Are we Desperate for Jesus?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Think about a time in your life when you felt desperate… where all your resources were completely tapped… overwhelmed with life, tired, wore out and desperate for relief.
Friday, I change the headlights in my van which you would think would be an easy job but it was the most frustrating car fixes I’ve ever done.
What do you do when you are desperate?
We live in a world where so many people are desperate for help. Our world is desperate for relief from pain… physical, financial, emotional, relational.
When we are desperate, where do we turn?
There are so many options that we can turn to if we want to self medicate the pain. We can turn to destructive vices like drugs and alcohol.
We can turn to great options books and podcasts, conferences and preachers, doctors and other professionals.
Those things are healthy and good but nothing or no one can actually heal the pain accept for Jesus Christ, our healer.
Jesus is our healer and HE wants us to live in that healing today.
This morning, we are still in this series called Jesus Amazed where Jesus amazed people, Jesus said some amazing things, and Jesus was even amazed at certain people.
So this morning we are going to be in Mark 5 and we will learn about an unnamed woman who was desperate for a healing from Jesus.
What she was doing was not working so she came to the realization that all she needed was just one touch from Jesus and everything was going to change.
Regardless of her long history of pain she was determined to touch Jesus at any cost because she was desperate.
21 Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. 22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”
24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse.
27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.
30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
PRAY
No matter what our struggle might be, whether it’s a physical, emotional, or spiritual pain, we can come to Jesus with our needs and trust in His power to restore us. When we step out in faith we demonstrate that a personal encounter with Christ can lead to a transformational work of healing in our lives.
Faith is the key to opening the door to Jesus so don’t stop reaching out to Christ in our times of need.
One simple touch can lead to great changes but sometime it takes a desperate circumstance to drive our faith toward Jesus.
Jesus desires us to reach out to HIM in faith so HE can transform our lives through HIS miraculous touch but are we desperate enough?
1. We must push past the Crowds and the Crises to see HIS Compassion.
1. We must push past the Crowds and the Crises to see HIS Compassion.
When Jesus showed up the crowds showed up too. Jesus had a way of drawing the crowds. Some people who were in crisis; some were desperate for a miracle but most people were just observers who just wanted to see Jesus in action.
If word came out that Jesus was coming to a town they would flock from all over just to see Jesus in action.
21 Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. 22 Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, 23 pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.” 24 Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him.
As the crowd was forming, we are introduced to a man named Jairus, a leader in the local synagogue. This man came to Jesus desperately wanting HIM to do a healing work to heal his twelve year old daughter who was on death’s door.
With all the chaos of the crowd there was a crises. Jesus was not rushed or motivated by the crowd but HE was moved with compassion to go and heal this little girl.
Jesus did not seek to entertain the crowd… to give them the miracle show that they wanted.
Jesus saw the depth of desperation the crowd brought. It was chaotic but even in the midst of the chaos, Jesus was willing and available to bring peace. The depth of desperation turned into an opportunity for Jesus to create a divine intervention.
Jesus is present even in the midst of our chaos where there are so many things that can distract us.
Jesus is never distracted by the crowds but HE is always ready and willing to meet us right where we are at. HE knows us better then anyone and HE understands us. HE has compassion for those who are in messy situations but we must be desperate enough to come to Jesus by faith.
As we see these 2 characters Jairus and the unnamed woman, they were both desperate for a touch from Jesus.
Jairus asked Jesus if HE could simply touch my daughter so she could be healed.
This was not only a desperate situation, it was urgent. She didn’t have much time left so Jesus was so moved with compassion for this man’s situation that he headed for Jairus’ house and as Jesus went all the people followed, crowding around HIM.
Jesus was on a mission to heal this 12 year old girl but Jesus was not in a hurry to do it because we see this woman’s faith disrupted Jesus’ mission.
2. We must have the Courage to Reach Out
2. We must have the Courage to Reach Out
When we are desperate for Jesus we don’t think about our pride or our societal norms. If we want to touch Jesus we must be brave and courageous.
25 A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
There is no doubt that this woman was desperate.
For 12 years this woman suffered with constant bleeding. This may have been a menstrual or uterine disorder but she has been in pain, suffering for twelve years.
She looked to the doctors and all they did was take all her money and brought her no relief from her suffering. They actually made her situation even worse and her suffering more intense.
She was suffering from not only physical pain but, emotionally, relationally (because she was considered unclean), and financially. This woman turned to every other earthly remedy and she still suffered for 12 years.
But… then Jesus showed up. She heard about Jesus and she knew about Jesus and she believed that if she could just touch HIS robe she would be healed.
All she had to do was get in the middle of the crowd where Jesus was. She had to risk everything to get through this crowd of people.
The bleeding caused the woman to be in a constant condition of ritual uncleanness. She could not worship in the synagogue, and she could not have normal social relationships, for anyone who came into contact with her would also become unclean. This woman was treated almost as severely as a leper
She had to keep her distance but she was desperate for her healing.
The decision to touch Jesus’ garment was due to the popular belief that the clothes of a holy man imparted spiritual and healing power.
She may have feared that Jesus would not touch her if he knew her condition (she may have thought that Jesus would not risk becoming “unclean” in order to heal her).
Or she may have feared that if her disease became known to the crowd, the people who had touched her would be angry at having become unclean unknowingly. The woman knew she could be healed, but she tried to do it so nobody would know.
She thought that she would just get healed and go away.
Lots of life’s battles nick us at the edges. Not strong enough to kill us, they pester and provoke us, wear us down, use our money, sap our vigor, cloud our joy. This woman had known many such demoralizing days. Yet she came. What a move! Despite years of weakness, she had not given up hope. Believing Jesus could help, she left her sickbed, joined the crowd, and found her answer. She reached out in faith and was healed.
We must never cave in to pestering problems. No problem need keep us from God. He is always ready to help. Personally coming to Jesus is the real secret of peace and healing. We must connect with him.
It’s just a touch of Jesus’s garment, that’s all she needed and she had the courage to do it. It was her desperation and her prolonged suffering that caused her to take bold steps towards Christ.
3. Jesus does more then Heal, HE Completes Our Restoration
3. Jesus does more then Heal, HE Completes Our Restoration
29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. 30 Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
The moment she touched Jesus she immediately felt in her body the healing took place. The bleeding stopped and her pain was gone.
The moment the woman touched Jesus’ garment, she was healed. The disease that had weakened her body for years suddenly disappeared. She felt the difference and knew not only that the pain had stopped, but that she was also completely healed of the disease. What incredible joy this must have been for this woman!
The healing was immediate but Jesus’ knowledge of the healing was also immediate.
As soon as the woman felt the healing of her body, Jesus felt the supernatural power that performed healings go out of him.
Someone had touched him in order to be healed, that person’s faith had allowed the healing to take place, and Jesus perceived what had happened.
Jesus’ question, “Who touched my clothes?” had a definite purpose. Whether Jesus already knew who touched him or not doesn’t matter but what mattered was that Jesus wanted to establish a relationship with this woman.
She had hoped to go away undetected. Jesus, having healed her physically, wanted to heal her spiritually as well. He wanted her to step forward and acknowledge her miraculous healing.
Then the disciples were puzzled at Jesus’ question because there were people all over the place trying to touch and get close to HIM. Why would Jesus ask, “Who touched me?”
They did not understand that Jesus meant a different kind of touch—not the inadvertent touch of a pressing crowd, but the purposeful touch of someone who desired to be healed.
This wasn’t something that Jesus was going to ignore so HE stopped and looked for this woman. Jesus paused HIS trip to Jairus’ house to find out who touched HIM and who received a healing.
The crowd didn’t understand what was happening, the disciples though Jesus was unreasonable, and Jairus was probably chomping at the bit. But one person did understand what Jesus meant by the question, “Who touched me?” and she knew she had no choice but to come forward.
33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done.
The woman told Jesus the whole truth—that she had been afflicted with a dreadful disease, that she had been unclean and had come jostling through the crowd, that she had dared to touch a man and did so in her unclean state, that she had hoped to remain undetected, and that she had been healed. To top it off, she had to say all of that in front of a crowd. No wonder the woman came in fear and trembling. She knew what had happened to her.
No human had been able to heal her; Jesus did what no human could do. But Jesus would not let that be the end of her story; he wanted to deal with her soul.
Jesus wanted to teach the woman that it wasn’t HIS cloak that healed her, but that it was her faith in HIM that healed her.
34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
Jesus was far from being angry, Jesus spoke to the woman in gentle words, calling her daughter, revealing a father-child relationship. She came for healing and received it but she also received a relationship with Jesus and peace with God HIMSELF because of her faith.
It wasn’t HIS clothing that had healed her but her faith as she reached out to the one person who could heal her. She not only had faith, but she had placed her faith in the right person.
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Genuine faith involves action but also involves a level of desperation.
This woman’s desperate faith had caused her to know that with a simple touch, she would be healed. One touch is so simple yet so powerful.
The words “Go in peace” are more literally “Go into peace.”
With this healing, Jesus gave this woman her life. He opened a door and held it for her. Jesus wished her peace of both body and soul.
With the words “be freed from your suffering,” the woman knew that her cure was permanent.
Take Away:
Are we still looking for other earthly remedies or are we desperate for Jesus to bring the healing?
Are we more concerned with what people might think or are we willing to respond in faith and press through the crowd to touch Jesus?
Does our faith in Jesus move beyond our desperate moment?
