KEY TEXT
Mark 5:21-43 (RSV)
21 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. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja′irus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet, 23 and besought him, 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.” 24 And he went with him.And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well.” 29 And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 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?” 36 But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 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. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Tal′itha cu′mi”; which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
INTRODUCTION
- The Blindfold Game
We have reason to be CAUTIOUS.
Why?
Because we are BLIND – BLIND TO WHAT IS AHEAD OF US; BLIND TO THE FUTURE.
The common reaction to this blindness is FEAR.
(2) Key Text Summary
(3) TITLE
“DO NOT FEAR, ONLY BELIEVE!”
Outline:
- Our one common limitation
- Our one common emotion
- Our one common need
- Our one urgent solution
MAIN POINTS
- OUR ONE COMMON LIMITATION
Our one common limitation as human is UNCERTAINTY.
We cannot see our future; we don’t know what our future is.
We will complain about how scary it is to walk where we can’t see.
And we will often take timid steps so we won’t fall.
We have reason to be CAUTIOUS.
We are blind. Blind to the future.
It is one common LIMITATION all humans share.
- The wealthy are just as blind as the poor.
- The educated are just as sightless as the unschooled.
- And the famous know as little about the future as the unknown.
We are UNIVERSALLY, ABSOLUTELY, UNALTERABLY BLIND.
We are all, with our eyes shut, groping through a dark room for a familiar voice – but with one difference.
The surroundings of the blindfolded guy in the game are familiar and friendly.
Ours can be hostile and fatal.
Our worst fear is more threatening – cancer, divorce, loneliness, death.
And try as we might to walk as straight as we can, chances are a toe is going to get stubbed and we are going to get hurt.
Jairus is a man who has tried to walk as straight as he can.
But Jairus is a man whose path has taken a sudden turn into a CAVE – A DARK CAVE.
And he does not want to enter it alone.
Jairus is a leader of the synagogue.
The synagogue was the center of religion, education, leadership and social activity.
Jairus has it all.
Who could ask for more?
Yet Jairus does.
In fact, he would trade the whole package or perks and privileges for just one assurance – that his daughter would live.
So here you can see that even if you have all of life’s perks and privileges, they still cannot guarantee a future of wellness.
- OUR ONE COMMON EMOTION
Our one common emotion is FEAR.
Because we do not know our future, we try to control our own life.
And when we cannot control it, like Jairus, unable to make his daughter well again, we become anxious and fearful.
Every human being is subject to emotions.
God created us with feelings of emotions that can cause one to feel happy, sad, glad, fearful or worrisome.
Being afraid or fearful, especially of the unknown or unseen is an obstacle that has and still is today gripping the hearts and minds of many people.
As humans, it is in our nature to WANT TO BE IN CONTROL AND HAVE ASSURANCE IMMEDIATELY IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES ALL THE TIME.
We want to see and know how things will work out right at that moment but life does not always offer us that opportunity in every circumstance in life.
And so the one common emotion we as human always manifest is FEAR.
Whether you care to admit it or not – there is this constantBATTLE WITHIN US – FEAR AGAINST FAITH.
Paul Tripp wrote:
“Our hearts are constantly torn between fear and faith. It’s the bipolar nature of every Christian who still has sin inside of them, no matter how long we have walked with the Lord or how many feats we have seen our God accomplish.
Maybe you can relate to some of these:
- We are afraid that we won’t be able to pay our bills, so we don’t give joyfully and liberally to God’s kingdom.
- We’re afraid of what our neighbors, co-workers or family members will think, so we don’t share our faith as vocally as we should.
- We’re afraid that we will be rejected, so we don’t lovingly confront a brother or sister in Christ when we need to.
- We’re afraid of looking stupid, so at Bible Study or small group, we don’t ask questions that have been plaguing our faith.
- We’re afraid of failure, so we don’t attempt to make the most of the gifts that God has given us.
- We’re afraid to leave the comforts of our predictable lives, so we don’t step out into that ministry opportunity.
- We’re afraid of what people will think if they really get to know us, so we find it more comfortable to hide rather than be open and vulnerable.
Faith collides with fear in our hearts more than we tend to think it does.
Our CONFESSIONAL THEOLOGYdoesn’t always match our FUNCTIONAL THEOLOGY.
Much of what we do is propelled by FEAR, and NOTmotivated by a sure and a restful faith in the presence, power and promises of the Lord.”
- OUR ONE COMMON NEED
In the midst of our fears, we have one common need – FAITH.
Fearful that his daughter will die soon, Jairus seeks Jesus out for help.
Let’s study the faith that Jairus exercises.
- OUR FAITH IS REQUIRED FOR GOD TO WORK
21 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. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja′irus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet,
In Jesus’ ministry, FAITH IS A CONDUIT THAT ALLOWS THE POWER OF GOD TO ACT.
Miracles, impelled by faith in Jesus’ ministry, are meant to identify Him as a representative of God.
They alert the people to the fact that His teachings are from God and to be heeded.
Jesus has been performing many miracles.
Jairus must have heard about the great things Jesus has done.
In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus controlled a fierce storm and in Mark 5:1-13, Jesus expelled a legion of demons.
Jairus must have heard of the miraculous power of Jesus and he has faith that He can heal his daughter.
Therefore, when Jesus arrives at the other side of the Sea of Galilee, Jairus goes to see Jesus, having this faith that Jesus can do something about this impossible situation.
- OUR FAITH REQUIRES HUMILITY
22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja′irus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet,
23 and besought him, 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.” 24 And he went with him.
The Jairus we see in this story is not the clear-sighted, black-frocked, nicely groomed civic leader.
He is instead a BLIND MAN BEGGING FOR A GIFT.
He fell at Jesus’ feet, “saying again and again, ‘My daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and live.’” (Mark 5:23 NIV)
He does not barter with Jesus. He just PLEADS.
Application: There are times in life when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you are asking to receive. Jairus is at such a point. What could a man offer in exchange for his child’s life? So there are no games. No haggling. No masquerades. The situation is starkly simple: JAIRUS IS BLIND TO THE FUTURE AND JESUS KNOWS THE FUTURE.
So Jairus asks for His help HUMBLY.
- OUR FAITH HAS TO BE POINTED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Hebrew 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please Him. for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who seek Him.
At this point of Jairus’ encounter with Jesus, he believes that Jesus is a great prophet.
But it is not enough.
Jesus demands a true and living faith, a faith manifested in deeds of love, and by acknowledgement of the ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY OF CHRIST IN OUR LIVES.
Jesus is more than a prophet; more than a good Teacher.
And our faith must be directed to Jesus not as a prophet or a teacher but as THE SON OF GOD
- OUR FAITH PERSEVERES
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, “Who touched my garments?”
32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
After Jairus pleads with Jesus, Jesus, who loves the honest and humble heart goes to his house to heal his daughter.
And a massive crowd follows closely after him.
On his way to Jairus’ house, Jesus is interrupted by a woman who has an issue of blood for twelve long years.
The events surrounding Jairus’ daughter make this clear: IF ANYONE HAS TO BE HELPED IMMEDIATELY, IT OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN JAIRUS. HIS DAUGHTER IS AT A POINT OF DEATH.
And he is a ruler of the synagogue, one who has the charge of the regular service of worship and all its related administrative duties.
He obviously is a figure held in honor among the people and one for whom people move out of the way.
But Jesus deliberately appears to RELEGATE HIM AND HIS CONCERNS TO A SECONDARY PLACE.
That Jairus’ daughter is on the point of death does not make Him rush without delay to Jairus home.
For as He proceeds to go towards Jairus’ home, the woman with an issue of blood comes forward and the Lord takes time to heal her and speak with her.
She comes before Jairus.
And Jairus must wait for her, even though for him every second is crucial.
We can feel his anxiety and yet may notice that HE PERSEVERES.
- OUR FAITH WILL BE TESTED TO ITS LIMIT
35 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?”
It’s precisely when the report comes through that his daughter has died and that because of His own delays, Jesus is too late to help, that Jairus’ faith is tested to its limits.
To believe that Jesus could heal – that was one thing; to believe that Jesus could raise the dead was quite another.
For precisely the power to raise the dead DISTINGUISHES JESUS FROM ALL PROPHETS AND TEACHERS THAT APPEARED BEFORE HIM.
Now Jairus is faced with the call to believe that Jesus is more than just a special prophet.
HE MUST SEE HIM AS THE SON OF GOD!
So Jesus says to Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe.” (verse 36)
Literally, He says, “Hold on to your faith; keep on believing”.
In Luke’s account of the same event, Jesus uses a word which says, “Now begin to truly believe!”
And we may be sure that Jesus wants to include both aspects of the word “believe” in His call to Jairus.
Jairus must keep trusting in the one who he believes could heal His daughter.
He must also start all over and believe in Him not only as the one who canheal her, but more especially bring her back from the dead!
Here faith is tested to its limits, just as the Lord often did.
In his delays and in what He temporarily withholds, the Lord tests His people.
So He tested them in the wilderness, as Moses says, “that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
The Lord Jesus also wants to measure the strength and endurance of Jairus’ faith.
And Jairus does believe.
At the critical moment, he humbles himself even more, acknowledging that life and death were in Jesus’ hands.
He manifests a living faith.
FOR FAITH TESTED IS A WORKING AND LIVING FAITH, A FAITH SUPPLEMENTED BY LIVING DEEDS.
To be sure, he could have thrown up his hands in disgust and despair. But he trusted in Him who raises the dead.
And so his daughter was saved, as Luke’s account makes clear.
For there, Jesus says, “Only believe and she will be well.”
Jairus’ faith does not bring her back but it is certainly instrumental in his daughter being brought back by Christ’s power.
- OUR FAITH REQUIRES SHUTTING OUT THE NEGATIVE
Having healed the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus makes His way to Jairus’ house and a messenger comes with this bad news:“Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (verse 35).
NIV -There is no need to bother the teacher anymore.
Here is where the story gets moving.
Jesus goes from being led to leading, from being convinced by Jairus to convincing Jairus that He is the Son of God.
From being admired to being laughed at; from helping out the people to casting out the people.
Here is where Jesus takes control.
Verse 36 (RSV) -But ignoring what they said.
Verse 36 (NIV) -But Jesus paid no attention to what they said.
This verse is very powerful. It describes the critical principle for SEEING THE UNSEEN – IGNORE WHAT PEOPLE SAY.
- Block them out.
- Turn them off.
- Close your ears
- Walk away.
- Ignore the ones who say it is too late to start over.
- Disregard those who say you’ll never amount to anything.
- Turn a deaf ear toward those who say that you aren’t smart enough, fast enough, tall enough or big enough ignore them.
Faith sometime begins by stuffing your ears with cotton
Jesus turns immediately to Jairus and pleads:
“Do not fear. Only believe.”
(Mark 5:36)
Jesus compels Jairus to see the unseen.
When Jesus says, “Only believe,” He is imploring…
- Don’t limit your possibilities to the visible.
- Don’t listen only for the audible.
- Don’t be controlled by the logical.
- Believe there is more to life than meets the eye!”
- Trust me,Don’t be afraid, just trust.”
38 When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 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. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Tal′itha cu′mi”; which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Here, Jesus puts the “scoffers” out as he raises the girl from the dead.
These scoffers have “laughed” at Jesus (verse 40) to the point of scorning Him.
The Greek translates it as “laughed Him to scorn.”
What Jesus does is a miracle and it points to the one person that can do such a thing is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Only the Son of God has power over death.
Those that believe in Him are told that they also have this same immunity to death through Him.
He has told Jairus just to believe and the permanence of death is no longer something to fear.
He shows the disciples that He is the king of Kings and can raise the dead at His command.
They are also called to believe through witnessing this miracle firsthand.
Yet there are those that have been sent outside because they do not believe.
Jesus has been sent for all but those who do not believe will be left outside.
They are the scoffers that laughed at Jesus and His assertion that death is not permanent.
Application: These scoffers are all around us today They are in our government; in our schools; in our TV; in the social media. These scoffers are entering the psyche of our society and with it the church itself. With this constant bombardment, is it any wonder our faith sometimes slips?
These scoffers laughed Jesus to scorn at Jairus’ house; they laughed Him to scorn at the cross and they still laugh Him to scorn in the world today.
Yet in each of these contexts Jesus gives us miracles, replacing death with life.
The daughter arises from the deathbed.
Jesus arises from His tomb and He is still risen in the world today.
Who has the last laugh but “He that sits in heaven.”
The raising of Jairus’ daughter is a microcosmof the Ultimate Miracle and foreshadows this with the words, “Little girl, I say to you, arise” echoing, “He is risen; He is not here.”
He overcomes death in our world today.
He allows those that scoff to be lost but saves those that believe on Him.
Application:In life and especially in time of desperation we have to trust God like never before. We also have to SHUT OUT the outside voices of others. Turn them off and get in tune with the Spirit of God through the Word of God concerning our situation. If not, DOUBT along with our emotions of FEAR will take us on an unexpected, fearful, painful and unnecessary ride in our minds.
When Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house, he puts OUT all the nosy onlookers.
HE SHUTS THEM OUT.
He calls Jairus into AGREEMENT BY FAITH AND PERFORMS A MIRACLE IN BRINGING HIS DAUGHTER BACK TO LIFE.
Do not fear. Only believe.
- OUR ONE URGENT SOLUTION -THE GOSPEL
The call to Jairus is still the call given to every true believer today.
Jairus has to keep denying himself and keep following a Heavenly Master.
It is the same for us, who have a Master who speaks from Heaven.
Only we have more living proofs of His victory over the grave and His power to raise the dead.
Thus we seek Christ where He speaks and where He seals a true and living union with His broken body and shed blood through His Spirit by faith, through the instituted means of the Word and sacrament.
And just as Jairus, we are to let everything go for the sake of lasting fellowship with Him.
For the call to Jairus makes one thing clear: FAITH DOES NOT REST IN WORDS BUT INCLUDES AND CULMINATES IN FELLOWSHIP WITH THE PERSON OF THE SAVIOR.
And it tells us that by resting in the fellowship with Him, we inherit the life that never ends.
So let us through every test of faith, ONLY BELIEVE.
Then faith will prove victorious in the power of His Spirit.
How is your GOSPEL FLUENCYconcerning your fear?
How does the gospel speak to your FEAR?
The gospel speaks to every situation we will ever face.
The good news of the story of God is – in the beginning, everything starts with chaos and darkness and there is really nothing and God brings to nothing something.
He speaks into the darkness light; He takes the chaos and brings order.
And even in the few chapters down, we see Adam and Eve sin and ruin everything.
There is chaos again, darkness and loss. There is a lot of fear.
The good news about the way God made us is that He made us to FEEL FEAR when we are out of control.
We are made to feel fear when the situation is bigger than we can handle.
We are made to feel fear when the situation makesus realize we need help, protection and shelter.
The good news of the gospel is Jesus came to speak to our fear and bring help when we are out of control.
He brings protection when we are in danger.
He brings shelter when things or people are coming at us that we need protection from.
BE HONEST WITH OUR FEAR.
When we try to control it, there will be a lot of anxiety.
When our anxiety continues in isolation, there will be rage.
Our fear leads us to hate; to rage at anything that threatens our world.
Jesus came into a place where there is danger because of sin.
The evil one is coming at us and the world is falling apart and so there is danger and we are helpless because of our sins.
God knows that. That is why He sent Jesus.
And there is a real need for shelter. We need to hide in somebody who can actually overcome sin, Satan, death and be for us a present help, a protection and a refuge.
Jesus did that for us.
He came to overcome so that He could provide protection for us; to rescue us and to help us.
And when He went to the cross, He faced death itself, took it on, went through it and overcame it.
Now we know there is no fear of death that we should have in the sense we have Someone who has overcome it for us.
So now we can feel our fear.
We feel what we feel so we know what we need and when we know what we need, we will go to God to get it, just like what Jairus did.
We can feel our fear knowing that God in Jesus has overcome the greatest enemy of Satan – death and sin for us.
The good news is – if we fear, God will say to us like He said to Jairus – “Do not fear”.
God is always coming to people with fear and say FEAR NOT.
He is not saying we should not be feeling fear.
He is saying- Do not be controlled by fear. Go to the one who can help you. Go to the one who can protect you, to provide shelter for us.
- Fear not, I am with you by my Spirit.
- Fear not, I have overcome with my death and resurrection.
- Fear not, I will be for you a shelter and a present help in times of your trouble.
Feel the fear if you feel your life is out of control.
Go to the one who is in control and cry out.
There is help, protection, and shelter in Christ – that is the gospel fluency for our fear.
CONCLUSION
God is calling us to trust Him like never before, especially in this perilous and evil days in which we live that presents so much opportunity to fret and not believe the Word of God.
It is time for the people of God to gird their loins with the truth of God’s word and fight against the enemy called FEAR that is hindering us from all that God has for us.
“Only Believe” says Jesus.
Our God is the God of the impossible.
He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think according to our faith.
He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead.
He himself was also raised form the dead three days later and He is able to raise up our dead situation and circumstances but we have to believe that He is able and will do it for us too.
This story encourages us in knowing that NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR THE LORD IF ONLY WE BELIEVE.
God has all power in His hands.
Therefore, He was able to heal Jairus’ daughter whether he arrived late or not.
WHAT DESPERATE SITUATION ARE YOU IN THIS MORNING?
DO NOT FEAR. ONLY BELIEVE.
MY TESTIMONY
Psalm 92:12-15 – “The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright, and useful]; They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable]. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age; they will flourish and be vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment]; [They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises]; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
“The steps of a man are from the Lord and he establishes him in whose way he delights; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord is the stay of his hand (Psalm 37:23-24); “For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again” (Psalm 24:16).
