Authority Over Death
Notes
Transcript
INTRO
INTRO
We’ve made it!
we are officially coming to the end of our series, Authority
It has been the longest 4 week series ever becasue of snow and other things going on in the church
but here we are
Over the last 3 weeks we have camped in a little section of the gospel of Mark
in which we have seen Jesus do some incredible things
All of which have left the disciples and those present in awe
jaw dropping, complete shock, awe
TENSION
TENSION
Tonight, as we come to a close of this series we are going to see this same scenario play out one last time
But this last display of Jesus authority we will see tonight is grander than all the others
It puts Jesus’ divinity on display clearer than all the others
and it points to the cross and resurrection more blatantly than all the others
TRUTH
TRUTH
Context
Week 1:
Jesus preaching all day, decides to cross the sea, storm begins, Jesus calms it
Week 2:
Jesus makes it to the other side, heals a demon possessed man, is asked to leave
Week 3:
Jesus makes it back to the side He started on, a man named Jairus comes begging at Jesus’ feet to come heal his dying daughter, Jesus heads to Jairus’ house but stops when a woman with a bleeding issue touches Him
And I ended with the reminder
This moment with the woman wasn’t a private conversation
This whole exchange:
the healing,
the confession,
the calling her “Daughter,”
the peace given to her
is all happening on the way to Jairus’ daughter
We need to remember that while Jesus is stopped… Jairus is still there
Standing in the crowd
Watching is watch
Thinking about his twelve-year-old daughter
Every second feels like too long
You can almost feel it:
“Jesus… we need to go”
“She’s running out of time”
And yet Jesus stops
He slows down
He calls the woman forward
He finishes what He started
One daughter has just been restored
yet another daughter is still dying
And I left us with this question:
What happens when it feels like Jesus is taking too long?
A question that all of us have asked at some point in our lives
A question that we can rightly assume Jairus is asking himself during this moment as Jesus has stopped to interact with this woman
A question that is a about to be answered for him when we pick up the story is verse 35
While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?”
Jairus gets his answer…
what happens when if feels like Jesus is taking too long?
your daughter dies
The messengers not only bring him this heartbreaking news but also give him some advice…
why bother Jesus anymore if she’s already dead
let’s go home and mourn
When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”
Jesus overheard the heartbreaking news
turns to Jairus and says:
“Don’t be afraid. Only believe”
Jesus doesn’t say:
“I’m sorry for your loss”
“My bad… I shouldn’t have stopped”
He tells Jairus to believe
In this moment we see two perspectives of the same situation
Human perspective
the child is dead so let’s not trouble the teacher any longer
God perspective
believe; jairus is called to see past the facts and to who Jesus is what what he can do
On commentator said:
“We often put the period where God Himself puts only a coma”
In other words often times in our human perspective we think God is working in a situation when in reality it’s God’s plan only unreeling right in front of us
He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother. They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was.
Jesus grabs His inner three: Peter, James, and John and brings them to Jairus’ house
When they arrive there, there is a large commotion of people weeping and wailing
not uncommon in this culture
it was a custom among the Jews to include wailers, flute players, the rending of clothes, and the tearing of hair when someone died
In fact even the poorest person was required to hire at least one mourner and two flute players
We can assume then that since Jairus was a synagogue ruler, there were probably several of these mourners on the scene when Jesus arrived
Jesus asks the people, “why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep”
this caused the crowd to laugh at Jesus
this laugh is a laugh of unbelief
this is such a crazy thing for Jesus to say that they don’t know how else to respond but laugh at him
So he sends them all out…
now it’s only the dead girl, Jesus, mom and dad, and Peter, James, and John
Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. Then he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and told them to give her something to eat.
Jesus, neverminding the Levitical purity laws, grabs the dead girl’s hand and says: “Tali-tha Koom”
in other words “Little girl, I say to you, get up”
And that is exactly what she does
immediately she got up and began to walk
The dad and mom plus Peter, James, and John are all astonished
they are all in awe
and why wouldn’t they be…
they just watched Jesus raise someone from the dead
While their jaws are on the ground He tells them
someone get this girl something to eat
and Mark leaves it at that
And like I said at the beginning, this account is no different than the other three in that:
Main Point: Jesus’ authority over death reveals His divinity and points us toward the greater rescue He would accomplish at the cross
Main Point: Jesus’ authority over death reveals His divinity and points us toward the greater rescue He would accomplish at the cross
But this account does this more clearly than all the other three
Yes, Jesus’ divinity is revealed in His authority over nature
Yes, Jesus’ divinity is revealed in His authority over evil
Yes, Jesus’ divinity is revealed in His authority over sickness
but more evident than ever is Jesus’ divinity revealed through His authority over death
This is becasue all people, Jew or non-Jew, understand that only God has the ability, the authority to give and take life
and in this moment with merely a couple of words, Jesus gives life to this little girl
This moment displays that Jesus’ words don’t just calm waves, cast out demons, or heal sickness but in them are also life and death
This moment makes it clearer than ever that Jesus must be God because only God has this kind of authority
But not only that but this account points us toward the greater rescue Jesus would accomplish at the cross that is more accurate than all the others
More so than the disciples in the boat during the storm
the man possessed by demons on the other side
the woman dealing with her bleeding issue
this girl displays our reality if we are left to ourselves in our sins
Yes, the disciples, possessed man, and woman were in hopeless situations
in which after trying everything they could do or the world had to offer
they were still left hopeless without Jesus’ intervening on their behalf
But this girl is different…
she’s dead
And in Mark’s Gospel, that detail should make us uncomfortable
because in Jewish law, a dead body was unclean
Touching a corpse made you ceremonially impure (Numbers 19)
You didn’t just casually grab the hand of a dead person
that contaminated you
But what does Jesus do?
He walks into the room
He doesn’t hesitate
He doesn’t keep His distance
He doesn’t shout the command from across the room
He takes her by the hand
The Holy One touches the unclean
And instead of her impurity spreading to Him…
His life flows into her
That’s not just a miracle
It’s a picture of the gospel
Because spiritually speaking, in our sin we were are not just sick
We were not just struggling
We were not just “not living up to our potential”
We were dead in our sin
Unclean
Impure
Separated from God
And here is the breathtaking reality:
Jesus does not stand at a distance from our impurity
He steps into it
He touches it
He takes it
On the cross, the One who knew no sin became sin
The perfectly clean One was treated as unclean
The One with life in Himself submitted to death
He didn’t just grab the hand of a dead girl
He walked into our death
He took our impurity upon Himself
Every sinful thought
Every secret struggle
Every moment of rebellion
Every ounce of guilt and shame
Placed on Him
And unlike this little girl, Jesus didn’t immediately get up
He really died
The Author of life entered the grave
Why?
So that three days later, when He rose, He could offer something greater than temporary healing
He offers resurrection life
Not just to a 12-year-old girl in Galilee
But to dead sinners like us
And here is what is so stunning:
When Jesus grabs your life your impurity does not contaminate Him
His righteousness covers you
Your death does not overpower Him
His life overwhelms you.
He doesn’t just make you better
He makes you alive
That is salvation
That is grace.
That is authority over death used not to crush enemies…but to rescue them.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Here’s the one thing I want you to see tonight:
Salvation is Jesus stepping into your death, taking your impurity, and giving you His life
That’s it…
That’s the miracle greater than storms calming
Greater than demons fleeing
Greater than sickness being healed
Greater even than a girl getting up and walking
Because that girl would one day die again
But the life Jesus gives through His death and resurrection is eternal
If you are in Christ, you are no longer spiritually dead.
You are alive.
Not because you cleaned yourself up
Not because you were strong enough
Not because you were good enough
But because Jesus took you by the hand and spoke life
And maybe tonight you feel very aware of your impurity
Your sin
Your shame
Your distance from God
Hear this clearly:
Jesus is not repelled by your uncleanness
He moves toward it
In fact He took it
And He has defeated it
And He stands with resurrection authority saying,
“Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
As we end I want you to close your eyes… picture this scene once again
The professional mourners are outside
The laughter has stopped
It’s quiet…
In the room is
A dead girl
Grieving parents
Three stunned disciple
And Jesus
He takes her by the hand.
“Little girl… get up.”
And life returns
Mark says they were utterly astounded
Of course they were
They had just seen death lose
But here’s what I want you to feel tonight:
That moment in that room is small compared to what Jesus has done for you
Because that girl was physically dead
You and I were spiritually dead
She couldn’t respond
We couldn’t respond
She didn’t reach for Him
He reached for her.
And you didn’t climb your way to God
He came to you
He stepped into your impurity
He took your sin
He bore your shame
He absorbed the wrath that should have fallen on you
And when He hung on the cross,
He wasn’t just touching death
He was swallowing it…
For you
And when He rose three days later,
He didn’t just prove He has authority over death.
He secured resurrection for everyone who believes.
That means:
Your sin does not have the final word
Your shame does not have the final word
Your past does not have the final word
Even your physical death will not have the final word.
Jesus does.
And the same voice that said, “Tali-tha koom”
is the voice that calls sinners to life
Maybe tonight you’ve been living like you’re just “spiritually tired”
You’re not tired
You’re dead apart from Christ
And the good news tonight is not:
“Try harder.”
The good news is:
Jesus raises the dead
Maybe tonight you feel painfully aware of your impurity
Things you’ve done
Things you’ve thought
Things no one else knows
Hear this:
Jesus is not intimidated by your sin
He already carried it
He is not disgusted by your uncleanness
He touched it
He is not powerless against your death
He defeated it
The only question left is the one He asked Jairus in a different form: “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”
Will you trust Him?
Will you stop standing with the mourners in unbelief?
Will you stop laughing at what feels impossible?
Will you stop trying to save yourself?
And will you let the One with authority over death take you by the hand?
Because when Jesus speaks life…
Death has to let go
And that is why we stand in awe tonight
Not just because a girl walked again
But because sinners as bad us us live forever
That’s our Savior
That’s His authority
That’s the gospel
