You
know, Jesus and His 12 disciples, they had just healed the demoniac. The people told them, “Get out of here. We
don’t want you. Go!”, and the disciples
said, “Let’s do it.” And so they
did. They left. And they got in the boat, and I picture 2
thousand bloated, crazy hogs floating belly up, with their legs all pointing in
the air. 8 thousand legs pointing
toward the sky. They’re floating there
in the sea of Galilee. They’re drifting
along down the shore. About the time
the disciples leave, they encounter this flotilla of hogs. And they navigate their way through more
pork than they have seen in their entire lifetime, because you don’t see pork
on the other side of the lake of Galilee, and they try not to contaminate the
oars of their boat, or get their boat scraping against all of that drifting
lard. They could not have been happier
to get out of that area, and they head west across the lake of Galilee, perhaps
toward Capernaum, up that way.
But
there’s serious trouble, and I want you to come to Mark, chapter 5 in your
Bible and let’s read about some of the trouble that was brewing there. Mark, chapter 5 and verse 21. “When Jesus had
again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd
gathered around Him, and while He was by the lake, one of the synagogue rulers,
named Jairus, came there.” Jairus was there.
He came. He was seeking Jesus,
and he said in verse 23, “My little girl is dying.” We’ve got
to have help.
“If You just come, You come and You put your hands on her and she will
be healed.” Now that’s some
faith, isn’t it? A Jew having faith in
a Christian.
Jairus
was the president of the local synagogue, and as a local he probably had
witnessed the healing, a couple of days before, of the man with the withered
hand. This was done on a Sabbath, and
Jesus was in that country, and wherever Jesus went, He healed people, and so
people zealously came to Jesus asking Him, begging Him, to put His hands on
them. Even youngsters needed His
help. But you know, this healing on the
Sabbath infuriated the exasperated Jews.
You
just don’t do things like that, especially in Jerusalem, and the tragedies
though, can change your perspective.
Did you ever notice that? I have
known people that have had a wreck and they’ve stopped attending church. Have you ever known people like that? They get some serious disease and they stop
attending church. A tragedy can change
your belief system, and Jairus had a crisis at home, and he was a good
Jew. But notice what happened to
him. His little girl, she was not
expected to live, and she was an only child, and she was 12 years old. A pre-teenager. By now her mother may have been beyond childbearing age, so if
that’s the case, and if the little girl died, then Jairus and his wife would be
“parent orphans” for the rest of their lives.
You
know, parents feel that their youngsters seem to die when they reach the
teenage years. And the yardstick by
measuring this is that they stop talking.
They’re hard to get out of bed, and most of the movement that you see is
in the texting thumb. So listen to this
exciting story about this 12 year old girl and the miraculous power of
Jesus. And let the knowledge of this
soak into your life.
You
know, she was a preacher’s kid. A
P.K. Her daddy ministered in the
synagogue, and as a pastor, I can relate to this story. This is a neat story, because my wife and I
also have one daughter, and she has been through some dire circumstances, and I
know how this family must have felt, and his pre-teenage girl came down with
some deadly sickness. Day after day she
grew worse, and the parents sat there and they prayed, and they maybe called
for some of the local Pharisees to come and pray and anoint her. She got weaker and weaker and weaker. She’s turning blue, and the father thought,
“She IS dying.” He’s about to lose his
girl. They’ve done everything humanly
possible. The girl is too sick to move,
and he may have thought about the story of Abraham. You know, Abraham and Isaac went up to the mountain, and Isaac
was just about to die. The knife was
poised above him, and God sent a lamb and saved his son. But you know, for Jairus, no lamb came. His little girl was dying. The situation was hopeless. But wait!
God actually did send a Lamb.
Right!? The Lamb was in
town. The Lamb was in town, surrounded
by a big crowd, and Jairus knew that.
Just at the time, the exact moment when he needed the Lamb, the Lamb was
there, and that is providential.
And
He said, “You know, I’ve seen Jesus heal before. He healed the man with the withered hand. I know He can do it. But I’m well known. I’m a wealthy leader here in this town, and
this synagogue, and this might ruin my reputation, because this Jesus is not a
member of our church. He’s a member of
some other denomination, and I could lose my position,” and this haughty Rabbi,
it says in Desire of Ages, (DA342) that he was haughty, and he may have
thought, “What about my reputation?”
But you know, when you come to the end of the rope you get desperate,
and he had done everything he knew to do, and finally he swallowed his pride
and jumped up from his worrying and his praying and in his synagogue regalia
with his tassels flying, he ran off to find Jesus, and Jesus will save you, and
he probably said, “Honey. I love you, and I’m going to go get Jesus, and Jesus
is going to save you. So you hang on. You hold fast till Jesus comes, and He’ll
save you.”
After
pushing through the immense crowd he finally saw Jesus, and he cast himself
fully at Jesus’ feet. A man of such
dignity ought not to be all stretched out there on the dirt, but that’s where
he is. But he was involved, as a
father, and I admire that. Today we
live in the age of the absent father, don’t we? So many fathers are absent, and when the kids get their finger
cut, what do fathers say? “Oh, it’s
bleeding. Go see your mother.” Isn’t that what we do? “She’ll take care of you.” How refreshing it is to see this father,
here in the Bible, actually involved in the family emergency.
Now
I want to give you some facts here.
Compared to children in male-headed, traditional families where their
natural parents are married to each other, children living in female-headed,
single-parent, lesbian or other environments where they are deprived of their
natural fathers are 8 times more likely to go to jail. 5 times more likely to commit suicide. 20 times more likely to have behavioral
problems. 20 times more likely to be a
rapist. 32 times more likely to run
away from home. 10 times more likely to
do drugs. 9 times more likely to drop
out of high school. 33 times more
likely to be badly abused. 73 times
more likely to be fatally abused.
One-tenth as likely to get an A in school. An average of 44% higher mortality rate, and an average of a 72%
lower standard of living. [The
Garbage Generation by D Amneus] Now
if these facts are true, wow! I kind of
would think that it might also be true if the roles were reversed and they were
living with a single man. I’m not just
sure how all these facts play out, and you may say, “Well, I’m single. Are my kids doomed?” No.
If your spouse died, if you’re divorced, you need to redouble your
efforts. You need to connect with a
godly life. You need to connect your
kids to Jesus, to their Father in heaven.
If you’re split up you can’t do much about that, but the church’ll help. We could get together. There are godly men in the church, and if
you’re a father, and you’re single and you have the kids, there are plenty of
godly ladies that you could help to raise your kids, and raise them right. But folks, if you are the original
daddy, and if you are the original mommy, stick together! Don’t split up! According to these statistics, it will hurt your kids.
Now
let’s continue. Verse 23 says he
pleaded earnestly. He wanted his little
girl to be restored more than anything else in the entire world, and so he came
in eager, earnest, anticipation to Jesus.
And in James, chapter 5, it says, “The
effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” He was fervent. He wanted this. He was
willing to risk his job in the sanctuary and the synagogue. He was willing to risk his reputation to
save his little girl, and too many groggy Christians today pray in a
lackadaisical, stuporous way. They pray
as if they’re half asleep, and our prayers should show more desperation. They should show extreme urgency.
He
prayed in faith, and you know, in verse 23, he said, ”If
You put your hands on her she WILL live.” “I know that.” He had
faith. Verse 24, “So Jesus went with him.”
He asked Him, “would you come and lay
hands on my daughter?” “Yes I
will.” So He went with him. “But a large crowd
followed and pressed around them.”
Jesus
started to come but alas, there was a terrible traffic jam. Have you ever noticed when you’re in a
hurry, when you’re late, when you’re running late, it always happens. The red light, there it is. And every light’ll be red, after that. Why is, that’s Murphy’s law, I guess.
There
was a traffic jam that day. The crowds
were all pressed around Jesus, and just then, somebody else had the audacity to
cut in line. A lady came and reached
out and touched His robe, and Jesus stopped cold. He was wondering why power went out of Him. He felt power leave Him, and He said, “Who
touched Me?” Well, this lady cut in
line. Here they were, going to heal
this little girl, and this lady stops the procession. Imagine the synagogue ruler’s impatience. “Come on.
We’ve got to go. We’ve got to go
now. Don’t worry about whoever,
whatever happened here.” But Jesus was
waylaid for some time trying to find out why power had gone out of Him. Finally a timid lady comes up and casts
herself at His feet, and she said, “I’m the one. I did it.,” and she said, “For
12 years, I’ve been bleeding. I’ve been
to all the physicians and the doctors, and I had to touch You, and I’m
healed.” 12 years. She had been bleeding ever since Jairus’
daughter was born, right? Cause Jairus’
daughter is 12 years old, and then she was instantly healed. In verse 34, Jesus said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your
suffering.”
And
then the worst happens. You know, all
of Jairus’ fears were realized when he looks around and he sees coming in the
distance some of his friends, and they’re pushing through the crowd, and he
thinks, “This can only be bad news.”
And
in verse 35, ”When Jesus was still speaking,” He wasn’t even moving, and He was still standing there
talking, “some men came from the house of
Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother
the Teacher any more?’”
He
could not have been crushed any harder by a steamroller. A lasting lump grows in his throat. Can you imagine this hurting fathers
thoughts? “If we had only rushed, my
daughter would not have died. Why did
we have to... If we had just hurried a little more. Why is God so slow?” Does
God seem slow to you? Too slow? You need an answer. You need the answer now. You’re running out of money. The deadlines are happening, and the
deadlines are even past. Is God too
slow? Actually, Second Peter, chapter
3, verse 9, ”God is not slow keeping His promises.”
Jairus
thinks, “Why didn’t I come to Jesus sooner?
My procrastination has caused my little girl’s death, and now it’s too
late. She’s gone! She’s dead!” Actually, is it ever too late, with God? You know, you pray. You wait.
Then you wait some more. Finally
you run out of money. “Lord, what’s the
matter? You aren’t doing
anything.” And you run out of patience. The deadline comes and goes and finally you
give up. DON’T give up! Never give up. If God is alive, there is always hope. Amen?
But
the synagogue leader’s biggest fear did not upset Jesus, because Jesus runs the
‘Impossible Shop’. Jesus specializes in
impossibilities. Now a bigger miracle
could actually happen, couldn’t it? So
it was going to be better.
Verse
36. ”Ignoring
what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, ‘Don't be afraid; just
believe.’" There were
numerous reasons not to believe, but He said, “Just believe.”
When
troubles come we cringe when we ought to believe. We throw in the towel when we ought to keep going. Don’t be a quitter. His continuing faith is what saved his
little girl. She would not have been
raised to life if his faith would have
died, would she? Her very life hung on
his faith, and his living faith connected her to Jesus and gave his daughter
life. You know, your kids will not have faith if you give up. If you quit the church, and this is
especially true for the father’s faith, some how. If you want to raise your kids from the dead, then you need to be
alive in your faith. You need to attend
church. You need to keep spiritually
strong. You need to keep praying. You don’t quit.
Verse
37. ”He did not
let anybody follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James, and
when they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with
people crying and wailing loudly.”
You
know, even the poorest family would hire 2 minstrels to play funeral dirges,
and there would always at least be 1 lady to cry, and wail. They would hire these. But here we don’t just see 2 minstrels and 1
woman crying. We see a whole crowd of
criers and wailers, hired by this wealthy, elite family before the father could
even get home. And why was there such a
rush? Because in Palestine, when
somebody dies, you bury them the same day, because it gets hot in Palestine,
and there are no crematorys. There are
no embalmers and morticians, and so they’re all there. There’s a big commotion. The criers are waxing eloquent.
Mark
5, verse 39.
”Jesus went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing?
The child is not dead but asleep.’"
Was Jesus correct? And in verse 40, what did they do? “They laughed at
Him.”
Jairus
and Jesus were encircled by another crowd characterized by their rash
unbelief. By their jesting. They laughed at Jesus. Jesus said, “She’s asleep.” Now to Jesus, death was more a technicality
than a finality. More of a technicality
than a finality. Jesus could quell the
waters of the raging deep. Jesus could
quiet the raging demoniacs, and Jesus could conquer the ravaging death. Jesus could do anything. He’s the Impossible Man. He’s the Miracle Worker.
When
a Christian dies, of course he’s dead, but actually, he’s sleeping in Jesus,
because he’s going to rise again on resurrection morning. Jesus calls it a sleep, and Christians who
have died in Jesus are sleeping.
Sleeping, because they can awake, so we tell them goodnight. We don’t tell them goodbye.
Because
of their zany attitude the crowd were not allowed to witness one of the
greatest miracles that Jesus ever did.
Because of their attitude. How
often our lack of faith shuts out the miracle that Jesus wants us to witness.
The
last part of verse 40. ”Then He put them all out, and he took the child's father and
mother and the disciples who were with Him,” Peter,
James and John, “and He went in where the child
was.”
There
were only seven people in that room, and only five of them witnessed the
Life-giver restore the little girl to life, and when you put Jesus in charge of
your house He will take control.
That’s basically what happened.
Jesus got rid of the people that did not belong there, didn’t He? When you put Jesus in charge of your house,
give Him authority over your house, He will eradicate your house of all who
should not be there. All influences and
all factors, and He will invite others to come in who should be there. He’ll take control. He’ll decide who to let in and who to
evict. So give Him authority over your
home.
Verse
41. ”He took
her by the hand and He said to her,” and this is in Aramaic, which is
the common language there, ‘Ta/ litha koume!’ (which
means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’), and immediately the little girl
stood up and walked around, and she was twelve years old, and at this they were
completely astonished.”
You
know, many is the morning that the little girl’s mother uttered those same
words, in Aramaic. “Little one,
arise. Get up. It’s time to go to school. Get out of bed.” But when the Life-giver says it, He says it with power. He says it with authority, and she went from
being a cold corpse to being a warm, living, little girl again. She came back from death. She didn’t come back from heaven. She wasn’t up in heaven. Now if she had really been up in heaven, how
cruel of Jesus to yank her out of paradise and bring her back down to the earth
again, and her resurrection is not like the resurrection of the last days. Her resurrection was a modified
resurrection, because she was not raised to eternal life, as far as we know. She lived out her normal life. She was 12 when she died, she was 12 when
she was resurrected. Probably lived to
be 90 or a hundred. Ladies outlive
men. I don’t know how old she was, and
then she died. She was raised back to
life.
And
then Jesus did something for the girl that demonstrates His exceedingly kind
and loving nature. He told them to give her something to eat. She’s hungry. She had been so sick she hadn’t eaten for days, and Jesus
apparently knew all that. He said,
“She’s hungry. Give her something to
eat.” Now Jesus could have provided a
fresh steaming plate of manna or potatoes but He didn’t, because Jesus expects
you to do your part. That’s something
they could do.
Jairus
did the finest thing for his little girl.
Now think about the main thing.
What is the main thing that Jairus did for his little girl? Think about this. He did the finest thing that any parent can ever do for their
child. Jairus brought Jesus into his
home. You need to bring Jesus into your
home, fathers. Mothers, you need to
bring Jesus into your home. Jesus must
be more than a picture hanging on a nail in your house. Jesus must be the unseen Guest at every
meal, the unseen Inhabitor of every hour in your home. Modern children need daddies who will bring
Jesus into the home. You men need to do
this. Psalm 127 and verse 1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who
build it.”
And
I’m speaking to fathers. You need to
bring Jesus into your house. Kids need
daddies who will lead out in Bible story and in prayer, and you fathers are
failing if you don’t make your home a place for Jesus to dwell. You are the spiritual head of your
house. Do your God-given duty. Bring Jesus into your home!
Years
later Jairus’ grandkids heard the story of the day that grandpa brought Jesus home
to save his little girl. Only Jesus
will give you this hope. Do you have
the hope of the coming of Jesus in your heart?
Now I know we’re looking for the second coming as Seventh-day
Adventists, but do you have the hope of Jesus burning in your heart? Someday Jesus is going to come, and He won’t
come in the clouds for you unless He’s come into your heart now, and into your
home now. You need to get Him in your
home right now. The dying girl’s only
hope was the coming of the Lord, to her home.
Do you have this hope? Do your
children have this hope?
We’re
going to sing our closing hymn at this point. We Have This Hope.
Hymn of Praise: #509 How Firm A Foundation Scripture: Mark 5:21-24 Hymn of Response: #214 We Have This Hope
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McDonald Road Sermon transcribed by Steve Foster 8/15/08