Life For The Lifeless

Relying On God’s Grace, Not Our Plans

7.4.21 [Mark 5:21-45] River of Life (6th Sunday after Pentecost)

Each of us has a way of getting important things done—an operating system for our lives. Some are detail oriented doers—things must be done step by step, lists must be made, plans must be followed. Others delay a little bit—things can wait, lists are overrated, plans just create disappointment. Some people like to plan and do—right away. Others like to wait and delay—just a little while longer.

We might call one group the planners and the other the procrastinators, but those titles are too simplistic in many ways. It makes it sound like one is superior to the other. And they’re not. You might rather work alongside a planner, but how about going on vacation? Not many people find a detailed itinerary a helpful tool for unwinding on vacation.

People operate differently. One is more accountable & responsible. The other more adaptable & resilient. Some are attentive to details; others are more adventurous & enjoy the moment. People operate differently.

But despite their differences, there is a panic both groups know well. Deadlines. For the planner, the deadline might be somewhat artificial—something they created for themselves. For the procrastinator, the deadline might be very near—because it was something someone else created for them. But neither likes to hurry up and wait when they’re up against a deadline.

We don’t know where Jairus fit on the planner-procrastinator scale. But our text provides important information about Jairus. 3 times in our text Jairus is described as a (Mk. 5:22,35,38) synagogue leader.

What was a synagogue leader? In many cases, there was one person who was in charge of the synagogue—the local house of worship where God’s people were each Sabbath. In this case, Jairus was a part of a group who were in charge. Men like Jairus were in charge of all the affairs of the synagogue. If it was happening at the synagogue in Capernaum, Jairus knew about it and likely was involved with it. He was responsible for everything from building maintenance to the orthodoxy of the teaching and preaching. It was Jairus’ job to make sure they had the right scrolls for the next Sabbath day and had lined up the right men to do the reading and the teaching. At times, he likely even led the worship service himself and taught the people from the words of the Old Testament.

So while that background doesn’t tell us if Jairus was a planner or a procrastinator for sure, it does tell us that people in his community trusted and respected Jairus. He got things done on time and the right way.

But, even if Jairus was the attentive planner we might suspect, Jairus was experiencing the kind of panic that procrastinators know all too well. Jairus was facing a serious deadline—in every sense of the term. (Mk. 5:23) His little girl, (Lk. 8:42) his only daughter, was dying. She was (lit.) at her end. That’s why this respectable, honorable man throws himself (Mk. 5:22) at Jesus’ feet. It’s hard to miss how much pain and panic this parent is facing at this moment.

And he knows where to take it, doesn’t he? Jesus is still (Mk. 5:21) by the lake. He has just made it back into town, when Jairus makes his request. (Mk. 5:23) My little daughter is dying. Please come me and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.

Why was Jairus so confident that Jesus had this power? Throughout Mark’s Gospel we have seen Jesus’ miraculous power. That has been especially true in Capernaum. In Capernaum, Jesus had healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a dangerous fever. (Mk. 1:31-34)That evening, the whole town gathered at the door of Peter’s house and the people brought all the sick and the demon-possessed to Jesus and Jesus healed them all and drove out all the demons.

That kind of power spreads fast in a small town. Surely Jairus heard about that. But it was what happened before that that we know Jairus knew about. (Mk. 1:21-27) Earlier that day, in the synagogue that Jairus was in charge of, Jesus drove out an evil spirit. It’s hard to imagine that Jairus didn’t know that Jesus was teaching at the synagogue that Sabbath—perhaps he even arranged things for Jesus. It’s even more implausible to think that Jairus wasn’t there that day.

This is why Jairus comes running and falling at the feet of Jesus when his own little girl is dying. He is certain that if he can just get Jesus to his house in time, before she dies, that he can lay his hands on her and she will be healed and she will live. Time is of the essence. And Jesus is eager to help and to heal, to save his little girl.

But the crowd kept pressing against Jesus. Luke says things got so bad (Lk. 8:42) they almost crushed him. Each person pressing up against Jesus was pressing Jairus for time and patience. And at this moment, he didn’t any of either to spare. And then Jesus stopped. Dead in his tracks. (Mk. 5:30) He turned around in the crowd and asked ‘Who touched my clothes?’ Jairus didn’t have time for this. His daughter could only hold on for so much longer. But Jesus kept looking around longer. He kept searching for the person who touched him. Jairus must have kept searching for a way to drag Jesus through the crowd. But he wouldn’t move until he found the person who touched him. Finally, a poor, weak woman fell at Jesus’ feet. (Mk. 5:34) Trembling with fear, she told Jesus the whole truth. She had been sick for a dozen years with a bleeding issue. (Mk. 8:26) She had gone to many doctors. Spent all she had. Suffered a great deal. But instead of getting better she grew worse and worse. Jesus was her only hope. (Mk. 5:28) If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed, she thought. And she was right. Jesus did have that power. But now she feared his power. Would he be angry at what she had done? No. (Mk. 5:34) He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you.’ It was a beautiful moment for her. And it must have been excruciating for Jairus.

Because while Jesus was calling this woman Daughter, Jairus received word that his daughter had died. Imagine his pain. Time was of the essence. They had to hurry. And they just didn’t make it in time. And why? Because Jesus got delayed. Imagine being Jairus. Imagine being in the ER. Your child has just been in a terrible car accident. Her life hangs in the balance. Can you imagine the surgical team deciding to skip your child for someone who needs to have a kidney stone removed? You would be apoplectic. So angry and sad you couldn’t speak.

And that’s what Jairus’ friends told him to do. Don’t speak. (Mk. 5:35) Don’t bother the teacher anymore. The healer can’t help you now. Just go home and be with your wife. Mourn. Grieve like any father would when losing his little girl. Jesus can’t help you now.

Have you ever felt like God can’t help you anymore? Has there ever been a time when, like Jairus, you were pleading with God to do something: to hurry up and heal a loved one, to quickly respond to some difficult situation, or to draw near and do something vital for someone who means the world to you and it just seemed like your call got left on hold in heaven? Have you ever had a moment when you were getting whatever the celestial equivalent of a recorded voice telling you Your prayers are very important to us, but our petition volume is at an all-time high. Please hold while we connect you with the next available Advocate. You wait. And you pray. And you watch. And the very thing you feared most comes to fruition. The very thing you were praying for God to prevent happens. Your kid commits to the bad decision. She files for divorce. The test results come back positive. That loved one dies. And it all just feels too little, too late. Deep down you wonder if the prayers were even worth the trouble. Now you thinking, why bother praying any longer? What good will it do? I just get more frustrated when I pray so earnestly and God doesn’t answer them. So what’s the point!?!?

Here’s where I need to be delicate and precise. I don’t want anyone walking away thinking prayer is a waste of time. But I also think this attitude about prayer exposes a lot about us. And I do mean us. When we pray this way, we are not really submitting our petitions to the God of all mercy, grace, and wisdom and saying thy will be done are we? We’re submitting a proposal, a plan, and more often than not it comes with a specific timeline. So often we pray with urgency because we are feeling the pressure of time. But coming to God with a plan about what we want, how we want it, and when it has to happen isn’t the same thing as humbly asking God for help according to his will, is it? And I know that in the moment, we are so overwhelmed with the situation—and overrun with emotions—that we’re not always thinking straight, spiritually speaking. Which is why it’s good we’re doing this right now. When the emotions aren’t as high. When it’s not our daughter on her death bed.

So let’s listen to what Jesus says to Jairus. (Mk. 5:36) Don’t be afraid. Just believe. Jesus understood how this delay was testing Jairus. It ruined his plan. But not God’s. Not even a little bit.

Look at what Jesus does. He hears his detractors. The doubters who are stoking the flames of fear in Jairus’ heart and mind. He reminds Jairus why he came to Jesus in the first place. You believe in me. Keep believing even when things aren’t going the way you thought they should. Then Jesus makes his group more nimble, not letting anyone follow him except Jairus, Peter, James, and John. When he arrived at Jairus’ house he saw a great commotion. Many mourners and professional wailers grieving the passing of this little girl. There was no need for them. So Jesus (Mk. 5:40) put them all out and took a small group into the room where the little girl was. Then Jesus did something different. He took this dead little girl by the hand. Remember Jairus had asked Jesus to lay his hands upon her, to pronounce a divine blessing upon her and heal her so that she would live. But Jesus, in this most difficult moment, took the little girl’s lifeless hand into his hand and spoke to her as if she were alive. (Mk. 5:42) Immediately she stood up. And began walking around. And her father and her mother were completely astonished. Jesus had done more than they could ever have asked or imagined.

Because that is who our God is. The God who accomplishes wonderful things through wretched experiences. The Lord who achieves his good purposes even in bad situations. The wise Yahweh who knows what is best, how it is best done, and when is just the right time.

That is what God has been doing since the creation of the world. Think about how many times God made his people wait. Abraham waited 25 years for God to keep his promises to him that he would have his son, Isaac. Moses wanted to see justice served for the enslaved Israelites when he was 40 years old, and God brought him back when he was 80 to set his people free. David wanted to build a temple to the Lord, but God said his son, Solomon, would have that honor. Waiting is hard work. It stretches and tests your confidence in the one you are waiting on. But that is what faith does. It trusts, even when things aren’t on your schedule. And God rarely gives his people a timeline. It wasn’t until Abraham was 99 that God said a year from now Sarah will give birth to a son. It wasn’t until Moses was herding sheep for his father in law Jethro for a few decades that God called him to be Israel’s deliverer. And David never saw the glory of the first Temple. God doesn’t always give his people a timeline. It’s not that he doesn’t know when he is going to do something. But he does not always choose to reveal when it is going to happen. Instead, he gives us his timeless promises and tells us to keep believing.

And he has kept all those promises. Just in time. Paul tells us (Gal. 4:4-5) when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Having been adopted by God himself, (Gal. 4:6) God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out ‘Abba, Father’. Not only does God do this for us, but he knows our pain better than we do. He has been in Jairus’ situation. His one and only Son, dying on the cross, cries out for help. (Mt. 27:46) My God, My God why have you forsaken me? And how does the Father respond? He does nothing. Why? Because this is how wide and long and high and deep the love of the Father is for you and me. It is unimaginable for God, who had the power to make it stop immediately, to do nothing. But he had given his word. He had made a promise. He would allow his one and only Son to suffer and die so that we might be redeemed. So that by his wounds we might be healed. So that through his sacrificial death we might be saved from eternal death.

This is why we believe in him. God has already demonstrated his love for us and his commitment to keeping all his good and gracious promises. (Rom. 8:32) God gave his own Son up for us all. How will he not also, along with Jesus, graciously give us all the things we need? Why do we doubt? Why do we fear? Why do we think our timeline, our plans, our will are better than his? Whenever we find ourselves in desperate, helpless, and hopeless moments, (2 Cor. 1:9-12) we are being taught to rely not our ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead. We do not rely on worldly wisdom, or the best laid plans of mortal men, but on God’s grace.

So that is what we must strive for. To rely more and more upon God’s grace. Whether we are the planner or the procrastinator type. Our operating system for life, for accomplishing things of lasting worth, that neither fade nor spoil and can never be stolen is to know and rely on God’s grace more and more. And that is God’s prayer for us all.

Eph. 3:16-21 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.