Let me begin this afternoon by asking you all a question. How much of your faith do you really think that Jesus Christ is worth, if any at all?
Just think of life being rocked by a disaster. How far can we really go in trusting him? Where could the limit of your faith be tested? What's the worst that could happen to you? And in that moment, how much faith is Jesus really worth?
Well, it's been a couple of weeks, hasn't it, since we've looked at Mark's Gospel together. And you may remember we're in a section here where Mark puts together for us a collection of three miracles in a group performed by the Lord Jesus.
And the big call, the big challenge, in humanly impossible circumstances, has been for faith in Jesus Christ and the power of his word. The calming of the storm, the healing of the demon-possessed man, and now at the end of chapter 5, the resurrection of a dead 12-year-old girl.
Daddy, the father, the synagogue leader, Jairus, is the main figure here. And as he comes to terms with this grave situation of his little daughter's illness and subsequent death, there's a question that he must wrestle with here.
Verse 35.
Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further? Why trouble the teacher any further? What reason can you give Jairus to trust in Jesus now? Hope is lost. So why bother Jesus further?
Is Jesus still worth trusting? Surely the death of your daughter Jairus should challenge the limit of your faith in him.
And the challenge Mark puts to us in this account is whether we believe only in the circumstances and what seems possible, or in the God who can do the impossible.
And as with the other two miracles in this section, there's the interplay, isn't there, between fear of a situation and faith.
Have a look at verse 36 there.
Overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, do not fear, only believe.
In that moment of the grave news, Jesus says to him, yes, even now Jairus, don't fear, but believe.
You can trust me. You can trust me and the power of my word all the way, Jairus.
Trust me. This is how much faith you can put in me.
That even when death itself comes, trust me. Trust me.
And of course it's not only Jairus who has to learn this lesson, is it?
Ever since chapter 3, Jesus has spent particular time teaching his own followers, his disciples,
about faith in his power and in his word.
Like a little seed, do you remember?
That word is imperceptible. It's so small.
And yet it's so powerful.
And the disciples themselves must learn, commissioned by Jesus himself,
to go out and preach his word later on,
they must learn the authority that they go with as Jesus sends them.
The power and authority to bring life from death.
They're still learning the answer to that vital question, aren't they, at the end of chapter 4.
Who then is this, Jesus?
How much faith is he really worth?
So I've got three headings this afternoon, as is often the case, isn't it?
To take us through this miracle account that Mark gives us.
First of all, we see here a prayer of faith.
A prayer of faith.
The great Ormond Street Hospital treats severely ill children.
There's a programme on TV about it, isn't it?
And I don't know about you, but when I watch that programme,
it is such a saddening thing to see children that young, so ill.
And if this were a modern day account here, a modern day history,
there's no doubt that this young girl in the story, the daughter,
would be in the intensive care unit there.
Jairus, we're told, sees Jesus and, verse 23, falls at his feet,
imploring him earnestly, saying,
My little daughter is at the point of death.
Lord, come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be well.
At the point of death.
These are the last few moments of this little girl's precious life.
You could translate what he says to Jesus there as,
Lord, she's sinking fast.
Or, she's at death's door.
It's truly a heartbreaking scene, isn't it?
A horrible, horrible thing.
This man is torn apart by what's happening.
And just imagine the room in the hospital.
The girl is unconscious.
Perhaps she's hooked up to various apparatus.
And all is quiet, apart from the regular beep of the heart monitor.
Perhaps there's one or two family there sat at the bedside.
Her favourite teddy snuggled up to her.
But this is it.
At the point of death.
A doctor comes in.
He says, you know, there is nothing more we can do.
And so dad, he faces his worst nightmare, doesn't he?
Watching his girl about to perish.
Just a desperate situation.
But how much faith is Jesus actually worth?
There is a glimmer of hope, isn't there?
As Jesus approaches.
He approaches Jesus.
And perhaps this incredible man can heal his daughter like he healed the leper or the paralytic.
Earlier in Mark's Gospel.
It's worth a shot, isn't it?
So dad implores Jesus.
He has a certain measure of faith in Jesus to be able to do something about this situation.
He offers a prayer to him.
Lord, come and lay your hands on her.
A prayer offered perhaps in desperation.
But it's no less a prayer, is it?
In that situation.
Sometimes it is true, isn't it, that we can treat Jesus a bit like the fourth emergency service.
As a sort of last resort.
When things go wrong.
We don't pray or contact him at any of the time.
Apart from when disaster hits.
But that doesn't mean, does it, that he will refuse to listen.
Just out of spite.
That doesn't mean that he will refuse to listen to us when and if disaster does come.
Sometimes that's what it takes for us to pray, isn't it?
Some desperate situation.
For us to realise that all along we were so weak.
And we relied upon God.
And this otherwise powerful and influential man could have let Jesus pass him by, couldn't he?
Maybe confident in his own position.
But as the circumstances arise, he offers Jesus this simple prayer.
This simple request.
Showing a desperate faith.
Lord, I'm powerless here.
Can't do anything.
Please come and lay your hands on her.
Now isn't it so encouraging here?
But given the terrible reception Jesus has had from the religious leaders so far,
he is willing to deal with this Jewish synagogue leader.
So you remember a few weeks ago we saw, didn't we,
the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish religious leaders
has brought the rejection by Jesus upon the old faithless Israel.
But even amongst a rejected, rebellious people,
he listens to and helps individuals who break that mould.
The mould of faithlessness in Jesus.
Those who come to him in faith and desperation.
Just a simple prayer.
Offered in great need and desperation.
You and your faith may be terribly weak.
But Jesus listens.
Even if you come from a people, if you come from a background
that has rejected Jesus.
There's always a new start.
Prayer is always open to us today.
So Jairus shows some faith, doesn't he?
He goes to Jesus on the verge of a personal tragedy,
a prayer of faith.
But just how much faith is Jesus really worth here?
Now Mark really loves putting things in sandwiches in his gospel.
He puts things out in sets of three.
So you've got the bread in the centre.
He often does that to help us to see his point.
And he does that here, doesn't he?
He stops in verses 24 to 34.
He stops the story of the ill dying daughter
with what looks like an unrelated case
of an ill woman with a long-term illness,
a bleeding problem.
There she is in verse 25.
There was a woman who'd had a discharge of blood for 12 years.
Now it just seems like here, doesn't it,
that Mark is a poor editor.
He's gone away, had a cup of coffee,
forgotten that he was talking about Jairus' daughter,
and now he's talking about this woman.
But actually this woman is here
as the filling of a sandwich,
designed to show us an exemplary faith.
In the context of the dying daughter,
this woman is an example to Jairus,
and to all of us, and to the disciples,
of how much faith Jesus is really worth.
So we've heard the prayer of faith,
but Mark secondly interrupts Jairus' story
with an exemplary faith.
Now the two incidences are put closely together
as a comparison.
So Jesus calls both the young girl
and the woman daughter.
We'll see that a bit later on.
The girl is 12 years old, we're told.
And the woman coincidentally
has had a discharge of blood for 12 years.
Both of them are, according to Levitical law,
ritually unclean in some way.
The woman from the discharge
and the girl later on as a corpse.
Both of them receive a touch from Jesus
and receive an immediate healing or resurrection.
So Mark lays these two closely together
to show us something particular.
To show us how much faith Jesus is really worth.
To show us how far we can trust in him.
Now I hope that you can see here
the chances of the woman receiving anything from Jesus
are actually much, much lower
than the synagogue ruler's chances.
So look at the comparison.
Rather than a pillar of society,
she was ostracised by others.
She would have been kept from temple worship
because of her condition.
Mark is emphatic about her condition, isn't he?
In verse 26.
She'd had this discharge for 12 years
who had suffered much under many physicians,
had spent all that she had
and was no better,
but rather grew worse.
Now although we don't know
whether this woman's condition is life-threatening,
the feeling is there, isn't it,
that her life really feels like
it isn't worth living.
It is a living torment.
Suffered much.
Many physicians.
Spent all she had.
Was no better.
Just grew worse and worse.
No answers.
No improvements.
No signs of hope.
For 12 long years.
The doctor's fees.
The dirty looks.
The isolation.
And the humiliation.
Of this particular illness.
But in the midst of this thronging crowd
around Jesus,
she manages, doesn't she,
to force her way to Jesus
and to touch his garment.
In verse 28.
28.
If I touch even his garment,
I'll be made well.
Now after that,
there is a funny moment,
isn't there?
It probably took us by surprise
as Steve read it,
where Jesus turns around
and says in verse 30,
Who touched my garments?
Now the disciples think
that this is some kind of joke,
don't they?
Come on Lord,
you see this crown
pressing around you here,
and you're asking
who touched your garments?
Ridiculous.
Jesus looks around,
doesn't he,
to see who's done it.
Now the point Mark
is trying to make there,
he's trying to show us
that this woman
was different in some way
to all the other people
who were touching Jesus.
There was something about her
that was unique.
Something that Jesus felt
that he noticed.
Her touch of his garment
was different.
Just look at verse 34
for a second.
He said to her,
Daughter,
your faith
has made you well.
Go in peace
and be healed
of your disease.
See the woman
is highlighted
because of her
exemplary faith.
The woman
who had the least chance
of getting anything
from Jesus,
who was ritually
unclean,
who has to even
violate the law
to go near Jesus,
she has no position
or status
unlike Jairus.
As a woman,
that was probably
made even worse
in those days.
She's nameless,
isn't she?
We know Jairus' name,
we don't know her name.
We only know her
as the woman
who had this
bleeding issue.
She approaches
Jesus in shame.
Notice,
she approaches
Jesus from behind.
Whereas Jairus
can come straight
to him
and fall at his feet.
You see,
the woman's faith
stretches beyond
what circumstances
for her
make possible
to the God
of the impossible
who thinks
all I have to do
is touch
his clothes.
She has
an exemplary
faith
in him.
She knows
all of the factors,
doesn't she?
That humanly
speaking mean
that nothing
can be done
for her.
She could have
easily asked
at that moment,
couldn't she,
why bother
Jesus
further?
Why bother
Jesus?
Yet,
she forces
her way
through the crowds
to him
and she
believes.
Now,
isn't it
a lovely thing
that Jesus
isn't prepared
to simply
dispatch
a healing miracle
to this woman?
She's immediately
healed,
isn't she?
But he's not
happy to just
simply dispatch
that to her.
No,
he searches
out the person
herself.
Jesus
wants her
to have
the most
important thing
which is a
personal encounter
with him.
Not just to
receive his
healing.
He searches
her out.
And you
get the sense,
don't you,
of the shame
she felt
coming to Jesus
in the first place.
Just look at
verse 33 there.
The woman
knowing what
had happened
to her
came in fear
and trembling
and fell down
before him
and told him
the whole truth.
told him
the whole truth.
She came in fear
and in trembling
and she bared
her soul
to Jesus.
The whole truth
of her situation,
her uncleanness,
the past 12 years,
shamed.
Shouldn't she
at that point
in the first place?
Shamed that she was
even there,
unclean.
Shame,
perhaps,
is the barrier
sometimes,
isn't it,
for us to put
our faith in
Jesus,
to go to him.
But she bears
all to him.
She tells him
the whole truth.
She confesses
it all.
The unclean
woman
comes clean
to Jesus.
She tells him
her whole life.
Opens the flood
boats.
And it's great,
isn't it?
It doesn't shock
Jesus.
That puts
Jesus' power
above the shame
and circumstances
in our life.
It is a faith
that knows
no limits
here.
An exemplary
faith.
And so we come
lastly,
don't we,
here,
to the lesson
that Jairus
has to learn.
How much
faith is Jesus
really worth?
Mark brings us
back to the story
of the dying girl,
doesn't he?
John's gospel
tells us that
there was a delay
here,
long enough
for the girl's
condition to
deteriorate
and eventually
for her to die.
Why bother
the teacher
anymore?
They say.
Your daughter
is dead.
It's a prayer
of faith,
an exemplary
faith,
but we close
with a lesson
in faith.
Now one writer
sums this passage
up really well
by saying that
the story
swings on the
pendulum
of human
despair
and divine
possibility.
So true,
isn't it?
What little hope
Jairus has
is surely
snatched away
here,
isn't it?
The report
comes to him
of his
daughter's
death.
But Jesus'
perspective on
the situation
is totally
different,
isn't it?
Look at verse
36,
just over the
page.
Overhearing
what they
said,
Jesus said
to the ruler
of the synagogue,
Do not
fear,
only believe.
He overhears
the message.
Do not
fear,
only believe.
Now Mark
is masterful
here in
his word
overhearing
there.
It's kind
of lost
in our
English
translation,
but in the
original Greek
it's an
interesting
word.
It can
mean several
things.
It means
to overhear
and yet
to discount
the truth
or to
ignore it,
to eavesdrop
and decide
to forget
what you've
heard.
It's to
disregard
the words
that you've
accidentally
heard.
So Jesus
hears this
report of
death,
and even
though it
may be
true,
so great
is Jesus'
power
that the
one certainty
in life,
death,
he has
the liberty
to simply
ignore.
How much
faith is
Jesus really
worth?
Jesus'
power is
so great,
he can
afford to
disregard
this report
and say,
don't fear,
only believe.
death.
And then
notice what
he says
to the
wailing
crowds
outside the
house in
verse 39.
If you look
there.
He entered,
he said to
them,
why are you
making a
commotion and
weeping?
The child is
not dead,
but asleep.
So great
is Jesus'
power that
death can
be disturbed
like an
afternoon nap.
And of
course it's
ludicrous,
isn't it,
to say such
a thing at
the graveside
at a funeral.
Why bother
the teacher
any more?
But those in
the house are
overwhelmed,
they are
overcome with
amazement.
He takes
the girl
by the
hand and
he says,
little girl
or daughter,
I say to
you,
arise.
This is no
longer the
hospital,
is it?
This is in
the morgue.
I say
to you,
arise.
And Mark
says,
immediately
she got
up and
walked.
Jesus
suspends
time with
the woman,
not instead
of Jairus,
but for
the sake
of Jairus.
Don't
fear,
only
believe.
Now Jairus
wasn't a
man with
no faith
at all,
was he?
He'd come
to Jesus
with a
prayer of
faith.
It wasn't
that he
only feared
and had
no faith,
but there
came circumstances
which put
his faith
on the
line.
And Jesus
delays,
as if to
say to
him,
yes,
even now
Jairus,
trust me.
So this
isn't about
us believing
enough so
that Jesus
will heal
us.
And if he
hasn't healed
me, then I
haven't got
enough faith.
We get in a
mix of that
sometimes,
don't we?
Now actually
it's about
believing Jesus
even when he
doesn't heal,
even when
there is a
delay,
even when
the circumstances
say to us,
why bother
the Lord
anymore?
How much
faith is
Jesus really
worth?
This isn't
just about
physical healing
either.
actually the
words used
for the
woman healed
in verse
28 and
verse 34,
you can look
at later,
can also
mean the
word to
be saved,
to be healed,
to be saved,
to be rescued
from uncleanness,
bearing the
whole truth
of our lives
to him,
and receiving
his resurrection
power,
being brought
from death
to life.
And the
lesson for
Jairus is
that when
circumstances
make it
impossible,
be like
the woman.
Be like
the woman
who trusts
Jesus,
the God
of the
impossible,
a faith
that knows
no limits.
And on
the day
of death
itself,
and even
after death,
Jesus says
to those
who trust
in him,
yes,
even now,
trust me,
let's pray.