The Power and Compassion of Jesus
The Gospel of Mark: The Life and Ministry of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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Good Morning, turn with me in your Bibles this morning, to the gospel of Mark we are going to begin reading in chapter 5:21-43
When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the sea. One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live.”
So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him. A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!” Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction.
At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My robes?”
His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
So He was looking around to see who had done this. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth. “Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be free from your affliction.”
While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”
But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother. They came to the leader’s house, and He saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”
They started laughing at Him, but He put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with Him, and entered the place where the child was. Then He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. Then He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and said that she should be given something to eat.
Let’s pray: “Heavenly Father we know you are good, and we know you are powerful, father speak to our hearts this morning, help us to understand Your word. You are our hope, You are our help, and Lord Your glory is our aim in everything we say and do in Jesus name.... Amen”
As we have marched through Marks Gospel there seems to be something He is trying to get us to learn. That is that there are two responses to trials, trouble and hopeless situations. We can either respond with faith in who Jesus is and what He can do, or we can respond in fear knowing that there is nothing we can do.
We saw this play out in the lives of the disciples in that they were fearful instead of faithful when the storm arose, they were afraid Jesus didn’t care about them, they were afraid they were all going to perish. All the while Jesus was chilling taking a nap in the stern.
They cried out to Jesus and He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves and then He rebuked them saying “Do you still have no faith?” Once they arrived on the other side of the Sea of Galilee we saw how as soon as Jesus stepped off the boat he was confronted with a demon possesed man.
This man’s life was being ruined as he was tormented by a legion of demons. This guy had superhuman strength and there was no one who could bind him. He would simply break the chains and shackles and continue cutting himself and hurting himself.
The scripture records that the man in desperation runs and falls at the feet of Jesus and that Jesus and that Jesus delivered him from his bondage, and as soon as the people heard about it they were afraid of Jesus and they sent Him away from their city.
So we have this picture being painted in the gospel of Mark where some people respond in fear when Jesus desires for them to respond in faith. Now knowing all of that we come to end of chapter 5 and we deal with two things that are very frightening and are the result of the curse of sin.
Like a deadly virus, sin is a devastating force that infects every human being. The curse of sin has corrupted evey part of the human experience, it causes people to have deal with sickness, suffering and even death. When Adam disobeyed in the Garden of Eden God brought a curse against all humanity.
Adams descendants have all inherited his terminal condition.
As move through these stories I see a progression happening don’t you? It is as if Jesus is dealing with anything that could possibly bring fear into our hearts. The disciples were afraid of their circumstances… but what is worse than their circumstances? Being in bondage to demon possesion.... but what might be worse than being demon possessed?
How about lying in the streets with a bleeding disorder that there is no cure for? The lady in our story today has had been bleeding profusely nonstop for 12 years. the problem with bleeding? They considered you unclean and didn’t want you near they would even exile people like this away with the lepers outside the city.
The woman mentioned today was desperate, but what is worse than that situation? How about death?
The fear of death is universal we have all feared death. People are afraid of the unknown called death, Even the Bible recognizes people’s apprehension about the subject of death.
Death is referred to in as the king of terrors and psalm 55:4 says the same thing when it speaks of the terror that comes from the word death. Throughout history people have tried to escape death but without success. Even advances in modern medicine as incredible as they are cannot take away this dreadful day we all must face.
This raises one question?
HAS ANYONE GOT A CURE FOR THE MOST TERRIFYING THING WE CAN THINK OF?
Has anyone conquered death, and , in so doing made it possible for others to triumph over it? THE BIBLE ANSWERS THIS QUESTION WITH A VERY DEFINITVE YES!!!
THERE IS A DELIVERER!!! HE IS NONE OTHER THAN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF THE MOST HIGH GOD!
Jesus said
John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?”
For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Jesus also stated that his purpose was to
A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
Jesus came to bring life, but more than that He came to provide a prescription, to break the curse called death. But if Jesus had such a prescription he had to prove it, and prove it He did, by rising from the grave. We have eyewitnesses of this fact, and it has never been proven false, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is as real as the person sitting next to you!
Even stating that over 500 people saw Him with their own eyes after He rose from the grave. The gospel proclaims the truth that in His resurrection the Lord Jesus conquered death not only for Himself but also for all those who would believe in Him.
As a picture of His own resurrection he would often raise people back to life while He was alive. The events recorded in this passage form two final pictures that we need to see. In Mark chapter 4 Jesus showed us He had authority over the natural world when He instantly calmed the storm, with 3 words.
The next day He showed His power over supernatural forces by kicking a demon out into a herd of pigs and now in our text today we see Him with power over sickness and even death itself.
But what is more important to us this morning is to look at Jesus and see just what we can learn about Him from this passage, that can help us when tragedy strikes our lives:
However along the way let’s take a look at who Jesus is when tragedy strikes:
In the Chaos Jesus was Accessible
In the Chaos Jesus was Accessible
When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the sea. One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live.”
So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him.
Unlike many of the rabbis of His day Jesus spent His time with the people. His entire ministry was spent surrounded by crowds, with only occasional retreats into isolation for times of prayer, rest, and focused times where he taught His disciples. Ministering among the crowds was difficult they hounded Him and surrounded Him yet He remained accessible to them.
If you Remember Jesus and His disciples had manned a boat and left from the one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other side but once Jesus set the demon possessed man free, the people were afraid and they asked them to leave again. So Jesus and disciples get back on the boat and head back to where they just came from to get away from the crowd.
When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the sea.
As Jesus and His disciples exit the boat again another massive crowd probably the same crowd gathered around Him once again. Here was Jesus and the disciples in the midst of this massive crowd right at the bank of the Sea of Galilee when all of a sudden there came someone through the crowd who stole all the attention.
As Jesus and His disciples exit the boat again another massive crowd probably the same crowd gathered around Him once again. Here was Jesus and the disciples in the midst of this massive crowd right at the bank of the Sea of Galilee when all of a sudden there came someone through the crowd who stole all the attention.
One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet
Mark
Do you see something familiar here? Jesus crossed over to one side and the demon possessed man fell at His feet, now He has crossed back over and yet another man with another problem falls at His feet, his name is Jairus and He is one of the leaders of the synagogue.
Leaders like Jairus were respected laymen responsible for overseeing the activities within the Synagogue. So Jesus once again meets a desperate man in need of help. For a man of Jairus’ stature to fall down on to the ground at the feet of Jesus would have been astounding to watch.
It would have been astounding to watch because Synagogue leaders were known for their cleaness these men were respectible and with all the other religious leaders seeking a way to kill Jesus for Him to come publically into a crowd and fall down on to the ground at His feet would have been the end to His career and the respect many of his peers would have had for him.
But this man had a dire emergency.
and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay Your hands on her so she can get well and live.”
So picture this now Jesus isswarmed by people, when all of a sudden a religious leader comes rushing into the crowd… “Jesus please, please I beg you come with me my little daughter is dying, please Jesus,” over and over again the man beggs.
“I have heard you can simply touch people and they are healed please come to my house and lay hands on my daughter because she is dying!” Over and over again, He pleads. That’s what this word earnestly actually means, it means He kept on begging Him.
Which prompts the question, if JEsus has already shown that He is willing and able to heal in this region, why does the man so desperately plead with Jesus to come heal his daughter.
Well the most obvious answer is that he knows he has precious little time, his daughter is dying within that moment and he needs Jesus and He needs JEsus right now! We would be the same way, at least I know I would be the same way if my daughter was in this situation.
But there is a deeper meaning here I believe, Jarius being one of the religious leaders would have known how Jesus was treated by those he was associates with. He might even have been a part of the crew who tried to throw Jesus off the cliff ealier for healing on the sabbath day.
We don’t know for sure but can you imagine this scene? He now has to go to Jesus and he is probably thinking, “When Jesus sees that I am on the same team as those who tried to kill Him there is no way he will ever help me or my little girl....
Can’t you see that being a possibility?
I can.
Simply by the man referencing the fact that he knew that Jesus could touch someone and heal them meant he had probably been around when Jesus touched the man with the withered hand which happened within the synagogue.
So the man has this false idea working in his mind, heres the false idea.... “BECAUSE OF MY BEHAVIOR EARLIER, JESUS WILL CERTAINLY NOT DO ANYTHING FOR ME”
Have you ever felt like this?
You blow it, you treat Jesus as if He is just an addition to your life and you don’t really pay Him any attention, or maybe you have found yourself questioning Jesus and now you find yourself in a hole you cannot dig your way out of and you think to yourself that there is no way that Jesus would even listen to your request after the way you have acted, after the thoughts you have been thinking....
Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever said this to yourself in a time of discouragement?
How would Jesus respond? He didn’t owe this man anything, and if he was part of the group that tried to kill Jesus, what motivation would Jesus even have for listening to the man?
What did Jesus do?
Jesus picked the man to His feet and said let’s go. Jesus went with Him.
So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him.
The gospel explodes right here, its right here where we see that our behavior does not dictate how Jesus responds to our requests. The love of God is very evident here in that Jesus had compassion on the man, and went with him even though the man didn’t deserve for Jesus to do anything.
Isn’t this good news?
Jesus’ presence with you is not dictated by whether or not you have been perfect?
This blesses my heart because I know God owes me nothing, and yet even though I have moments when I disobey, even though there are many times when I feel like I have no business asking God for help. I know I can always come to Jesus.
Listen to me church, we dont have to beg Jesus to listen, JEsus sees you right where you are and He has compassion and even though we don’t deserve it He keeps walking with us anyway.
As they are making their way to Jarius’ house they face an unexpected delay, someone in the midst of all the commotion steals the show yet again!
Jesus is Interruptible
Jesus is Interruptible
Mark 5:
A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe.
Mark 5:25
A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse.
Here we have a straneg character enter the story, I just want to paint a Biblical picture for you. First of all she alone and destitute, according to Levitical law anyone with a bleeding problem which was incurable would have been considered unclean. For 12 years she had gone to doctor after doctor and nothing helped, she had spent all her money she was alone, and since this scene takes place down at the seashore there is a very good chance this woman had been sent to the outskirts of town to live among the lepers.
No this passage doesnt tell us that but we can use scripture to see this was a very good possibility.
“When a woman has a discharge, and it consists of blood from her body, she will be unclean because of her menstruation for seven days. Everyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. Anything she lies on during her menstruation will become unclean, and anything she sits on will become unclean. Everyone who touches her bed is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. Everyone who touches any furniture she was sitting on is to wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. If discharge is on the bed or the furniture she was sitting on, when he touches it he will be unclean until evening. If a man sleeps with her, and blood from her menstruation gets on him, he will be unclean for seven days, and every bed he lies on will become unclean.
“When a woman has a discharge of her blood for many days, though it is not the time of her menstruation, or if she has a discharge beyond her period, she will be unclean all the days of her unclean discharge, as she is during the days of her menstruation. Any bed she lies on during the days of her discharge will be like her bed during menstrual impurity; any furniture she sits on will be unclean as in her menstrual period. Everyone who touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will remain unclean until evening. When she is cured of her discharge, she is to count seven days, and after that she will be clean. On the eighth day she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The priest is to sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her before the Lord because of her unclean discharge.
“You must keep the Israelites from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle that is among them. This is the law for someone with a discharge: a man who has an emission of semen, becoming unclean by it; a woman who is in her menstrual period; anyone who has a discharge, whether male or female; and a man who sleeps with an unclean woman.”
()
Leviticus
If a woman had a flow of blood this passage says that when she is cured she was to bring two turtle doves and give them to the chief priest for sacrifice, this would grant her entrance back into the community and entrance to come back to worship.
she had been treated by doctors still unclean,spent everything she had still unclean. This scripture had even said that it had become worse. She is an outcast, who no one will touch, because leviticus said that if a person has a bleeding problem that if someone sat on the same chair as the person with the bleeding issue they would be unclean for 7 days themselves and have to leave the city.
Just like the demon possesed man she looks and sees Jesus and thinks this is my chance, there is no hope left for me, but if I can simply make it close to Him I may have a chance.
Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!”
Mark 5:27-28
She slips in and is close enough to touch the hem of His garment. This woman’s statement is powerful, she says… i dont need Him to see me or speak to me, I dont even need for Jesus to touch me, but if I can grab the bottom part of his clothes I will be made well.
That is faith ya’ll if the people recognize her they will possibly stone her, if you are unclean you cannot simply walk around a crowd touching people, because in the Jews mind this would hinder their relationship to God. yet here she is banking it all on the hem of a strangers cloak.
Look at what happened next
Mark 5
Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction.
Immediately her brokenness ceased and she was made clean and whole again, listen to me you may not have a bleeding problem but you may be doing things that are unclean, not holy you need to come in desperation to the feet of Jesus and be made whole!
What has always interested me me is this, when the power went out of Jesus he felt it.
At once Jesus realized in Himself that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My robes?”
Now think about this risk, the womans initial risk was she was in a crowd of people, but now she really does something scandalous, she reaches out and touches a rabbi. This is a death sentance for sure, it would have made Him unclean to the Jews it would have been a mess ya’ll but here we see Jesus feels the healing power leave His body.
He has to know who was it in the crowd who touched Him
But His disciples thought he had lost His mind.
His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
Jesus are you kidding me there are hundreds of people pressing up against us what are you talking about?
So He was looking around to see who had done this.
Now can you imagine what Jairus is thinking “Jesus dont get distracted man my little girl isnt going to make it we got to go!
But Jesus stops and begins to look around for the person who just recieved healing. WHY? the miracle had happened the woman is healed why not continue on His way?
I’ll tell you why: Jesus is trying to teach us something about God, He is equal to god in every way He is god in the flesh so what character qualities you see in Jesus it mirrors His father in Heaven.
So what’s Jesus trying to teach us about God?
That it doesn’t matter how unclean you are I want a face to face encounter with you....
It doesnt matter how you treated me Jairus I want to walk with you and go to your home and save your little girl. Jesus shows us His compassion. Listen to me we serve a Holy God, but we do not serve a God who looks down here on our mess and wants to remain uninvolved, we serve a God who loves us enough to see our mess and say I am going with you, we serve a God who loves us enough to say I know your an outcast of society, I know that nobody in their right mind would touch you right now but I want to see your face.
Jesus shows us that God desires to have a personal encounter with His unqualified undeserving kids.
The woman is terrified
Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth.
Mark 5:33
(paint a picture)
What happens next would have made everyone in the crowd shudder....
“Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be free from your affliction.”
Daughter?
Your just gonna let her off like that JEsus? She put you at risk she put us at risk, of being unclean and now you call her daughter and your letting her go?
(good news!!!)
Jesus is Unshakable
Jesus is Unshakable
This story has turned into a beautiful picture of JEsus Christ can do for the unclean heart, but wait a minute this was not the point… what about JAirus’ daughter?
While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”
Mark 5:35
Jairus listen don’t bother the teacher anymore look He is doing so much good, your daughter is dead Jairus… with tears in his eyes…
It’s too late
But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.”
Believe what? it’s over what are we gonna do now? It’s over! Jesus I thought you were gonna help?
Don’t be afraid just believe...
This is probably the most unpreached part of this story, Jairus didn’t question Jesus at all.
He simply just kept walking with Him. He had just lost his everything, but instead of being mad, instead of questioning, instead of doubting, Jairus kept on trusting. This is important, the pain for Jairus was real, he had lost it all. But Jairus had a choice, he could have collapsed in a heap and wept because he didn’t believe anything could be done, but instead he just kept walking along with Jesus.
Jairus chose to surrender his fear and place his trust in the fact that Jesus knew better than He did.
He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother. They came to the leader’s house, and He saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly.
Mark 5:37-
This is a depressing scene. But Jesus makes an odd statement here
He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.”
Mark 5:
Who is Jesus to make this statement?
He hasn’t even been here and now He has the audacity to make such a statement to people who are hurting?
What’s the point?
Jesus is trying to teach the people that how we view death, is not how Jesus views death...
The child isn’t dead shes just sleeping
What did Jesus mean sleeping?
What Jesus meant was that her sleep was not the final sleep of death.
Mark 5:40
They started laughing at Him, but He put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with Him, and entered the place where the child was.
Then He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ).
Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.
Listen to me church this teaches us not that Jesus always delivers us from death but that when we leave this Earth it is not the end.
There is coming a sweet resurrection day where we will have bodies once again and they will be untainted by sin and shame and we will run freely on a new Earth this is the promise of Jesus himself not me.
For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
that He was buried,
that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures,
and that He appeared to Cephas,
then to the Twelve.
Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time;
most of them are still alive,
but some have fallen asleep.
Then He appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one abnormally born,
He also appeared to me.
For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me. Therefore, whether it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.
1 Corinthians 15:3-
1 Thessalonians 4
Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.
1 Thessalonians
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
I’m telling you there is coming a day where there will be no more mourning or sickness or pain, there is coming a day when death shall not even exist in our vocabulary, I am telling you there is no sting in death Jesus IS LORD OVER DEATH AND THE GRAVE HAS NO POWER OVER ALL THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELF A CHILD OF GOD!
For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep.
ON THE DAY CHRIST ROSE FROM THE GRAVE DEATH DIED!
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
NOW WE PASS FROM LIFE TO LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS
Now let me end by saying this and I can take you to the passages later:
The Bible says when one day we will leave this old world behind, I am going to tell you that the minute my heart stops beating based on the promises of God’s word I am going to be standing in the presence of beauty, crystal floors and beautiful worship, I am going to stand there and see the eternal kingdom with the flowing streams of beauty flowing from the river of life, Im going to see the angels crying out Holy Holy Holy is the Lord almighty!
I’m going to see for the first time ever that long awaited city of glory. My grandmother and my grandfather, my aunt will see me there. I wont have to worry about a single thing because peace will be my new reality!
Paradise clean and pure
then I will realize that one day like Revelation tells us that Heaven and Earth will meet, and I will be reunited with a body once more but it will be altogether different.
Just when i think my heart couldn’t be filled with anymore joy.... I’ll see the face of my Lord who is the only reason I will be there at all. Do you know what I am going to do then right then at that moment?
I am going to fall down at His feet in worship and while i am sure that I will be filled with wonder and amazement nothing will amaze me more than when God the Father lifts my head and says son welcome home.
(Let’s pray)