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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This conclusion in verses 35 to 43.
Now listen, when Jesus agreed to go with Jairus, he was agreeing to heal his daughter.
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.
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.
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.
The issue here was not about whether Jairus believed Jesus's power,
but whether Jairus believed Jesus's promise.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Verse 36, overhearing what they said,
Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue,
do not fear, only believe.
Literally here in the present tense,
stop being afraid,
keep on believing.
Stop being afraid, Jairus.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Keep believing me, Jesus says.
The basis of Jairus's faith was to be the promise of Christ,
the word of Christ.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It's just trusting that he is.
And casting your hope, casting your care,
casting your faith wholly on the promise of God.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jesus never intended to heal Jairus' daughter
of her sickness.
This was never about a sickness.
This was always about a resurrection.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Their reaction
was far opposite of that.
They mocked him instead.
Laughed him to scorn.
We're told they did.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Okay?
Number three,
I think this is
a real life example
of Jesus' parable
in chapter four,
verse 25.
425.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Aramaic would have
been the common
language of the
Hebrews in that day.
And he says,
Talitha kum,
which means
little girl,
wakey,
essentially.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
That's the
point.
The point
is Jesus
of Nazareth
is the
Messiah and
the Son of
God.
Repent and
believe the
gospel.
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.
None of us
have a perfect
faith.
But even
with the
faith,
the size
of a tiny
mustard seed,
they experience
the life-giving
power of our
Lord and
Savior.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
You don't trust your
feelings.
Trust the word.
The fact that Jesus
had power over nature
and demons and
disease is amazing.
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.
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?
And the Bible has a
resounding guess.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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.
And that's you too.
Just believe.
Well, let's take aNINGNING