The object of our faith

Introduction:

I’ve shared this story before so I apologize for recycling here but it came to mind as I was thinking through and studying this text out.

Quite a few years ago, when my son, Maddox was maybe around 3 years old I lost him. I was watching both my kids, Stella was probably only about one at the time. Amy was going out to dinner with a friend so both Maddox and I stood at the door as she was leaving and said goodbye.

I shut the door and Maddox wasn’t there. So, I figured he just walked into the other room or down to his room to play so I just slowly walked around the house looking to see where he went but I couldn’t find him. So, then I start to call for him and got no response.

So, now, I’m like, where is he? I’m not panicking yet, but I’m confused. So, I begin to call out to him again only louder this time and then I begin to systematically sweep through the entire home. I went room to room calling for him as I went and still I couldn’t find him and no response.

This was the point where panic sunk in and my mind went to really weird places. Like, I’m trying to figure out, where could he be?

Did I lock him outside when I shut the door?

Did he somehow sneak into the car with Amy? Like, is he in the trunk and she doesn’t know he’s there?

At this point I’m running through the house screaming his name over and over. I ran outside, all around the house calling for him and couldn’t find him.

I finally called Amy, this had only been maybe 5-7 minutes or so and I think said, “Is Maddox with you?” To which she responds, “No, you literally just saw me leave. Can you not find him?”

At this point I don’t know what to do. I’ve lost my mind and I’m literally about to tear the house apart, knock on doors, do whatever I have to in order to find him.

It’s about this point I hear a little giggling around corner and there’s Maddox just laughing it up at me.

Well, kid’s like to play hide and seek. And apparently, Maddox likes to play hide and seek with me but not tell me about it. So, he’s just listening to me scream his name and he’s just thinking that he had found the best hiding spot in the world.

In that moment I don’t think I’ve ever been filled with more rage and love at the same time. I certainly confused him when I angry-hugged him. “You’re in huge trouble, I love you so much!”

Over that 5-10 minute span I was absolutely desperate. I would have done anything to find my son. I would have given my own life just to know he was okay.

When we’re desperate, everything else that seems important to you just kind of disappears into the background. Have you ever noticed that?

When I was looking for Maddox, listen, I’m a people pleaser, I don’t like to be embarrassed. I don’t like attention. I don’t like to disrupt other people. But I would have screamed Maddox’s name all throughout the neighborhood in the middle of the night looking for him. I would have banged on as many doors as I had to. I would have had that whole neighborhood mobilized and searching for him in minutes without even thinking about it.

When we’re desperate for something, nothing else really matters. Everything else is just peripheral.

What we’ve heard read this morning are two stories of desperation. And they were willing to do anything to find healing.

Problem:

I think in our current culture, at least more within the western church, we’ve lost a sense of desperation for God. We’re self-sufficient, or so we tell ourselves. We’ve got things in order. We’ve got the plan for our lives all laid out in our minds. We have our savings accounts and our retirement accounts. Food is always available. We have any choice of restaurant we want to go to. We have Amazon on our phones. I can order anything I can think of and have it delivered to my front door within a day.

Within even our local context here in Blo/No we’re not facing any type of oppression or persecution for our faith. It’s comfortable here, can we at least admit that? We’re just not really pushed on a daily basis to cling to and hold fast to Christ as all we have.

And listen, so many of the things I mentioned, I’m grateful for. None of those things are sinful. But so often, these things lull us into apathy, and lukewarmness, and there’s just no, daily desperation for Christ. Where we just wake up every morning crying out to him, “I need you.” “In my battle against sin, in my desire to do what’s right, as I seek to take up my cross, Jesus I need you.” It just seems to be missing in so many Christian’s lives.

Main Aim:

And yet, Jesus is so patient and kind. He’s so gentle, caring, and loving. He’s so good to us in our shortcomings. Because what we’ll see even in these two individuals lives is desperation, but they weren’t necessarily desperate for Jesus himself, just what they thought they could get from Jesus.

But yet, even in their shortcomings, he responds to them. He hears them, he listens to them, and he heals them. These are two stories that reveal to us a greater view of the heart of Jesus; his invitation for us to come to him with our messiness and disfunction and even our misguidedness or imperfect faith.

Big Idea:

You know what we see today in this text?

We can come to Jesus with our needs and he will respond even to imperfect faith when the object of that faith is Him.

Body:

Jesus is very much a friend of sinners. He is compassionate and full of love. He’s a healer and comforter of those who are hurting. He’s near to us regardless of how we stumble along the way. His love for us is not determined by our actions but by his grace.

And so, let’s walk through this passage and draw nearer to the heart of Jesus.

The first thing we see is that,

Jesus hears the cries of the distressed.

Let’s pick this up in verse 21.

Mark 5:21, “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.”

So, just really quick for context. If you’ve been with us the past few weeks as we’ve gone through Mark 4 and 5, Jesus has been doing some teaching in Capernaum, the crowds have been pressing in all around him and so he got his disciples into a boat and they crossed the Sea of Galilee, where the disciples battled a storm and Jesus just said a few words and the storm stopped.

Last week, beginning of chapter 5 they land on the shore after the storm and are met with man possessed with over 6000 demons. Jesus commands the demons to leave, they enter into a couple thousand pigs that rush head first into the sea and drown. And so, this is just a normal day in the life of Jesus.

Here’s just a side point. Take this for free today. I’ve said before, if you are a follower of Christ but you’re like, “I’m so bored.” You’re not in the game. You’re sitting on the sidelines. Jesus is always at work. He’s constantly bringing people from darkness into the light. He is continually building his church, revealing the Kingdom of God. When you’re truly on mission, making disciples, serving one another, living generously, caring for your neighbor, taking the gospel to the nations, going and sending others to the ends of the earth, there is nothing more thrilling in life.

(“They were amazed” - Mark 2:12, Mark 4:41, Mark 5:42 - front row seat to Jesus at work)

And so, if you’re like, yeah, I’m in, where do I start. Let’s chat. Let’s talk. Let’s go.

Now back to our text. Verse 21. It’s been a few days and now Jesus and the disciples are heading back to Capernaum and a crowd is waiting for him before he even gets out of the boat.

Verse 22.

Mark 5:22-24, “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.”

Jairus is a ruler of the synagogue. Now, if you’ve been with us from the beginning of Mark, you know that Jesus and the religious leaders do not get along at all. The religious leaders were consumed and obsessed with their traditions and power and control over the people. What mattered most to them in their minds was how they were perceived by others.

They wanted to sit at the best spot at the table. They wanted to be recognized for their piety and obedience to the law. They loved to look down on others who failed to live as morally good as they did. They were a pompous, arrogant, self-righteous, selfish people. Obsessed with their own vanity. I hate to admit this but I often see myself in them.

But when this religious leader was faced with the death of his only daughter, all of a sudden, nothing else really mattered. All the adulation and prestige that he was given as ruler of the synagogue didn’t matter any more. It didn’t seem as important, it never really was but he had built it up in his own mind that it was. Suffering often reveals to us what truly holds value.

When faced with the death of his daughter all of a sudden the religious system that was pushing against Jesus just didn’t seem to be a reason to keep him from Jesus.

And so, this man, a man of importance and respect and standing in the community fell at the feet of Jesus and with great humility begged him to come save his daughter.

You know what I love about this encounter? Two things.

Number one:

You can come to Jesus with your requests.

Now, I know that’s not an earth shattering statement, especially if you’ve grown up in the church. But isn’t it good to be reminded of it? And if you’re new to the Christian faith, hear this. Jesus loves when you come to him with your requests. You never annoy him, you never irritate him, you are never a bother to him. He desires you to come to him.

Now, listen, he may not answer you how you would like, but he will always give you what’s best for you.

The second thing I love about this encounter is:

We see the heart of Jesus.

Let me ask you. How do we typically respond when someone in our life hurts us, belittles us, mocks us, lies about us?

Isn’t our typical response that they’re cut off. Shunned, ignored. They’re dead to us. “Have a nice life, I’m done with you.”

The religious leaders were spreading all kinds of lies about Jesus. It was just a couple chapters back that they told people that he’s possessed by Satan. It’s going to be the religious leaders, and Jesus knows this, that will stir up the people so that his life ends on a cross.

And so, here you have a ruler of the synagogue coming to Jesus asking him for help.If we were Jesus, wouldn’t our response be, “You get what you deserve.”

But what’s verse 24 say? “And he went with him.”

That’s a beautiful verse when you think about it.

That’s a verse that should actually fill us with joy and gratitude. Because like, Jairus, we’re undeserving of grace and love and kindness but yet, Christ has been kind to us. What have we received? Mercy.

Jesus heard the cry from a man who before that day really wanted nothing to do with him. And yet, the heart of Jesus is one of compassion. He hears the cries of the hurting.

We see as well in the text as we move on that,

Jesus brings healing to the hurting.

Pick it up in verse 25,

Mark 5:25-34, “And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

Sandwiched between the story of Jairus’ daughter is the story of this nameless woman who had been suffering for twelve years with a horrific disease. Add on top of that she’d spent every last penny trying to find some type of relief and healing, only nothing worked.

And so, this woman is at her breaking point. She doesn’t know what else to do. She’s desperate. It feels as though her life is imploding and then she hears about Jesus and says to herself, I don’t even need to talk to him, I just need to touch the fringe of his robe and that will heal me.

Now, more than likely this woman’s belief system was mixed up with pagan superstition. It was a common belief in that day that the garments or even the shadow of the godly could bring healing. So, though her theology was weak, her faith was looking to Jesus.

You see, the power of our faith does not reside within us and our ability to believe, it’s found in the object of our faith, which is Jesus.

Weak faith in a strong God is superior to strong faith in a weak god.

I could climb to the top of the roof here today and express a strong faith in the god of flight (I don’t know, I just made it up) and believe with every ounce of my being that when I jump off that roof I’m going to soar through the sky but the second I step off that roof I’m falling to the ground.

Strong faith in a weak god means nothing.

But so often I cry out to God in weakness, humility, and frailty for God to deliver and he does.

That’s because power rests in the object of our faith, not ourselves.

This woman had bad theology but she had faith in Jesus and that was enough because Jesus is enough.

And so, she presses through the crowds, touches his garment and immediately she feels within herself healing.

Can you imagine what she felt in that moment? All that she sensed was broken within her was healed.

Honestly, this story is a beautiful picture of the gospel.

There’s a picture here of Jesus taking on her brokenness. It says, he perceived that power had gone out from him. He noticed something. Here we have a picture of Jesus taking on himself her uncleanness, her sickness and giving to her his life, his purity, his health.

He calls her out and she confesses to what has taken place and you can just see Jesus’ heart here as well. He takes and welcomes her into the Kingdom and gives her the blessing of peace. She’s experienced salvation, both physically and spiritually.

That’s the gospel.

Jesus takes upon himself our shame, our brokenness, our sickness and gives to us his life, his righteousness, his peace.

And this is accomplished through the gift of faith. Faith in a strong God.

Gospel proclamation

Well, let’s get back to Jairus who’s probably a little anxious right now. Maybe a little frustrated. His daughter is dying, can’t this woman wait?

But yet, maybe he’s also hopeful. Jesus just healed this woman, maybe he can heal my daughter. But he gets some bad news.

Verse 35,

Mark 5:35, “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?”

But what’s Jesus do?

Verse 36,

Mark 5:36, “But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

The English translation says Jesus “overheard” what they said but that word doesn’t give us the right sense of what the Greek is saying. What’s really happening here is that Jesus is ignoring what they were saying.

He’s basically saying to Jairus, “Don’t listen to them, they don’t know what they’re talking about. Let’s go. Trust me.”

Pick it up in verse 38.

Mark 5:38, “They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.”

Now, what they’re witnessing is a traditional mourning ceremony. They are people who have come to mourn this little girls’ death. But I love how Mark recounts Jesus’ intake of this moment. It’s just a bunch of commotion and unnecessary noise. This isn’t needed. Why?

Verse 39, Jesus said,

Mark 5:39, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”

Now, hang on for just a second. This girl was not breathing, her heart was not beating. Isn’t that the definition of dead?

Not according to Jesus. Kent Hughes explains it this way. He says, “real death is the separation of the soul from God, not the body from the soul.”

This little girl had not been separated from God, therefore Jesus can say, she’s just asleep and she’s about to wake up.

Verse 41,

Mark 5:41-42, “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.”

What do we see? Not only does Jesus hear the cries of the distressed, not only does he bring healing to the hurting, but,

Jesus brings the dead to life.

There is no power in all of creation that is more powerful than Jesus. We should be picking up on that theme by now. In chapter 4, he calms the storm, in chapter 5 he casts out demons, and here, with just a word, death goes running for the hills.

This is the “proto-resurrection.” There’s coming a day when there will be the death of death. There’s coming a day when Jesus will call his children home and immediately we will rise and be forever with our God.

There’s nothing that our God can’t do.

Application:

And so, let me ask you. Are you desperate for Jesus? Are you hurting? Come to Jesus and find healing for your soul. Your physical sickness may not be healed in the moment like what we read here but these stories paint a picture of the future Kingdom of God when all sickness and pain will be erased.

Come to Jesus in your distress. Come to Jesus in your suffering. Come to Jesus with your requests.

You who are dead in sin, look to Jesus and find life. You who have been brought from death to life, rejoice.

Conclusion:

There’s nothing that our God can’t do. The power of our faith does not rest in us but in the object of our faith. And so, look to Jesus, cling to Jesus, cry out to Jesus, be desperate for Jesus.