‘Don’t be Afraid; just Believe’

[0:00] This morning we're going to be looking at the Gospel of Luke, so if you have a Bible with you, or if you have your phone with you, I encourage you to turn to Luke chapter 8. Luke chapter 8, and we're going to be focusing on from verse 40. So Luke chapter 8, from verse 40 to the end of the chapter.

[0:21] And while you're turning there, let me just introduce myself. My name is Ray Burbank, and I send you greetings from Charlotte Chapel. My wife, Laura, and I have lived in Edinburgh for the last two and a half years, so just in case you're wondering why I sound like this, so you're not thinking about this the whole sermon and not thinking about God's Word, I'm from the southern U.S.

[0:42] My home state is Arkansas. If you've ever been anywhere near there, you'll know that it's hot. It's a small place. It's not a huge tourist destination. That's why I came here, because it's a little better in Edinburgh.

[0:56] No, but it's great to be with you this morning. So let's look at God's Word in Luke chapter 8, and I'll start reading from verse 40. And I'm reading from the NIV. I know this may not be the same translation as everyone else, but hopefully you'll be able to follow along okay.

[1:14] Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.

[1:25] Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house, because his only daughter, a girl of about 12, was dying.

[1:38] As Jesus was on his way, the crowds were almost crushed him. And a woman was there, who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years, but no one could heal her.

[1:51] She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. Who touched me? Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.

[2:08] But Jesus said, Someone touched me. I know that power has gone out from me. Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet.

[2:20] In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.

[2:35] While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. Your daughter is dead, he said. Don't bother the teacher anymore. Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, Don't be afraid. Just believe, and she will be healed.

[2:55] When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her.

[3:07] Stop wailing, Jesus said. She is not dead, but asleep. They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, My child, get up.

[3:21] Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. And then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

[3:36] This is God's word. Let's ask God for help right now. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we want to treasure up your word in our heart, God. We want to see it as just as important as our daily food.

[3:52] And so God, right now, would you give us eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to believe, to receive what you have to say to us here in the gospel of Luke. We ask for it in Jesus' name. Amen.

[4:04] Amen. James Young Simpson was a physician here in Edinburgh in the 19th century, and he's considered by many to be the father of modern anesthetics and midwifery.

[4:21] His statue is just over in front of Princess Street Gardens Playground. You might have seen it before. And in a tenement home over in Queen Street, Simpson and two of his assistants worked for years to perfect an effective use of chloroform as an anesthetic, even using the drug on themselves and almost killing themselves.

[4:43] Simpson eventually succeeded in introducing the use of chloroform for women in childbirth and for surgery on soldiers who were wounded in battle. And his discoveries have advanced modern medicine practices, medical practices.

[4:58] They've alleviated suffering for so many people, saved countless lives all over the world. But while being a great physician, James Young Simpson was also a committed Christian.

[5:11] And when a journalist once asked him, Dr. Simpson, what was your greatest discovery? Simpson said, That I am a sinner and that Jesus is a great savior.

[5:28] Now, why would Dr. Simpson say such a thing? That's his greatest discovery? You know, many people today still live in chronic pain or have long-term illnesses or disabilities.

[5:44] Phil, I think we can change the slide. Yeah, thanks. Some are on continual medication. Some have to frequently visit medical clinics. Some have to monitor their organs.

[5:55] Some have cancer. And many of these things we can't often see easily enough when you just meet someone. But this is true for so many people. And while we have so much to be thankful for in the NHS and modern medical practices, we know that modern medicine has its limitations.

[6:15] We still suffer. We still die. So is there any hope for our broken bodies? Is there any hope in the sure approach of death?

[6:26] Well, as you can probably expect me to say, yes. The answer is yes. There is a healing that Jesus Christ offers that is sure to save us.

[6:38] That is actually sure to last forever. And that's what we're going to see here this morning in this passage. You know, if you look in the earlier chapters here of the Gospel of Luke, you'll notice that what we're seeing here is many examples of Jesus demonstrating his power, his divine power, and his authority.

[7:00] If you look back into chapters 5, 6, 7, even the beginning here of chapter 8, you'll notice where Jesus is able to heal people of certain diseases. He's able to have power and authority over the natural world even.

[7:15] If you look at the first half of chapter 8, Jesus calms a storm while he and the disciples are on a boat out in the Sea of Galilee. Just with his word, in an instant, it calms.

[7:26] He has power over the demonic world, the demonic powers. When he casts demons out of the demon-possessed man in the passage just before the one we're looking at this morning.

[7:38] And now what we're going to see is Jesus sort of completing this series of demonstrations of his power by showing his power over disease and over death itself.

[7:50] Something that's relevant for each and every one of us today. So this is what God's word is showing to us this morning, brothers and sisters, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior.

[8:03] That's what this is all leading to in the next chapter, in chapter 9. After all these incredible demonstrations of his power, Jesus says to his disciples, he says, So who do you say that I am?

[8:15] And Peter confesses him. He says, You are the Messiah, which means God's Savior. That's what we should be seeing here this morning.

[8:25] Jesus has the power and the compassion to save broken people like us. So let me give you three reasons then why we can trust in Jesus.

[8:38] Three reasons that you should put your faith in Jesus. The first one is that Jesus hears the cries of the desperate. Look with me at the beginning here in verse 40.

[8:50] The story begins where Jesus and his disciples are returning from their trip across the Sea of Galilee. Just before this, in the verses preceding it, we see where he had traveled with his disciples across the Sea of Galilee to a different land.

[9:06] He had casted out demons from this man who was there. And now they're returning back across the sea, back to the city of Capernaum where they had been before this. And it says a crowd was there, ready to meet him, even expectant, eager to meet Jesus.

[9:24] You see, Jesus was the most famous teacher of his time. He was like a celebrity. He was like an entertainment for many people. And there were all these crowds that would begin to follow him.

[9:35] And now some of the people in these crowds were just like curious spectators. You know, they had heard he had these demonstrations of power and miracles, and they just kind of wanted to come and see what this Jesus guy was all about.

[9:48] But eventually we see these kinds of people begin to disappear and go away once Jesus begins to talk about the cost of being his disciple. But there were others in the crowd who were genuinely desperate for Jesus' help, for Jesus to heal them of a sickness or a physical disability.

[10:06] This crowd had heard how Jesus had healed people, maybe even seen him there in the city of Capernaum earlier. In chapter 5 of the Gospel of Luke, we see where Jesus healed a man with leprosy just by touching him.

[10:22] He had healed a paralyzed man who was lowered down from the ceiling. Some of his friends had busted out a hole in the house where Jesus was teaching in and lowered their friend down. And Jesus, just with a word, healed this paralyzed man.

[10:35] So this is why the crowd was there. They were desperate for Jesus to help them. You see, we have to remember there were no medical facilities in this time, like we have today.

[10:47] There were no disability benefits, no antibiotics, no dependable form of surgery. Life was painful back then. And these are the kinds of people that the text says welcomed him, were expectant for Jesus.

[11:04] The people who recognize their need for help, who see clearly their problems and their messed up life. These are the kinds of people who are expectant for Jesus' presence and power.

[11:18] So look at verse 41. The story continues. It says that, So the author here, Luke, is singling out one person from this crowd.

[11:32] One person, and it was Jairus, a synagogue leader. See, in the synagogue at this time, you would have a small group of men who would have served kind of like elders in a church today.

[11:42] They would have been in charge of organizing the services during the week and on the Sabbath, and would have been sort of a respected member in their community.

[11:53] That's probably how Jairus was viewed. People probably held him in some level of esteem. If there's anyone who has it all together, if anyone who kind of has his life kind of under control, it would be Jairus.

[12:10] But even he comes and falls in front of Jesus in an act of desperation. Look at verse 42. It says the reason. Because his only daughter, a girl of about 12, was dying.

[12:28] See, there was one thing that Jairus did not have under control. There was something that was very special to him that had slipped beyond his ability to fix.

[12:40] His daughter, his only daughter, was on her deathbed, and he couldn't do anything about it. It says that she was about 12 years old, which in those days would have meant she was approaching marriageable age.

[12:53] It meant that she was in the prime of life. I mean, think about it. If she was your daughter, think about all the great plans you would have in store for her, all of the great future that you wanted to ensure for her.

[13:08] But she was slipping beyond your control to help. And so Jairus was desperate. This is the situation. That he was in. And so it says there where, you know, in verse 42, that Jesus just begins to go with him.

[13:23] It's just assumed, of course, Jesus will come and help him. And on the way, it says that the crowds were crushing him, were pressing in and, you know, probably getting up in his face.

[13:35] And it was probably hard to walk. But what we're going to see along the way is that Jairus is not the only one in this crowd who is desperate. There's another desperate person that will be singled out in this crowd.

[13:50] There's one person in that crowd who comes trembling and hesitant, who can't bring herself to openly come up in front of Jesus and press up against him.

[14:01] Look at verse 43. It says, And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years, but no one could heal her.

[14:14] This woman had an uncurable bleeding issue, a hemorrhage that wouldn't stop for the last 12 years. Think about that. And this meant that she was legally unclean, according to the Jewish law.

[14:28] In Leviticus chapter 15, verses 25 to 31, in the Old Testament, it details the rules for women who have a discharge of blood during their normal menstrual cycle under the Mosaic law.

[14:42] It says that she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge. Anything she touches will be unclean. Anyone who touches her or the things that she touches will be unclean.

[14:53] They must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean until evening. And after her discharge ends and she washes, she must make an offering to atone for her uncleanness.

[15:05] This was the normal law that was in place. But for this woman, in Luke chapter 8, her bleeding never stopped. She was continually unclean.

[15:16] She couldn't be near anyone. She couldn't have sexual relations with a husband. She couldn't go out in public. You know, in the ESV and in Mark chapter 5, we get a few more details on this, that it says that the woman had spent all her money to find a healing, but that no physician could heal her.

[15:37] She had no one. But, she heard that Jesus was coming. Maybe she had heard about Him. Maybe she had even seen Him in Capernaum heal these people miraculously, and she thought, if there's any hope for me, it's with this man, Jesus.

[15:55] So, the woman tries to approach Jesus, but to touch Him, but she's so ashamed, she's so embarrassed about her condition, that she can't be as bold as the rest of the crowd to press in and touch Jesus.

[16:08] Instead, look at verse 44. It says, She came up behind Him and just touched the edge of His cloak. In Mark's Gospel, it says that the woman thought, if only I can touch His cloak, I will be healed.

[16:25] So, this woman was afraid. She was embarrassed. She was carrying this heavy burden, and no one could help her, but she believed that Jesus could. She believed that Jesus had the power to heal her.

[16:37] So, let's pause here for a minute, friends, and let's ask, what is this text telling us so far about how should we approach Jesus? Well, the first thing I think we can say is that we can come to Jesus with our request, no matter who we are.

[16:54] Anyone can come to Jesus, friends. You know, there might be some who come here into this church and you might feel a little out of place. You know, you might be a visitor and you might think, boy, these people seem to really be happy, or they seem to really know God and I feel like I don't know anything, or even the way they turn their pages in their Bible, it makes me feel ashamed, or you might feel like you can't come to Jesus with your request.

[17:21] Well, let me tell you, friends, you can. Look at the contrast we see between Jairus and this woman. One is a man. One is a woman.

[17:32] One is rich. One is poor. One is revered and exalted. The other is vilified and despised. One is respected. One is rejected.

[17:43] One is used to being honored. One is used to being scorned. One has a 12-year-old daughter dying. The other has a 12-year-old disease.

[17:54] One leads the synagogue. The other is excommunicated from the synagogue. But both have a common need for Jesus. Both are desperate.

[18:05] So, friends, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to come and hear God's Word. Don't be afraid to come and be among Christians. I say that to believers and non-believers, that you would come to find the rescue that Jesus provides.

[18:22] Come to Jesus with your need. And the second thing I think that we can apply from this is that when we come to Jesus, we must recognize our need. We must recognize our need when we come to Jesus.

[18:37] You know, let me ask you a question. If Jesus comes to you, how welcome will He be? Will He find a welcome reception with you?

[18:49] Will you be ready to acknowledge your need? Or will you be someone who has no need of Jesus? For those who are here this morning, maybe you're not a Christian, but you're interested in what Christianity is all about, or you're interested in the Bible.

[19:06] But do you see the need that you have even for Jesus? Or is this still just an interesting thing? Well, friend, this is the first step in what it means to be a Christian.

[19:18] It's not that we have no needs. It's not that we have it all under control. No, it's actually that we don't have it under control. It's actually that we have a great need that only our God can solve. Only the Lord Jesus Christ provides the rescue for.

[19:32] For those who you would call yourself a disciple of Christ, you would say that you have given your life to Christ. Well, friend, this is still part of the Christian life. That we come to the Lord with our problems.

[19:44] We come to Jesus with our needs. Is confession of sin part of your regular prayer life? Do you come together with your church family in worship, expressing your need to God in public worship, and even in conversation with a brother or sister?

[20:00] Do you have a brother or sister that you can meet with and share your struggles with and ask for prayer? This should characterize the life of a Christian, is that we come to him with our needs clearly laid out.

[20:15] So the first reason that we should trust in Jesus is because he hears and responds to those in need. And next we're going to see specific needs that Jesus has come to heal.

[20:27] This is the second reason to trust in Jesus, is because Jesus can restore the disease. Look at verse 44 again.

[20:37] It says that the woman came up behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak and immediately her bleeding stopped. She just touched this small piece of fabric on Jesus and she was healed instantly.

[20:54] Twelve years of suffering changed in an instant. Friends, I think we can see that Jesus is showing a divine power here. No physician could heal.

[21:05] All the amount of money in the world couldn't stop it. But Jesus, just in an instant, stopped it. Remember how important this would be for this woman. Remember that this woman's bleeding made her legally unclean.

[21:20] Her touch would have made the other person unclean as well. But when she touched Jesus, Jesus did not become unclean. Instead, the woman became clean.

[21:33] Think about that. Instead of her impurity passing to him, his purity passed to her. Instead of her problem becoming a problem for him, his power set her free from her problem.

[21:50] Jesus' power went out to this woman and restored her health. But when this happened, look at verse 45. Jesus stopped. He stopped in his tracks. And he asked, Who touched me?

[22:05] Now remember, he's on his way with Jairus, right? To go and heal a dying girl. A very desperate situation. But Jesus stops to tend to someone else along the way.

[22:17] See, Jesus does not mind being interrupted. Anyone can come to Jesus. He doesn't mind being interrupted. He knew that power had been given. He knew that it was this woman as well.

[22:31] He knew. This is why it says that the woman, she knew that she couldn't go unnoticed. She knew that Jesus knew. And he was stopping, giving her the chance to come out in front of everyone and publicly testify before all that she had believed that Jesus could heal her.

[22:52] And that's what she did. She came before Jesus, it says, trembling. Probably thinking, you know, what would Jesus do now? Was he angry that I had made him unclean?

[23:03] You know, would she have to tell everyone in front of this crowd? But she did. And friends, her faith was proved genuine with her humility, her display of need for Jesus, her public association with him.

[23:19] But you see, Jesus didn't just want to let her publicly confess her faith. He also wanted to publicly restore her in front of everyone. He wanted her cleansing to be made known in front of her community, that everyone would know that now I have made Jesus, has made her clean.

[23:37] So look at verse 48. Look at these words that he says to her. Daughter, your faith has saved you.

[23:49] Go in peace. She could go in peace. Not just some psychological feeling of peace, but an objective peace with God. Jesus had taken away her uncleanness.

[24:04] She was now in right standing before God through faith in Jesus. She could also go in peace with her neighbors. Jesus had restored her honor, in a sense, in the community.

[24:16] By faith in Jesus, the woman found true peace with God and with her neighbors. And did you see the word that Jesus used to address her? Daughter.

[24:29] Daughter. You know, Jesus came, or sorry, Jairus came pleading to Jesus to come heal his daughter. And while on the way, Jesus found another daughter who was suffering.

[24:43] Jesus not only shows great power in healing this woman, but you see, he also shows great compassion. Jesus shows compassion for the suffering.

[24:55] This is all over the Bible, where we see that God is all-powerful. He is consistent in his purposes and his plans. He's not affected by the actions and plans of mankind.

[25:07] He stands above the changes that we experience in our desires and our purposes. But at the same time, God is also compassionate. You know, Jesus wept over his dead friend, Lazarus.

[25:22] He wept over the city of Jerusalem. In Matthew 11, verse 27, Jesus says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.

[25:36] For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. He's a burden bearer, a comforter.

[25:49] The prophet Isaiah says that the Lord tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young.

[26:00] See, Jesus is tender with his people. And that's how he spoke to the bleeding woman, daughter. And he gave her true peace from her suffering.

[26:13] So friends, what does this woman's story say to us this morning? The first thing I think we can imply is that we can come to Jesus in our suffering. We can come to Jesus in our suffering.

[26:27] You see, Jesus shows us here that God is not inconvenienced by suffering people. He's not disgusted by our illnesses or the mess that our bodies can cause when they fall apart.

[26:41] No, Jesus has compassion for hurting people. He's not in some ivory tower somewhere. No, God in Jesus took on human flesh and shared in our sufferings.

[26:54] Isaiah said that the Messiah would bear our griefs, carry our sorrows. We can come to Jesus with our mess. And actually, you know, when we understand the origin of human disease, we will want to come to Jesus all the more.

[27:14] because when you recognize suffering for what it really is, you will recognize Jesus as the only true Savior. Because, you see, sickness is the decaying of our bodies.

[27:26] I think we all know that. That's common sense. But, the Bible says that it started at the beginning when the first man and woman first sinned against God.

[27:39] You see, disease is the effect of sin corrupting God's good creation. Not that a sickness that you have is a direct punishment because of your personal sin.

[27:51] No, it's a universal problem affecting the whole human race as a consequence of humanity sinning as a whole. Sin is a corruption of the good in God's creation.

[28:03] It's something that doesn't belong. And disease is part of this corruption that sin creates. This stuff that doesn't belong in God's good creation. that's what it is.

[28:14] So disease, above all else, should remind us of not just a physical problem that's obviously there, but a spiritual problem. So while we should certainly make use of medical treatment for our sicknesses, we also need to come to the only one who promises to give us a lasting healing, a healing for our broken relationship with God.

[28:38] God. So come to Jesus because our suffering actually reminds us how much we really need Him. And the second application I think we can make is that we must come to Jesus in faith.

[28:55] You know, I think this woman's story teaches us about what the Bible means by faith. That can be a bit of a vague term used in our culture today, right? Well, the example of this woman shows us that biblical faith is believing in Jesus as able to save.

[29:13] Faith in the person of Christ, His capability, His power, and His compassion, right, that we saw. Even if your faith is deficient, like this woman's most certainly was.

[29:27] Even if your faith is timid, you know, you don't know much about the Bible yet, or you're not sure about all the details of what Christians believe, or, you know, but you're convinced that Jesus can help you.

[29:42] You need help, and that Jesus is the one who provides it. Well, friends, Jesus commends that kind of faith. We must come to Jesus in faith. And notice from the story that true faith leads us into action.

[29:58] The woman knew that she needed to come out of hiding and confess before others, and that she believed in Jesus. The Bible teaches that true faith should affect how we live.

[30:10] It's not just a matter of private contemplation, something that you're just supposed to keep to yourself. No, actually, the Bible teaches that true faith leads us to make it known in our life, in our behavior, in our words, and in how we love other people, how we share the good news of Jesus with those around us.

[30:32] So if you're here this morning and you call yourself a Christian, but maybe you haven't been baptized, well, that's the first step in going public with our faith. Or maybe if you haven't been able to share the gospel of Jesus with those who are close to you and your family, or maybe your workplace, well, think about this morning from this woman's story.

[30:53] How can you begin to take steps of obedience in this area, to begin to share how Jesus has changed your life, just as he did this woman's? Let's not be ashamed of Jesus.

[31:06] So Jesus can restore the diseased, so therefore we can come to him in our suffering, we must come to him in faith. And this leads us to the final point this morning. Final reason to put your trust in Jesus is because Jesus can rescue the dead.

[31:23] Jesus can rescue the dead. Look at verse 49. A messenger arrives now with the news of Jairus' daughter's death, that she's died.

[31:35] And his message assumed all hope was lost. He says, don't bother the teacher anymore. It's over. No one can help her now. Death seemed the final blow beyond which there could be no repair.

[31:49] But you know what? Can you imagine being Jairus? That would be one of the, that would got to be the worst thing a parent could ever hear, that their child has just died. But the very next thing that Jairus hears is the word of God.

[32:06] Jesus says to him, don't be afraid. Just believe and she will be healed. Just believe and she will be healed.

[32:18] You could also translate that word healed, saved. She will be saved. Jesus will rescue her. That's a promise. See again, the power and the compassion of Jesus.

[32:31] Jesus has the capability and the compassion to save the hopeless. Jesus commended the woman for her faith in him and Jairus can demonstrate the same commendable faith if he continues with Jesus on their journey to the home.

[32:49] So Jesus is saying, don't listen to this message, which is coming from this messenger, coming from a worldly perspective. Don't listen to the world's message that after death there is no hope or that no one can rescue from death.

[33:05] No, believe in Jesus. Believe and she will be saved. So we see in Jairus another lesson on biblical faith, don't we? To believe in Jesus, to have faith in Jesus means that we believe in his person like the woman did, his power, his compassion.

[33:25] And, as with Jairus now, we see, it means to believe that what Jesus says is true. That's another aspect of biblical faith.

[33:35] To believe that what Jesus says is true just believe and she will be saved, he says. So he can either believe the messenger's word or believe Jesus' word.

[33:50] That's the choice he has. And we see that he continues on, doesn't he? When they arrive at Jairus' home, it says in verse 52, there were people mourning aloud over the girl.

[34:04] She was definitely dead. And Jesus says, stop wailing. She's not dead, but asleep. And they laughed at him.

[34:14] They laughed in disbelief, obviously. Now, Jesus, of course, is speaking in a figurative sense. She's only temporarily dead because Jesus is about to demonstrate God's power to raise the dead.

[34:28] God's power to raise the hand. And Jesus doesn't have to touch her hand, but he does. He comes and he takes the girl by the hand as a sign of compassion. And he calls out to her, child, my child, get up!

[34:43] And the girl is immediately restored to life. Her spirit returns to her. She stands up. And she's given food to eat.

[34:54] Did you notice that? Isn't that great? Right? Jesus instructs her parents to give her some food to eat. You know, Laura and I lived in India for several years and the place where we lived, it was common for people just in casual conversation.

[35:08] They wouldn't just ask, you know, so how are you today? They would often ask something like, so have you had your lunch? Did you have your dinner? And at first I'd be like, uh, yeah, I think I have.

[35:20] Yeah, yeah, I have. I'd never been asked that in just a casual conversation, but it's a similar thing as what Jesus is doing here. It's a sign of friendly affection, a sign of love, and that's what he wanted to do for this family.

[35:32] He wanted the girl's life to return to normal. He cared for her. But look at the last verse, verse 56. This is important. Jesus tells Jairus and his wife not to tell anyone about this miracle.

[35:47] Now, we don't always know why Jesus does this. It's not always clear, but I think from this case we can say that Jesus doesn't want people to get the wrong idea of what it means to follow him.

[35:59] Following Jesus does not mean that you will never get sick. Or it doesn't mean that you will have your own personal genie in a bottle to make you prosperous and healthy. It won't be a life of comfort, but actually of suffering.

[36:15] Jesus explained three times to his disciples that he would soon be arrested, flogged, and crucified, and that they actually would share a similar fate. He called his disciples to take up their own cross and follow him.

[36:27] He said, the world will hate you actually because of me. Following Jesus does not mean having a carefree life in this world. So Jesus didn't want people to get this wrong impression from his miracle working because the miracles point to something deeper, of a more spiritual and eternal significance.

[36:49] Now, before I explain more, I want you to know that I say these things knowing that there are some here this morning who are experiencing real physical and psychological pain and suffering.

[37:01] You might be thinking, will Jesus heal me? Will he heal me miraculously now? You know, sometimes God does answer these prayers.

[37:15] And the Bible tells us that we should pray for those who are sick, that they will get well again. But as we know, sometimes God chooses not to answer that prayer.

[37:26] Sometimes we're not healed. And as we know, the death rate is continuing to go at 100%. So unless Jesus comes back first, all of us will die.

[37:37] But think about this. Think about all the people in this crowd, right, in the passage, that Jesus didn't heal. There were all kinds of people in that crowd that were desperate, but Jesus didn't heal them.

[37:49] So was their hope in Jesus misplaced? No. Even the woman, the bleeding woman, we assume she got sick again, she got old, and she died.

[38:01] This girl that he raised her from the dead, she eventually grew up, and she got old, and she died. So what? Was their hope in Jesus misplaced? Well, no. No, friends, because listen, this is so important.

[38:12] This is what the Holy Spirit is communicating to us here in Luke chapter 8, that whether they be natural disasters, demons, disease, or death itself, Jesus has power to reverse them all.

[38:27] Sin has corrupted this earth. Sin has corrupted our hearts. It's corrupted even our bodies. But Jesus has come to restore this fallen world. And that's what we're about to celebrate at Easter, aren't we, in a couple of weeks' time.

[38:43] That Jesus came, died on the cross as a substitute sacrifice for sin, and then rose from the dead on Easter morning, never to die again.

[38:54] Just as the bleeding woman was suffering, so Jesus suffered, though without sinning. Just as Jairus' daughter died, so Jesus died on the cross, but rose again forever, never to die again.

[39:10] And isn't it appropriate that His power over death is illustrated last of all? After all these demonstrations of His power through the Gospel of Luke, the last one here in this series of events is over death.

[39:24] Because you know what? The Bible says that death is the last enemy. So if Jesus has power over death, well then Jesus is relevant for each and every person on this planet.

[39:36] And here's the good news, friends. For those who have faith in Jesus, He will raise us from the dead as well.

[39:49] This is what we celebrate on Easter. This is what we have to celebrate every day. That Jesus will raise us from the dead when He returns one day.

[40:02] So, quickly, what can we take away, friends, as we close here? So the first thing I think we can say is that we can believe in Jesus despite the circumstances. Even if the world's message comes to us that says, all hope is lost.

[40:17] Just like this messenger with Jairus' daughter's death. Jesus says, no, you can still believe in God's promises despite these circumstances. And secondly, we must believe in Jesus accurately.

[40:34] we must come to Jesus on His own terms as revealed to us in Scripture. Jesus is not a genie in a bottle. He's the Savior of our souls forever with God.

[40:47] And one day He will raise us even with a new body and a new heavens and a new earth. What a great joy this is. So friends, my question to you is, who do you say He is?

[41:01] Will you fall at Jesus' feet like Jairus and the bleeding woman? Because you know death is not the chief end. Facing and knowing God is.

[41:16] Let's bow our heads in prayer. Our Father in Heaven, thank You so much for sending Your Son into this world.

[41:28] Taking on our flesh, taking on our sorrows, our griefs, even suffering. Thank You that Jesus demonstrated His power, His divine power that we can hope in for our rescue.

[41:43] And at the same time, Jesus demonstrated such compassion that He understands what each and every person is going through, even here this morning, even over us, God.

[42:02] Father, help us to come to You through faith in Jesus, knowing that, God, the greatest miracle of all is that You rose Jesus from the dead, giving us the sure hope and sign that we one day too, through faith in Him, will be raised with glorified new bodies to live forever with You.

[42:26] Thank You for all of this good news. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Please have a seat. Let's close with the final benediction.

[42:39] These words from 1 Corinthians 15, verses 55 to 57, reminding us of this hope we were thinking of just a minute ago about the resurrection on the last day. It says, Where, O death, is your victory?

[42:53] Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[43:09] And all God's people said. Amen. Amen.