Never Say, "Never'!

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same. (Mark 14:26-31 ESV)

Be Prepared for the Abomination of Desolation

  Passage: Mark 13:14-23 

"But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not happen in winter. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. And then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

In AD 70, Roman standards, bearing the images of Caesar, stood on the site of the ruined temple. Later, of course, after the revolt of AD 135, when the statue and temple of Zeus stood on the ruined site of the temple in Aelia Capitolina, as rebuilt Gentile Jerusalem was called, the horror was complete: for orthodox Jew, the ultimate desolation had come. The 70AD event of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem city, as a mark of the end of the old Judaistic religious order happened in the lifetime of most of the disciples who were listening to Jesus on this Tuesday morning.

It was God’s ultimate desertion of Israel as an ethnic people of God as their judgment and it is a miniature picture of the judgment of the world when Jesus returns. For this reason the language in this passage carries pregnant eschatological overtones. The concept of abomination of desolation is from Daniel 9:27; 11;31; 12:11 and there is an element of prophetic foreshortening. Because although these events may be an abomination of desolation, it points to the abomination of desolation of a persona anti-Christ, yet to be revealed before the second coming of Christ. It will be fully displayed at a point when Paul describes like this in 2Th 2:3-4

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

The judgement of Jerusalem and the desecration of the temple is clear evidence that the Lord is not tied to anything of His creation – even what He Himself has ordained anything for His use. He does not dwell on temples built by human hands.

However, I would like to warn you of some very common error of our day. Whenever we talk about the future end of the world, many people are too excited that they end up with many ideas about what shall happen and so miss the point of Jesus’ lesson in bringing this events to us. In our talk we must be very careful to keep close and very close to what the Lord Jesus Christ says in Scripture. We must not run away with wild imaginations. His main agenda in this passage is to tell us to be ready and prepared when this events come.

1.      Keep your focus and do not allow for any distraction (14-18)

Very swiftly, and urgently, the Lord in the passage before us gives not just a prophecy, but also the mind of God as to the future of Christendom for the preparedness of His disciples. Before His second advent, the Lord very clearly recounts the time of trouble, displacement, discomfort, anxiety and suffering for His people. Perilous and evil days are coming – be ready! This are the instructions our Sovereign omniscience God is giving so that we must be ready, prepared, and set to obey His matching orders.

The Lord expected the disciples to be on their guard or vigilant so that they will know what is supposed to be where at every given point so that they were to;

a)      Keep focus by being observant: “And but when you see…” Jesus expects His disciples to be vigilant and focussed on eternal things. Remember this is first of all dealing with what was to happen in Jerusalem in AD70. This would be in 40 years from the time of this warning. The Roman army would come, surround and destroy the city and the temple and kill many people. But the abomination here refers to the sacrilege to the temple. First, the Gentiles entering the temple is an abomination. Secondly, they offered pig and animal sacrifices in the temple as the Romans butchered the Jews. The Lord is telling them to be on the lookout for sacrilege leading to the desolation or destruction of the city and the temple, that had been sanctified for God’s holy use.

b)      Do not allow for any distraction: “…let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak...” When you see the armies coming do not wait for another trumpet blast as an alarm. This is it – I have sounded it personally! Flee for your dear lives. Do not go back to pick an extra pair of clothes, or to pick money, or anything else, your life is more valuable! Run! Illustrate the aeroplane warning – in case of emergency fix your own oxygen mask before helping anyone else – even your child!

c)       Keep up with prayer: “And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that it may not happen in winter.” The Lord recognizes the special needs of some people, the women who are elsewhere regarded as the weaker vessel by Peter (1Peter 3:7). It is not biblical to have women join the army – never do we see the women recruited in the army in Scriptures! The Lord specifically says that pregnant and nursing women will particularly find this time unbearable because of both their personal needs and the priority of their lives. These events will distract them from their primary roles of being mothers – so pray for them that sufficient grace and strength will be supplied. Moreover, it will be more difficult for everyone to flee from Jerusalem if will be on winter when the roads are impassable and make their flights challenging.

1)      Our focus is Christ – Col. 3:1-2: If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Heb. 12:1-2.Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

We must put aside every weight, everything that comes our way to keep us from faithfully following our Lord must be put away. For faithful continuance in this, much vigilance is necessary. Much prayerfulness is expected. You need other believers to hold you up, by sharpening you as iron sharpens iron, community and fellowship is absolutely necessary to be able to keep up and to keep on. He is our hope and our trophy – He and He alone must we look up to and look out for.

2)      Whatever we have is not more important than what we are. The Lord says here that His disciples must leave whatever is in the house to flee for their lives. Do not think that your job, your property, even your family is more important than the salvation of your soul. Mark 8:35-37.For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? Mark 9:43-48.And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'

3)      We must employ means to be saved: The Lord in these verses informs and instructs us to use lawful means to provide for our own personal safety. We must never think that it is unworthy of Christians to flee or run away from danger. You are wise to take measures to avoid peril. You must not neglect the use of means such as medication. A believer must not suppose that God will take care of him, and provide for his wants, if he does not make use of means and common sense which God has given him, as well as other people. (J.C. Ryle) Certainly the Lord will help us in every time of need, but we must expect it in the diligent use of lawful means. So Paul told his fellow seamen - Acts 27:31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."

2.     Know that God has special care for the elect (19-20)

At this point the Lord is not just describing the events that were to happen in the lifetime of His immediate hearers. There are a number of evidences to show this – what with a tribulation He describe as having been experienced before (v.19) and the Lord will cut short the days or shortened the days (v.20).

a)      Be prepared for the greatest tribulation: In those days there will be events of universal, even cosmic magnitude – the sun being darkened, the moon will not give its light. But even worse is the tribulations described as follows:

“…there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be…”

This speaks of the greatest tribulation in human history. It is incomparable from the beginning of time and for ever. Its extent and intensity are such that this is the one in all human history. This surely is the time when the earth and the heavens will be rolled up as a scroll. This is the time when the world will come to the end, to pave way for the new heavens and new earth.

b)      Be prepared for the Lord has made special provision for His people: Thank the Lord that the Lord has special means in place for the care of His people. This special care for His people, the elect is twice described to show the emphasis in the care of His people.

“…And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days…”

The Lord in caring for the elect will cut short the days and He has shortened them for the sake of the elect. The period is shortened to care for the elect. It is also necessary to notice that the false teachers are also as interested in the elect in order to draw them away (v.22). There is no question that the Lord has a people that He chose before the foundation of the world - even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:4-5.

Of these two verse, I cannot say better than the old saint of Chester:

Election, or choice, respects that lump or mass of mankind out of which some are chosen, from which they are separated and distinguished. Predestination has respect to the blessings they are designed for; particularly the adoption of children, it being the purpose of God that in due time we should become his adopted children, and so have a right to all the privileges and to the inheritance of children. We have here the date of this act of love: it was before the foundation of the world; not only before God's people had a being, but before the world had a beginning; for they were chosen in the counsel of God from all eternity. It magnifies these blessings to a high degree that they are the products of eternal counsel. The alms which you give to beggars at your doors proceed from a sudden resolve; but the provision which a parent makes for his children is the result of many thoughts, and is put into his last will and testament with a great deal of solemnity. And, as this magnifies divine love, so it secures the blessings to God's elect; for the purpose of God according to election shall stand. He acts in pursuance of his eternal purpose in bestowing spiritual blessings upon his people. He hath blessed us - according as he hath chosen us in him, in Christ the great head of the election, who is emphatically called God's elect, his chosen; and in the chosen Redeemer an eye of favour was cast upon them.[1]

To the saints belong the wonderful blessings of justification, sanctification, and glorification and form the universal body of Christ.

Please notice that this passage shows that God’s election in the eternity past upholds human responsibility. There is no enmity between the two for they are close friends! It is for their care that the Lord will make the days shorter. There are a lot of blessings that the Christians, by the virtue of being in the world, bring the world. It is because Lot was in Sodom that the Lord did not rain sulphur and brimstone immediately. And then the Lord said that if there were ten people there He would not destroy the city, but as it turned out, there were no ten people and so sent the retribution to the wicked city. This brethren, calls us to be faithful in the dissemination of the gospel as it is the means of the preservation of the world. Until the gospel has reached every nation, He is not going to come the second time. Matthew 24:14, And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

3.     Do not believe everything you hear! (21-23)

Jesus warns us that false teachers will come. Some will say that Jesus has come back and persuade you to believe them. What are they going to employ to achieve their wicked end? The Lord leaves us well informed as to their tactics, for:

a)      They will use ordinary means of deception

“… And then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it.”

Very ordinary people - your neighbours, your relatives, your friends will tell you, anyone. The devil was able to use a serpent to deceive Adam and Eve. But now he now uses those who are very familiar to you so that you will be unsuspecting and so be deceived. He continues to repeat the old trickery, but employs different tools to do it.

Very ordinary arguments and reasoning – they say to you. Words that you know. “Look here is the Christ” ,or  “there he is.” Do not think that they will come speaking necessarily in the tongues of angels. They will come in very ordinary language and you will be unsuspecting if you are not vigilant. Do not believe it for they are employed by your adversary the devil. Please I beseech you by the mercies of God – do not be gullible like your mother Eve. Do not just stand there idly like our father Adam – do something. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Thank God that He has given us sufficient ability to successfully resist this wicked liar. Thank God that He can and will actually flee from you.

b)      They will use extra ordinary means of deception.

“…For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.”

It appears that two specific methods are employed by the extra-ordinary deceivers:

Claim big titles for themselves: The Lord here also warns His disciples against the extra-ordinary fellows who identify themselves as ‘christs’; ‘prophets’ and miracle workers. These people, the Lord says have an agenda to lead astray anyone, even the elect. These are deceivers and imposters, do not swallow their bit. Do not accept or believe their well-crafted stories – they have nothing good to give you.

Perform miracles, signs and wonders: The devil is the father of all lies and is capable of producing counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders. It should be always understood that miracles are ambivalent and sometimes ambiguous. True signs, like those of Christ were signs pointing forward to the reality, namely Christ. The reality of the miracles of Jesus was two-fold: they pointed first of to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, the Redeemer of His people and secondly they were redemptive, portraying the power and the willingness of the authentic Messiah to save from sins and its misery as well as to deal with all the enemies of God’s people. False signs on the other hand point you away from the reality. They cause you to believe a counterfeit instead of the genuine one. For this reason do not depend on them!

Jesus is telling the disciples here not to confuse the two events – the destruction of Jerusalem and His second coming, for such a blander could lead to them being led astray by false teachers.

There is a real danger before us. All Christians in view of the eternal blessedness that awaits us, must be ready, yet we must be prepared by being on the guard, vigilantly anticipating the second appearing of Christ. Evil forces are up in arm against us and we must resist them by being on the watch. When these terrible times come, our Lord wants us to be prepared and ready in Him and not be deceived. He would not want us to believe lies and falsehood. He wants us to trust Him and depend on Him, even though it is hard. He has warned us by telling us all things beforehand. Now we know and we have been well prepared.

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[1] Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible, Complete and unbridged, Hendrickson Publishers, 2008 p.1847

The God of Living

Passage: Mark 12:18-27     

And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife." Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong."

You may not know much about the Sadducees and the internal strife that existed between the Judaism sects. But you need to know that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8). When Paul had been brought before the Sanhedrin he appealed to the resurrection of the dead dividing the council. His fellow Pharisees accepted the doctrine of resurrection while the Sadducees didn’t. This led to a sharp division between them to his advantage!

The Sadducees were more pragmatic than the Pharisees since they would even collude with the Romans in order to retain their exalted positions in the temple. However, they became extinct with the destruction of the temple in 70AD so that much of the knowledge we have of them today is based on what the Pharisees have written, which as you’d expect would be biased.

But we know that they believed that all doctrine must be established from the Pentateuch – the first five books in your Bible. For this reason the Lord responded to their question from the Pentateuch. Theologically speaking, the Pharisees would be closer to the Lord than the Sadducees. However, ultimately both were birds of a sinful feather and heart. Therefore, they flocked together to plot, entangle, trap and murder Jesus Christ, the only hope of sinners. They were people who tenaciously loved their sins and would not have Christ cleanse them of this eternal malady. They needed Jesus Christ whom they wanted dead… yes, they were gathered together against the Lord’s anointed in Jerusalem to do what God had purposed to do in order to save sinners. What was to be a religious atrocity turned out to be the greatest hope of the nations.

Shall we consider what they said?

1)      Presupposition is clarified by Mark – And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection (v.18). This is the presupposition and the theological conviction they had as their foundation as they came to talk with Christ this day. According to them, there is no resurrection and in fact, they thought it is ridiculous, based on the illustration they gave. You must learn to understand the presupposition upon which questions are asked. Many scientists would be standing on atheist position when they expound Darwinism as science. While ecology is scientific, Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is at best a theory!

2)      Their questions were not only hypothetical but also ridiculous! What is the possibility of a man having seven sons, who all die early, before marrying one woman, what is the possibility of this woman outliving seven husbands, having had no children with them? The probability is pretty low. Remember the story of Judah and his sons married to Tamar in Genesis 38? When Judah realized that two of his sons had died having had relation with Tamar he declined giving his third son to go in to Tamar! In this passage the Bible shows the folly of this question.

Clearly they still asked their silly question in order to discredit the Word and the power of God. There are many skeptics who dismiss the authority of Scriptures and yet have no basis upon which these this can be said. In fact their position of judging God’s Word assumes a higher authority. They should be shown that the rejection of the authority of Scriptures rests on assumption of their own authority which cannot be justified because at best it is an hypothetical foundation like these Sadducees.

3)      Their question assumes a thorough knowledge of Scriptures. Yet there is a clear indication that they had no full grasp of the Scriptures upon which they clung so closely. The Lord told them outrightly that they were steeped in ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God. Many times you meet sceptics who arrogantly speak as if they know the Scriptures, but when you ask them if they have read through the Scriptures, you find they have neither read it extensively nor intensively enough to refute any of the truths contained in it. The basic apologetic response to the fool who says that there is no God is that they have not possibly searched and gathered enough evidence and studied thoroughly to come to that conclusion.

The question of the Sadducees that is based upon an hypothetical assumption is what is called reductio ad absurdum (reduction to the absurd). In this question they are trying to show Jesus that the belief in resurrection cannot be tenable because its implications seem absurd and ridiculous. I think this is the sort of a question a Sadducee son will ask a Pharisee daughter to show that their belief in the resurrection is laughable. I guess the Pharisee daughter could not respond so that she would be persuaded to be married by the ‘wise’ Sadducee son!

Didn’t God give the Levirate law in Deuteronomy 5:5-10? Both the Pharisee and the Sadducee would agree that God gave this law. They both would appreciate the practical wisdom and benefit upon which it was based. However, as to whether it was agreeable with the belief in resurrection the two doctrinal positions would part ways. The Pharisee felt that both teachings are based on Scripture but the Sadducee would dismiss the belief in resurrection.

But I see that the greatest lesson for us to learn from this passage is the truth that Jesus communicated about God. Jesus felt that this was a good occasion to show who God is and so we would be wise to take to our hearts what God has said, and done. 

We have three lessons that we can learn here:

1)      God has communicated to us in His Word, we have no reason to be in error

The true God of the Bible is the God of the living and not of the dead. This God is a communicating God and He has done so in His Word. The Sadducees were wrong to ridicule God’s word and so in grave error because of their wrong presuppositions, assumptions and ignorance. God has committed His will to us in writing and so to read and twist to suit our depraved appetites is to shun the hope that God has given in it. Thank God that He has communicated to us His special revelation – though we do not deserve it. In the past He spoke to people in different ways and now He has finally spoken to us in His Son, the Word.

In His Word, the Bible, God has told us all we need to know concerning Him, ourselves, His creation and the life to come. We are not in darkness about these things. We have true revelation in the Bible. And we must use every occasion we have to learn it. Whether in hearing it expounded or in personal study – you must know the Scriptures. Our emphasis on Bible literacy is not unfounded. The Sadducees were in wrong and error because, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? (v.24)

It is the most amazing how the Lord turned to the least expected passage in order to answer these skeptics that the resurrection is right there in the law that they held so dear. He went to Exodus 3, the burning bush incidence. When you read this text, you may not see any proof of resurrection in it. Some have questioned why the Lord went to this text when there are ‘clearer texts’ on this matter. This should tell us that there is the fullness of meaning in many texts that we are yet to discover their full thrust and force. In our depraved hastiness, we many times pass the eternal gold that we ought to be collecting and saving into our memory and into the heart. But it could be that any Jew who heard the Lord give this depth of the meaning could have quickly seen more than we do, because many of them devoted themselves to learning the Law and committing it to their hearts and teaching it to their children and others. You notice that the Lord’s answer silenced the Sadducees and got such approval and commendation to the nearby Pharisee (v.28).

The national reformation in King Josiah’s day was closely attached to the discovery of the book of the law of God and being read to the nation. The Protestant reformation of the 16^th Century was a fruit of the translation and circulation of the Bible by William Tyndale, who is regarded as the Dawn of Reformation. On the other hand the false teachings and doctrinal errors and moral decadence in various times of history can be so easily linked with ignorance of God’s revelation.

When the Bible was kept back from the people during the Medieval ages led to this period being regarded as the Dark Ages – it was pitch dark like a night without moon or stars because people did not hear from God. The church reverted to traditions and papal decrees – they spoke not according to the teaching and to the testimony and so they lacked dawn (Isaiah 8:20).

 Let us not be ignorant of the Bible, lest we fall in a fatal error. I would like you to do your homework about churches and you will notice that in churches were congregations are malnourished in the knowledge of God’s Word, wolves in sheepskins are very fat and sleek, at the expense of the people. Many times when I sit down with the guests who come here on Sunday I lament that they are all in agreement that the Word of God is not taught as adequately where they come from. I pray that there will be more churches with the same commitment of bringing the Word of God to their hearers. Many church goers are hungry and thirsty for the Word of God. This is the reason why the Word of Faith swept across the globe. This explains why false teachers have multiplied because the light of dawn is absent. Shall be people who are anchored in the Scriptures?

Read it diligently, privately and publically. Read it aloud, sing it, pray it and live it. Read it to your children and grandchildren. Yes, don’t give them fairy tales – as sweet and interesting as they may be, they have no God’s eternal and life-giving breath. The holiest men and women are Bible-reading people. The nations that have the Word of God put forth have prospered, the families that have the Word of God close to their hearts have known God’s blessings. It is upon this Puritan heritage that the United States of America where founded.

People do not know the power of God because they are ignorant of His Word. Therefore, those of you who have been lagging behind in the reading of Scriptures because of the ‘busy schedules of this life’ - remember that these activities will soon be ended but the Word of God will endure forever. If your busy schedules take you away from the life-giving breath of God, then you may as well begin counting your eternal losses!

2)      God is powerful, he will give eternal resurrection to all

The God of the Bible that we preach is not only a self-revealing God, He is also a working God. His power is evident in what He has created and how powerfully He has saved us by His Son. His creating and redeeming work speak of His power so that no one is left with any excuse as Paul says in Romans 1. But a time is coming when we all will marvel at His resurrecting power that Jesus elsewhere says in Luke that some will just faint at the sight! He says that on that last day, there will be … people fainting with fear and foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21:26-27). Why? Because He is God of the living and will raise anyone and everyone to life. He will then give them either to the eternal blessedness or the eternal condemnation.

God said to Moses, “"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Ex. 3:6). This is to say that every Word He spoke to the Patriarchs was not an idle word, it was a powerful word to demonstrate His power and either has been realized or will be realized at the right time. Moreover, if this Word will be realized, then it means that, the would-be beneficiaries of the promise will be raised from the dead at the right time. Either way, the power of God is demonstrated. It is not bound by time, or by mortality. This is why the Lord said, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Luke 21:33).

At the center of Christianity is the question of resurrection. All other religions fail at this point. The only world religion that offers anything close to the Christian resurrection is Hinduism, which promises incarnation, which is a very warped up idea of life after death, steeped in paganic mysticism. At the heart of the gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas … et all (1Cor. 15:3-8). In this passage, Paul goes on describe that the resurrection of Christ has direct implication for those who are in Him. And in this argument Paul employs the same reductio ad absurdum argument. They also will be raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God…. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. So many ifs there, but the point is that this absolutely absurd because if in Christ we have hope for this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied! Paul, stop this Sadducee theories and present the truth, you have argued by folly and shown that it is ridiculous that the Sadducees could entertain such nonsense.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:20-26.

But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 1 Corinthians 15:35-54.

There is no doubt that in life to come we will have real bodies that have been glorified. However, we must realize that while there will be some continuity of the present life and the one to come, there will also be discontinuity. These two things must be remembered. You will see people in glory and know them, there will be deep friendship and love in heaven, however there will not be marriage as we have it now. The marriage is a picture and it’s realization will be when Christ shall come for His bride. Since we will have the reality then, we shall not need the token picture given now.

It is very important that you believe that one day your body will rise from death and it will be clothed in immortality, and it will put on incorruptible and power. Sin and death will be permanently vanquished. Those in Christ will know real life, immortality and eternal and sovereign joy. This is not just a teaching found in 1 Corinthian 15, it is all over Scripture and Jesus does not Struggle to point it out from the passage of the burning bush in Exodus 3. In this Jesus show the Sadducees what the law teaches about the resurrection from death. This demonstrates that the Lord took time to explain the truth even to those who humanly speaking did not deserve a minute. Should we do anything else in dealing with people than what our Master did?

What a blessed people we are that we look forward, not just to the resurrection of the body, but also to the eternal salvation, in Christ, with Christ in God’s presence forever. Thank God that salvation is ours in Christ.

3)      God has made a covenant, to save His people eternally

Jesus drew their attention to the way God said that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob not only to prove the power of God in resurrection, but also the absolute faithfulness and dependability of God in the keeping of His covenant in His Word. But how does this prove that He is the God of the living and not of the dead? Simply because God’s covenant promise to save His people would not be of any significance if it were overcome and shattered by death. It would be a tawdry salvation which lasted only for this life[1]. But this also is a declaration of how faithful God is in keeping His covenant. This is absolutely important if He is to be shown to be the true and living God.

A slight proof of God’s unfaithfulness, is sufficient to show that he is not the true God and therefore He is not worthy of worship. But He is the true God, dependable and absolutely trustworthy. This is Jesus’ evangelical agenda to this Sadducees – to bring the gospel to them. The Lord is always reaching out to all sinners, sceptical, as well as well as the ignorant sinners. He has no delight in the death of a sinner, neither should we, if we are His faithful disciples. When we are aloof to the death of any sinner, as terrible as he might be (although all sinners are terrible to the highest degree) we show ourselves to be not of Christ. A true Christian want to go to heaven accompanied, not alone.

When God says that He is the God of Abraham and co. He means that God being the greatest and the best benefactor based on His promises to be their God, He will fulfil His covenant. Now that Abraham , Isaac and Jacob had not received the promise which they expected, and therefore God after their death is desiring still to be called their God, He is here acknowledging that he had a blessing and a reward for them still and consequently that He will raise them up to receive it! This argument could also be shown from Exodus 6:3-4 – I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, by the name of Almighty, but by my name Yahweh I was not made known to them. Nevertheless I have established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan (which they did not receive). It is not said that HE will give them children or sons but land but we all know that they did not enjoy any of it as even Abraham had to buy a piece of land for burial place – which was subsequently used by others, even Jacob. But this promise is to be realized in its entirety, not in the receiving of literal land of Canaan, for Canaan was only a picture of the land of Promise which is Paradise of God, where real rest and blessedness will abide. So the author of Hebrews says,

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:39-40. God’s promise to save His people cannot be shattered by anything, even death – For the question is asked, who shall separate us from the love of God?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall…. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39.

 In light of this, we know that our salvation is both secure and eternal. Nothing will withdraw the promise or the blessings of the promise of God to those who are in Him. May this draw us to faith in Christ and make everyone of you learn to draw closer to the Lord than ever before.

On the other hand it is a reason for delight in God as our Father of heaven. It is a reason to live a stress free life, since your eternity has been sorted. May nothing make you think that  God will withdraw His covenant promises from you. You are in God and God in you, Christ will deliver you to the destiny that He has promised, because He who promised is faithful and able. None of His promises will miscarry – for the devil does not have the ability to abort God’s covenant promise. He who promised is God, the covenant-keeping God.

Christians live what is called missio Christi always drawing sinners to the attention of Christ to behold Him as the One and only Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

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[1] Sinclair Ferguson, Lets Study Mark, Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburg, pp.197-198

DO NOT FEAR, ONLY BELIEVE!

11^th 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.

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[1] Steve Wilmshurst, A Ransom for Many, Welwyn commentary series, EP, p. 102

[2] Sinclair Ferguson, p. 74