Troubling the Master

Why Trouble the Master? – Persistence and Being Intentional

Mark 5:21-43 The woman healed of the issue of blood and Jairus’ daughter (See also Matthew 9 or Luke 8).

Background:

· Jesus just left the country of the Gadarenes/Gerasenes where he delivered the man from the legion of demons and cast them into the pigs

· After those events, “they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region”

· Now he crossed the Lake (Sea of Galilee) and is being welcomed. These events likely take place at or near Capernaum.

The Woman:

Jesus was on his way to heal Jairus’ daughter when the woman appears and is healed of her continual flow of blood.

Verses 24 and 31 describe the crowd thronging, pressing against, crowding Jesus

The Greek word here is only used twice in the NIV New Testament.

Synthlibo (Soth-Lee-Bow) comes from two words (syn) and (thlibo)

- the first word means association, with, or as.

- The second word is translated: Persecuted, crowding, distressed, harassed, hard-pressed, and trouble. It is also the word used to describe the narrow road in Matt 7:14

V27 She had heard the reports about Jesus -> the power of testimony

Due to her condition she was most likely an outcast and unmarried and she would have made everyone she touched ceremonially unclean.

“Thus she could not touch or be touched, was probably now divorced or had never married, and was marginal to Jewish society” “Because she rendered unclean anyone she touched, she should not have even been in this large crowd” (Keener 141).

· Although the woman had this issue and was an outcast, Jesus Christ called her Daughter.

This woman shoving her way through this highly tight, oppressing crowd to reach Jesus would not have been popular nor easy.

V34 TPT says because she dared to believe she received her miracle.

Jairus:

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 overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

Jesus was not “troubled” by a man’s faith, nor his persistence

· Your continual prayers do not bother God. Nor do they show forth a lack of faith.

o Some say that true faith prays once and believes for the answer. I personally believe true faith continually asks and is never damaged by a delayed answer.

o It was Jesus’ mission to save the lost. (Luke 19:10) These people were not pestering him. It warms the heart of God to see people desperate for him. Jesus continually had compassion on the multitude

A persistent spirit excites the heart of Jesus – Luke 18:1-8(Importunate Widow)

Matthew 7:7-9 TPT Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. For every persistent one will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he longs for. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door.

Both the woman and Jairus were more concerned with getting to Jesus than other people’s opinions. . .

- The woman was unclean in a day that highly respected the law.

- Jairus was the ruler of the synagogue. The ruler of the synagogue was generally the most highly respected individual in the community and he oversaw a committee of people that managed the synagogue (NIV Commentary)

|Desperation neglects the opinions of others|

Matthew 10:28 Fear God vs Fearing man?

There is reason to suspect Jairus was a Sadducee since most rulers at this time were and they came from Aristocratic families. In fact, Pharisees had no political power until after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. Sadducees denied resurrection completely.

Jairus was told to not fear and believe concerning his daughter. These are contrary to one another. . . If he was really a Sadducee, he would have had a very difficult time believing for his daughter who was now dead. . .

· Keener page 98 states that chief priests (rulers of the synagogue) were mostly Sadducees.

The mourners at the house were professionals and they were probably hired before she was even dead, just at the point of death.

There is always hope and you never know what will happen if you are willing to “trouble the master”