We are in Mark and we're in chapter 5 as we continue our verse by verse exposition of the book.
We're going to begin reading today in verse 21 and read through verse 43.
So please join me there as I read.
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea.
Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying,
My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be made well and live.
And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
And there was a woman who had a discharge of blood for twelve years and who had suffered much under many physicians and had spent all that she had and was no better, rather grew worse.
She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.
For she said, If I touch even his garment, I will be made well.
And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said,
Who touched my garments?
And his disciples said to him, You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, Who touched me?
And he looked around to see who had done it.
But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease.
While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?
But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not fear, only believe.
And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John, the brother of James.
And they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
And 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.
But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.
Taking her by the hand, he said to her, Talitha Kumai, which means, Little girl, I say to you, arise.
And immediately the girl got up and began walking, for she was twelve years of age.
And they were immediately overcome with amazement.
And he strictly charged them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.
Join me in prayer.
Father, we thank you this morning for the ability to come together and meet.
And we thank you that we are your redeemed ones, your church.
We praise you this day that you have given us your word, that we might study it to know you better,
and to better know how we ought to live to exalt your name.
We thank you that you have given to us the Spirit as a helper,
that he might soften our hearts and sharpen our minds,
that we will receive the truth that you have for us this day and apply it to our very being.
And Father, it is our great prayer that as we study together,
that you will change us from one stage of glory to another,
that we will leave here looking more like Christ,
so that we can make him great amongst this world.
We pray this in his name.
Amen.
So, before we get into the details of this story,
let me just remind you a bit of the setting.
Jesus' primary ministry up to this point has been in Galilee,
would be on the north side of the nation that they're functioning in,
and he's functioned primarily out of Capernaum.
Capernaum has kind of been his home base of operations,
and that's where he's been sending out and going back and sending out and going back.
And we found him back at the beginning of chapter 4 on the side of the sea,
which is just outside of Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, on the western coast,
and he gets out into a boat because the crowd is so big that they're pressing in on him,
and he's able to speak to them from the water.
Following this, this discourse that Mark records for us,
he sets out across the Sea of Galilee, about six miles wide,
and a great storm arises.
And we get the wonderful story at the end of chapter 4
of Jesus speaking to the storm and calming it.
And then he arrives on the eastern coast,
and it's called in verse 1 of chapter 5,
of the country of the Gerasenes,
which was kind of a Gentile stronghold, so to speak,
within the primarily Israeli nation now that they're functioning in.
And so we see him then here in the Gerasenes,
and this is where he casts out the legion of demons that we saw last week.
And these people, because they were afraid of him,
and because he cast this legion of demons into a herd of pigs,
which would have brought somebody some livelihood,
and they all were driven into the sea and drowned,
asked him to leave.
So he's gotten back in the boat,
and he's crossed back over the Sea of Galilee,
crossed this six miles,
and he's landed once again on the western bank,
back outside of Capernaum,
where he did the primary amount of his ministry.
In the Gospel of Luke, when we see this story,
we actually see that a crowd had gathered and was waiting for him to return.
So as he left to go to the other side,
a crowd gathered and was waiting for him to come back onto the western shore.
And so here we see him landing and immediately encountering these two separate characters.
Before we talk about them, though,
it's also important for us to back up a little bit
and just be reminded of the meta-narrative which we all live under.
The great story would be another way of saying that word.
That is that the world is under the curse of sin.
Because of original sin,
because what Adam did in the garden,
sin has passed to all of us,
and the effects of sin have passed to all of us.
Sin runs rampant where we are,
and its effect beyond that runs rampant.
It's a wonder that we don't hate sin more as those who are delivered from it,
because it causes all of the things in this world that we consider bad.
It's why any of us are tired this morning.
It's why I've been a bit sick for the past few weeks.
It's why my little Judah burned his hand.
If you see the big scab on his hand,
that's why that happened,
and why it hurt so badly when it happened.
It's why Cade has a cough.
It's why when I woke up at 4 a.m. when he was coughing,
it was painful to wake up at 4 a.m.
It's why work is labor.
It's why we will battle weeds in our garden this year.
Every time you pull a weed, sin.
It's why families are torn apart.
It's why the word family has been redefined,
the institution itself torn down.
It's why there is so much corruption in the business and political realms.
It's why the world experiences war and famine and rampant disease.
Sin ushered into this world a great deal of decay.
It's why people die, and it's why we will one day die.
Romans 5.12 says,
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man,
and death through sin,
and so death spread to all men,
because all sinned.
So the state in which we function,
even as those who have been delivered from the bondage of sin,
who have redeemed souls and can now live to God,
we still feel the effect.
There's still a judgment on this world
for the sin that has been committed.
And we have seen now,
time and time again,
in the Gospel of Mark,
people who were suffering because of sin.
And that is what makes the good news of Jesus Christ good news.
Sin is bad news.
Jesus Christ is good news.
As He comes to usher in a new kingdom,
as He comes to heal and comes to deliver,
that's why He goes about doing all of these miracles,
to give validation to His message
and to show that He is the great healer,
the one that comes to take away sin
and to fix all of the things that sin has torn apart.
So remember, that's who we're talking about here.
That's the Jesus that we're talking about here
as we look at these two miracles
that are sandwiched together.
And you see this used as a literary form
in a number of places in the Scriptures
where things seem to be disjointed but sandwiched together.
But that's not the case here.
This is the way the actual event happened.
That God orchestrated and brought about in His providence.
There's two miracles happening at the same time
because you see that the miracle of the healing of the woman
is actually an interruption
on the task that Jesus was set about.
And they are, in this way,
juxtaposed against one another.
You've got Jairus,
who's a ruler of the synagogue,
which would have been at the very top of society.
He would have had some administrative responsibility.
He wasn't a priest,
but he would have had some administrative responsibility
in the temple.
For a modern-day example,
if you think of one of the large churches in our area,
this may have been the pastor of administration
who took care of all the back-end things
that were going on.
But imagine that that church
was the only church in our region.
And everybody knew that he was the guy
that ran the show.
He would have looked after the storehouses
or provisions for the sacrifice.
would have been highly esteemed for his position.
Whereas we see the woman,
she had an illness,
a discharge of blood,
which was some type of menstrual disorder.
And she would have been at the very bottom of society.
While Jairus is a ruler of the synagogue,
she would have been forbidden from worshiping in the synagogue
because of her condition.
If you care to read on that,
Leviticus 15, 19-33
can bring some understanding to you
about why that was the case.
She was the bottom.
She was considered unclean.
People didn't want to be around her or touch her
because if they did,
they were considered unclean
and forbidden from worship.
She was at the very bottom.
Jairus has a daughter who is sick.
She's close to death's doorstep.
She's about to die.
She's 12 years old.
And we have a woman who has had a disease for 12 years.
I don't know the connection there,
but I thought it was fascinating
that the ages were the same in that way.
So we see then these very interesting,
different characters brought together in this one story.
And so I want us to look together.
I want us to note three things about our Lord from this text.
Firstly, notice the power of Christ.
Notice number one, the power of Christ.
And we have seen this time and time again.
If you've been with us in our study in Mark,
Mark is working to,
he's trying to convince us
that we should be followers of Christ,
that Jesus is in fact the Son of God.
And he displays that over and over again
in his very comic book fashion,
very punchy style.
He gives us story after story after story
of the power of Christ.
And we see it again here.
At the end of chapter 4,
we saw some of the most amazing display of this
where he calms a storm with the words,
Peace, be still, just speaks.
And the waves and the wind obey him.
At the beginning of chapter 5,
we see this man possessed by a legion of demons.
And I don't remember the exact number,
but a legion in this day
was approximately 6,800 men.
Was it that many demons?
We don't know.
But it was such a force,
the text tells us in verse 4,
that no one had the strength to subdue him.
Right?
No one had the strength.
Mark inspired, writes this down,
because right after that,
who subdues him?
Jesus.
Right?
And at the end of chapter 5,
we see him heal a woman
that no physician could heal.
Again, look at that scathing commentary
on physicians of the day in verse 26.
Interestingly, Luke says nothing about the physicians,
as he was a physician himself.
Right?
But in verse 26, he says,
And she had suffered much under many physicians,
and had spent all that she had,
and was no better,
but grew worse.
And I don't know if Mark was cynical
of medicine of the time.
I almost said Western medicine,
but this would have actually been Eastern medicine.
or not, but clearly,
she hadn't been healed.
She had an illness that could not be healed
by these people.
And what do we see happen after that?
Jesus heals her.
Not with a word this time,
but simply with a touch.
As she sneaks up behind him,
touches the hem of his garment,
and the power that he possesses
is enough to heal him.
Now, this is not the first time
that we've seen Jesus heal by touching.
Explicitly, we see it,
summarized in Mark chapter 6, verse 56.
You can flip there if you want.
And whenever he came in villages,
cities, or countryside,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces,
and implored him that he might touch
even the fringe of his garment.
And as many as touched it were made well.
And it's more implicitly taught,
previously in Mark chapter 3, verse 10,
for he had healed many,
so that all who had diseases
pressed around him to touch him.
It was said in Jesus' day
that he rid the land of sickness.
So, as I've been studying this,
I've almost,
I've gotten to this kind of mode
where I'm like,
oh, another healing.
Alright.
What are we going to talk about this week?
We've got another healing in front of us.
But it's important to note
the degree of his power
that he healed,
and he healed,
and he healed.
He also resurrects a young girl.
This is the first time we see this
as a record in the Gospel accounts.
He resurrects a young ruler.
This daughter of the ruler of the synagogue.
And here, he simply speaks.
The English record is,
little girl,
I say to you,
arise.
She was dead,
and she came back to life.
Now, this was likely
a ruler of the synagogue,
of the very same synagogue
that he entered into
in chapter 1.
If you'd like,
you can flip back a couple of pages
in your copy of God's Word.
Beginning in verse 21.
We won't read that together,
but this story is when he enters into
the synagogue,
and a man with an unclean spirit
is afraid of him,
and he says to him,
again with his words,
verse 25,
be silent and come out of him.
And he obeys.
He has no choice but to obey
because of the power of Christ.
Jesus is and was powerful.
The world was created
through him and for him
by the power of his Word.
He now holds everything that exists
in its proper order
by the power of his Word.
Let that truth just sink into you.
I can accomplish very little
with my words.
I think I'm gifted to teach.
My gifting is smaller
than other people's gifting
to do so.
At times have been said
that I am convincing.
I can convince people
to do some things,
but that is meager.
That is little.
It is very difficult
to convince much with my words,
but Jesus,
by the power of his Word,
does everything.
Nothing holds together
that is apart from him.
You've heard me say before
if you've been here long
that I am held in the shape of me
by the power of Jesus' Word.
That if Jesus were to stop,
if he were to say no more,
all of us would just burst
into a billion atoms.
What holds me in this shape?
Right?
It's the power of Jesus' Word.
It's phenomenal.
But,
as we've seen all these
wonderful examples
of the way in which Jesus
has expressed his power
in the world,
there was no greater display
than in the display
of his power on the cross
when he humbled himself
and was beaten beyond recognition
but hung there for our sake
and bore the wrath of God
that we might have
the redemption of our souls
in him.
That act was all-powerful.
It was perfect in its power
to forgive the sins
of those who would
and will believe in him.
Incredible.
The fact that Jesus said
on the cross,
it is finished,
needs to mean something
for our lives.
He accomplished the work.
It is done.
It has the power
for the salvation of my soul
and now the sanctification of it.
And you're not a believer today,
it has the power
for the salvation of your soul
as well.
Just believe
that it has that power.
Now for us,
we are not granted
the same power,
the same degree,
although we have been
given power
and particularly,
we've been given power,
a tool in our hands
to use
and that is the gospel.
We get to be part
of God's work
in bringing about change
in this world
by the power
of the gospel.
Remember in Mark 1.1,
Mark says,
the beginning of the gospel
of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God.
All that Jesus was
and is
and will be
is part of this good news
of who Christ is.
His person and His work.
You hear me say that
consistently and constantly.
His person and His work.
Paul understood this
in Romans 1.16,
the first part of it.
For I am not ashamed
of the gospel.
Why?
I'm not ashamed of the gospel
as I present myself
to this dark world,
to this fallen place,
this place infected by sin.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel
for it is the power of God
for salvation
to everyone who believes.
We have been given
power in the sense
that we are tools
in the hands of the Almighty,
that we might propagate
the truth of Him everywhere.
As we behold
the power of Christ,
we should remember
that He came primarily
to seek and to save
the lost.
The way in which
He presents miracles
are simply
so that people would
stop and listen
that His message
might be validated.
And this is the message,
the same message
that we now have,
that we've been entrusted with,
that we might spread
the good news of Him
everywhere.
Secondly,
I would like for you
to notice
the compassion
of Christ.
Notice the compassion
of Christ.
This is also
not the first time
that we have seen
this to be true.
Previously,
in the Gospel of Mark,
one of my favorite
examples of this,
chapter 1,
verse 40-45,
we see a man
with leprosy
who has to live
in desolate places
because of his condition.
He was ordered.
People would have
nothing to do with him.
He had to stay
outside of town
because none of them
wanted to contract
this horrible disease.
He was forced
to be outside
of community,
forced to be alone.
And Jesus
has compassion on him.
He heals him.
And because He heals him,
Jesus is forced
to go out
to desolate places.
He trades places
with Him
in the same way
that He traded places
with us on the cross.
He takes the shame.
He takes the burden.
And He goes and dwells
in desolate places.
Great display
of compassion.
And then my next favorite
is chapter 5.
This man who's stricken
with demons
who's,
in other gospel accounts,
we see that he's naked,
that he's crying out
in the wilderness,
that he's cutting himself
with stones.
And Jesus lands
on the shore
and the very first thing
He does
is sees a man
who desperately
needs to be delivered.
And He does so.
The account we get
is that the man
wants to go with Him.
Of course,
he would want to go with
Jesus who had delivered
Him in this way.
And Jesus leaves Him behind
and tells Him to go
and tell all the Lord
has done for Him
and how He has had mercy
on Him.
Jesus is God.
We've seen this
over and over again.
We see that displayed
in the power of God.
But we also see that
displayed in the compassion.
Psalm 103.13
records,
as a father shows compassion
to his children,
so the Lord,
Yahweh in the Hebrew,
God Almighty,
shows compassion
to those who fear Him.
And here we see that
so clearly expressed
in the person
of Jesus Christ.
Note how he even
intercedes
in the potential trouble
that Jairus may have
encountered
at the delivery
of the news
that his daughter
has gone ahead
and passed.
There's this interruption
on the way.
This interruption
that slows Jesus down.
He stops to talk
to this woman
that has pressed in
and has touched
his garment.
And he takes the time
to overhear the news
and to say to Jairus,
do not fear,
only believe.
Do not fear,
only believe.
Remember the faith
that caused you
to come and find me.
To fall at my feet
and ask that I would come
and heal your daughter.
Remember that faith.
Do not fear,
only believe.
And he goes on with him
to the house.
Phenomenal expression
of that kind of compassion.
Now for us,
we are called
in the same way
to have compassion.
Look again
at another example
of Jesus
and His compassion.
Matthew 9.
Please turn there.
Matthew 9,
verse 35.
And here we see Jesus
and His compassionate character
turning that outward
to those who would be
His disciples.
So as He's compassionate,
He's now asking them
to be compassionate.
Verse 35,
And Jesus went throughout
all the cities and villages
teaching in their synagogues
and proclaiming the gospel
of the kingdom
and healing every disease
and every affliction.
Boy, I love that.
Every.
So good.
Verse 36,
When He saw the crowds,
He had compassion for them
because they were harassed
and helpless
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then He said to His disciples
and He says to us
this morning,
The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray earnestly
to the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers
into His harvest
to send out those
that would have compassion
the way in which
Jesus had compassion.
Do you look at the world
in that way?
Do you look out at people
who are harassed
and helpless by sin?
That are held in bondage to it?
And having the keys
to unlock
the shackles that hold them
in that place,
do you have compassion on them?
Do you go to seek
to deliver them
from the place
that they're in?
I think far too often
the answer to that is no.
If we're honest with ourselves,
the answer to that is no.
And as disciples of Christ,
we ought to be compassionate
the way He was.
The writer of Hebrews,
in his drive
to keep the Hebrew believers
devoted to Christ
and to His ways,
reminded them of a time
that they were compassionate,
reminded them of a time
that that was
a better choice.
Hebrews chapter 10,
verse 32.
And I would ask you
to join me there,
although I may start
off ahead of you.
So Hebrews 10,
verse 32.
The writer of Hebrews says,
But recall the former days.
Back when,
after you were enlightened,
when you had become a believer,
you endured a hard struggle
with sufferings.
Sometimes being publicly exposed
to reproach and affliction,
and sometimes being partners
with those so treated.
So sometimes you were afflicted
and persecuted,
and sometimes you partnered
with those.
And here's the example,
verse 34.
For you had compassion
on those in prison.
And this day,
if you didn't have somebody
to come and care for you
in prison,
they didn't care for you.
There was not cable TV
and three meals a day.
This didn't happen.
They threw you in a cell,
and they permitted family members
or friends to come
and bring food.
That was it.
That's what you got.
For you had compassion
on those in prison,
and you joyfully accepted
the plundering
of your property.
So as they're going
to help the Christians
who are in prison
for their faith,
they're automatically
identifying themselves.
They're going to take food,
they're going to take provision,
and they're saying,
we love these people.
These are our people.
And therefore,
they're identifying themselves
as Christians,
and they joyfully,
it's a phenomenal thing,
it's a strange thing,
it's a set apart
from the world thing
to see that they joyfully
accepted the plundering
of their property.
They had compassion
that drove them
to not even care.
To not care
that their property
was plundered,
that their things
were stolen,
that graffiti was written
on their walls.
Why?
Since you knew
that you yourselves
had a better possession
and an abiding one,
one that couldn't
be taken away.
What is he talking about?
He's talking about Christ.
They had a better possession.
Jesus Christ.
Beloved,
why do we hold on
to things
that are lesser
when we can have greater?
It's a simple trade.
Such an easy decision to make.
If we can gain more of Christ,
why would we not give
all that we have
and all that we are
to have compassion
for those
who are in the shackles
of sin
that we might gain
more of Him?
Yesterday morning,
I spent some time
with Gary Bailey.
We went and got some breakfast
and visited a friend of his
who gave me some books
from his library.
And on our way back,
I saw a big 15-passenger van
with D-Now written
on the back of it.
If you guys don't know,
that's Disciple Now.
And there's a church
in the area
having a Disciple Now
this weekend.
So I just kind of mused at it.
I remember some
Disciple Now days.
They're probably headed
to recreation
on a Saturday morning
to go be crazy
and have a lot of fun together,
which is good.
Out in front of that,
I could see
a bright green Dodge Viper,
which is a six-figure vehicle
if you don't know that.
It's a $100,000 vehicle.
And as Gary passed the Viper,
which now that I think about it,
it's kind of ironic
in the Toyota,
D-Now was also written
on the Viper as well.
And it broke my heart
for the man driving it
because he's been misled.
His own heart
has deceived him
to think that
there's greater joy
found in that car
than what he could do with it,
what he could do
with the money that it took
to purchase
a two-seater,
six-figure vehicle
to gain more of Christ.
Wasn't mad at him
for what he could have done
with the money.
Wasn't jealous
that he had the money
to buy a vehicle like that,
but sad for him
because it means something
about what he believes
about who Jesus is.
He doesn't believe
that Jesus is more precious,
that he's more valuable.
And how is it
that we serve him?
We serve the least
of these, right?
What could he do
that would gain more for him,
that would put up
treasure in heaven for him,
that would help
have him experience
in greater degree
what it is God is doing
and accomplishing
in this world?
Because I can tell you
the little snot-nosed kid
riding with him
was not the kind of joy
that he wants to bring
into the world.
Like, he was having fun,
I'm sure.
But ultimately,
why does God
give us gifts
that we might
know him better
and enjoy him more?
Let's talk about
a couple examples
of compassion.
Tomorrow, St. Patrick's Day.
Most of you
may be aware of that.
It's a very bizarre holiday
that we celebrate
in the U.S.
In very bizarre ways.
I actually heard somebody
on TV this week say
that it's the only holiday
that what it's celebrating
is drinking beer.
Wow!
It got perverted
that far away
from the life
of the man
called Patrick
that we know
as St. Patrick.
You know, Patrick's
not from Ireland.
He's actually
from Britain.
Wales, Scotland area
more than likely
was some sort
of British aristocracy.
At the age of 16
he was kidnapped
by a band
of Irish marauders
and they came
and they kidnapped him
and they took him
back to Ireland
where he served
as a slave
for six years.
Six years
in servitude
as a slave
and had a dream
that God told him
that it was time
to get out of the country
and he took off
towards the east coast
and a ship
just happened
to be sailing by
right when he hit the coast.
He got on it
and it took him
back home.
As he returned home
though
as a believer
in Christ
he had
picked up
the religion
of his parents
while he was
in slavery.
He found a great deal
of comfort
in the promises
of God
while he was there
and as he returned
to his homeland
as a believer
in Christ
he had this
compassionate heart
worked in him
for the Irish.
The very ones
the brutes
that had enslaved him
for those six years
and he spent
twelve years
he studied
to become a priest
he returned
to Ireland
at the age of 34
as a missionary
where he remained
the majority
of his life.
he spent 40 years
evangelizing
the Irish.
This is
not a normal
thing to do.
This is not
the actions
of a normal
man.
Praise God
that Jesus
makes us
extraordinary.
That he works
in us
his heart
and doesn't
leave us
with our old
dead
vindictive
hearts.
On the world's terms
he had
no reason
to return.
Didn't owe them
anything.
In fact if he owed
him anything at all
it was vengeance
of some sort.
He was some sort
of aristocracy.
He could have
raised up an army
and gone back
to Ireland.
But instead he goes
back and he raises
up a different
kind of army.
He raises up
a band of believers
and he would take
them with them
to the next village
and he would leave
behind the mature
to continue to
evangelize
and to start a church
and he would take
with him two new
believers and they
would go to the
next place and go
to the next place
and go to the next
place and brought
about a great deal
of devotion to God
in his time
there.
The opposite
of Patrick
we've got a good
biblical example
of that.
I remember the
story of Jonah
I alluded to it
last week.
God says to Jonah
the very beginning
of the book of
Jonah he comes to
him and he tells
him that he's to
go to Nineveh
and to preach
repentance
and Jonah says
no I'm not
I'm going the
opposite direction
I'm heading out
across the
Mediterranean
I'm going to
a place called
Tarshish
I'm getting as
far away from
Nineveh as I
possibly can
and we all know
what happened to him
thrown overboard
swallowed by a
large fish
spit back out
on shore
the reason he
didn't want to
go to Nineveh
is because it
was the Syrian
capital
the Syrians
were horrible
horrible people
they had a great
deal of damage
to the Israelites
they were their
enemies
right
one of Israel's
most cruel
enemies
nothing compared
to the Babylonians
they were
horrific in the
way in which
they conquered
skinned people
alive just as
an example
horrible people
this is the
capital city
of that
and Jonah
had no
compassion
for them
no compassion
whatsoever
yet God
did
and used
Jonah
to accomplish
this
look what
Jonah says
in chapter 4
verse 1 and 2
but it displeased
Jonah exceedingly
except for the city
in a massive way
turns to God
and he was angry
and he prayed
to the Lord
and said
oh Lord
is not this
what I said
when I was yet
in my country
that is why
I made haste
to flee
to Tarshish
for I knew
that you are
a gracious God
and merciful
slow to anger
and abounding
in steadfast love
and relenting
from disaster
Jonah knew
that God's character
was compassionate
Jonah knew
that if he went
and preached
God would have
compassion
on these people
and that's why
he ran away
a bad example
praise God
that he was obedient
in the end
and God accomplished
his work
apart from him
we can learn
from Jonah
while God
snatched Jonah
up by the back
of the neck
and sent him
where he was
supposed to go
I would like
to serve the Lord
with gladness
and joy
and appreciate
the things
that he leads me
into
and I get to
participate in
not to do it
begrudgingly
or to have God
use someone else
to accomplish
his work
God intended
to save
the souls
of people
in Nineveh
and he was
going to get
it done
one way
or another
this would be
paramount
for us
on 9-12
oh gosh
I forget the year
was it 2001
9-11 happened
okay
thank you
on 9-12
of you saying
I have a
compassionate heart
for Muslims
and the Taliban
and I want to
go to the place
where they are
headquartered
and share
the good news
of Jesus Christ
with them
this would be
similar
this is what
St. Patrick did
it took him
some time
to go back
this is what
Jonah did
begrudgingly
but it is in fact
what he did
this would be
the same
do we have
compassionate
hearts
do we recognize
that Jesus
came into this
world to seek
and to save
the lost
people who are
shackled by sin
people who
we ought not
expect them
to act any
other way
than sinfully
this is a great
example for our
church
of the
whetstones
who are
currently serving
in Central
Asia
and they're
serving a
people
that as
Americans
we ought not
be compassionate
towards
in the world's
terms
but because
they have the
hearts of
Christ
and they
see that
they need
to be
delivered
from their
sin
they're going
they're pursuing
they're learning
the language
so that they
might bring
the gospel
the good news
of the kingdom
to these people
so notice
the compassion
of Christ
thirdly
notice
the reach
of Christ
notice
the reach
of Christ
as we
look through
the gospel
of Mark
we are going
to continue
to see
that he
was
always
available
to
everyone
Jesus
in all
respects
could have
removed
himself
he could
have
set up
camp
in one
of the
synagogues
he could
have
taught
from a
lofty
place
he could
have
removed
himself
from the
people
but he
was always
with
the
people
in fact
they're
pressing
in on
him
constantly
in
occasions
where
he
can't
eat
in an
occasion
where he
had to
actually
get
into
a
boat
because
I
would
imagine
he
would
have
ended
up
standing
in
the
water
because
people
would
have
just
continued
to
press
in
around
him
just
as a
man
and as
he
was
a
man
I
imagine
that
had
to
be
taxing
was
trying
to
him
that
constantly
massive
crowds
gathered
around
him
and
not
all
these
people
as
we've
discussed
gather
around
him
for
genuine
!
they
wanted
to
see
the
show
they
wanted
to
see
what
new
amazing
thing
was
going
to
happen
that
was
going
to
be
performed
by
this
person
Jesus
hungry
and
tired
constantly
available
to
everyone
and not
only
were
these
people
trying
to
him
physically
but
remember
that
these
people
were
enemies
of
God
these
people
were
sinners
these
people
with
their
lives
had
rejected
the
ways
of
God
and
these
people
had
been
given
the
ways
of
God
in
a
very
special
way
they
had
been
given
the
law
they
had
the
prophets
and
so
they
were
enemies
of
God
and
therefore
enemies
of
Christ
and
here
we
see
him
compassionately
making
himself
always
available
to
everyone
that
is
the
importance
of
this
shocking
interruption
as
one of
the
rulers
of
the
synagogue
comes
to
him
and
asks
him
to
come
and
visit
his
home
to
heal
his
daughter
and
there
is
an
interruption
by
a
woman
who
is
considered
unclean
who
is
at
the
very
bottom
of
society
but
he
stops
and
he
visits
with
her
and
he
speaks
to
her
and
he
says
to
her
your
faith
has
made
you
well
people
their
jaws
would
have
dropped
in
this
culture
us
we
read
right
past
it
no
big
deal
but
this
would
have
been
a
shock
to
them
that
you
would
take
the
time
me
and
Barack
Obama
are
visiting
together
we're
hanging
out
and
a
homeless
guy
on
the
street
stops
me
and
asks
for
something
and
I
go
yeah
you
hang
on
and
I
go
over
and
I
visit
with
the
homeless
man
for
a
while
this
is
what
would
have
happened
everybody
around
would
go
what
are
you
doing
right
he's
the
president
maybe
not
all
of us
in
this
room
or
social
status
the
only
distinction
that
was
made
was
that
of
faith
notice
verse
34
and he
said
to her
daughter
your
faith
has
made
you
well
go
in
peace
and
be
healed
of
your
disease
and
then
in
verse
36
and
we
mentioned
before
he
says
reminds
Jairus
of the
faith
that
he
had
remember
that
he
came
and
he
fell
at
his
feet
he
knew
!
he
had
the
!
to
heal
his
daughter
do
not
fear
only
believe
there
is
the
distinction
there
is
the
distinction
for
us
today
that
we
might
have
faith
and
believe
there's
instruction
Paul
gives
to
Timothy
in
1
Timothy
chapter
2
verses
1
through
4
and
this
is
a
very
commonly
misused
text
in
all
kinds
of
directions
let me
tell you
what
it
means
and
how
it
applies
here
as
we
notice
the
reach
of
Christ
beginning
in
verse 1
first of
all
then
I
urge
that
supplications
prayers
intercessions
and
thanksgivings
be made
for all
people
for kings
and all
who are
in high
positions
that we
may lead
a peaceful
and quiet
life
godly
and dignified
in every
way
this is
good
and it
is
pleasing
in the
sight
of
God
our
Savior
who
desires
all
people
to be
saved
and to
come
to
the
knowledge
of
the
truth
now
this
text
is
used
to
justify
all
sorts
of
belief
systems
about
God's
purposes
in
salvation
I want to
say to
you
that
if we
read it
very
plainly
verse 4
desires
all people
to be
saved
if God
desires
something
to pass
it will
in fact
pass
and so
with some
consistent
logic
you have
men like
Rob Bell
writing books
like Love
Wind
saying that
he has a
universalist
belief
that all
people will
in fact
one day
be saved
because
here it
says
it
in
1
Timothy
2
verse 4
but back
up a little
bit
context
has to
inform us
here
back in
verse 1
he says
that I
urge
supplications
prayers
intercessions
and thanks
to be
made
for
all
people
and
specifically
for
kings
and those
in high
positions
because
as
Paul
is
writing
to
Timothy
and he
knows
that
the
church
of
God
is
typically
made
up
of
ragamuffins
of
people who
are a
mess
people who
are
poor
people who
are
distraught
those are
the people
that typically
are more
ready to
turn to
God
we see
Jesus
teach that
it's
harder for
a rich
man
to enter
into
heaven
than it
is for
a camel
to go
through
the eye
of a
needle
because
they trust
in their
riches
they don't
need
God
in their
own
thinking
so these
people
would have
been
downcast
and kings
didn't serve
their good
in any way
whatsoever
kings would
have been
the enemy
kings would
have been
those people
those who
were ruling
over them
that they
hated
because they
were the
ones that
were bringing
the oppression
on them
as they're
learning to
have
compassionate
hearts
they need
to be
encouraged
and Paul
is instructing
Timothy
to instruct
them
that God
has purposes
for all
kinds
of people
that God
intends to
save both
those who
are poor
and those
who are
rich
that he's
going to
heal
the woman
who is
at the
bottom
of the
social
status
and he's
going to
go and
visit the
home
of the
man
who's
at the
top
of social
status
and bring
his daughter
back to
life
that we
ought to
not define
for God
who it
is that
he should
and shouldn't
save
this is what
Jonah did
with the
Ninevites
I knew you'd
save him
if I went
and preached
the gospel
to him
the good
news of
God
to them
it's not
our place
to do
that
but rather
we're to
seek
God's
purposes
we're to
seek
who it
is that
God
intends
to work
in the
hearts
of
and to
save
and to
bring
to
faith
beloved
Jesus'
work on
the cross
was all
powerful
it
accomplished
exactly
what it
intended
to
accomplish
and that
was the
redemption
of the
church
we just
don't know
who that
is
right
a vast
countless
number
a multitude
is the
wonderful
word
used
in our
English
translation
of the
Greek
test
a multitude
of people
will be
in eternity
praising God
forever
and ever
and so
it's our
task to
get out
there and
to preach
the truth
to anyone
and everyone
who will
hear it or
really doesn't
want to
right
to preach
the truth
to them
because it
is the
power of
God
to salvation
in Acts
chapter 1
verse 8
Jesus has
appeared to
his disciples
after his
resurrection
this is kind of a
restating of the
great commission
but you will
receive power when
the Holy Spirit
has come upon
you and you
will be my
witnesses in
Jerusalem and
in all Judea
and Samaria
and to the
end of the
earth
if you are
to be my
disciples
what he's
saying
you will
make disciples
and you're
going to
make disciples
in your
city
and in
your region
and in
the neighboring
regions
and all the
way to the
end
of the
earth
so as we
are called
as believers
to look
like Christ
we must
remember
his power
his compassion
and his
reach
let's pray
together