Mustard Seed Faith
Notes
Transcript
Mark 5:21-34
Mark 5:21-34
In the last two messages in Mark we have seen some people that have gone through some series crisis in their life. The disciples in the midst of a great storm and then a man in the country of Gadarenes that was possessed by a Legion of demons. Both situations seemed hopeless but both found help and hope in Jesus Christ. Today we’re going to look at two more cases that seem hopeless. The difference in these two cases is that the people had hope that their situation could change, and by faith they acted upon that hope.
Jesus tells us that faith can move mountains;
Matthew 17:20 (NKJV)
20 I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
This morning/tonight I want us to look at a “Mustard Seed Faith”. It is a faith that may be small but it is a faith that hopes big because of Jesus!
Text; Mark 5:21-34
21 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.
22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet
23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”
24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,
26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.
28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.
33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
1. Different Crisis with a Common Hope; 21-27
1. Different Crisis with a Common Hope; 21-27
Jairus and this woman had different crisis’, were from different walks of life, but both had a common hope, Jesus.
Jairus was a highly respected leader of the synagogue. She was a social outcast who, due to her condition, had been ostracized from Jewish religious life. While Jairus had known twelve years of joy and happiness with his daughter, this woman had experienced twelve years of heartache and rejection due to her ailment. Yet, she and Jairus shared this in common: they both knew Jesus was their only hope.
We all have different crisis’ in our life. Some more burdensome than others. But we all can have the same hope in Jesus to help if we have faith in HIm!
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
2. Her Crisis; 25-26
2. Her Crisis; 25-26
Medical crisis. She had suffered from “bleeding” for twelve years . Whatever may have caused this internal hemorrhage, she was a very sick woman. Losing continual blood means she became very anemic and weak. No doubt she had a hard time just getting out of bed and trying to survive on a daily basis.
Physician crisis. She became a ginny pig for physicians to try out things they did not know would work or not. She suffered under them! There are eleven remedies prescribed in the Talmud for situations such as this.
Some are potions, most are simply superstitious nonsense. Everything from carrying various concoctions of herbs and tonics; some superstitions like carrying the ashes of an ostrich-egg in a linen rag in summer and a cotton rag in winter;
One remedy even called for the woman to carry a kernel of corn taken from the dung of a female white donkey. Can imagine the kinds of embarrassing things those doctors put her through.
Financial crisis. She had spent everything she had on doctors who were unable to help.
Religious crisis. Leviticus 15:25–27 indicates that the woman would have been ceremonially unclean during the course of her illness. She could not mingle with people in public, lest she cause them to be defiled. She could not go to the Women’s Court of the Temple, because she was unclean.
Social crisis- Because of her defilement according to the Law, she could not work around others, probably not married or her husband left her which in that time a woman on her own would be reduced to begging scraps for food. She was treated like a leper or worse.
Emotional crisis- With all this upon her she had to think that she was living under a death sentence with no hope of being pardoned. She will die from this disease, lonely and destitute.
There are many people who are living in this same crisis today and feel there is no hope for them. These people are those who don’t know Christ as their Savior
2. Her Hope; 27-29
2. Her Hope; 27-29
“When she heard about Jesus”! Her hope was in Jesus, the person, not his garment.
She had heard of the wonderful works of Christ and His teachings. The miracles and cleansing power of Christ. Maybe she had heard of Him healing the man in Gadara from demon possession. Regardless of the reason, she risked all to get to Jesus.
The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.
Touching the garment- The question might be asked of why she touched his garment instead of confronting Jesus with her problem?
In Numbers 15:37–41, the Israelites were instructed to sew tassels on the bottom of their cloaks as a visible symbol that they belonged to God (cf. Deut. 22:12). These tassels served a dual purpose. They reminded the Jews of their commitment to serve the Lord, while simultaneously testifying to the world that they were part of God’s chosen people. Also the decision to touch Jesus’ garment was due to the popular belief that the clothes of a holy man imparted spiritual and healing power (Mk. 6:53-56)
So when she heard of Jesus and His power, she knew all she had to do was to touch His garment. I believe she also wanted to do this in a way she was not noticed in the crowd or by Jesus so she would not be stoned by the crowd nor the thought of possibly being rejected by Christ.
[29] Immediate healing! She knew the instant she reached out and touched Jesus she became a new person, a whole person, a healed person! She went from unclean to clean in Christ in a moment of time!
Whatever and whoever is stealing your joy and causing a crisis in your life, today you need to reach out and touch Jesus and be made whole!
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
4. His Cost; 30-33
4. His Cost; 30-33
Power gone out of Jesus- There is a high cost to healing the sinner. Jesus knew that virtue/power had left His body.
Virtue- goodness, righteousness
Imagine the enormous amounts of virtue that flowed out from Jesus from the day of His baptism to the cross! Imagine the fathomless flow of virtue that flowed from the cross, covering believers of all generations. It is incomprehensible! Yet it is a fact—a fact that proclaims the love of the Son of God. He poured out all the virtue within His eternal being for mankind. [Preacher Outline Sermon Bible]
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
[31] The question from the disciples makes great sense. Matter of fact we would have asked the same thing. There is a difference between the throng of the crowd and the touch from the woman.
Dr. H.A. Ironside says, “Many who thronged Him; few touched Him in faith.”
J Vernon McGee says, “The disciples thought it was a very peculiar question since the whole crowd was pressing in on Him. But only one touched Him in faith for healing!”
The situation is the same today. I think we have a lot of folk around who use the name of Jesus freely. They are running around saying that it is Jesus this, and Jesus that, and people think they certainly know Him. Surely they know Him, but they have touched Him only as the crowd touched Him—not like this woman touched Him, for she touched Him in faith for healing.
5. Her Mustard Seed Faith; 34
5. Her Mustard Seed Faith; 34
Daughter - a term of endearment, belonging to a family, father/child relationship
Your Faith- trust in Jesus, hope in what He could do, not the clothes she touched but her reaching out to the only Person who could change her circumstances.
Made you well- [sozo] well unto salvation
1 Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see.
Peace- contentment, cease of strife
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Close;
You may have come here this morning hopeless and helpless but you do not have to leave that way! By faith, a Mustard Seed Faith, a small faith with hope in a big God, reach out to Jesus and touch Him, and see what He will do for you!