Faith in Jesus Saves from Death

Intro—The Amazing Power of Jesus

Paraphrase — series of narratives to demonstrate the immense power of Jesus

Wind and Waves Obey (4.35-41)

Creation (cf. )

Sea imagery of Baal and Marduk (see Reading)

Jesus doesn’t defeat the sea monster; he controls it. He isn’t just powerful to defeat it, but has authority over it.

Casting out Legion

Casting out Legion (5.1-20)

War against the demons (NOTE: Jesus doesn’t just command one demon, but armies of demons)

BODY

Context (5:21-24a)

Mark 5:21–25 CSB

When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea. One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.” So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him. Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years

Synagogue leader, Jairus.

What would Jairus have done before coming to Jesus?

Most of the synagogue leaders and the belonged to the sect of Judaism called the Pharisees, who all over the book of Mark are denying Jesus. How weird is it for Jairus to come to Jesus, then?

… had endured much under

The bleeding woman is healed

Mark puts this narrative on hold to tell a different story and then comes back to it. He does this for a reason. He wants to demonstrate that…

Faith saves (5.24b-34)

…and we will see by the end of the story in Jairus has this ‘faith’ that saves.

[EXPLAIN]

Mark 5:24–34 CSB

So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him. Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.” Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction. At once Jesus realized in himself that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But he was looking around to see who had done this. The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

Mark 5:26–34 CSB

had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.” Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction. At once Jesus realized in himself that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But he was looking around to see who had done this. The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

5:26-34

Your faith has saved you

From what?

Key = “Go in peace.”

“Shalom” = peace with God. Sin destroys shalom.

In other narratives, Jesus forgives sin when he heals. It’s the same scenario with different words.

RESULT: Daughter = adoption

Role of faith/belief

It’s those who believe in Jesus that belong to Jesus.

God isn’t just saving people because he loves people; He is saving people who want to be with Him.

“Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

Discuss the significance of coming to faith for temporal needs, but then also moving to hold eternal things in greater value.

In the next part of the narrative we will see that not only does faith save, but…

Faith saves from death

Return to the story of Jairus and his daughter.

Mark 5:35–40 CSB

While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?” When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” 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.

The difference between death (more often a figure for hell in the NT) and sleep (figure for physical death).

Psalm 13:3 CSB

Consider me and answer, Lord my God. Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, I will sleep in death.

Death was permanent, but not the end for the Israelites.

1 Corinthians 15:51 CSB

Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,

Paul utilized the same language of sleep to demonstrate that God is not done with you just because your body dies.

Look at the contrasts between the girl and the woman.

Jesus also is demonstrating that all is not lost because the physical body is lost.

The soul is not abandoned because the body dies because the soul sleeps.

The God who created the body can surely raise the body if he wants to. (Don’t get ahead)

Look at the contrasts between the girl and the woman. — intentionality of Mark (Who wrote Mark?)

12 years old vs. 12 years bleeding.

Both have been dying for 12 years.

The child, spiritually.

The woman, physically.

Both are called, ‘daughter,’ one the daughter of Jairus (a synagogue leader) and the 2nd the daughter of God (Jesus).

Jesus will restore the girl as a daughter of Jairus.

But, he restores the woman as a daughter of God, “Your faith has saved you.”

Both women are ritually unclean when Jesus encounters them. (Which means?)

The girl because of death

The woman because of blood

(ineligible to participate in worship, i.e. to be in God’s presence and yet, Jesus purifies them in His presence). That is, God takes the impurity of the people upon himself so that the can be in His presence.

Jesus should have become unclean when he touched the woman or the girl, but instead of their impurity coming upon Him, His purity is imputed to them.

Normal path of impurity, ILL: cockroach in the cherries.

Both the girl and the woman were saved from death

the girl from physical death (which Jesus called sleep) and the woman from spiritual death.

I want to talk about Jairus more.

Rather than flaunt his religious status (how much influence did he have?) he humbled himself before Jesus.

The significance of this event demonstrates that it is not faith by itself that saves from death, but that…

Faith in Jesus saves from death

Mark 5:41–43 CSB

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.

5:41-43

Is Jesus following the traditions of middle eastern mystics?

“Talitha koum” as magic words?

Accusation to downplay the reality of Jesus’s actions as well as to downplay the historicity of the events and reduce it to mere mythology.

Or did Jesus speak Aramaic? (common language of Mesopotamian/Palestinian region before the rise of the Greek/Syrian languages; cf. Daniel/Ezra and many NT references)

Mark vs. the synoptics…

Conclusion: this is not even an expression (cf. footnotes), but more likely the actual words Jesus spoke and which Mark quotes.

Jesus is the Lord of life, itself.

The inseparability of Jesus as savior as Jesus as giver of life:

Colossians 1:13–17 CSB

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

If you can get in the mind of Paul, it’s almost lie he’s answering questions for himself. Why can Jesus overcome the domain of darkness in this world? Why is Jesus the ruler of God’s Kingdom? Why does Jesus redeem people? Why can Jesus forgive sins?

Oh, because he is the image of the invisible Father, God: He’s God with skin on.

Oh because Jesus actually created everything in the first place, including life itself.

And btw, everything was created for Jesus as well.

And not just the earth and the universe, but everything in heaven and on earth. Everything physical (that is, visible) and everything that is spiritual (that is, invisible).

Even the thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities of this earth — which were the domains of darkness — were created by Jesus and for Jesus.

ALL things have are by him and for him.

Jesus existed before everything.

And Jesus makes all things persist — he holds them together.

Why can Jesus raise Jairus’s daughter from the dead?

Because Jesus created life in the first place.

THE BIGGEST QUESTION OF THE TEXT: Why can Jesus save the woman? Why can Jesus forgive sins?

Because He’s the creator of life itself. The authority to do so belongs to Jesus and to Jesus alone.

Life and forgiveness are inseparable.

THE QUESTION FOR YOU and THE REASON MARK WROTE THESE STORIES DOWN: Can Jesus save you? Can Jesus forgive your sins?

And the answer is yes. He’s done it before and by your faith in him, you too are saved.

CLOSE: Jesus told the woman to go in peace. You also, go in peace.