Latest / HBCWestminster / 7.26.20 Luke 8:40-56 Pastor Danny Gardner

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7.26.20 Luke 8:40-56 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  This morning, Luke chapter 8, verses 40 to 56, and I'm sure that you've heard the phrase, beggars can't be choosers. And what we typically mean by that is that you kind of have to settle for what you get if you begged for it to begin with. Years ago now, my wife Hallie was in the line for a drive-thru at a fast food restaurant, and as she got closer and closer to the front of the drive-thru, there was a homeless man standing there next to the drive-thru line holding up a sign that said, hungry.
• 0:27
  And Hallie rolled down her window and she said, listen, I'm not going to give you any money. I'm happy to buy you some food. The man said, I'm a vegan. Hallie said, well, okay, then I'll buy you a bean and rice burrito. And he replied with, well, yeah, but I heard that they use animal byproducts in those. And Hallie kind of stopped. There was a long pause and she just looked at him and said, so you're not hungry then?
• 0:55
  You guys, only in America, only in America do we have vegan homeless people. Beggars can't be choosers. We ended last week with Jesus being begged.
• 1:07
  First, by his own apostles who thought they were going to die. And they actually thought that Jesus was going to sleep through their demise in the back of the boat. And I love the way Pastor Sam presented this last Sunday. He said, we have no need to fear if Jesus is the captain of our boat. We really can have genuine faith if we trust in his sovereign will. And then Jesus was begged by the demons.
• 1:33
  You'll recall the story of the demoniac coming and this legion of demons, an entire garrison of demons living inside of this man. And Jesus was begged by the demons who didn't want to be cast into the abyss. They had heard about the demons from the days of Noah who violated God's decree and who were imprisoned in the darkest of hell's dungeons. Then Jesus was begged by the garrisons.
• 1:58
  the people of that region who were afraid of him when he cast the demons into the pigs. And so they begged him to leave. They didn't know who the guy was. They didn't know what Jesus' motives were. And so they begged him to leave. And then Jesus was begged by the demoniac himself, the man who had been healed, cured from the demons, released from their power. He wanted to leave his hometown and travel with Jesus. And no doubt,
• 2:23
  He wanted to become a true disciple of Christ, and indeed he did. And he thought what that meant was he could leave behind his hometown and go with Jesus, the man who had cast the demons out. But then Jesus did something unexpected. He told the demoniac to go back to his own hometown, to the place, the last place the man wanted to go. He said to tell everyone he knew everything that Christ had done for him. And what a great reminder last week that not only does Christ save,
• 2:53
  But Christ sends. And who better to witness to his own hometown than the man who was from there? Who better, Pastor Sam said, to witness to your own hometown, to your family and friends than you? You who have experienced the love and grace of God and who can now tell everything the Lord has done for you. And as we continue in Luke chapter 8 this morning.
• 3:18
  We continue that same narrative and we find Jesus' week of being begged not ending. Matthew's gospel records that Jesus did indeed leave the region. He had been begged to leave and so he left. He continued to preach and heal on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, the western side, but then he eventually returned. And Mark's gospel also describes Jesus' return to the region of the Gerasenes. Listen to how the gospel of Mark describes it in Mark chapter 6 and verse 53.
• 3:47
  It says, when they had crossed over back into the land of Gennesaret and moored at the shore, they got out of the boat and the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages and cities or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment and as many as touched it were made well. We mentioned this last week, but I'll mention it again.
• 4:17
  Apparently, the demoniac had done his job. He went back as Jesus and his disciples left the region. The demoniac went back to his own hometown, told everybody what had happened. The people believed. And as now he hears that Jesus is coming back, he tells everybody, you've got to be there. You've got to see this great and mighty healer. And what we study this morning in Luke's gospel is one such instance. Jesus.
• 4:42
  Having acquiesced initially to the request of the people, returned to find a man named Jairus, begging Jesus to save his daughter who was dying. Along the way to heal her, he was touched by the faith of a woman whose life had been shattered. And exactly as Mark said it happened, the woman was healed. And so allow me to read our text. I would ask if you're able to stand in honor of God's word that you stand now.
• 5:08
  Beginning in verse 40 and going to the end of chapter 8 says, Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about 12 years of age, and she was dying.
• 5:28
  as jesus went the people pressed around him and there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years and though she had spent all her living on physicians she could not be healed by anyone she came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment and immediately her discharge of blood ceased and jesus said who was it that touched me
• 5:48
  When all denied it, Peter said, Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you. But Jesus said, Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me. And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling and falling down before him, declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, Your daughter is dead.
• 6:18
  do not trouble the teacher any more but jesus on hearing this answered him do not fear only believe and she will be well and when he came to the house he allowed no one to enter with him except peter and john and james and the father and mother of the child and all were weeping and mourning for her but he said do not weep for she is not dead but sleeping and they laughed at him knowing that she was dead but taking her by the hand he called child arise
• 6:45
  And her spirit returned and she got up at once and he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened. Allow me to pray. And Lord, we beg you to stay. And Lord, we need you. We need your presence because in your presence, we find fullness of joy. And at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. And Lord Jesus, we choose you because you are the way, the truth, and the life.
• 7:18
  And we cannot come to the Father apart from your work on the cross. And so help us this morning to see the truth and give us ears to hear. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, thank you, church. You can be seated. As you'll recall, we observed the last two Sundays that Jesus was surrounded by beggars. We see many of those beggars receiving what they desired and then choosing to follow Christ. And what we see in our passage this morning is that by the grace of God, beggars can.
• 7:49
  Be choosers. What we also see is that Christ is very willing to give people whatever it is they are begging for. In Revelation 3 and verse 20, it says that Christ stands at the door and knocks. And although he could, he does not kick the door in. Christ says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness in Matthew chapter 5 will be filled. But he makes no such promise to those who are not hungry.
• 8:16
  Because people who are not hungry, he says, probably won't eat anyway. Jesus, we find, never forces himself on anyone, but rather lovingly answers and is more than willing to answer our requests. And so let's look at the text this morning and see how Jesus answers the requests of these people begging him for help and how they then in turn choose to follow him. Notice first that Jesus was accosted. He was accosted. Look at verse 40.
• 8:46
  When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And what a difference from the last time he was there. First begging him to leave, and now begging him to come back. Let me ask you, do you suppose that his apostles were a little bit nervous to go back? Like, Lord, they don't want us there.
• 9:07
  begged us to leave. And now as they're getting closer and closer to the shore and the apostles can make out a massive crowd of people on the beach waiting for them to beach their boat, do you suppose they were a little nervous? They don't know what the people's response is going to be. Are they here to welcome us? Are they here to stone us to death? They could undoubtedly see the crowd while they were still far off in the boat. And I think it was probably hard to tell what the crowd...
• 9:36
  wanted are they happy or are they angry but you'll see in verse 40 they are welcoming him waiting for him anxiously begging to come back and look at verse 41 there came a man named gyrus who was a ruler of the synagogue and falling at jesus feet he implored him to come to his house
• 9:57
  Now, Jairus, we find that not only was he the ruler of a synagogue, he was actually the ruler of the synagogue at Capernaum. And this is significant because the synagogue at Capernaum is the same synagogue that was built by the Roman centurion of Luke chapter 7. If you recall the story of Luke chapter 7, a Roman centurion sends servants to Jesus and says, my servant is sick, will you heal him? Do you recall that story?
• 10:27
  And Jesus says, yes, I will come. And then he gets word from the Roman centurion saying, don't even come to my house. I'm unworthy to have you in my house. And Jesus said in that moment that his faith was unlike any faith he had ever encountered in Israel. And that very hour, the servant was healed. Same synagogue in Capernaum. It was also the same synagogue in Capernaum of Luke chapter 6. Luke chapter 6, a man with a withered hand.
• 10:54
  is paraded in front of Jesus on the Sabbath as a test to see if Jesus would be willing to violate the Sabbath in order to heal that man. And it was Jesus in Luke chapter 6 who uttered, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil? And he commanded the man, stretch out your hand, and he was healed. Jairus knew the stories of Jesus. He was probably even an eyewitness to those ones.
• 11:24
  As the synagogue leader in Capernaum, he was part of the Judaic religious establishment. His friends were the very Pharisees and scribes of Judah who hated Jesus and who actively sought to destroy him. And this man shows up. Now there is included in the Greek wording in verse 41, a word that is not translated into the English. It is the Greek word idu.
• 11:51
  It means behold or look. It was startling. It was meant to be startling. Seeing this synagogue leader in such a gathering was unexpected. The last guy you would expect to show is this guy. You would not expect him to be in that crowd. It's like when the narrator says, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. It's like he's saying, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but...
• 12:20
  Jairus, the synagogue ruler? What's he doing in this mad rush of people? That guy shouldn't be in this crowd. He is the last man anyone who knew him would have expected to see because he had even been a partaker in the plots to trap Jesus in his actions and his words. And yet here we see him begging.
• 12:49
  falling at his feet, verse 41, imploring him to come to his house. And why? Because verse 42 says he had an only daughter, a 12-year-old little girl, sixth grade, seventh grade little girl, and she was dying. Please, he says, come to my house. Now, we will recall that when the Roman centurion asked for Jesus' help,
• 13:16
  That man was unwilling to allow Jesus into his house, declaring himself unworthy. And he was heralded by Christ as possessing the greatest faith in Israel. And here we see the synagogue ruler himself, the city's spiritual authority, unwilling to exercise that same faith. But his daughter was dying. How hard it is to see our children suffer. Desperation, we know, changes our theology.
• 13:47
  Jairus' daughter was a ray of light in his life, and with the life of his daughter hanging in the balance, he was willing to go where he was previously unwilling to go. He was willing to ask help of a man whom previously he had been very unwilling to ask help of, a man whom he had even previously wanted to imprison. And as Jesus went, verse 42 says, the people pressed around him.
• 14:14
  The people pressed. And another translation of this same word for pressed would be the word thronged. The people thronged around him. It's the Greek word literally means to strangle, to choke, a choking throng of people, a suffocating crowd. And Jairus no doubt would have been anxious.
• 14:39
  anxious in the midst of this crowd. He definitely knew, he thought, that he had the most pressing need of the healer, the most pressing need of Christ. And so he wanted to be first in line. He wanted to be first on the beach, first on the shore that day.
• 14:55
  First in line to speak to the healer because he knew that if his daughter was to live, nothing could impede his progress. And so you imagine Jairus annoyed, even a little bit angry because these crowds were slowing him down and he knew that his daughter had little time. So that's first. Jesus is accosted by this thronging, suffocating crowd. But you'll notice second that Jesus was accessible. He was accessible. It actually says in verse 42,
• 15:25
  Jesus went. As Jesus went. And I love the language here because it's just assumed that Jesus would go. Of course he would go. Jairus' daughter was dying. What else would Jesus do? Where else would Jesus be? The Lord's kingdom needed a servant. What else would Christ be doing but going with Jairus to help the man's daughter? Now there is a man in our church.
• 15:55
  And actually, there are many people who serve this way. But today, I will commend this one. There is a man in our church who is everywhere. He's everywhere. Anything you need, anytime, day or night, Pastor Nathan will help. Pastor Nathan will help. Is the church open? Are the people in need? Is it VBS this week?
• 16:19
  Do gears need to be hung from the ceiling? Is there a stray dog running through the property while the kids are playing outside? Do you need me to figure out how to video and edit sermons? How to post them to YouTube? Need me to run sound? Need me to preach? Need me to run children's ministry this Wednesday? Do you need me to dress like a Roman gladiator? Do you need me to officiate a funeral?
• 16:41
  This week, our beloved Gary Buss is going in, has gone in for knee replacement surgery, and his wife Darlene called the church. And she actually began her statement this way. She said, I know that Pastor Bob is in the hospital. Now, Pastor Bob is our normal pastor of visitation. He's our pastor of spiritual care. And she just said, I know that Pastor Bob is in the hospital, but is there somebody else who can come and to pray for Gary this week? And Nathan jumped. I'll go do it. And he did. He went and prayed with Gary.
• 17:10
  His attitude is, of course, that's where I will be. If that's what the church needs, if that's what the kingdom needs, what else would I be doing? And I love the reflection of Christ's heart here as Jesus went. There was no pondering. There was no delay. Do you have a need? Of course. Of course, that's where I will be. Perhaps one of the greatest errors in my thinking is that my life is my life. That somehow this life that I've been given,
• 17:44
  vapor of time while my lungs draw breath belongs to me. And that therefore I am the one who calls the shots. I am the master of my own destiny. But what we see in verse 42 is that not only does Jesus return to the region where he was previously unwelcomed, but he willingly surrenders himself to the crowd. And I love his example.
• 18:10
  The busyness of his schedule would not slow his ministry down, but nor would personal vendettas. I would almost bet that Jesus jumping out of the boat recognized Jairus right away.
• 18:27
  Jairus was an important man. He would have been better dressed than others around him. He would have had a little posse with him, an entourage with him. He would have had servants with him. This was an important man. He had seen this man before, maybe even made eye contact with him before in Luke 7 and in Luke 6. And yet he says, I will go and heal your daughter. His attitude is not, I remember you.
• 18:55
  Aren't you that punk who tried to trap me? The man with the withered hand? I remember you and now you're coming to me for help? I think the wording here for as Jesus went is very similar to the wording found in Matthew 28 and verse 19. It's the Great Commission where Jesus says, go therefore and make disciples. More accurately translated, that same statement would be as you go.
• 19:25
  As you go, going along, as you go, wherever you go, make disciples. Whatever you're doing, make disciples along the way. And even as Jesus went along to accomplish other things, he did not forget to minister to others along the way. And we must not forget church.
• 19:47
  That although our goal may not be the people right in front of us, we may have a further out goal, a goal that we can see tomorrow, the next day, the next week. Our goal may be a lot further ranging. We must not forget that they may be the Lord's goal for us. Several days ago, I went down to St. Anthony's and I got the opportunity to visit Pastor Bob in person. And we can rejoice, church. He is doing well.
• 20:14
  They were able to do the surgery that he needed finally this week. He's been in the hospital almost three weeks now and can finally, Lord willing, begin his rehab.
• 20:25
  But I went to see Pastor Bob this week, and they will make exceptions on occasion. Even during COVID, they will make exceptions for pastors to come and see their congregants. And so I came down there as Pastor Danny. I had my Bible tucked under my arm and had every intention of using it. It was not just a prop, obviously, but I had my Bible tucked under my arm, and I was checking in to the hospital. I said, my name's Pastor Danny Gardner. I showed the gal my business card, and I said, I've got a congregant and a good friend who is here, and I'm here to see him.
• 20:54
  And the security guard mentioned that he liked the hat that I was wearing. And he just looked up and he said, oh, it's a cool hat. But the woman behind me in line, six feet away, standing on her little X while I was standing on my little X, the security guard said, hey, man, I like your hat. I said, well, thanks. The gal behind me said, you know, I was just going to say that I like his book. Had my Bible tucked under my arm. I like his book. And I could tell that she was kind of choking up in tears. And she said, you know, pastor, I may need you today.
• 21:23
  I may need you today. I don't know this woman from anybody. I'd never seen her before. She just said, I may need you today. And I turned around. Now, listen, I was there to see Pastor Bob. That's why I was there. That was the reason for my visit. Had nothing to do with her. But I turned around and I thought, Lord, Pastor Bob doesn't mind waiting a few minutes, right? I just turned around and I said, I really will help you. I'm here. If you'd like me to come, I'll come to you first. She didn't say anything. She continued to weep a little bit.
• 21:54
  She just kind of let the moment pass, and so I wasn't going to force it. But I thought, you know, Lord, I wonder who else I might be here to visit today. I thought it would be her, but she didn't ask me to come, and so I didn't. And so I went upstairs, entered the ICU, and I visited with Bob, and he's doing well. Got to read Scripture with him. I read from Psalm 23 and Psalm 91, prayed with him, then talked to Dina and prayed with her.
• 22:16
  But as I was praying with Dina out in the ICU waiting room, there was another woman and I could hear her crying in the back of the room. I never saw her. I could just hear a woman crying in the back. When I was done with Dina, I said, Dina, you know, I'm going to go pray with this gal back here. I'm going to go offer to pray. And so I got up and I turned around. There was indeed one woman sitting in the back. And I walked over to her and I said, you don't know me and I don't mean to interrupt, but I did hear you crying. I'm the pastor of a church. Would you like me to pray for you?
• 22:42
  And she, you guys, immediately slid everything on the bench over. She said, please sit down, pastor. Please pray for me. Her name is Jordan. She's got two little kids and one more on the way. She's pregnant and about ready to have her third child. Her grandma is there in the ICU and her grandma is passing away. Pulmonary embolism, some really bad things in her lungs, in her heart, some other things that will probably cost her her life. She's probably in her last days.
• 23:11
  But I got to pray for Jordan. And I just thought, Lord, what an example you've set of the way that you live your life.
• 23:19
  I'm here to do something completely different, Lord. I have my goal. I have my schedule and my calendar. These are the things that I need to accomplish today. But Lord, may I not become so busy with my own schedule that I forget that it's really your schedule, my own life, that I forget that it's really your life. May I not be so burdened with personal vendettas and personal dislike that I would ever exclude somebody from ministering to them, from praying for them. Lord, forgive us for the times.
• 23:48
  That we fall into that trap of I'm way too busy to help. And besides, I don't really like you anyway. That is not the example of Christ. You'll notice also that as Jesus went, Jesus was interrupted. Jesus was interrupted. And look at verse 43. It says, and there was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years. And though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.
• 24:17
  In the midst of that rush, in the midst of that anxiety, as Jairus is prodding Jesus to walk faster, please go faster. Everybody get out of the way. We've got to get to my house. Please leave us alone. Please make a path. In the middle of that anxiety and rush, Jesus suddenly stops. Jesus, we find, was never in a hurry. Jesus was never too busy to be interrupted.
• 24:47
  And here the story shifts from a young lady of 12 years old to another woman, but of a very different 12 years. This woman had been hemorrhaging for 12 years. And not to become too graphic here, but the Greek word used is the word gushing. Gushing. That's the word that Luke uses.
• 25:12
  Because of the nature of her bleeding, Jewish law actually forbade her from participating in society. She was considered unclean.
• 25:20
  Anything she touched would have been made unclean by association, even down to her clothes, the bed she slept on, even her hair. And you may recall this same argument made for the prostitute that wept over Jesus's feet. Do you remember this? When the prostitute comes in and she's weeping over Jesus's feet, touching him, anointing his feet with oil, expensive, costly perfume, and then drying his feet with her hair. They were using that same argument. If this man really was a teacher, if he really was.
• 25:50
  was a prophet, a rabbi, he would know who this woman was and that she is a sinner. That was the argument they used. He is unclean by association. And so this woman was completely unwelcome at everything Jewish, at the temple, even unwelcome at Jairus' synagogue. She would not have been allowed in. The text says that she had spent all of her money on doctors who could not find a cure. And so you can imagine this woman is completely impoverished.
• 26:20
  She is anemic. She's unhealthy. She's been bleeding for 12 years, and she is completely alone. Her friends and family will not talk to her. They won't associate with her. They will certainly never, never touch her. And add to this the unfortunate belief that developed in Israel during the time of Christ. There were people that actually held that this particular type of bleeding was God's curse on a woman who had committed adultery.
• 26:50
  That's what they assumed about her. She must have sinned. She must have committed adultery. And therefore, God is cursing her this way. And so not only was she cut off from friends and family, but she would have been shamed beyond belief. 12 years of scorn and misery and rejection. 12 years prior when the Lord had entrusted a baby girl to Jairus.
• 27:19
  And the sun began to shine in his life, right? This little ray of light, his little girl, that same year, this woman's life was ruined. As Jairus received the light in his life, that same year, the lights went out for her. Verse 44 says, she came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his garment and immediately
• 27:47
  her discharge of blood ceased. Now, a couple of things to note here. Number one is the word touched. That word touched is not just like reached out and touched. I know that's the picture we always get, the Jesus film and murals and paintings and other things, is this idea that she just kind of discreetly and whatever snuck up behind him and just touched it, kind of touched the hem of his garment and was immediately cleansed. That's not the Greek word there. The Greek word haptomai is actually the word for grasped, clutched.
• 28:13
  She grabbed onto the fringe of his garment and would not let go. It's the same word used of Mary. When Jesus appeared to Mary after having been crucified and resurrected, he appears to Mary. And Mary, because she doesn't want to let him go again, grabs onto Jesus and will not let him go. And he actually says, Mary, you've got to let me go. You've got to let me go. She is clinging to Jesus.
• 28:39
  And so she reaches out and she grabs, it actually says the fringe of his garment. That's the word for tassel, the tassel of his garment. And this is important. It's an important distinction. The tassel of a Hebrew, a Jewish man's garment referred to the four tassel garment required in Numbers 15 that all Jewish men wear. This was a part of their normal everyday.
• 29:08
  Listen to Numbers 15 and verse 38. God speaking to Moses, speak to the people of Israel. Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments. So four corners on your garment. You wear this shawl that has these tassels, one on each corner, throughout their generation. So forevermore wear these things, he says. And to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at. Now here's what it meant.
• 29:38
  and to remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after their own heart and their own eyes, which are inclined to evil. And so these tassels, this garment, was made to be worn as a reminder that the Jewish people were under the law, and by the law, they could find salvation, that they were the people of God who had been given the law. They were a people of...
• 30:07
  And what a beautiful picture here of this woman clinging. She didn't just reach out and touch the hem of his garment. She reached out and grabbed the tassel, the fringe, the tassel of his garment. She was clinging to the tassel, which was a representation of the law. We just read that. Worn by Christ, who was the fulfillment of that law. It's the coolest part of our whole passage today.
• 30:37
  Romans chapter 3 and verse 21 says this, The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified.
• 31:00
  By his grace is a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. This woman reached out and grabbed the representation of the law, the tassel, being worn by Christ, who was the fulfillment of the law in church. That is exactly what you and I do in salvation. Jesus fulfilled the law, Romans 3 says. And so now we can find redemption apart from the law because Jesus did the work for us. What a fantastic.
• 31:30
  Picture that is. Continues in verse 45. And Jesus said, who was it that touched me? Who was it that touched me? All denied it. Peter actually comes and says, Pastor, we're in a massive crowd of people. What do you mean? Who touched you? Everybody's touching you. I mean, I've bumped you at least 10 times since we got off the boat. Everybody's touching me. Who was it?
• 31:53
  That touched me. She had reached out and grabbed that tassel. She was a bleeding and sickly mess, and immediately she was healed. But now consider this. Jesus was a rabbi on the way to the house of the synagogue ruler, another rabbi. Everything she touched was made unclean.
• 32:15
  which means that it was illegal for her to touch a rabbi because he would have become unclean. He couldn't go into the synagogue. He couldn't go into the synagogue ruler's house. She actually, in that moment, disqualified him. In her mind, I've disqualified him from going into Jairus' house. And in that moment, she wanted to disappear. She became afraid that she would get caught.
• 32:43
  She might have thought that he and his anger would actually take her healing away. She knew she was healed immediately. So bad was that flow of blood. Immediately knew that it was fixed. And she actually thought that he might take that healing away because that's how she had been treated by all of the other rabbis. And this says in verse 46, But Jesus said, Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me. And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she was found out she was going to be caught.
• 33:11
  She came trembling. She fell down before him, declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been made well. Immediately heal. And she confessed. And Jesus, she finds, rather than condemning her, confirmed her and declared that her faith had made her well. Look at verse 48. And he said to her daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.
• 33:40
  I love what Chuck Smith says about this verse. He says, her hand had touched his robe, but her faith had touched his heart. She touched God and in return, God touched her. I love that. You'll notice finally, Jesus allowed himself to be interrupted, but then Jesus was undeterred. He went about fulfilling what he set out to do. Look at verse 49.
• 34:08
  While he was still speaking, he's looking at this woman, daughter, your faith has made you well. While he was making that statement, someone from the ruler's house came and said, your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the teacher anymore. But Jesus, on hearing this, answered him, do not fear, only believe, and she will be well. Meanwhile, kind of back in the crowd as Jesus has this moment with this woman, all this time, Jairus, you can imagine, is just anxious. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. Imagine his anger at this woman.
• 34:37
  for slowing them down, his anger at Jesus. Do you not know who I am, how important I am? Certainly I would take precedence over this sinful, disgusting, unclean woman. And then suddenly, in that moment, gets the news that his daughter has perished. I love Jesus' reply. Do not be afraid, only believe, he says, and your daughter will be made well. It is almost identical.
• 35:03
  wording to the statement that Jesus issued to the woman. In verse 48, daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Jesus says in verse 50 to the synagogue ruler, in essence, be at peace. Don't fear, believe, and she will be made well. In verse 51, you'll notice though that so close was his daughter to death that the professional mourners had already actually been hired. And I'll explain what that means in just a minute. Look at verse 51.
• 35:30
  When he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter and John and James and the father and mother of Jesus. And all were weeping and mourning for her. But he said, don't weep. She's not dead, but sleeping. And so there was this great crowd at the house. And it was customary, especially for wealthy families, upon losing a loved one to actually hire professional mourners.
• 35:54
  These mourners would come and just wail in front of the house and make this kind of cacophonous sound that was actually meant on purpose to draw attention.
• 36:03
  So that everybody in town would know the great loss that this family had experienced. And actually, the more mourners were hired, the more it was assumed that that family actually loved their lost loved one even more. The more mourners you had, the more you were able to prove your love. And so Jairus had hired this massive company of people, professional.
• 36:27
  mourners, but Jesus comes up to them and says, don't weep. She's not dead, but sleeping. In other words, you're all out of a job, right? You're all unemployed from this moment forward. What are you all doing here? You don't need mourners if she's just sleeping. And look how they respond. Verse 53, they laughed at him knowing that she was dead. You don't think we know dead people? We're pros, man. I don't know where you came from.
• 36:56
  we do this for a living sir we know dead people when we see them taking her by the hand he called child arise child arise some translations say little girl
• 37:15
  Another one of the Gospels actually gives the phrase in Aramaic, Talitha kum or Talitha kumi, which literally means, it doesn't actually mean child, it doesn't mean little girl, it actually means little lamb. Little lamb, arise. I love here how Jesus redefines death for the life of the believer. When the New Testament describes the death,
• 37:48
  of a child of God, it always uses the word sleeping. Every time. If a believer dies, it describes it as sleeping because truly, a believer in Christ never actually dies. Beloved church, we can live in freedom and we can live without fear because we have redefined death. Death.
• 38:17
  What is feared by the world, the single thing that they fear the most, maybe other than public speaking, is death. People don't want to die, and they are willing to do anything in order to avoid death.
• 38:29
  Death. You want us to stay inside? We will stay inside. You want us to wear masks? We will wear masks. You want us to stay six feet apart? We will stay six feet apart. You tell us what we got to do not to die. And there are really, honestly, people in our country who are terrified, terrified of dying, but not for believers. Not for believers, because we know what awaits. I'm not anxious to die, but I'm not afraid to die.
• 38:57
  Because I know what's on the other side, what the Bible describes as actual, true, abundant life. And I've got to share here again about our sister in the church, Liz Holt. Liz Holt is in her mid-80s. She is as high risk as anyone in the world for COVID-19. And yet she was here again for VBS every day. She's one of our VBS teachers.
• 39:25
  She was here again, 50 kids every day. She was teaching them the gospel. At lunch today, I sat with her at lunch while we ate pizza together. And I just said, Liz, how many VBSs have you done? She stopped and she said, well, let me see. My first VBS, I'm not kidding. She said this. My first VBS was 1965. She said, 1965. I'm doing the math.
• 39:56
  Liz, that's 55 years. Have you ever missed any years? Have you ever missed? That's 55. She said, no. She said, no, I've never missed any. She said, I did have to sit out for two. Just a few years ago, her husband, Ed, had declined in health.
• 40:11
  And so for two summers, she was not able to come and teach at VBS. So she said, I didn't teach for two of them, but we still came. Eddie and I still came, she said. We sat in the back and we just observed. So I missed those two, I guess. But yeah, since 1965, 55 years she's been doing VBS. 55. Incredible. I just said, Liz, you understand that by being here this week, you could contract COVID-19.
• 40:42
  I told her that. I said, Liz, you understand that that disease with your age and your demographic and all of that stuff, it could kill you. It could kill you. And you know what her reply was? It's the same reply she gives every single time. Every time Liz and I talk about death, every time she just said this, wouldn't that be wonderful? Wouldn't that be wonderful? Oh, man. You know, there's just this longing. She can't wait.
• 41:10
  She can't wait. She has loved ones already on the other side. And she knows that she will finally see her savior face to face. And the reality is that the life of the believer never terminates. We can go to sleep, but we can never truly die. He looks at the little girl and just says, little girl, arise. And in verse 55, it says her spirit returned and she got up at once.
• 41:39
  And he directed that something should be given to her to eat. And her parents were amazed. But he charged them to tell no one what had happened. Beloved church, we are beggars. That's what we are. None of us can help ourselves. But let us not be like so many who genuinely need help, but then refuse to receive it because it's not being granted on our terms.
• 42:06
  Let us instead be like the woman who was healed. Let us reach out and grasp the tassel, the tassel of the one who came to fulfill the law perfect on our behalf. Let us grasp the promise of Romans chapter 3, which says that we all fall short of the glory of God, but that we have been given the gift of the grace of God, the redemption of our lives through Jesus Christ. Clutching.
• 42:36
  the fulfillment of the law so that he will grant us eternal life. And God, I pray, I pray that we would understand the weight of this passage today. God, thank you for it. Thank you for its truths. May we be people who not only hear your word, but put it into practice. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.