Fooling Around
Notes
Transcript
Fooling Around
Fooling Around
If you have noticed we are seeing more interactions with the followers, detractors, and the environment around Jesus.
This provides opportunities for us to see how Jesus relates to people and his environment, and through this we can see how Jesus is accomplishing his mission. When we see how Jesus does this, we can gather information on how we can participate in this plan.
Our participation tends to fall into two primary categories:
Acting Foolishly
Acting the Fool
Acting Foolishly sounds like a bad thing.
But it is not a bad thing, it is a scary thing, as an adult.
Only fools believe in things they cannot see
Fools believe the world can be renewed into the beauty it was meant for
Fools trust there is a God that has their best interest in spite of circumstances that happen to them
My kids love to act foolishly. I like to play music for my youngest daughter and watch her dance like a fool in front of the entire family. For her, because she is a child, she does not care or even know she looks like a fool. Because for her, at her age, being a fool is just fine. She goes to 1st grade with a bunch of fools, and the more foolish you behave, the more 1st grade “street-cred” you have.
But when you are an adult, acting foolishly is not allowed. A great fear a person can experience is dying while looking foolish. It can be triggered by feeling out of control in your body, your thoughts, and your actions, combined with the fear of being seen or caught.
Acting the Fool sounds like pretending, but it is not.
As an adult we can be foolish about what we believe
We can do foolish things that hurt ourselves or others (risky)
Fools see the world “as is”, or they like to complain about it, or scoff about it, but they won’t do anything about it.
Fools hear wisdom, but refuse to incorporate it into their lives.
Scripture gives a good definition of the kind of fool that I am talking about.
Proverbs 18:2
Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.
At this point, if you have read ahead, you might be wondering why we are spending time on this topic. That is a good question.
Today, in our modern culture, it can seem or feel foolish to believe what scripture is asking you to believe. If you risk letting anyone know what you believe you can be judged a fool.
Living by faith looks foolish (acting foolishly) to people who don’t know or don’t understand.
Yet, not living by faith looks foolish (acting the fool) to people who live by faith.
These sixteen verses are packed with nuggets that are available when we slow down and let the story unfold in the context an ancient culture and each actors personal situation.
Luke 8:37-39
And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake.
The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying,
“No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
Quick recap:
Jesus has calmed a storm to show he has authority over nature and the gods of nature
Jesus has healed a man with multiple demons, showing his authority over the evil powers
Luke has given us a picture of Jesus sending the demons into the waters of chaos, to the pit.
The people on this side of the lake want nothing to do with Jesus. However, the people on the western side have a different response.
On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds.
Jairus: “He will awaken”
The people on this side of the lake have a welcoming response. Can you imagine how that would be? One side you are asked to depart, so you do, and the other side can’t wait for you to arrive!
But, let’s notice something about this man Jairus. He is a leader of the local synagogue. The religious leaders have not accepted John or Jesus, they do not accept the baptism and they claim Jesus is working for Satan. One of them invited them to his home and showed no hospitality.
The religious leaders are not fans of Jesus, there is a clear tension between the two.
And Jairus is a leader in the local Synagogue. When he comes to kneel down before Jesus, he is risking looking like a fool to the other leaders (Rabbi’s, Pharisees, Sadduccees, Scribes, etc.)
For him to come, is to risk relationships that are likely core to his position, income, family, and local reputation.
We also see the crowds…they always struggle to see what is going on. It should be a warning to us to carefully listen to the “crowds.”
And we have this “only daughter” who is “about twelve years old.” Pay attention to those two things. Daughter and twelve.
Let’s continue on...
Luke 8:43-44
A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.
We are on our way to Jairus’ home and here comes the crowd. Here is her moment to be healed. But she does not want to be public with this “constant bleeding” problem she has.
Bleeding, whether menstrual or not, would make her unclean. Not sinful, but ceremonially unclean.
She has been like this for how long? Twelve years. Same age as the young girl.
This presents all kinds of problems for her:
She is unclean
She is unable to participate with others
She is likely an outcast
She is likely not married
Her conscious likely runs a story she is telling herself: “God is punishing me”, “What is wrong with me”, What did I do”, “Will this ever end”, “Why can’t anyone heal me”, “Why won’t God heal me”
“I will be unclean for the rest of my life and there is no way I can be in the presence of God.”
She touches the robe of Jesus, and we won’t get into what all of that means, and she is immediately healed!
So...
Luke 8: 45-46
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.”
Uh oh. Jesus realized someone touched him and he is calling her out.
Pause for a moment and think about this scene. The purpose of this writing is to make us stop and think. Paint the image in your mind and consider what you would be going through if you were the crowd, the disciples, Jairus, and “a woman.”
Luke 8:47-48
When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
She has been caught and she falls to her knees right in front of him and she is scared. Can you imagine how foolish she feels at this moment. Jairus has taken a huge risk by turning to Jesus because the leaders are not fans of Jesus. A woman has taken a huge risk with her “crowd” because she is going to be exposed.
But it gets worse…the whole crowd heard her explain why she did what she did. Oh the unwritten account of her story.
Is it Jesus’ goal to publicly embarrass her or shame her?
Is Jesus intending to make her look and feel foolish?
From what we have heard and seen from him, is this his mission?
It cannot be that, yet he cannot be unaware of what is happening. So why would he do this? Why not just sidle up to her and let her know through a private conversation. No, it is all public now. Even those who she rubbed up against who are not ceremonially unclean.
“Daughter...” Jesus calls her daughter. Now we have two daughters, one who is twelve and dying and one who has been dying inside for twelve years. How can Jesus call her “daughter?”
It might be a term of endearment, but Luke could have picked a different word. He could have said “woman,” but he chooses “daughter.” As if a Father is speaking to her. What kind of authority does this man Jesus have?
And we could probably make something of the number twelve, but we just have to leave that at the side of the road for this message. But stop and think about all the uses of twelve throughout scripture.
Regardless, it is still confusing. Why does he call her out? Perhaps he wants to prevent some poor strategies to get healed.
It was not the touch that healed her, it was her faith. It was important to make this differentiation in front of the crowd. Practically, if he had let this stand the crowds would just try to touch him or his clothes. This is going to create a logistical nightmare.
But more than that, Jesus wants to crush the notion that it is some form of “sympathetic magic” that healed her. It was not the touch.
It was her faith that healed her. And that had to be made public. It cannot be something you do, it is about what you believe and to whom you are loyal.
Now, there is another issue in play when it comes to faith. Faith and receiving healing in the gospels is almost always preceded by an interaction with Jesus. Usually verbal, which is missing in this until he calls her out.
Meanwhile, back at Jairus’ home...
Luke 8:49-50
While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.”
Oh boy…this is setup like many movies where the hero must choose the busload of children hanging from a bridge or the girl he loves. Classic tension. Jesus took all this time with this woman “daughter” who suffered for twelve years and in the meantime the twelve year old girl has died.
Notice the language, “no need to TROUBLE the Teacher now.” Who says that? If you trouble him now you will look even more the fool, and perhaps the leaders at the synagogue won’t need to know that you reached out to Jesus.
Jesus words sound foolish too. “Don’t be afraid (didn’t know he was), just have faith (seriously…that is so foolish), and she will be healed.” Well, when you are dead, you don’t need healed, you need resurrected.
Luke 8:51-52
When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”
The crowd has followed him to Jairus’ home, and they all want to go inside too. They have seen what happened to “a woman” (daughter) and have heard her story, and they want to know what will happen.
Have the people in Jairus’ home heard about what happened to the other “daughter?” No. They were not there.
Does Jesus know that? Of course he does. How can he say to this crowd, “Stop the weeping!”?
What a foolish thing to say!
Jesus would need a public relations team to navigate todays modern world.
She is dead, she is not sleeping. Anyone who has seen the twelve year old only daughter can figure this out. When you stop breathing you are dead.
Luke 8:53-56
But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.
Which is why they laughed at him.
The “crowd” is acting the fool. They are the ones that are unable to see what is really happening. Jairus has been acting foolishly. To think that a man who wanders the countryside can heal his daughter is taking a risk to lose everything. We don’t know for sure, but it is possible that Jairus has spoken against Jesus, yet here is is, and he will look foolish because of his FAITH.
The woman believes this man can heal her, which is a foolish thing to believe. How can you be made clean by faith?
Jesus takes her by the hand and has some words to say to the crowd. “My child (not my daughter), get up!” Instantly her life returns. Can you think of any other moment where life was “breathed” into a formed body and it comes to life? God did this in Genesis 1. Who is this man who can raise a person back to life. A “twelve year old daughter” who was dead and is now alive.
But who says this right after someone is raised from the dead? Wouldn’t you just let her rest there for a bit? As it turns out we learn something here. When you are resurrected you need something to eat. But if you have read your scriptures you already know that food follows the resurrection of those who believe. What an interesting detail!
Her parents were overwhelmed. I bet they were. And unlike the demon possessed man, these folks are instructed to not tell anyone what happened.
What have we learned? Paul will help us out a bit.
1 Cor 1:27-28
Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.
Do you think these two daughters eventually died? Yes.
Do you think they remained in their faith? Probably.
We know nothing about the two daughters. No background on them whatsoever.
And why does Luke, a physician in his day, not describe in more detail their health issues? He could have given us far more information, but he makes a choice not to.
In today’s modern culture, we can “assume” the gaps with the young daughters. Maybe it was a disease that ravaged her body, and they have no modern medicine. I don’t want to get too graphic, but a young girl of twelve could have just started her menstruation cycle. The technology they had was not very hygienic, she could have had toxic shock going on too. What is a parent to do?
But, it challenges our assumptions about their culture. We have been taught that in ancient cultures women were “less than” in value, and children are even lesser. But this story does not convey that at all. The father cares deeply about his daughter, enough to expose himself to the religious leaders as someone who believes Jesus can help.
And the woman, ladies and gentleman, can I remind you that we are only a few generations into some amazing technology to deal with menstruation. We know that ancient cultures used all kinds of methods to deal with menstruation, but menstruation was linked to mythic beliefs about “spilling life fluids.” That is why you were considered unclean if as a women you were going through menstruation and as a male you had a “discharge.”
Maybe something else is being communicated to us. Something more important for us to consider about Jesus, ourselves, and others. Maybe...
Acting foolish is having faith that Jesus will see you through death to life.
For ancient readers there is a single component that links these two daughters.
Being unclean, not “sinful,” unclean. Big difference.
The law of Moses says you are unclean if you handle a dead body.
The law of Moses says you were unclean when you menstruate.
The law of Moses says you are unclean when you have a seminal emission.
The law of Moses says you are unclean if you touch something unclean.
If you are unclean (through death, menstruation, or touching something unclean) what is the (not punishment) result? You are forbidden from entering the presence (tabernacle, temple, etc.) until you are made clean.
I can imagine that if we had modern technology in their ancient world, someone would have built an app that tracked who was clean and unclean and you would be alerted when you were near someone or something that was unclean.
Don’t believe me? Well, we have apps today that track when you have been exposed to a virus. It lets you know when you are near someone who is unclean.
And what about the app that tracks those who are vaccinated, so you know who is “clean” and “unclean?” How is our behavior any different from that of an ancient culture when it comes to how someone is treated?
We become fools when we discriminate based on “clean” and “unclean.” That is what the world, the “crowd” does.
Rather, our faith should provoke us to turn to the least of those among us, and do the things Jesus has asked us to do.
Do you remember the verse we opened with?
Proverbs 18:2
Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.
The question is this: are you a fool or a foolish thing?