some slack, because what’s about to happen is a paradigm shift for what any of them could have thought possible.

But it is a contrast to the great faith that Jairus has exhibited throughout this story. This man of high position, in faithful desperation, throws himself at Jesus’ feet at the beginning of the passage. Then, when Jesus gets seemingly distracted by this other woman, Jairus remains there. He could have easily wandered off in a huff, looking for another solution, another source of help. But he is compelled by Jesus. THEN, when the reports come in of his daughter’s death, he does not weaken in his resolve, he does not sway in his faith that this man, this messiah, might be able to do something. Let us follow in the faithful example of Jairus, a resolved commitment to Christ in all things.

When Jesus find the girl as she is, He remains focused, again there is no frenzy about him. No concern of, oh shoot, I spent too much time with that first woman. No, he is still, perfectly in control. He takes the child’s parents inside and takes the girl by the hand.

Notice here Jesus’ willingness to touch (in this case a dead body) that which would have ordinarily made one unclean. In the same way that he doesn’t have a problem with the unclean woman touching his garment, Jesus is not worried about might happen to him here. His holiness wins the day and we need not worry about Jesus getting into our mess. He’s not worried because his holiness will always succeed, that which is unclean, immediately becomes clean, renewed, revived at his touch!

Then there’s the ease with which he raises this girl from the dead. Raising this girl from the dead seems to be as easy as it was for him to heal the woman. He takes her by the hand and says, “talitha cum,” which is translated “Little girl, arise.” But that doesn’t quite capture the spirit of what he says, it’s more like “sweetheart, wake up.” It’s as if he is taking the girl’s hand and doing something as simple as waking her up in the morning. It’s time to wake up! And immediately she does so. Jesus faces humanity’s greatest enemy—death—with the ease of someone waking a child up from a nap. There is no great effort, no incantation, nothing. He just brings her back.

And this is the point where I want to acknowledge that not everyone experiences this kind of answer to our prayers. You may have suffered longer than 12 years without relief. That despair of chronic suffering can be unbearable You may have prayed for the loved one that was lost, or even felt the anguish of losing a child. This is a crushing burden.

But here’s my encouragement, and the encouragement of this passage. Jesus is still totally in control and he has total authority over your greatest sorrows. He invites you to come to Him again and again with your sorrow and he offers peace and hope. And in this story, both of these miracles are only temporary. The bleeding woman gets relief, but her body would weaken again, eventually she died. And the same with this girl. These healings are temporary, but the faith behind these miracles and the person behind these miracles point us to a healing and resurrection that is not fleeting or limited, but is perfect and eternal. The grace that we have by faith in Jesus is everlasting, He gives us a permanent healing and a permanent resurrection.

We see this idea in 1 Peter 5: 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Though we do suffer, compared to the life we have eternally with Christ, it is but a little while (and I know it doesn’t feel like it now). But He who is control of all things, he is the One who restores us. For his dominion, his authority is over all things forever!

This climactic moment of resurrection in this story points us to the climactic moment of all of history. Tim Keller, in his book on the Gospel of Mark, helps us understand it with this image. That in His actions, Jesus is saying, “If I have you by the hand, death itself is nothing but sleep. And I’m never letting go.” And though Jesus won’t let go of our hands, He would allow Himself to let go of the Father’s hand when he went to the cross, losing the Father’s hand unto death itself for our sake. Going to the tomb so we could be raised out of it. Letting go so he could always have us.

Brothers and sisters, in all of this, do not fear, only believe. ***prayer banner