Jesus in the Face of Life and Death

It's one of those moments that you do not forget.

The call comes.

They got the results of the biopsy.

They want us to come in and meet with them.

The news is not good.

Not good at all.

In that moment, the emotions flood, shock.

I can't believe this is happening.

Fear.

How can I face the unknown?

Don't want to suffer.

Don't want to die.

Desperation.

Is there any way we can get out of this?

You look for something, anything that might help you.

Johnny Erickson Tata is one of my heroes in the faith.

If you don't know her story, you should acquaint yourself with it.

She was paralyzed when she was 17 in a diving accident.

She has been a quadriplegic for over 55 years.

In her struggle after her accident, she was brought to faith.

And through her faith as she grew, she founded a worldwide ministry to help those facing physical

disability.

In a letter that she wrote, a blog post five years ago, she wrote reflecting on her 50 years.

She said this,

Recently, I was at my desk writing to Tommy, a 17-year-old boy who just broke his neck body surfing off the Jersey Shore.

He's now a quadriplegic.

He will live the rest of his life in a wheelchair without use of his hands or legs.

When it comes to life-altering injuries, quadriplegia is catastrophic.

Halfway through my letter describing several hurdles Tommy should expect in rehab, I stopped.

I felt utterly overwhelmed, thinking of all that lies ahead for him.

I've been there.

And even though a half a century has passed, I can still taste the anguish.

Hot, silent tears began streaming.

I choked out a prayer.

Oh God, how will Tommy do it?

How will he ever make it?

Have mercy.

Help him to find you.

In response to this boy's situation, she points him to the only place she knows to find hope in the face of sickness and death.

I don't know where you're at this morning.

Maybe you are here today facing these things.

Chronic illness.

Aging parents.

Death of a loved one.

It's very real and poignant for you today.

And maybe not.

Maybe not today.

Maybe not this year.

Maybe not this decade.

But someday, you will.

And our passage this morning from the book of Mark is one in which Jesus encounters those who are facing these very things.

So if you want to turn with me, page 789 in the Pew Bible.

We're in Mark 5.

We're starting in verse 21 and reading through to the end of the chapter.

We're going to look at how Jesus interacts with those who are facing sickness and death.

So let's go ahead and read this together.

These are, if you've grown up in church, these are well-known stories.

But let's read them hopefully with some fresh eyes this morning.

See what God's word has to say to us.

Mark chapter 5, starting verse 21.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

And when Jesus had crossed again into the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around 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 had a discharge of blood for 12 years.

And who had suffered much under many physicians.

And had spent all that she had and was no better, but 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 garments, 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 garment?

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.

And taking her by the hand, he said to her,

Talitha kumi, which means, Little girl, I say to you, arise.

And immediately the girl got up and began walking, for she was 12 years of age.

And they were immediately overcome with amazement.

And he strictly charged that no one should know this

and told them to give her something to eat.

Let's pray together.

Lord, we thank you this morning for your word.

We thank you that in it, Lord, you have revealed yourself to us.

Lord, we pray this morning that you would help us.

Lord, help our minds to grasp and understand what you are teaching us.

Lord, help our hearts to be humble before your word,

to receive the truth and to respond, Lord, rightly.

Lord, we pray this morning that by your spirit,

we might sit under your word together.

And I pray that you would help me this morning to speak as I ought for your glory and for our good.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

What does Jesus do in the face of suffering and death?

This is the question which these stories address, and we will look at them together.

Now, for a little bit of background, we're getting back into the Gospel of Mark after a bit of an Advent hiatus.

Going back to Mark chapter 4, verse 35, there are three stories expressing Jesus' power.

Mark 4:35

At the end of chapter 4, Jesus shows his power over the sea and calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee.

The beginning of chapter 5 that Pastor Nick preached on last week,

Jesus frees a man from demon possession in the country of the Gerasenes.

And then today we see Jesus in the face of sickness and death, demonstrating his power again.

And as you read the story, you probably noticed that this is what commentators call a narrative sandwich.

Right?

There are two slices of bread about the ruler of the synagogue, Jairus.

And then there's the meat in the middle, which is a story about a woman.

And they reinforce one another.

And in fact, by making it a sandwich of two stories around the same theme,

we see a fuller vision of Jesus' character and work than we would have on their own.

And that's why he does that, and that's why we're dealing with these stories together.

And what we're going to see as we look at this passage this morning is two very simple, very profound things.

First, we will see that Jesus meets us in our fear of sickness and death.

And then that Jesus restores us from the power of sickness and death.

So if you're taking notes, that's our outline.

We've got two points this morning.

First, Jesus meets us in our fear of sickness and death.

Now, Jesus has been over across the Sea of Galilee in a region called the Decapolis, the Gentile Virgin.

He's now gotten back in a boat.

He's come back across into the Jewish section.

And as has been the practice, he's surrounded by crowds as soon as he arrives.

And the story begins because a man, a ruler of the synagogue, Jairus shows up,

a ruler of the synagogue wouldn't have been a rabbi or a teacher,

but someone who had actually the practical organizational role of making sure the synagogue worked,

that people were there to do their things, that the supplies were made.

That's what his role was.

It was a significant one and an important one.

He would have been used to being able to be in control of his life.

And yet he faced a situation in which he was not in control.

For his daughter was sick.

And he didn't know what to do.

Now, in the middle of the story, we'll see this woman come in.

And what I want to do is actually draw some parallels and also distinctions between these two characters as they come to Jesus.

He comes with this need to, this desire, feeling out of control, looking for help.

He comes in fear because he can't do anything to save his daughter.

Then there's a woman.

A woman comes seeking him as well.

But she has been coming with a different kind of fear because she's been ostracized by her illness.

In the Jewish world, if you had the kind of disease that she had, you would have been declared richly unclean.

That would have prevented her from going to the temple.

Would have prevented her from normal interaction because she would have made others who interacted with her

Richly unclean and unable to participate in temple life.

So she was ostracized by her chronic illness.

An untouchable outside of the community of faith.

And they both come in fear.

Hoping that Jesus might help them.

They both come in faith.

It's remarkable.

They both express this.

Jairus says, if you come, you can heal her and give her life.

The woman says to herself, if I only touch his garment, he can heal me and free me.

But they come with some distinctions between them as well.

Jairus is an important person in the community.

Jairus is a powerful person.

And you see this.

It's remarkable.

He gets a name in the story.

Which is actually, it stands out because often people don't get names in Mark's story.

And the woman doesn't have a name.

But he gets a name.

Jairus.

And he comes.

And when he comes, he comes face to face to Jesus.

He does fall on his knees before him.

But he calls Jesus.

Come to my house.

Come and be the solution to my problem.

She, however, as an outcast, as a woman, doesn't even dare to approach him from the front.

She comes to him from behind.

Says, if I can only touch him.

She comes as an untouchable, poor, and alone.

He had all these resources.

She had nothing.

She had wasted or used up all of her resources.

And had nothing to show for it.

And yet, for both of these, Jesus meets them.

Jesus looks at Jairus in his desperation and says, I will come with you.

And remember that Jesus didn't always do this.

Remember we saw back in chapter 1, verse 38,

that there were many people thronging at Jesus' door.

Many more people to be healed and for their demons to be cast out.

And Jesus said, no, I've got to keep going because I'm here for a greater purpose

than simply healing everybody.

So Jesus didn't always heal, but he did.

He responded to Jairus in compassion and began to go with him.

He also met the woman in a remarkable way.

Because she tried to sneak up and be healed without having to actually interact.

She wanted his power, but didn't dare believe that he would want a relationship with her.

But when it happens, Jesus knows something has happened.

And he stops.

And I hope you got the slight humor in the story.

Because Jesus, you know, imagine you're at a football game, right?

After the football game, as the crowds are going out,

you know what those masses of people are like?

Where you're jostling and elbowing your way just to get through.

This is what Jesus' situation is.

And suddenly he says, whoa, who touched me?

And his disciples are looking around going, you've got to be kidding me.

Everybody's touching you.

You're in the middle of a mob.

What do you think?

I have no idea what you're asking for.

But Jesus does, because he knows something had happened.

And in fact, the verb tense in verse, let me find it for you.

Verse 38, no, verse 32 says,

and he looked around to see who had done it.

The verb tense there is actually, he kept looking.

So he asked the question, the disciples were like, I have no idea.

And he kept looking.

He was persistent in wanting to find her.

Because he wasn't happy with just letting her be healed.

He wanted her to be restored to a relationship with him.

He wanted to know who she was.

Jesus saw their need.

And he met them with compassion and with help.

And friends, this is good news.

Because we know that in those moments of diagnosis,

in those long years of chronic illness,

in the face of death, whether sudden or not,

it's so easy to doubt that God is with us.

It's so easy for fear and desperation to drive us away from God.

It's easier for us to shake our fist at him than fall on our knees before him.

When we're overwhelmed and despairing,

this passage reminds us that Jesus will meet us there.

You know, some of you, please don't laugh at this.

Stephen Curtis Chapman is one of my favorite Christian artists.

He's old and he's kind of corny.

I get it.

But he's also lived a lot of life.

And in fact, one of his albums, Beauty Will Rise,

was written after his daughter was killed in a tragic accident.

It was a meaningful album for me

during the season of my first wife's illness.

Here's some of the words that he wrote

that I think capture what I want you to see

from this part of the passage so far.

When you think you've hit bottom

and the bottom gives way

and you fall into a darkness

no words can explain

and you don't know how you make it out alive,

Jesus will meet you there.

When the doctor says,

I'm sorry,

we don't know what else to do

and you're looking at your family,

wondering how they'll make it through.

Whatever road this life takes you down,

Jesus will meet you there.

He knows the way to wherever you are.

He knows the way to the depths of your heart.

He knows the way

because he's already been where you're going.

Jesus will meet you there.

And when we realize that we're out of control

over the most important things of life,

when our situation seems impossible to change

and impossible to bear,

this passage reminds us

Jesus meets us there.

But he doesn't just meet us

to walk with us.

He also meets us

so that he might restore us

to life,

overcoming the power of sickness and death.

For this is what this passage says

as you look at the parts of the sandwich.

Let's look at the bread first.

What happens to Jairus?

It's remarkable, by the way,

did you see that Mark started calling him

the ruler of the synagogue again?

And he lost his name

in the second half of the story.

It's just an interesting note.

I'm not even sure what to make of it,

but I thought I'd point it out to you this morning.

But it's fascinating, right?

Because Jesus says,

I'll go with you.

And then there's this interruption.

You can imagine Jairus standing there going,

are you kidding me?

My daughter's dying?

What in the world is going on?

His impatience, his confusion,

his frustration, his desperation, right?

And then people from his house come

and they say, don't bother.

It's too late.

She's died.

And Jesus overhears.

And if you see, my ESV has a footnote.

That overhearing, that word has lots of connotations.

It does mean overhearing as in hearing something

that wasn't directly meant for you.

But it also means ignoring it,

like you heard it and ignored it,

or you heard it and discounted its truth.

And Jesus was doing all of these things.

He heard this report.

She's dead.

Don't bother anymore.

And Jesus, instead of receiving that word,

he looks at Jairus and he says,

do not fear, only believe.

He knew that at one level they were saying something true,

that the girl was dead.

But he said, but their position was that

that dead death was final.

And Jesus looked at him and said,

don't believe that lie.

And so they go on and they come to the house

and they're professional mourners.

And this is typical in the first century.

Even poor people would hire people to come in to mourn.

And on a side note,

maybe there's something healthy for us to learn

in our modern day culture

where we privatize grief

rather than do it in community.

That's a society, that's a freebie.

But they do this and they come in

and Jesus says, why are you doing this?

And they mock him.

And can you imagine Jairus again thinking,

am I just a fool?

What is he gonna do?

But Jesus says, mourners, clear out.

And he brings in his three disciples

and parents' kids

and he looks at the girl

and he says, get up.

He doesn't just comfort,

but he restores.

And he doesn't just resuscitate.

Everyone knew she was dead.

Jesus raises her.

He resurrects her to new life.

He grabs her hand,

which is a remarkable thing

because the body would have made him richly unclean.

He grabs her hand

and instead of him being unclean,

she becomes clean again

as she is restored to life.

Jesus brings her to an immediate

and a full recovery.

She gets up,

she walks around,

she eats food.

Can you imagine the joy

that Jairus and his wife felt?

Can you imagine the wonder of the people?

She was dead

and now she's alive.

So that's the meat

or that's the bread.

How about the meat of the sandwich?

This woman approaches Jesus from behind

thinking if I only touch his garment,

I'll be healed.

And it works.

She touches the garment

and power comes.

And Mark has no problem saying,

I don't know how that happens.

I just described it.

That's what she said.

This is the eyewitness account.

It happened this way, right?

Right?

She touched his garment

and the power came out.

The power to heal

flowed immediately

and she knew it in her body.

She who had lived for 12 years

with this ongoing chronic condition,

imagine what relief and joy

she would have felt.

It's finally over.

But Jesus isn't willing

to let her simply be healed physically.

He wants her to be restored.

And so he seeks her out.

He seeks to find her.

She who has no name in the story

is pursued and known by Jesus.

She who is outcast

is touched by Jesus.

And he looks at her

and he says,

my daughter.

He embraces her with his words.

Says that she is loved and welcomed.

So he shows the power

to restore from sickness and death.

Though the man and the woman

both come in fear and desperation,

they walk away with joy.

Because Jesus has come into the world

with this purpose.

To meet us

and to restore us.

With Jesus coming,

sickness and death

no longer are inevitable

and unstoppable.

For he has the power

to heal,

to restore,

to save.

And at one level,

that's what this story

is all about.

And we could close in worship

that Jesus has come to do this.

But you and I both know

there's a question.

Isn't there?

Because if Jesus has that power

to meet us

and restore us

and heal us,

but he doesn't do it all the time

in this life,

does he?

He doesn't heal everyone.

It sure seems like

sickness and death

still take hold.

In fact,

death is one of those things

that is an inescapable

human condition right now.

So how do we understand this?

Well,

that would be

a whole other sermon

or a Sunday school class

or a seminar

or a seminary class.

But let me say

a few things

in response

to this question.

First of all,

this passage reminds us

that Jesus can

and does heal us

powerfully.

He does it all the time.

Sometimes he uses

the very normal means

that we have come to trust in

and don't even see

God's hands in it.

We have doctors

and medicine

and all sorts

of natural means

that God uses

to heal and restore

people from sickness.

and to even bring back

from cardiac arrest

and from moments

of death.

And we know

from the testimony

of the church

throughout the world

and even here

in the western world

that God can

and does

at times

heal people miraculously.

That by the power

of his spirit

he intersects

in someone's life

and he heals them

and he frees them

from disease

and he even raises

from the dead.

Just as he did

for Jairus' daughter

and for the woman

he can and does

do that today.

But as we have acknowledged

he doesn't always do this

in this life.

The testimony

of both the Bible

and history

show that God's

greater purpose

is not simply

to alleviate

some suffering

from sickness

and death.

One of the most

remarkable things

is that everyone

that Jesus healed

in the Bible

still died.

Lazarus was raised

from death

and he still died again.

He didn't

he wasn't raised

to eternal life

when he was raised

in John 11.

So we need to recognize

that the Bible

acknowledges

what we see

that Jesus has

all this power

and yet

he doesn't

instantaneously

and immediately

fix

all of these

problems.

Thirdly

what the Bible

does say

and what this passage

does say to us

is that

there is healing

for all

who have faith

in Jesus.

Healing will come

either in this life

or in the resurrection

but sin

and sickness

and death

no longer have

the last word

for Christians.

So he tells

Martha

Lazarus' brother

in John 11

I am the resurrection

and the life

whoever believes

in me

though he die

Jesus acknowledges

you will die

and yet

you will live.

That any healing

that Jesus does

now in this age

is a sign

of a greater

and eternal

healing

that is to come.

For friends

this is the very

core of the gospel.

This is what

the Bible tells us.

When God created

the world

before there was sin

there was no sickness

and there was

no death

when sin

entered into the world

all of the world

was put under

the curse

and the sickness

and death

that entered

into the world

was the result

of the rebellion

of humanity

against God.

Now listen to me

very carefully here.

That does not mean

that if you got

a cold this week

it's because you sinned.

Okay?

It is because

we live in a fallen world

under the curse

that came into the world

because of human sin

that all of us

are now subject

to sickness and death.

And so they are

part of our world

in this age

and they are inevitable.

But when Jesus

comes into the world

bringing the kingdom

he comes

with the good news

that that curse

will not last forever.

He comes to reverse

that curse

and to begin the work

of redeeming

a people for himself.

Redeeming them

from sickness and death

yes but even more so

redeeming them

from sin.

So his earthly

ministry comes

with signs

of renewal

and reversal.

He heals.

He casts out demons.

He feeds the hungry.

He forgives sin.

He raises the dead.

All of these

are signs

pointing ahead

to the greater

and fuller victory

that Jesus

will accomplish

through his death

and his resurrection.

For ultimately

Jesus did those things

on his way

to enter in

to the curse

for us.

To take on

the penalty

of sin

for us

by taking on

death itself

as he hung

on the cross

for us.

He shed blood

for the woman

who was cursed

by a flow.

He entered

into death

so that he might

raise a 12 year old

girl.

Jesus went

to death

in our place

for us

so that he might

restore us

and rescue us

from it.

But Jesus

didn't simply die.

If he had died

he would have been

just one other person

under the curse.

But three days later

he rose from the dead

and in doing so

he showed

that death

could not hold him.

He defeated

the power

of sin and death

by rising

from the dead

forever

and on the basis

of his indestructible life

he now offers

to all of us

the greatest hope

that we could ever have.

Though we die

yet we shall live.

Because we are

joined with him

by faith

into his death

so we are joined

by faith

with him

to a resurrection

that will be ours

forever.

This is what we read

in Isaiah 25.

Death

will be swallowed

up

forever

and God

will wipe away

all tears

and we see it

in Revelation

where there is

no more sickness

and no more sorrow

no more mourning

no more pain

and no more death

because the finality

has come.

and friends

this is our hope

this is our hope

in the face

of sickness

and death.

Many of you know

our dear

our dear brother

Rick Schneider

went to be with the Lord

after a years long

battle with sickness

but he wrote

Pastor Nick and I

sorry

he wrote us a letter

before he

in the last few weeks

of his life

a lot of it

was thanksgiving

some of it

was thanks to you

all as a church

for the ways

that we have loved

his family

over the last

couple years

but he wrote this

in the last few weeks

the Lord has overwhelmed

me with a sense

a vision

of the wonder

of what he has

prepared for us

the beauty

of it all

the vistas

the tastes

the fellowship

with Jesus

with each other

no eye is seen

nor can the mind

of man

imagine

it's quoting

from 1 Corinthians

can you believe

this

he says

as you read this

I am walking

with two legs

at work

I am free

of ALS

and I am experiencing

the love of Jesus

in ways

I cannot now

imagine

friends

this

is the good news

of the gospel

Jesus looks at us

and he says to us

do not be afraid

but believe

let's pray

oh Lord

we have touched

on deep waters

and weighty things

but Lord

we know

that there is

an indestructible hope

that we have

because Jesus

is raised

from the dead

and he is

our living

Lord and Savior

oh Lord

I pray this morning

that this word

would be a comfort

to those

who are grieving

would be a strength

to those

who are weak

and Lord

would be

Lord

a bolster

to all of us

that we might know

just a little more deeply

the hope

to which

we have been called

that we might

in that

have great joy

in knowing

and worshiping you

we pray this

in Jesus name

amen

amen

have Say em

haveб

us

we might

have

have

us

have

come

in

say

必

dedans

in

a

man

has

come

go

on