TALEITHA KOUM - I SAY UNTO THEE ARISE

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.

Mark 5:35–43 NKJV

35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” 40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

Context

As we celebrate Easter today, we are particularly drawn to the resurrection of Jesus.

But today would not have been possible if events went the other way.

I would like to present another dimension to this day. To demonstrate the boundless loves of Jesus

This story presents us with significant insights into who Jesus is

There are many questions this text presents to us but for today's teaching, there are two I like to investigate

What led to the death of Jarius's daughter and what was the significance of her death?

What did Jesus mean by the command “…no one should know it…” (Mark 5:43) and what was the significance of this command?

The Emergency

When an ambulance is called out to an emergency, it will race to that emergency without stopping. It will ignore any imminent danger or cry for help on its way to the emergency. It will weave its way through traffic, ignoring all traffic signs and rules. It will put on its blue light to indicate it is on an emergency call.

Now imagine your child is sick and just hanging on to life. You ring the ambulance service on time and you expect them to get to you within minutes of your call. But you wait an hour and they had not arrived. While waiting, your child calls out to you asking you; ‘mummy, am I going to die?’. You take the time to comfort the child and reassure the child that all will be well and the ambulance is coming. However, as you wait, the child’s life slowly fades away. You do all you can e.g. CPR etc, to keep the child alive. An hour later, the ambulance arrives and they meet the lifeless body of a child. They tell you sorry as they tried to get here on time.

You later realize that the ambulance you called, but for a moment, stopped to treat an old man who was having an epileptic seizure and dying from it. Fortunately, the man recovered, but your child is now dead. You begin to rationalize. The old man just had a few days or months to live and my child had many years ahead. Why didn’t the ambulance leave this man to die and save my child?

You go into a tirade and begin to curse, abuse, and sue the ambulance service. You stop paying your tax. And demand damages.

This is the challenge this text presents to us.

Jesus is called on time to meet and heal a little child. He sets out on time, He is on his way on time, and the blue lights are on. He, for a while, ignores the traffic but then there is a delay. Another emergency has just happened and He stops to attend to that emergency. In the midst of all this, comes death, and there is ridicule, abuse, weeping, wailing, disputation, dissuasion

Jesus, if only you had come early, my daughter would not have died. Now see! I trusted you. I came to you. I begged you. I worshipped you (Matthew 9:18), yet you disappointed me. Now please leave me alone so I can bury my daughter in peace.

You are fake, a liar, a deceiver. Truly speaking, you like sinners above holy and righteous people. I have kept all the rules of God and yet you treat me this way. Now leave!

Until now Jesus had not raised the dead so no one thought it would be possible, let alone being done!

So what is the text telling us today and what can we learn from this text?

DELAY IS NOT DENIAL

Why did the girl die?

Because of the delay caused by the healing of the woman with the issue of blood

Sandwiched between this text is the story of the woman with the issue of blood.

As Jesus makes His way to Jarius's house, He is delayed by an act of faith.

He stops and demands to know who touched Him. Jesus asked the disciples, who touched me, and the disciples were baffled. There were thousands there. But there are touches and there is a touch! When Jesus is touched, He will pay attention to that which touched Him. When He finds this woman, He has a conversation with her and He blesses her.

But this stopping causes a delay.

The disciples were quite right to try and rush Jesus along and not bother about who or what touched Him.

Jesus’ conversation with the sick woman meant that he was delayed in reaching Jairus’s house, and news came that his daughter had died

However, Jesus being Jesus is interested in every act of faith!

Jesus was dealing with a faith situation to increase another faith situation

Jesus was dealing with the faith of the woman in order to increase the faith of Jarius because the impossible was about to happen.

THE IMPOSSIBLE IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE! X 3

What seems like a delay in our lives is only building up our faith

There are tiny faith instances where Jesus has come through for us that builds up to the bigger faith instance

SO IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE A DELAY BUT IT NOT A DENIAL!

ONLY YOU KNOW

If your faith is not strong enough, just say “ONLY YOU KNOW” (Mark 5:35–36)

Jairus could already believe the difficult; could he now believe the impossible?

That is what Jesus asked him to do, despite all the worldly wisdom of the hired mourners who filled the house.

Their scornful laughter shows the absurdity of the view that the girl was only unconscious because they knew death well

Jarius must have been indignant at Jesus for the delay that could have been avoided. But witnessing the healing of the woman, he could not dismiss Jesus that easily. So he keeps quiet!

As humans, we have the proclivity to lean towards the side of doubt.

We want to err on the side of caution but we restrict ourselves from voicing or uttering our doubt in case we disappoint or become disappointed

Did Jarius believe, doubt or remained on the fence?

When you see a situation that baffles you, bewilders you, or confounds you, you can only sit on the fence of belief.

You want to believe God but you are faced with the reality on the ground (Ezekiel 37:1–3)

Ezekiel 37:1–3 NKJV

1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

When Ezekiel saw the bones in the valley; when he had done an assessment of those bones; when God put him in a difficult situation of asserting the providence and omnipotence of God; he did not answer YES or NO but ONLY YOU KNOW!

Jarius did not and could not give an answer to that difficult situation. So Jesus eased his doubt by saying “Do not be afraid; only believe”

So when we are faced with a difficult situation, just say ONLY YOU KNOW

When the going and the doing seem impossible, just say ONLY YOU KNOW

When you have done everything, just say ONLY YOU KNOW

When you feel in doubt just say ONLY YOU KNOW

RELIANCE ON GOD'S FINAL WORD

Faith does not come by what you do outwardly to please others or fulfil a tick box of righteous deeds but by a total and complete belief and RELIANCE ON GOD'S FINAL WORD

This text tells us that Jarius was a leader of the synagogue

Jarius was the archetype Jew, righteous, and law-abiding. To be this type of Jew, you would have to follow strictly the Jewish law as set out in Leviticus.

One of those laws is called the ceremonial law which governs the state of cleanness.

At this point, I want to thank the women who intelligently elucidated this point in the women’s program.

It demonstrates their in-depth knowledge of scripture and the significance of Jewish culture and tradition

You become defiled and ceremonially unclean if you touch or are touched by an unclean person

Jesus knew this law because it was given by Him (the trinity of God), Jarius knew this law because he was the leader of the synagogue, the woman with the issue of blood knew this

But when trouble struck, he did not consider his belief, custom, law, or rules.

Jarius did not care if Jesus was defiled at that moment. All he wanted was his daughter to get well

He wanted Jesus to touch his daughter even if He were defiled

Because Jesus has the final word on any matter

When you really want Jesus to come into your life, you will come as a broken man or woman. Nothing will matter to you anymore.

LISTEN TO THE WHISPER OF GOD

The noise will be loud but LISTEN TO THE WHISPER OF GOD!

Jarius was surrounded by all the mourners, family, and well wishers

As a prominent person, a significant number of mourners were present at his house

Imagine the commotion! Imagine the emotional ying yang! The cries and pain of all who were around!

Jesus overheard them saying to Jarius, “…don’t bother the teacher anymore…your daughter is dead…”

Mark 5:35–36 NKJV

This statement was not meant for Jesus to hear according to the Greek text:

ἀκούω (akouō) - to hear, listen, understand, pay attention

Describes the act of hearing or listening to a person with emphasis on the accurate understanding of that which is spoken

It is used when the statement is expressed, sometimes in the accusative case

Jarius knew exactly the meaning of what was said to him:

“...give up, give in, surrender, it is finished, there is no way out of this…”

use my recent testimony of not letting the voice of surrender dictate what I wanted to achieve

However, in the face of ridicule, Jarius LET JESUS IN

He opened his door and house

They tried to stop him, but he open his door

It was a difficult thing to do, but he opened his door

The daughter was dead, but he opened his door

They said she can not come back to life, but he opened his door

So when the time is tough…open the door for Jesus

When the time is hard…open the door for Jesus

When you have been told “no chance”...open the door for Jesus

When you are down and out…open the door for Jesus

You must listen to the whisper of God when he says “JUST BELIEVE”

THE SECRET OF THE CROSS

As we celebrate Easter today we are reminded of the resurrection of Jesus

He conquered death on the cross and won our salvation

There will be feasting and celebrating today

But this nearly did not happen…if not of the selflessness and magnanimity of Jesus

And it all hinges on this text

This is THE SECRET OF THE CROSS (Mark 5:43)

Based on our text, until this moment, Jesus had not raised the dead so no one thought it would be possible, let alone being done!

The text indicates that Jarius was Ruler of the Synagogue (the leader or president of a Synagogue). Thus, he possessed enormous influence.

As Ruler of the Synagogue, he was charged with the supervision of all matters pertaining to the synagogue. He was elected by the board of elders to oversee the worship services and the upkeep of the building. He chose the men to read the Scriptures, offer prayer, and preach or explain the Scripture for each meeting.

If discipline was called for, the ruler of the synagogue could reprimand or excommunicate a member (John 9:22; 16:2), or even order that a scourging or a whipping be carried out (Matt. 10:17; Mark 13:9).

To be the leader of the synagogue, you were either of the Pharisee or Sadducee sect (party)

The Pharisee believed in the resurrection of the body but the Sadducee did not believe in the resurrection of the body, nor angels or spirits (Acts 23:6-9)

Acts 23:6–9 NKJV

6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9 Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”

Jarius was either a Pharisee or Sadducee (more of a Pharisee) and he witnessed the resurrection power of Jesus. #

If he is a Pharisee, it reinforced his belief in resurrection,

if Sadducee, it changed his mind on the resurrection power of God.

Thus, Jarius had the power to argue and persuade the Sanhedrin that Jesus was not guilty of anything and no evil could be found in Him based on his testimony, his wife and Peter, John and James according to Jewish law

Deuteronomy 19:15 NKJV

15 “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

As such Jesus would be acquitted and absolved of any accusation. This therefore would have stopped the journey to the cross for your salvation

now you are asking HOW!

It hangs on (the answer is found in) verse 43 of our text - NO ONE MUST KNOW

Mark 5:43 NKJV

43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

γινώσκω ginōskō - to know, whether the action be inceptive (the beginning of something) or complete and settled;

To perceive, To discern,

To ascertain by examination, To understand, To acknowledge, To resolve and conclude

It means a technical, detailed, or specific understanding which describes a depth of knowledge beyond mere awareness

So Jesus explicitly instructed Jarius, the leader of the synagogue, a Pharisee, that no one must know of what happened so that He may complete His ministry to the cross to save us today…the day of resurrection

If they heard, they would investigate, and they would have not found him guilty because they believed in resurrection

No guilt = No conviction

No conviction = no cross

No cross = no death

No death = no resurrection

No resurrection = no salvation

No salvation = no Easter

So I say to you TALEITHA KOUM - I SAY UNTO THEE ARISE

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