Jesus Has Power Over Death

[0:00] Well, verses 35 to 43 that we just read is really the conclusion of the narrative that began back in verse 21. It's not so much a story on its own as it is just kind of the final chapter of this narrative that we began to study last week.

[0:17] And it was in verses 21 to 24 that we were introduced by Mark to this ruler of the synagogue. His name was Jairus, and he went to Jesus because his 12-year-old little daughter was deathly ill.

[0:36] And one of the interesting notes about Jairus is that as a ruler of the synagogue, he was connected to the religious establishment of the day that was not typically friendly to Jesus.

[0:48] And perhaps, we don't know for sure, but it's likely that even up to this point in Jesus's ministry, perhaps Jairus at some point in that time had even positioned himself as somewhat of an enemy of Jesus.

[1:02] Maybe he wasn't as vocal as the Pharisees that had come from Jerusalem and declared that Jesus was possessed by Satan. But perhaps he was uncertain about the claims that Jesus was making, and perhaps he was frustrated by how Jesus was literally turning the Jewish religion and culture upside down in Galilee.

[1:25] But then we see something significant here. As he comes to Jesus, he shows this incredible amount of faith as he sought the Lord's help. And we noted last week, he had come to the end of his rope.

[1:39] He was desperate. And in this moment, he knew that Jesus was the only hope that he had. And there are times in our lives where we get that way. Perhaps even in your life before becoming a Christian, there were things that maybe you were acquainted with about Jesus.

[1:54] You weren't willing to commit to him as Savior and Lord. You weren't quite sure if you were willing to commit to all of these things that the Bible says about him. But in a moment of despair, you realize through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life that you have actually no hope but him.

[2:13] And in that moment, you too run to Jesus as Jairus ran to Jesus. And you didn't know a lot about him. You didn't know everything there was to know. You didn't know everything there was to know about the Bible.

[2:24] You were uncertain of a lot of things. But the one thing that you knew is that you were in a desperate need and that the only hope that you had was Jesus Christ. And that's where Jairus is. He doesn't know everything.

[2:36] What he knows is that he has a need and he runs to Jesus and he bows before Jesus and he says, I know if you will come, she will live. If you will just come. And so he demonstrates this great faith and whatever reservations he might have had about Jesus were abandoned as he ran at that moment.

[2:53] We call that repentance. Because for us to really know the Lord and receive salvation, it is not merely about giving some type of intellectual assent to the things that we read in the Bible, but it's actually abandoning all the other things in order to pursue him alone.

[3:15] So whatever reservations Jairus might have had, he abandons and he runs to Jesus. It's proof that even the hardest of hearts can be transformed to follow Christ.

[3:27] And we noted that despair is often a prelude to grace. And in this case, in the case of Jairus at least, his desperation led him right to Jesus.

[3:38] But even more remarkable than Jairus, this person tied in likely with the religious establishment, even more remarkable than him running to Jesus is the fact that when he made it to Jesus, Jesus so willingly and compassionately agreed with him.

[3:54] That is, he agreed to his request. And this is significant to our understanding here. Verse 24 says that Jesus immediately stopped what he was doing to go with Jairus.

[4:05] And it's a simple statement, but it's an important one. Look again at verse 24. And Jesus went with him. This one who probably at that point had been an enemy of Jesus. It didn't matter.

[4:16] He had come to Jesus. And Jesus went with him. And he received him as he was in that moment of his faith. And Jesus' love and compassion are so great that he will turn no person away who comes to him in faith.

[4:35] And that's the interaction that he has with people often in the New Testament. We see his invitation for people to come. And then we see his promise that if you do come to him in faith, he will not turn you away.

[4:46] And we quote this verse all the time. John chapter 6 and verse 37. Jesus himself said, All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast away.

[4:58] We don't know everything that there is to know. We don't know much at all actually about Jairus. But let's say that he was one of those Pharisees that was telling everybody in Galilee, This man is possessed by Satan.

[5:12] And yet in this moment, he runs to Jesus in faith. And what does Jesus do? He goes with him. He accepts them at the point of his faith. And it is only from there that Jesus begins to do this work in his life.

[5:25] He gives him more understanding. His faith is strengthened because of the wonderful grace of our Savior. And so Jesus's willingness to go with Jairus, it doesn't only reveal his compassion, but it is actually significant for us to understand the unfolding nature of the story that we just read.

[5:46] This conclusion in verses 35 to 43. Now listen, when Jesus agreed to go with Jairus, he was agreeing to heal his daughter.

[6:01] Are you with me? When we see in verse 24 that Jesus went with him, it wasn't just for fun. Jesus wasn't just going along with this and saying, Okay, well, we'll just, we'll see what we can do.

[6:15] No. Jairus comes to Jesus, pleading for Jesus to come and lay hands on his daughter so that she might live. And Jesus, in going with Jairus, agrees to do that thing.

[6:29] Not merely to go with him, but to go to his house, lay his hands on his daughter in order that she might live. That's significant for us to understand everything that's going to unfold now as we work through these verses together.

[6:44] The issue here was not about whether Jairus believed Jesus's power, but whether Jairus believed Jesus's promise.

[6:56] Because this faith that he exemplified in verses 22 and 23 was about to be severely tested. Every step of the way, think about this.

[7:09] Every step from where he met Jesus until he got to his house where his daughter was, he was hit time and time again with every reason why he shouldn't believe that Jesus was going to be able to do anything.

[7:22] Think about it. Perhaps he gets excited at first because Jesus is actually going with him. And on the way, what happens? Jesus stops. Jairus is over here urgent because his daughter's about to die.

[7:37] And if Jesus doesn't get there, she's not going to live. He needs Jesus to, come on, Jesus, let's pick up the pace. And what does Jesus do? Somebody touches him in the crowd and he stops and just decides to have a conversation.

[7:50] And right there, he's hit. Maybe this isn't going to work out. And then he gets this news. She's dead. And he's tested again.

[8:01] It's too late. And then he gets to the house. And they're already wailing. And he's tested again. The point was not, was Jairus going to believe Jesus's power?

[8:14] We already know that he believed Jesus's power. The point of this passage was, is Jairus going to believe the promise that Jesus made? When Jesus said, I'm going to go to your house and I'm going to lay my hands on your daughter so that she will live.

[8:27] Was Jairus going to believe that? Was he going to continue in that faith? And that becomes the unfolding issue as we come to this today.

[8:37] So we not only see his power over death, but we see the necessity of faith in experiencing the life-giving power of Jesus. While Jesus was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, Your daughter is dead.

[8:56] Why trouble the teacher any further? So knowing the urgency of the situation, you can imagine, as we mentioned before, how flustered Jairus must have felt when Jesus stopped to interact with this woman.

[9:13] We don't know how long Jesus spent talking to her, but during their conversation, some messengers from Jairus' house came with the news that his daughter was actually now dead.

[9:24] And what a devastating moment this must have been for him. He knew this was a possibility, but he had had hope. Now that Jesus was coming with him, he had perked up.

[9:36] Jesus agreed to heal the girl, but now all of his hopes seem to be crushed underneath the news. However, it does seem like there is somewhat of an exchange, an unwritten exchange, but I think it's safe for us to say that they don't immediately say, Why trouble the master anymore?

[9:55] It seems as if maybe they come and they say, Jairus, we're sorry to tell you this, but your little girl, she's dead now. And maybe Jairus still, with a little bit of energy and hope, I mean, Jesus is right here and the house is just down the way, and he's thinking, Well, maybe we can still bring Jesus.

[10:09] Maybe he can still do something. And then eventually the messengers say, No, it's too late. Why bother Jesus anymore? The messengers assume that Jesus's power could do nothing once death had arrived.

[10:27] And if we're honest, most of us would have been just like the messengers. We're not told that they had any doubt that Jesus could have done something in the beginning, but now that she was dead, why was there any reason for them to think that Jesus would be of help to them?

[10:42] And so this question that the messengers ask really sets the stage for the drama that's about to unfold. So they didn't deny that Jesus has power, but to them, Jesus was just a uniquely gifted rabbi whose power was limited by death.

[11:00] They would have understood that only God has power over life and death. And like so many others in Mark's gospel, it hadn't occurred to them that Jesus was anything more than a man.

[11:15] So they responded to Jairus like any one of us would have responded. Why bother Jesus anymore? It's too late. She's dead. And they were urging Jairus then to let it go.

[11:29] Go home. Mourn and move on. That's essentially what they're saying in this statement. There's nothing you can do now. There's nothing Jesus can do now.

[11:40] Just go home. And the question then becomes, was Jairus' faith only about receiving a miracle? Or did he believe that there was something more to Jesus than simply being a powerful healer?

[11:56] And that's significant. And it reminds us here that appreciating Jesus doesn't make you a Christian. These messengers weren't bad people from all that we can tell.

[12:09] They probably were even somewhat hopeful that Jesus would actually come to the house and that he would heal the girl before she died. But their understanding and their faith in Jesus was limited.

[12:19] They thought that he was nothing more than just this significant teacher. Maybe he's got this power and maybe he can help. But at the time that their faith reached its limit, they thought that it was over.

[12:32] And so they had an appreciation for Jesus. But an appreciation for Jesus is not enough. We must believe in who he is and what he's done.

[12:45] Verse 36, overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, do not fear, only believe.

[12:56] Literally here in the present tense, stop being afraid, keep on believing. Stop being afraid, Jairus.

[13:06] Keep on believing. And so Jesus overhears the conversation with the messengers, knowing the doubt that was developing in Jairus' heart. Jesus does what he always does.

[13:19] And he gently and lovingly interjects to encourage Jairus' faith. And I love this. Because do you ever have moments in your life where you believe Jesus, you're passionate about Jesus, but you just don't understand what's going on, and you're hurt, and you're discouraged, and you don't know how it's going to turn out, and your heart begins to doubt a little bit.

[13:43] It begins to doubt a little bit. And then the Holy Spirit comes right along and encourages that faith. And that's exactly what Jesus is doing for Jairus. He gets this message and he's hit once again.

[13:54] Is he going to continue in this faith? And Jesus interjects. He doesn't interact at all with the message. He just focuses on Jairus. And his statement to Jairus is literally, stop being afraid, keep on believing.

[14:08] But what is it that Jairus was supposed to keep on believing now that his daughter was dead? He was to keep on believing the thing that gave him hope in the beginning.

[14:22] And that is the promise of Jesus, the word of Christ. I remember what we noted about Jesus agreeing to go with Jairus. He wasn't going to evaluate the situation.

[14:35] His response to Jairus wasn't, no promises, Jairus, but I'll come along with you and we'll see what happens. Maybe I can help you out. That's not how Jesus operated.

[14:47] And that's not how Jesus was operating here. When he agreed to go with Jairus, he was promising to restore the girl's life. So when Jesus commanded for Jairus to keep on believing, he meant for Jairus to keep on believing Jesus's word.

[15:03] Keep believing me, Jesus says. The basis of Jairus's faith was to be the promise of Christ, the word of Christ.

[15:16] And we need to be careful that when we come to passages like this, we aren't seduced into a sort of name it and claim it type of theology. Jesus wasn't teaching here that we will receive everything that we want if we just believe hard enough.

[15:36] And the takeaway from this text is not that Jesus will raise your loved one from the dead if you just keep believing. That's not the takeaway here. That's not what Jesus is getting at.

[15:48] Faith is not a means by which we satisfy our lust for material gain and the wants that we want in life. And beware of the people that try to present Jesus not as the savior of your sin, not as the one who rules the world and as the Lord who governs your life, but beware of the people that come to you and say, Jesus is somewhat of a bellhop for you.

[16:12] That if you just believe hard enough and you just make your request, he's obligated to give you whatever you want. That is not what's happening here. That's not what's happening. Jesus wasn't saying that we can believe something into existence.

[16:27] He was telling Jairus, keep believing me. And what was it about Jesus? He was to keep believing the fact that Jesus agreed to do what Jairus had requested.

[16:39] Yes, the Bible promises that those who belong to Christ will receive blessing and peace and joy in all these things. But it also promises that we will endure hardship and persecution.

[16:54] And true faith is simply submitting to the word of Christ, not just this generic faith that if we just have the most positive thinking that we can have, that God is just going to give us what we want.

[17:10] No, believe his word. And what was his word to Jairus? I'll go with you. I'll lay my hands on your daughter and she'll have life. In fact, Luke tells us that that's exactly what Jesus said.

[17:21] She will live. And what he's being tempted by in this moment is not a doubt of Jesus's power, but a doubt of Jesus's promise.

[17:34] Now notice quickly that Jesus didn't engage at all with the message that the messengers brought. He didn't engage with them. In fact, some have even translated that word overhearing.

[17:44] They've translated it as ignoring. He almost pretends like they're not even there. He focuses in on Jairus. And he didn't stop to explain what was happening or how he was going to resolve this situation.

[17:58] And this frustrates us, doesn't it? It frustrates us. Maybe it frustrates me. Maybe you're better than me. It frustrates me sometimes. Well, like, why didn't Jesus just tell him?

[18:11] Why didn't he just tell him? Jairus here, look, listen, it's okay. I'm going to go. She's going to be dead. It's okay. I'm going to say this Aramaic thing, and she's going to get up.

[18:22] You're going to give her some food. He doesn't do any of that. Because when it comes to our faith and the perplexities of our life, God often deals in promises, not explanations. That doesn't mean that we can't logically reason through the scriptures.

[18:37] Of course we can do that. But it's true that there's just a lot of things about our lives we don't understand. We don't understand all the whys. We don't understand all the hows. But what we have in the word is a book of promises from the God who has never broken one.

[18:53] And in Jairus' case, it wasn't about understanding how Jesus was going to help his daughter. It was just trusting that Jesus would fulfill the promise that he made. And listen, that's the case for our lives too.

[19:04] It's not about knowing how things are going to work out. It's not about knowing how God is going to do this thing for you. It's not about knowing how Jesus is going to work out his purposes in your life.

[19:15] It's just trusting that he is. And casting your hope, casting your care, casting your faith wholly on the promise of God.

[19:26] Jairus didn't need to know how it was going to happen. He just needed to trust the Lord. And I don't know what's going on in your life right now where your faith is being tested. And the faith of whether or not you're really going to trust the promises of God's word.

[19:38] I don't know how that's being tested right now. But I can tell you this, that God's not going to explain it to you. He's just going to say, trust me. Just believe me.

[19:50] I haven't broken a promise. I'm not going to start with you. Just trust my word. Look with me at verse 38. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue.

[20:01] And Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And so as Jesus approached Jairus' house, Mark wrote that there was a great commotion taking place regarding the death of this little girl.

[20:19] And the description is somewhat interesting. The description of what the commotion was tells us verbs of things that we hear. It says that they were weeping and wailing.

[20:29] Those are things that we hear. But when it uses the action of Jesus, what it says that he was doing is that he was seeing. In other words, the mourning, the commotion at the house was so intense that it could not only be heard, but it could be seen.

[20:42] It was a visible and an audible grief and mourning. And it was a commotion. A tumult was taking place. And as they are approaching the house, not even quite on the house yet, they can clearly see and hear that there is a problem and that people are hurt and that they're mourning.

[21:04] And so when you consider the circumstance, a 12-year-old girl dying, perhaps unexpectedly, it's not surprising at all that this would be the case. The description of this verse also conveys a Jewish custom that's foreign to our American culture.

[21:23] Whenever someone died in this particular day, there were professional mourners that came to their home and were hired to quite literally weep and well as if the loss was their own.

[21:36] In fact, it was not only a customary thing, but it was actually a requirement in Jewish law. Even poor families had to hire at least one mourner and two flute players whenever they had a funeral in their house.

[21:50] And there were a number of reasons for this. Partly it was to give the family an opportunity to express an intense grief without having more attention drawn to them.

[22:00] But you can imagine Jairus being probably somewhat wealthy and well-known in the community has had his family that has obviously hired many of these mourners.

[22:13] And so just a great way off from the house, they can already hear them. And perhaps it's overcomplicating the issue with what's going on. And so that's what they're walking into.

[22:25] And we don't know how long the girl had been dead, but it was at least long enough for these mourners to have been hired and in place before Jesus arrives. Now, if we think through this timeline, we're going all the way back to verse 21 now.

[22:38] If we think through this timeline, when Jairus leaves the house, his daughter is still alive, though she could die at any moment. And he finally gets to wherever Jesus is. He finally gets through the crowd.

[22:50] They have this conversation and Jesus goes and then they get held up and all the things begin to unfold. She had at least been dead long enough that the mourners had already been alerted. They had already gathered at the house and they were already doing the thing.

[23:04] Okay, so this has been quite some time. If we follow this timeline, it's likely that Jairus' daughter probably was already dead before he even made it to Jesus to begin with. Which tells us something significant.

[23:16] Jesus never intended to heal Jairus' daughter of her sickness. This was never about a sickness. This was always about a resurrection.

[23:29] Jairus didn't understand that. He didn't know. Jesus didn't tell him. But he never intended to heal the illness. He actually had something much more spectacular.

[23:40] Which just brings us to another point as we're just making kind of these random applications as we work through. Be careful that your despair doesn't lead you to become a critic of God's work in your life.

[23:55] Now think about Jairus here. You won't always understand why God allows the things in your life to unfold in the way that they do. But the one thing that you can trust is that he is always working out what's right and what's best in your life.

[24:13] Jairus didn't realize what was about to happen. But Jesus knew all along what this was going to be. It wasn't a problem for him to stop and help the woman. Jesus knew this was going to be a resurrection. Abraham said in relation to God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.

[24:32] Abraham said shall not the judge of all the earth do what is right? And I found that to be a comforting verse at a number of moments in my life when I was doubting whether or not God's work was actually good and was actually right.

[24:52] And then we come to a moment and we begin to see that God is always right. He's always right. He does all things well.

[25:04] And he does all things for our good and for his purposes and for his glory in our life. And that doesn't mean that his way is always easy. It's often not very easy actually. But it is always right.

[25:18] And you may not understand why exactly you're going through the things that you are right now but you can trust that he's right. Keep on believing. Stop being afraid.

[25:29] Verse 39 When he had entered he said to them why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.

[25:41] And they laughed at him. So once Jesus entered into the house he immediately confronted the commotion. And he did this in somewhat of an unusual way. He proclaimed all the people that were there weeping and wailing.

[25:55] That the girl is not dead. She is sleeping. Now Jesus wasn't lying. Okay. He wasn't being deceitful. He wasn't trying to be mysterious.

[26:08] He wasn't actually speaking of a literal sleep. He was referring to the fact that her death was only temporary. And we understand this is the case because the New Testament often deals with the death of believers with this type of metaphor.

[26:20] This metaphor of sleeping. Paul used it in 1 Corinthians 15. He said, Behold I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep but we all shall be raised.

[26:30] In other words, not every Christian is going to die because at some point the Lord is going to come back. And those who are living are going to be united with the Lord in those moments.

[26:41] Jesus said this to his disciples on another occasion. You'll remember when his friend Lazarus had died. In John chapter 11 it says, After saying these things he said to his disciples, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep but I go to awaken him.

[26:56] And the disciples didn't get it. Here's what they said. The disciples said to him, Lord if he has fallen asleep he'll recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death. They thought he had meant taking rest and sleep.

[27:07] And then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died. So Jesus clearly isn't speaking of a literal sleep here. He's talking about the temporary nature of this young girl's death.

[27:19] It was a real death. But the mourners that were in the house that day didn't understand the metaphor. They took Jesus' words literally in that moment. And the task that they performed in this mourning was something that they did professionally.

[27:34] They weren't in the habit of mistaking a comatose patient for someone who was dead. They weren't in the habit of coming home and seeing that someone's taking a nap in the bed and just assuming that they're dead and calling all the other mourners.

[27:47] Okay? They knew what death was. They knew what it means to be dead. And they didn't understand the metaphor that Jesus was saying. And their reaction was not to trust Jesus as Jairus had done and was continuing to do.

[28:00] Their reaction was far opposite of that. They mocked him instead. Laughed him to scorn. We're told they did.

[28:11] And it was an indication of the hardness of their heart. Which is probably why Jesus said it the way that he did. Because Jesus was exposing the hardness in their heart.

[28:27] It was also a validation that she was actually dead and everybody there knew it. And so Jesus says, she's just sleeping. They laughed and mocked him to scorn.

[28:38] And everybody in the house knew who was truly believing and who wasn't truly believing. Look at verse 40. Here's how Jesus responds. He put them all outside and he took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.

[28:58] So Jesus responded to the mockery of the mourners by forcing them to leave the house. So the only people that remained then were Jairus, his wife, Peter, James, and John.

[29:11] But that just brings us to another question. Why would Jesus make them leave? I mean, wouldn't it make sense if Jesus would allow these mourners to stay in the house and actually witness this resurrection?

[29:27] They would verify this incredible power that he has in this moment. And so have you picked up on how my mind critically and cynically engages with the scripture from time to time.

[29:39] We've come through this and every time, what have my biggest questions been? Why did Jesus do it that way? Because I often think that I could do it better. We often do, don't we? But Jesus is always right.

[29:52] As the song goes, Jesus doeth all things well. And Jesus had a purpose in this. I think it's actually threefold. In fact, if you're going to write anything down, write these three things down.

[30:04] Here's why I think Jesus did this. Number one, though Jesus desires our faith, he is not desperate for our approval. Though he desires our faith, he's not desperate for our approval.

[30:15] Jesus wasn't like the modern social media addicts. He wasn't spending all of his time and doing all these miracles in order to stroke his own ego.

[30:26] That's not what this was about. Jesus isn't desperate for our approval. He desires our faith because he desires our salvation. But he's not desperate for us to come along and boost his ego as if he were some prideful man.

[30:43] Okay? So that's one reason. He doesn't have to keep them around. Number two, Jesus' miracles weren't for the purpose of entertainment. That's not why he did the things that he did.

[30:54] The crowds treated him as if he was just an entertainer or magician. In fact, many of the people that followed Jesus around in these crowds, they were either just looking to get something from him or they were just looking to see something magnificent from him.

[31:09] But Jesus didn't do the things he did to entertain us. There's a reason he didn't allow the massive crowd to follow him to Jairus' house. And it's the same reason he often asked those he healed not to say anything about it.

[31:23] The miracle here was about the restoration of the girl's health and the strengthening of Jairus' faith. That was the purpose of what he was doing. Not to let everybody know what was going on.

[31:35] Okay? Number three, I think this is a real life example of Jesus' parable in chapter four, verse 25. 425.

[31:47] Flip back there with me. Let's read it. Chapter four, verse 25. Remember, this is a further explanation about the parable of the soils. And Jesus says in verse 25, He that hath to him shall more be given.

[32:04] And he that hath not from him shall be taken away even that which he has. Now remember, when we were going through that passage, this is in relation to the parable of the soils.

[32:16] And think about the soils. There were three in which the seed was sown, but they produced no fruit. And in each one of those cases, the seed that they were given was destroyed.

[32:28] On the pathway, the seed was taken and devoured by the birds. In the thorny soil, it was choked out and destroyed by the weeds. In the shallow soil, it sprouted for just a moment and then it was baked in the sun.

[32:41] What they had been given was taken away. But the good soil that actually were good hearers of the word actually had the work of God producing fruit in their lives. Okay?

[32:51] And then we get to verse 25 and Jesus explains that further. He says, he that hath more shall be given. He that hath faith, more understanding will be given. He that has not faith, even the opportunity that he has will be taken away.

[33:04] Now, fast forward back to this story with Jairus. What's happening here? Jairus shows up to Jesus in the crowd with what? Faith. It's an imperfect faith.

[33:17] He doesn't know everything that he needs to know or everything that there is possible to know, but he shows up with faith. And what does Jesus do? Every step of the way, he reassures him. He strengthens his faith. He gives him more.

[33:28] He gives him more and more understanding and then he is allowed to experience this magnificent miracle of resurrection. But what happens with those that don't have faith?

[33:39] Even the opportunity that they had was taken away. And then we understand that just because they saw the resurrection doesn't mean they would have believed anyways.

[33:53] In fact, Jesus said, if they won't believe my word, neither will they believe someone even if they come back from the dead. And so Jesus cast them out. Number three, if you're keeping up, the life-giving Savior.

[34:06] And we'll wrap it with this, okay? The life-giving Savior. This is verses 41 to 43. And so we once again see the tender compassion of the Lord.

[34:38] what was it that he told Jairus he would do? What did he agree to do? He agreed to lay hands on his daughter. He agreed that she would live.

[34:53] And what does Jesus do as he comes in? He lays his hands on the daughter. He fulfilled every part of the promise to the smallest detail.

[35:06] He always does. And he comes in the room and in his tender compassion, he takes her hand and he says this phrase in Aramaic is how Mark records it.

[35:17] Aramaic would have been the common language of the Hebrews in that day. And he says, Talitha kum, which means little girl, wakey, wakey, essentially.

[35:28] This was just a common phrase. What's the whole purpose of this? This was not some magical incantation. The power wasn't in the words because every parent woke their kids up this way.

[35:41] Little girl, time to get up. Jesus just uses an everyday phrase because the power is not in the words. The power was in the one who spoke the words.

[35:52] And Jesus comes in and he says, little girl, awake. And immediately, just as every one of Jesus' miracles, immediately she gets up off the bed and begins to walk around fully restored to life.

[36:05] What once was dead, immediately is brought back to life. Why? Not because Jesus said the magical words, but because Jesus himself is God incarnate, which is the purpose of all of these stories.

[36:20] He calmed the storm because he's God. He cast out the demons because he's God. He healed the disease of the woman because he's God. And he raised the girl from the dead because he's God.

[36:32] God. That's the point. The point is Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and the Son of God. Repent and believe the gospel.

[36:44] That's the whole thing. People in the room didn't have a perfect faith, but they didn't have to have a perfect faith.

[36:57] None of us have a perfect faith. faith. But even with the faith, the size of a tiny mustard seed, they experience the life-giving power of our Lord and Savior.

[37:13] The same life-giving power that he gave to each of us that came to him with just a mustard seed of faith. faith. And the narrative finishes with two simple instructions.

[37:27] Give the girl some food and don't tell anyone what happened. Giving the girl some food was to verify that this was a bodily resurrection, that it wasn't an apparition.

[37:39] Just in case they were worried that they were seeing a ghost running around the room in that moment, Jesus says, give her some food. food and it was verified in that moment. That's an important note here.

[37:49] It doesn't seem like it but it is. Jesus did the same thing in Luke 24. After his own resurrection, he appears to the disciples out of nowhere and yet it was still a bodily resurrection because sitting in the room with the disciples, he eats some fish and he drinks some water or something else that was with him.

[38:08] He ate some food in that moment. It was a bodily resurrection as was this girl's. But then we perhaps get a little bit confused once again because we get to the end of this and we think it's so fantastic and Jesus says, don't tell anybody.

[38:22] Don't tell anybody. And every time I read this, Jesus does it a lot and every time I read it, I always wonder, why? Why?

[38:32] And we've really dealt with it already. As Sinclair Ferguson said, those who will not trust Jesus' word will not trust his deeds either. And it takes us back to the emphasis of what Jesus was commanding Jairus to have faith in.

[38:49] And that was his promised word. And I quoted this a moment ago in Luke chapter 16. You'll remember Jesus mentioned this in his story about the rich man and Lazarus.

[39:03] Remember they both died and the rich man went to hell. And he's having this conversation in the story with Abraham. Luke 16 says, And he said, I beg you, Father Abraham, to send him to my father's house for I have five brothers that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

[39:22] But here's what Abraham says in the story. They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. In other words, they have the word. And the word has everything that they need.

[39:35] Let them go to the word. And here's how the man responds in Jesus' story. No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.

[39:46] And he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Over and over and over, Jesus emphasized the scripture over experience.

[40:03] We read it last week in 2 Peter chapter 1. Peter referred to this amazing experience that he had on the Mount of Transfiguration. He literally saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain and he saw Moses and Elijah and the voice of God and he relates that experience that he has.

[40:20] And then he says, But we have a more sure word. The emphasis is always on the scripture. And there are many that say, I'll believe if God will just do something to prove it to me.

[40:34] But no. No, you won't. Because Jesus said you won't. If you won't accept his word, you won't accept his work. And there were a lot of people in Jesus' day that that applied to.

[40:48] They wouldn't listen to his word and they saw his work and they still didn't believe what makes you think you'd be any different. If you were any different, Jesus would be a liar.

[41:00] So what does Jesus say? Go to the word. What's our faith to be in? Not our experience. The word of God. What about when you doubt?

[41:12] You don't trust your feelings. Trust the word. Trust the word. The fact that Jesus had power over nature and demons and disease is amazing.

[41:24] But it's his power over death that fills our hearts with joy and hope, isn't it? Of course, we understand that in his resurrection. We understand it primarily in his resurrection. But even when we come to a passage like this, we're reminded that Jesus has power over our death.

[41:43] And so when we reflect on the inevitability of that death, we can't help but ask that question. Has anyone defeated death? And if so, can they defeat it for us?

[41:55] And the Bible has a resounding guess. It's Jesus Christ. It's Jesus Christ. The resurrection of this little girl pointed to his resurrection and it prefigures the resurrection that all believers will have an eternal life.

[42:14] And I remind you of Jesus' words in John 11. I think it was to Martha after Lazarus had died and Jesus was about to perform another resurrection. What was it that Jesus said to Martha?

[42:25] I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me though he die, yet he shall live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die, Jesus says.

[42:38] And then stay with me right here. Stay with me. We're almost done. I know there's people out there. Just stay with me. Jesus asked her an important question after that. He makes this statement.

[42:49] I'm the resurrection of the life. Believe in me. You'll have eternal life. And then he looks at Martha and he says, do you believe this? And that's the question I'll leave you with today. I know you're used to church.

[43:01] I know that. I know that all of you could probably tell me all the stuff. I know that. But that's not my question. My question is not, do you know all the stuff?

[43:14] My question is, do you believe this? Do you believe that he is the resurrection and the life? Do you believe that he is the Messiah and son of God?

[43:24] You say, well, I don't feel like I believe it very strongly. You don't have to believe it all that strongly as we've seen. He will meet you where you are. But if your heart is hardened to that, you'll be cast out.

[43:37] But if you will but believe, you'll be forgiven. And you will not have this death. Because true death is not the soul's separation from the body.

[43:50] True death is the soul's separation from God. God. And that's why he died on the cross and rose from the dead. In order to reconcile us to God. And he says, all who come to me with this faith, I will never cast out.

[44:05] And that's you too. Just believe. Well, let's take aNINGNING