Do Not Fear, Only Believe

Do Not Fear, Only Believe

Mark 5:21-24, 35-43

Mark 5:21-24 (ESV) 21 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. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 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.” 24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.

Mark 5:35-43 (ESV) 35 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?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.

38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 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. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

I. The Relevance of Fear

A. God Speaks to Human Fear

1. In the beginning

a. Adam’s sin led to Adam’s fear

b. Genesis 3:9-10 (ESV) 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

c. Adam’s race has been plagued with fear from that day to this.

2. God speaks to human fear

a. To Abram at the beginning of His walk of covenant faith

(1) Genesis 15:1 (ESV) 1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

b. To Hagar outcast in the desert

(1) Genesis 21:17 (ESV) 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

c. To Israel trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea

(1) Exodus 14:13 (ESV) 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

d. The covenant people of God enduring exile

(1) Isaiah 41:8-14 (ESV) 8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; 10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. 12 You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. 13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” 14 Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

e. To a young virgin girl in the town of Nazareth, to her righteous and confused fiancé, to the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night, time and again God has spoken to the people of His choosing, to those whom He loves, “Fear not. Do not fear, do not be afraid.”

f. And now here we are, with Jesus and Jairus, and God in His love and mercy addresses the deepest need of our broken hearts: “Do not fear.”

B. Jesus Speaks to Jairus’ Fear

1. Jairus the Man

a. Jairus the Father - altogether human

(1) The Synagogue Leader

(2) The Desperate Father

(3) The Defeated Father

b. Jairus and the Gadarene

(1) The Gadarene saw Jesus and knelt down before Him, a position of reluctant submission. Jairus threw Himself on the ground in hopeful desperation, without decorum or demand, with only desire for mercy.

(2) The demons in the Gadarene demanded that Jesus swear an oath to them regarding His treatment of them, whereas Jairus implores Jesus, he begs earnestly and with appropriate reverence, not asserting any right to any favor but wholly throwing Himself, and his dying daughter, on the mercy and grace of the one whose favor he seeks.

(3) The demons in the Gadarene demand an opportunity to accomplish their mission and agenda of death by being released to the pigs. Jairus’ request is not for death but for life, not for destruction but for restoration, not for increased fear but multiplied joy.

2. Jesus and Jairus

a. The fear of death drives this desperate and devoted father to Jesus.

b. Jairus and the Faith Fireworks series

(1) (Four Pops and a Fizz)

(a) Jesus calmed the storm, though the disciples had little faith

(b) Jesus delivered the demoniac as a means of encouraging faith among the fearful

(c) Jesus confronts the fear of death as a means from bringing a desperate father to faith

(d) Jesus acknowledges the power of personal faith in the woman healed of her hemorrhage

(e) Jesus laments the lack of faith among those most familiar with His story.

(2) In each of these “faith fireworks,” and the one “fizzle,” the key message is the validity of faith in Jesus!

c. Jairus and Jesus

(1) The message of death comes

(a) The messengers come with a hopeless message

(b) The messengers offer hopeless advice

i) For them: There is no power greater than death

ii) For them: The Teacher is certainly a good man and a wise man and a godly man, but only God can defeat death

iii) For them: Like many in our day who relegate Jesus to unessential niceties like these, the messengers have no faith that Jesus is God.

(2) The message of faith and hope comes

(a) To Jairus on the road

i) Jesus, overhearing, responds

ii) Do not fear, only believe.

iii) Jesus separates Jairus from doubt and unbelief so that Jairus will not be distracted from the proof and power he is about to witness.

(b) To Jairus in the house.

i) Jesus separates the unbelieving mockers from the miracle.

ii) They will not be allowed to downplay the miracle

iii) They will not be allowed to proclaim faith based on what they see rather than what Jesus told them.

a) “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

b) “I’ll believe it when I see it” is the conventional wisdom in the world of the flesh, and it is no statement of faith.

c) It may appear reasonable and rational, but it does not concur with the operation of faith, which is, by definition, “the evidence of things not seen.”

(c) Jesus and the Daughter

i) Limited witnesses

ii) Jesus takes the girl by the hand

a) Touching a corpse would make him ceremonially unclean

b) Hosea 6:6 (ESV) For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

c) Jesus refers to this declaration of God in Matthew 9:13 when the Pharisees question Jesus about his association with sinners and tax collectors.

d) This is the essence of His mission: compassion, abounding love, mercy rather than ritual.

1) He devotes himself to rescuing those who all their lives were enslaved to the fear of death.

2) Because in Him God will put death to death.

iii) He commands her to rise, His word giving her the ability she does not otherwise have to live.

(d) Jesus and Jairus

i) Do not fear, only believe.

ii) Give her something to eat:

a) act on your faith,

b) get on with life

II. Do not fear, only believe.

A. Believe what?

1. Believe in the Person of Christ

a. The Christ - the God-appointed, God-anointed Savior who will deliver us from the peril, the threat of death, presented by sin.

b. The Son of God -

(1) God in the flesh

(2) Scripture

(a) John 1:14 (ESV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(b) Philippians 2:5-9 (ESV) 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

2. Believe in the Power of Christ

a. Absolute Power

(1) Over natural world

(2) Over supernatural world

(3) Over sickness

(4) Over death

b. Power applied on behalf of God’s glory in human lives

3. Believe in the Presence of Christ

a. John 14:18-23 (ESV) 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you . . . 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

b. Matthew 28:20 (ESV) And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

B. Common Fear, Uncommon Faith

1. Many share Jairus’ Fear

a. COVID - I might get sick, suffer, and die

b. Political environment - I might lose rights, opportunities, or wealth

c. “Being on the wrong side of history”

(1) Fear of man and what people around us might think of us

(2) Honestly, if you are not on God’s side today, you ARE on the wrong side of history already.

d. Personal loss/death

2. We need to share Jairus’ faith

a. Like Jairus we are faced with painful, fear-inducing realities, but let us hear the words of Jesus that Jairus heard: “Do not fear, only believe.”

b. Trust who Jesus is, trust His power, and trust His presence, today and always, even to the end of the age.