Hope When Facing Illness and Death

Fear of Death or Serious Illness

In this concluding series on Hope, I’d look at hope when you or someone you love is facing a serious illness or death.

One of our biggest fears right now would be catching the coronovirus.

If you are high risk or an essential worker that is a fear that you’ve lived with everyday since March.

We have been faced with the reality that our life or that of someone we deeply care about could end because of a virus that is out of our control.

We wear the masks, wash our hands, use hand sanitizer and disinfectant all over the place and try to stay away from people.

Last week, Raetta told me she was exposed and that we needed to get tested.

I hope you don’t have to hear those words

When she told me that, my heart sank, and immediately the fear rose.

Waiting for those results seemed like forever

During that time, I was praying a lot for God to protect us and our family and others that we’ve been in contact with over the few days before we found out.

Thankfully, our prayers were answered and our tests came back negative.

Yet there are a whole of lot of people in our community that weren’t so blessed.

Some have gotten really sick

Others little or no symptoms

And unfortunately, some lost their lives as a result of this virus

When you are in a situation like this with the virus, cancer, terrible accident, or some other reason what do you do?

Do you feel hopeless, discouraged, powerless?

I would say, “Yes”

So, how can you find hope in a situations like this?

Where do you turn for help?

Let’s look at two people facing the same issues and see what they did.

Luke 8:40-56

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 8

40 When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’s feet and pleaded with him to come to his house, 42 because he had an only daughter about twelve years old, and she was dying.

While he was going, the crowds were nearly crushing him. 43 A woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, who had spent all she had on doctors and yet could not be healed by any, 44 approached from behind and touched the end of his robe. Instantly her bleeding stopped.

45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.”

46 “Someone did touch me,” said Jesus. “I know that power has gone out from me.” 47 When the woman saw that she was discovered, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she declared the reason she had touched him and how she was instantly healed. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

50 When Jesus heard it, he answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.” 51 After he came to the house, he let no one enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was crying and mourning for her. But he said, “Stop crying, because she is not dead but asleep.”

53 They laughed at him, because they knew she was dead. 54 So he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he gave orders that she be given something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Looking to Jesus For Help

The first is a man named Jairus, who was a leader in the synagogue.

He was a very respected man and held one of the top positions in the city.

And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house,

What’s surprising about this: grown men never did this in Jewish culture.

Men of stature wore long robes; long beards; they didn’t show a lot of emotion; they would never run or appear to be in a hurry and they certainly wouldn’t prostrate themselves at another man’s feet.

But this man is desperate because in verse 42 “for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.”

The Greek implies that she was his only child and heir, not merely his only daughter plus she is getting to the age of being able to marry

Jesus listens to this guy’s plea, and starts to go with him to his house

But, and it’s a big but, something happens when another person comes onto the scene

Look at verse 43, “A woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, who had spent all she had on doctors and yet could not be healed by any,  approached from behind and touched the end of his robe.”

Uh Oh! An interruption, can you imagine what Jairus was feeling. “come Jesus we got to go”

Several important details there:

First, she has an “issue of blood”: polite way of saying “an uncontrollable menstrual flow.”

This meant that not only was she sick, and in pain, and unable to have children; she was ceremonially unclean, which meant that she was not allowed to be touched.

She couldn’t go to public worship.

She really shouldn’t be in crowds.

She’s been this way for 12 years.

In 12 years no one hugged her; no one laid a hand on her to pray for her.

She is lonely.

She was incurable. (Luke was a physician, a doctor, and that’s his judgment.)

And she has spent all her money trying to get various doctors to cure her, but she’s beyond anything they can do.

She is poor; and now she’s hopeless.

Lastly (a detail that is omitted), she has no name.

In contrast to Jairus, whose name everyone knows, this woman is not even given a name.

In other words, in everyone’s eyes, she is insignificant.

You see, there is a contrast here set up with Jairus:

He’s got a daughter who is 12 years old and sick; she’s been sick for 12 years.

He is the ruler of the synagogue; she’s not allowed in the synagogue.

He has a name everyone knows; she’s not even given a name.

He was respected; she was rejected.

The point: There is no one too messed up; too unclean, too insignificant to get Jesus’ attention. And there was no one good, or too powerful, to not need Him desperately.

Some people don’t come to Jesus because of unbelief (God can’t love me);

Some wont’ come because of pride (I don’t need Him). Both will keep you away from His love

Yet, both were desperate.

The Miracle Is Happens for The Woman

She thinks, “I bet Jesus can help me … He has so much power that just brushing His clothing might heal me.”

This woman put her eyes solely on Jesus.

She touched the fringe of his garment: Fringe doesn’t mean just the edge … tassles that hang down called zizzots that represented the law.

Says she touched them.

Interesting thing I found out is that “touched” here, in Greek, the verb in what they call “the middle voice,” means clutched.

She pulled it … and it’s almost like if you’re wearing a long dress and someone steps on it …

And immediately her discharge of blood ceased.

It’s like a bell.

She pulls it and power rings out of Him.

Jesus here is inviting her to come forward and publicly confess what she’s done.

You see you can’t stay private forever.

Then in verse 47, “And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed.”

Now look what happens to this unloved woman confessing in the sight of all …

Now, at this point, she’s wondering, “Will he reject me, too? Will he publicly shame me? Is he angry I’ve made him unclean? Will I be cast out? I’m not supposed to be here and He knows that.”

Now comes the greatest moment in all of time.

In verse 48, “And he said to her, “Daughter,”

“Daughter” is a term of intimate endearment.

This is the only person Jesus ever refers to by that name.

“Daughter.” He referred to her by a name that expresses the most intimate, tender relationship.

The girl nobody wanted is adopted by the ultimate Father … the girl no one touched is embraced by the strongest and most tender arms in the Universe.

Then He tells her “your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Probably the single most shocking thing from this story is what happened when she touched Him.

Usually when an unclean thing touches a clean thing, the clean thing becomes unclean.

If I’m sick and I sneeze on you, we say “I gave my cold to you.” That doesn’t mean that I don’t have my cold anymore, like I gave it to you, and I don’t have it anymore (unfortunately, that would be awesome) but that now we both have it. Because when the unclean (me) touches the clean (you), the clean thing becomes unclean.

But in this case, when the unclean thing (her) touches the clean thing (Jesus), he doesn’t become unclean, she becomes clean.

The unclean thing touches the clean thing, and instead of the clean thing becoming unclean, the unclean thing becomes clean!

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 8

While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

50 When Jesus heard it, he answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.”

It’s Too Late For Jairus, Or Is It?

Some of my worst times as a pastor is being with someone who has just lost a child.

It’s devastating for everyone involved.

Family and friends

They continue to his house and when they get there they see everyone in mourning.

“It says, “All were weeping and mourning.”

The official funeral has started.

They didn’t embalm them, so they got to the funeral within hours of death.

In those days, funerals were noisy affairs.

Today, they are kind of quiet. Hushed silence.

Then, they just yelled and mourned.

Expressed their anguish and emotion. People ripped their clothes.

So Jesus tells everyone to leave the house and that the girl was not dead.

Everybody goes out.

And just a couple of disciples and the girl’s parents and verse 54, “(But) taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” [55] And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.”

He says two thing in the Aramaic found in Mark’s account

Talitha: Little girl; very, very tender term. Scholars say it could be translated something like, ‘Sweetheart.’

Cumi: “get up.” Not “be thou resurrected.” Or even “come forth.” Nothing regal or resurrection or apocalyptic sounding. Just, “get up.”

Jesus is facing the most feared, devastating enemy the human race has ever known, death, and he simply takes the little girl by the hand and says, “Sweetheart, get up.”

And her parents were amazed, but I’m sure happy.

It Takes Faith To See The Hope

To the lady Jesus says, “Your faith has healed you.”

To Jairus he says, “Believe”

It is the same word in the original language: faith

There are two elements “faith” and “belief” when translating the word “faith”.

The faith element relates to actions of trusting in and depending on God.

The belief element relates to what we know in our minds to be true about God.

Both of these elements are present in the biblical concept of faith.

And both must be present in our faith in God. We believe and we trust, and we show that by the choices we make.

Like the lady who touched his robe, she believed Jesus could heal, and she showed faith by reaching out to touch him.

Like Jairus, he believed Jesus could heal, so he sought out Jesus.

Even after hearing that his daughter was dead, Jairus let Jesus guide the way to his house, into the room where the girl lay dead.

If you read the context of this story, you find that Jesus was teaching that “God’s Kingdom is here. There is hope in the world!”

But what is that hope?

Is it a hope that those who have the right kind of faith will be blessed by God with perfect, easy, comfortable lives with no pain or misfortune?

Not at all. The Lord never promised that.

As the twelve disciples would find out in their own lives, and as many faithful Christians through the years have likewise found out, we are all prone to the many forms of brokenness in our world.

So what is the benefit of pursuing faithfulness as a disciple of Jesus?

First, there is the hope of eternal life.

The miracles of Jesus are signposts to another reality, the reality of his Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.

By full-fledged faith in him, we can have hope that we are participants in his Kingdom, which includes life after death.

We will be with him in heaven.

Second, we can access what he called the abundant life.

The abundant life points to the reality that we can be participants in his Kingdom now!

It is his life flowing through and changing our lives so that we learn more and more to live now like he did.

Hope Is Found In God’s Will

Recently Rick Warren wrote a devotional entitled “How To Surrender To God’s Will When You’re In Pain”

He stated, “To have the mind of Christ means you want to do God’s will, even when it’s painful, even when it’s difficult, even when it seems impossible.

Jesus gave us the ultimate example of this the night before he went to the cross.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was in agony knowing the pain he was going to face the next day—not just the physical pain but the emotional and spiritual pain of being separated from his Father as he carried the shame and weight of our sin.

Even then, Jesus prayed, “Abba, Father . . . everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.

Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36 NIV).

In Gethsemane, Jesus said that he wanted to do God’s will, not his own, even if it was painful.

Any time you’re in pain, pray the Garden of Gethsemane prayer.

As you face your fear of death, pain, illness, loneliness, or an uncertain chaotic future, pray this prayer

Three parts to the prayer

The first part is faith.

Jesus believed God had the power to change his situation.

You can pray that, too.

Whatever kind of situation you’re going through right now, you can start by praying in faith, “God, I know you’ve got the power to change this.”

Then ask God for his help.

It’s appropriate to say, “God, I’m asking for your help. I’m in a lot of pain right now, and I need some relief. I’m asking for you to do a miracle. I know you have the power to change the situation, and I’m asking you to do it.”

The third part of the Gethsemane prayer is surrender, and its key to learning to have the mind of Christ.

Pray like Jesus did: “Lord, even though I’m asking you to take away the pain, I surrender to you. More than anything else, even more than relief, I want your will, not mine.”

Are you ready to say that to God in your hour of greatest need?

When you do, you show your spiritual maturity and trust in God to continue to provide for you and use your trouble for good.

Now For Us...

We are living in times with a lot of fear and anxiety.

The hope we are looking for is found only in God.

Trust Him today

Let’s pray!