A Tearful Moment

A Tearful Moment

Mark 5:21-43

In 1871, tragedy struck Chicago as fire ravaged the city. When it was finally put out, the fire had taken over 300 lives and had left some 100,000 homeless. A man by the name of Horatio Gates Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city get back on their feet.

Spafford, a Chicago lawyer, who had invested heavily into the downtown area, lost everything as a result of that fire. More tragically, Spafford had also suffered the loss his of only son just a year earlier. Still, for two years Spafford assisted the homeless, impoverished, grief-stricken and others ruined by the fire.

After about two years, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation. They were going to England to join D. L. Moody and Ira Sankey on one of their evangelistic crusades, then travel in Europe. Horatio Spafford was delayed by some business, but sent his family on ahead. He would catch up to them on the other side of the Atlantic.

Their ship never made it. Off Newfoundland, it collided with another ship and sank within 20 minutes. Though Horatio’s wife, Anna, was able to cling to a piece of floating wreckage (one of only 47 survivors) their four daughters were among the 226 who perished. Horatio received a horrible telegram from his wife, only two words long: “Saved alone.”

So, he boarded the next ship to be near his grieving wife. When the ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, he wrote these words:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll—Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well with my soul.

Tho Satan should buffet, tho trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and shed His own blood for my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll: The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, “Even so”—it is well with my soul.

Now, every one of us has been impacted by tragedy to some degree. Whether it’s illness, infirmity, death, or any of the thousands of things that can touch our lives, we’ve all experienced pain. Whether it’s the pain of a broken body, a broken heart, or a broken spirit, tragedy has touched us all. Whether the pain is physical or spiritual, we’ve all be affected.

Jesus even said that in this world we’d have trouble in John 16:33. But I want you to remember that when tragedy comes your way, Jesus is more than capable to take care of the situation. Jesus tells us to take heart because He has overcome the world.

In our passage, we’re confronted with a father who’s experiencing tragedy. That day, death showed up at his house and had come for his 12-year-old daughter. His heart’s broken, and in the midst of his tragedy, he turns to Christ. Jairus found out that Jesus is more than enough in the tragedies of life.

Today, I want to look in on the events of this passage. I want us to look closely at this tragic, tearful moment and see how Jesus is able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Let’s pray and we’ll read our text.

Pray!

Mark 5:21–24 ESV

And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.

We’ll jump over verses 25 to 34 which we focused in on last week where the woman with a bleeding issue was healed.

Mark 5:35–43 ESV

While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

The first thing we’ll look at is a:

Pitiful Dialog

We’re told that this man is a “ruler of the synagogue”. That is, he’s a man of prominence, position, prestige, privilege, prosperity and power in the community. When he spoke, people listened. When he walked into a room, everyone stood up. He’s a man who had it all, but at this moment in time, none of it mattered!

Sickness and death could care less about who this man is, what he possesses or the position he holds. Here is a man who’s religious. But his religion is powerless to help him. I guarantee you that he would have traded everything for the power to change his situation.

He had everything, or at least he thought he did. In reality, what he had in the world meant nothing! You see, death had come to his house and it had come for his real treasure. That “little daughter”, the one Luke calls his “only daughter” (Luke 8:42), was dying and she was his real treasure!

Some people spend their entire lives amassing power and wealth. But, when tragedy comes, those things mean absolutely nothing! Death doesn’t care if you’re a millionaire! Sickness and sorrow don’t care if you have power, prestige and position.

Sorrow and suffering don’t care about your popularity. Hell could care less about who you are and what you’ve done. When tragedy and death come calling, you better know one greater than yourself. You better know where to go to get the help you need! You see, life comes into crystal clear focus when tragedy comes! What you think matters now won’t matter then.

Jairus knew where to go, do you?

Somewhere, Jairus had heard about Jesus. Somehow, God had opened the eyes of this Jewish official and he saw that Jesus was his only hope. And now, at the very moment his daughter is dying Jesus just happens to be passing through town.

And it wasn’t simply coincidence.

It was the plan of God that allowed the paths of Jairus and Jesus to cross.

Look how this man of position and power came before Jesus Christ. He came reverently, prayerfully and passionately. Scripture says that he “fell at His feet.” In other words, this big man humbled himself in the presence of the Lord of glory. He came down from his lofty perch to humble himself before the Lord.

This is something many people never learn. Before you’re ever going to get anywhere with Him, you’re going to have to humble yourself in His presence. You’re going to have to get small before Him. You’re going to have to come to the place where He is everything and you’re nothing.

One of the greatest truths in the Bible is this: The way up is down! When we come to the place where we see our own inability and His ability, then we’re in a position to receive what we need from Him!

When this man came to Jesus, fell down before Him and cried out for help, he’s saying to Jesus, “I can’t do this thing, but I believe you can!”

What a statement of faith! And that is exactly the place we’ve got to get to in life! Whether it’s for the salvation of your soul, the salvation of a loved one or for help in a time of tragedy. We must reach the place where we know that we can’t, but that He can!

There are some of you who have been trying to fight your battles in your own power and you just keep on losing. Friends, you need to come to Him, bow down and simply say, “Lord, I can’t fight these battles, but you can! I can’t win the victories I need in my life, but you can!”

What I’m saying is that we need to come to the place of absolute surrender! To that place where we and all we have are at the feet of God. To the place where we’re willing to say, once for all, “I can’t Lord, but You can!”

There was a pitiful dialog and next a:

Painful Delay

When Jairus shares his story with Jesus, he receives a sympathetic ear. Jesus is interested in his need and goes with Jairus to his house.

What a blessed truth that is! When you bring your need to Jesus, He’ll be on His way into your situation to do something about your need. Satan and others may have told you that Jesus just doesn’t care about you or that He isn’t concerned with the details and difficulties of your life. He’s got bigger fish to fry.

Nothing could be farther from the truth! He cares for us!

1 Peter 5:6–7 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

As Jesus goes with Jairus, they are stopped by the woman with the issue of blood. This delay must have gripped the heart of Jairus. No doubt, he’s impatient and wants Jesus to hurry. It must have confused him as to why Jesus would stop and deal with this issue, when his little daughter was dying.

None of the Gospels record anything that Jairus said during this time. He isn’t seen impatiently pulling on the robes of Jesus to hurry Him along. He doesn’t interrupt Christ’s exchange with this poor woman. He merely waits until Jesus is free and can continue on with him.

This is the response of faith!

Here is a man who has come to the place where he knows that he can’t solve his problem. He has placed that problem in the hand of Jesus and he has left it there. What a lesson for you and me! Regardless of the issue, salvation, pain, heartache, illness, when we bring it to Him, learn to leave it with Him and see what He’ll do with it!

During this time of delay, a servant comes with tragic news, “Your daughter is dead.”

Can you imagine how this poor father must have feltt? His world must have fallen apart around him. All of his hopes and dreams were instantly shattered and broken. I wonder if he starting asking questions in heart.

“If it hadn’t been for the crowd, we would’ve gotten there in time and my daughter would be alive. If that woman hadn’t stopped Jesus, we’d have been home now and everything would be fine. If Jesus hadn’t stopped to help her, my daughter would still be alive!”

Surely, this man couldn’t understand the reasons for his tragedy!

How many times has a similar word come to our hearts? Dead and there is no more hope! And how we are shaken by such news! How we look back at the times we prayed about a matter and wonder why God waited and allowed this to happen.

Friend, you aren’t the first to question God’s timing. Mary and Martha questioned Him concerning His timing and the death of their brother Lazarus. The disciples questioned Jesus in the storm.

But, did you know that His delays are part of His plan? You see, in the end, Mary and Martha saw Jesus raise the dead and the disciples saw Him walk on water. Neither would have had those experiences had He not delayed coming to them.

Sometimes, He waits just because He loves us.

So, when it seems that God is moving slow or not moving at all, don’t give up, because while God is seldom early, He is never ever late! Of course, what we see as a delay is really God moving at the right time! You see, God never has to hurry, He always shows up right on time!

There was a pitiful dialog, a painful delay and finally a:

Powerful Deliverance

So, a tragic situation has transformed itself into an impossible situation. The little girl is no longer sick, now she’s dead! Even at this tragic moment, it’s interesting to see how faith reacts. Jairus has placed his faith in Jesus, and even in the face of death, his faith doesn’t waiver!

Jesus simply says to Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe.”

And what He’s sayings is, “Don’t believe what you hear. Don’t believe what you know. Don’t even believe what you see. Just trust Me.”

And that is exactly what faith is saying to us today.

Every instinct and every indication may say, “It’s hopeless. There’s no way out of this situation. This isn’t going to end well.”

But faith looks to a God Who is greater than anything we can hear, know or see! All I’m saying to you is bring your need to Jesus. Bring it to Him and leave it with Him. Everything about your situation may be crying out, “It’s not going to work out!”

But just leave it in His hands by faith and trust Him with it. He’ll work it out in His time and in His way. Now, understand that He may not work it out how you want Him to. Are you okay with Him doing it His way?

No matter what it is today. No matter if you need forgiveness, if you need salvation, if you’re concerned the that salvation of someone you care about, any problem you want to name, he is more than sufficient for the task.

Get that problem into His hand and leave it there.

So, back inside of this man’s home, Jesus puts out everyone who didn’t believe. Those who lacked faith were excluded from seeing Him move and work in power. And things haven’t changed today.

You see, faith believes the incredible, sees the invisible and receives the impossible. Unbelief receives nothing from the hand of God!

James 1:6–7 ESV

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

…for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

When Jesus entered the room where that dead girl was lying, He took her by the hand and told her to rise and she did! When life came in, death had to flee!

Peter, one of the eyewitnesses, was Mark’s informant here. So amazing was the event that years later he could still hear Jesus’ voice, because he preserved the Aramaic phrase Jesus used. Taking the little girl’s hand in his (which by the way was defiled by death, just as the woman’s was by illness), Jesus said, “Talitha cumi” (“little girl arise”).

Can you hear those words as they fall on the girl’s cold, dull ears? Can you see her eyes flutter and open? The first thing she saw was the face of Jesus, and then the faces of her mother and father, and then the three astounded apostles!

When those in the room saw what Jesus had done, Scripture says they “were immediately overcome with amazement.” When they saw what Jesus had done, it left them with their jaws on the floor in amazement

Now, listen to me. He’s waiting to do that same thing in your life today. He’s waiting for you to bring your impossible situation to Him, leave it with Him by faith, and trust Him to deal with it in His time.

· Some of you need to bring your soul to Jesus today. You need to be saved. You don’t need to be afraid that He won’t or can’t save you. He will and He’ll fix what’s broken in your life.

· Some of you need to bring a lost spouse, a lost child or someone you know to Jesus today. Put them in His hands and leave them to Him.

· Some need to bring a situation that is causing you fear, anxiety and worry today.

Bring it to Jesus, give it to Him and watch Him change it for His glory! I don’t know what you need, but I know He has it for you. Why not get the peace, comfort and help you need today?

You see friends, the supply for our need will only be found in Jesus Christ. I invite you to do what Jairus did so long ago. Get up, go to Jesus, fall at His feet and tell Him what you need.

· Do you need to be saved today? He can do that!

· Do you need to see a loved one touched and saved? He can do that!

· Do you need help with a problem? He can do that!

· Do you need grace for a valley? He can do that!

· Do you need healing for sickness or a broken heart? He can do that!

He can take an impossible situation and turn it into a miracle of His power and glory.