11th
August 2013 Passage Mark 5:21-43 Hymns: 37, ___, 452 , 150, 16
Jesus Heals a Woman and
Jairus's Daughter
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. 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. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 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.”
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.” And
he allowed no one to follow him except Peter
and James and John the brother of
James. They came to the house of the
ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw
a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And
when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead
but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the
child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child
was. 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. And he strictly charged them that no one
should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
We
live at a time when many preachers are parading miracles so that they can
harvest followers after themselves.
Yesterday,
for the better part of the day, KTN was airing a live event from Nakuru: Dr.
Owuor was in Nakuru to lead the nation to ‘repentance and thanksgiving after
the last general elections’! There were thousands of people who had come to
receive their miracle. There were many claims of healing of diseases and
salvation of all who attended! Who verifies these claims? No one! But what is
the place of miracles now? TO DECEIVE THE NATIONS!
“Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the
Christ’, and they will lead many astray.” (Matthew 24:5).
“For false christs and false prophets will
arise and perform great sings and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible,
even the elect (Matthew.24:24)
Do
not be deceived by these men who advertise themselves more than they do Christ.
They accept testimonies that elevate them higher and never approve any
criticism. They are deceivers.
When
Owuor arrived in Nakuru, two people wrote on my blog (One anonymous and the
other gave his name) and they said,
“I listened to Jesus is Lord Radio
on 9th August 2013 and I confirmed with my two ears: The announcer kept on
referring Owuor to as LORD...LORD... "look at the way the Lord is entering
Nakuru...look at the convoy of vehicles welcoming the Lord...welcoming the Holy
spirit....what a mighty mighty crowd...welcoming the Lord to the city...this is
how we welcome our Lord..."
Pst Murungi… I am currently in
Nakuru and just witnessed "the prophet" ushered by a Kenya Prisons
band across Kenyatta street down to the stadium where his followers have been
camping since last night (some of whom spent in the cold). Sincerely, something
is going very wrong and the this (sic) brainwashing is breaking the banks. I
concur with you that these are not followers of Christ but of Owuor. No prophet
in the Bible sought to have people follow him but God. God was the focus and
not the prophet!...
Many
prosperity preachers who I have heard preach from this passage, give a short
explanation of how sick these two women were (with additions here and there)
and go on to tell people after a short explaination:
“It does not matter how sick you are, it does
not matter how long it has been, the Lord is here is to heal you today. It does
not matter how much you suffered in poverty, today is the day of your miracle. Are
you ready for your miracle?” (Of course everyone is ready to receive his/her
miracle)
This is not preaching – it is deception
because they are not Jesus Christ, are they?
These preachers go on to paste themselves in
the place of Christ.
In
this passage we have the most remarkable and glorious work of Christ. We are
not doubting the power of Christ and of God to heal. Neither are we doubting
the prevalence of diseases in this world. Christ is at work in a world
debilitated by sin. Sicknesses and diseases affect people and live many
hopeless. There are millions of diseases on earth. The Lord graciously has
helped man to be able to discover medicine for many of these diseases and still
there are others that are incurable. But having treated one disease does not
mean that you cannot contract another. Soon after another one comes. And even
having treated all of them, the body is still undergoing corruption so that
sooner or later everyone will come face to face with death.
We
are always carrying in the body death… death is at work in us… our outer self
is wasting away… we live in an earthly tent that is going to be destroyed soon…
and while in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling … for
while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened and as long as we are
at home in the body were away from the Lord (2Cor. 4:10, 12, 16; 5:1, 2, 4, 6).
For
those who are in Christ they face death with the hope of eternal life
afterwards. For those without Christ, they face physical death into the eternal
death – this is sad news for them. This passage is about faith in Christ as the
means of obtaining His blessings. In this passage we see Christ’s power and
grace, as well as the faith that have access to Christ and what He has to
offer.
After
the most wonderful deliverance of the man with a legion of demons and so Christ
accomplished his mission in the land of Gadara, having left himself a witness
among the Gentile, He went back and was received by a great multitude in
Capernaum. Jairus the ruler of the synagogue had cast off all his pharisaic
dignity because his lovely daughter was sick to the point of death. He fell
down before Christ and begged him to accompany him and lay his hands on his
daughter. He had seen Jesus recently heal the paralytic (2:1-12). The Lord agreed
to go to his home and touch his daughter for her healing. However, the crowd
was too much. So while struggling with the thronging crowd, something else
happens. A woman who had menstrual flow for 12 years. She had heard about the
Lord Jesus Christ. touches the clothes of Christ for she believed that Jesus is
the solution of all her trouble. Wou! Her faith was confirmed – She was healed!
Then Jesus stops to the shock of Jairus! Jairus was worried about his daughter
and he may have been tempted to think that this woman could not have
interrupted! He may have argued that if she had waited for 12 years, then she
could await one more hour for her terribly sick daughter to be healed. And
talks with her and then afterwards the report comes from Jairus’s home that the
girl has died. He went on to raise her from the death to the shock of the hired
mourners.
What
lessons can we learn from this passage?
1.
The misery of sin
In
this passage we come face to face with a very strange ailment and a sudden
death. We all have seeds of death in our system from the day we were conceived
until when we will die or when Christ will come[1].
Death could come slowly as you grow in age or sudden in a sickness or an accident.
When Adam fell into sin he brought all his descendants into a state of sin and
misery. In this state there is suffering even after we have been redeemed, even
after we have been saved there is suffering. For we await the absolute deliverance
from this state with the coming of Christ to take us to His eternal glory. But
as long as in this body, we bear the brunt of the consequence of Adamic sin. We
have to bear with pain, sickness, poverty, lack, suffering and ultimately death
if the Lord comes afterwards.
Here
is a woman sick for 12 years. Here is a 12 year old girl full of life and energy,
whose life had suddenly been cut short by a sudden disease. I would only
request that you do not attach much significance to the number of years the
woman suffered (except that she was sick for 12 years, we must not put more
significance to it) or the 12 years of age of the little girl… all we can say,
as the bible says, is that she was 12 years old.
Let
us consider the condition of this woman:
Here
is a woman who has lived with this terrible condition for 12 years. Mark, tells
us that she had gone to every hospital she knew. She has gone to every one
hospital that she has been referred but it had all been the same result – no
cure for her. She had consulted every physician every doctor but the same
result – no cure for her. She was drained of all the money that she had.
Therefore, we are dealing with a case of a woman who was contending with:
1)
Physical
weakness: This is the consequence of sin. May I ask this
very respectfully: If the ladies have the struggles they have for a few days,
how about for a month, for a year, for twelve years? This woman lived with
constant weakness. She must have been son determined milling with the crowd
with all the pushing and shoving in order to reach the Lord.
2)
Poverty: Her desperation had caused her to spend all she had but she was
getting worse. She had nothing left, she had spent everything.
3)
Embarrassment: She was suffering in silence; it appears, because of the stigma.
She could not dare to share with everyone or with anyone what problem she had.
Men could despise her. Women could ridicule her or gossip her. She lived in
constant shame. And therefore silence so that she was trembling when the Lord
asked who touched Him. she knew she would be exposed!
4)
Barrenness: This condition left her with the terrible condition of inability
to bear children. Her family – her family line could not be propagated and
culture could not understand inability to bear children because everyone was
expected to bear children. This meant that,
5)
No
marriage: she could not be married because the Jewish laws
did not even allow man to approach a woman physically while in this condition.
She must have been a very lonely woman. This is the misery of sin.
6)
Ritually
unclean: this was the worst in the sense that the
Jewish law could not allow her to worship, and yet it was not her fault. The
reason was because these laws attached so much significance to the blood. One
could not eat meat with blood. Only by the shedding of blood could one find
forgiveness of sin and so blood was considered sacred. She was without God and
without men. She was desperate. Thankfully she went to the Lord who is a
present help in times of trouble. She went to him with the faith that if only I
touch His robes I will be healed.
She
had this faith, as imperfect as it was (filled with mysticism) that if she
could only touch the robes of Christ, then she could be healed and she was! This
is because all that is needed is a faith as little as mustard seed. The pain
disappeared in flush. The strength was regained immediately. The blood flow
ceased! The disease was gone, gone forever because of the power of Christ.
Immediately the Lord turned to find out what had happened. “Who touched me?” He
wanted to know? Everyone is pressing hard on you, Lord. How can ask you ask who
touched you?” Peter answered, (according to Luke). Was Jesus limited in
knowledge at this point? No, because being God, He is omniscient. He knew
everything! So why is it that He asked this question. He wanted to restore this
faithful woman to wholeness of body and spiritual. He had the same lesson for the woman as for
Jairus, because he must have been worried thinking that the Lord was ‘wasting
time’, “Do
not fear, only believe.” This
is our lesson for us today.
“Who
touched my garments?” Jesus knew what he was talking about! So the
woman came out and just like Jairus, also fell on her knees before the Lord.
There is no question that every knee shall bow before Jesus and declare that He
is Lord. Jesus did not prohibit her from falling before Him in worship because
He is God and He wanted them to know that He is God. Apart from the physical
healing, her faith was strengthened so that it is directed upon the Person of
Christ rather than His clothes. Then Jesus gave her the freedom to go ‘into
peace’. This means that He gave her wholeness that cannot be obtained
from any physician. She entered into a new life of wholeness, both physically
and spiritually[2].
No one else can give this peace, neither men nor angels because only Jesus has
brought reconciliation with God. She had found mercy and peace and grace of God
all in one package in meeting with the Prince of Peace. This Prince is here to
save whoever will fall before Him and implore Him for salvation will be sent
into the same peace.
On
the other hand the 12 year-old girl died. And the report came, “Your girl is
dead! Do not trouble the teacher!” But Jesus was unmoved – He encouraged Jairus
to listen to Him rather than his servants. Jairus was encouraged to continue in
His faith and not fear. “Do
not fear, only believe.”
2.
The faith needed to enjoy the
blessings of Christ
In both cases we witness faith
of Jairus and faith of the woman. Both had to “JUST BELIEVE.” Those who thronged around Jesus with all sorts
of problems were many. But how many benefited by being around Jesus? Only those
who had faith. Jesus had eternal life and physical wholeness to offer everyone.
But only a few benefited. Jairus came to Jesus by faith and he was satisfied.
The sick woman touched Christ by faith and was healed. While many came with
curiosity, only two came with faith, by faith. They both had a deep sense of
their needs. They both came to Jesus to receive from Him, blessings and
blessings in abundantly for He came full of grace and truth. The message is the
same for us, “Do
not fear, only believe.”
How
is their faith drawn?
1) Jairus:
He personally went to Jesus. He did not send his servants. He did not care
about his pharisaic dignity. He did not go by night like Nicodemus, he went to
Christ by day and in public. He did not care what people said, all he cared was
to get the attention of God. He implored Christ earnestly. He begged Him for he
desperately needed nothing else but His power. He needed divine intervention
that only Christ can offer. Faith focuses on Christ for who He is. Faith is
unequivocally directed to the Lord Jesus and no one else. It only sees Christ.
It only begs Christ. It is not faith that which is directed to Christ and to
something else. Because Jesus plus (something) is nothing. It must be Jesus
plus nothing that produces something that is eternal.
2) Sick Woman:
She went to Jesus despite all the trouble, all the weakness, all the stigma of
being in public, all the poverty (which must have been obvious by now), all the
ritual uncleanness – she was not supposed to go near people for she could
render them unclean. Yet she went to Christ. She was sure that all she needed
is the power of Christ. All she needed in spite of the prolonged ailment is
just touching with her little finger the robe of Christ and the problem that no
physician could heal will be removed. When it became clear that the Lord had to
know who touched Him, she volunteered herself, overcoming her fear and
trembling. Overcoming the embarrassment and potential stigma and telling the
Lord the whole truth. “Do not fear, only believe.”
3. The power of Christ over sickness and death
Reading
this story and comparing the two incidences one can’t help to marvel at the
power of Christ over sickness and death. Here is a woman who has gone to every
known doctor, every known hospital. She has spent all the money on medication.
She has exhausted her medical cover. She is getting worse and worse so that she
can’t even work or do anything. But thankfully there is only one hope
remaining. To look for Christ to look upon Christ. Praise the Lord that Christ
does not need any money. He does not need anything so that when she exhausted
everything was the right time for Him to heal her.
Yes
she went to him. She went full of faith and confidence that the Lord will do
it. Mark records that no sooner had she
touched the hem that she was healed: “And
immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was
healed of her disease” (v.29) there was no waste of time, no drama. But the powerful flow of
power from Christ into the body of this woman was instant and completely
effective. The outworking of this is only God who knows but the result of this
amazing work is evident to all.
We read of a well to do man,
whose daughter fell sick and her health deteriorated so quickly, that she had
not time to take her to the doctor. Yes, he had the means to take her to the
best doctors but he could not because the diseases could not wait for twelve
years like that of the woman. Her daughter’s health got from bad to worse and
led to the worst within hours. She died within a short period. He was helpless
regardless of his wealth. Thankfully, he knew that the great Physician was near
– for He is a present help in times of trouble for those who call upon Him.
Jairus went for Him and healing was granted without money, without favour.
We read that when the Lord was
told of the severe sickness of the girl, He turned to go and heal her. When the
report of her the demise of the girl came, He was unmoved and continued on for
He knew that it is not death to die when you are next to Him. When He met the
mourners, He asked them very casually “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” To Him death was just like
taking a nap! He was very well aware of the fact that He is the resurrection
and the life and whoever believes in Him, though he die yet shall live and
everyone who lives and believes in Him shall never die (John 11:25-26). All
Christ needed to do was hold the little hand of the little girl and tell her
softly, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
After that we read, And immediately the girl got up and began walking The
Word Immediately that Mark uses is not an idle word. It is the inspired word of
God. Because we believe in the verbal inspiration of Scripture, then it at
least tells us that the power of Christ was so sure that there was not lapse of
time between the command and the miracle. These miracles were signs to
authenticate the message and proof that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of
God. This is what John tells us, “Jesus
did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in
this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30-31)
“Do not fear, only believe.” Who
doubts the power of Christ? Then such a man is yet to meet Him. Because without
any scene. The girl was up and playful, walking about! It was as if she was
only sleeping and had been woken up. But even then, a twelve year old doesn’t
wake up to immediately play. This girl rose from death and walked about! This was the most amazing thing on
earth.
The
power of Christ is evident in these remarkable incidences. And for this reason
He charged them to shut up their mouths over the matter. Surely a testimony of
the girl who had been dead could have led many to salvation. Surely, she could
be a preacher! Surely, many would have been drawn to faith by her new life! It
is not true. So I do not know where testimonies come from, except they that
they are meant to boost the profile of the preacher who is claiming to perform
miracles. But the question is, if our Master, Jesus Christ did not encourage
it, what makes us think that those who do to the contrary are following Christ
as their Master?
Application
v We need faith to live:
You need to have faith to be a partaker of the blessings of God. Salvation is
the greatest blessing there is. You need faith to be saved. Faith is gift of
God’s grace to a sinner. Beg the Lord for faith to believe in His Son. The
evidence that we are exercising faith to live is that we repent of our sins.
The evidence that you have faith is repentance.
v We need to live by faith. How
do we live by faith? Faith that we have will soon get encouragement from the
Lord when we exercise it. We do not exercise faith by making claims to the
blessings of God. We excise faith by trusting and depending on Christ to
fulfill His promises. Prayer in accordance to the will of God is prayer based
upon the promises of God. How about when we do not have clear promise? Walking
by faith means submitting to His will at all times, even times of trouble for
He works out all things (even those that are meant for our evil) He works them
all out for our good.
v A genuine faith has to be tested. Faith is tested to find out whether it is genuine: Jairus faith
had to be tested. It was tested when Jesus stopped to heal the sick woman. His
faith was tested when the servants came to report the death of the girl. It was
also tempted when the professional mourners ridiculed Jesus. His faith was
tested when Jesus requested him to follow him to the room with the dead girl.
It was also tested when he was instructed not to tell anyone.
v We need our faith encouraged. When we pray and the Lord answers our prayers like Jairus, then
our faith is built up. Sometimes our faith is so weak and so we should
constantly pray that the Lord may increase our faith. Jairus’s faith needed
encouragement. The Lord encouraged his faith by responding to his distress call
without any hesitation. His faith was encouraged when the Lord told Him, “Do not fear, only believe.” (v.36). His
faith was encouraged when the girl was raised from the dead. This faith in
Christ was revived to the point of receiving healing not just for his daughter,
but for his soul. The woman’s faith was encouraged by the healing. Her faith
was encouraged by the words of Christ, “Daughter, your faith has made you well;
go into peace, and be healed of your disease.
No comments:
Post a Comment