Jesus Has Power Over Death

Well, verses 35 to 43 that we just read is really the conclusion of the narrative that

began back in verse 21.

It's not so much a story on its own as it is just kind of the final chapter of this

narrative that we began to study last week.

And it was in verses 21 to 24 that we were introduced by Mark to this ruler of the synagogue.

His name was Jairus, and he went to Jesus because his 12-year-old little daughter was

deathly ill.

And one of the interesting notes about Jairus is that as a ruler of the synagogue, he was

connected to the religious establishment of the day that was not typically friendly to

Jesus.

And perhaps, we don't know for sure, but it's likely that even up to this point in

Jesus's ministry, perhaps Jairus at some point in that time had even positioned himself as

somewhat of an enemy of Jesus.

Maybe he wasn't as vocal as the Pharisees that had come from Jerusalem and declared that Jesus

was possessed by Satan.

But perhaps he was uncertain about the claims that Jesus was making, and perhaps he was frustrated

by how Jesus was literally turning the Jewish religion and culture upside down in Galilee.

But then we see something significant here.

As he comes to Jesus, he shows this incredible amount of faith as he sought the Lord's help.

And we noted last week, he had come to the end of his rope.

He was desperate.

And in this moment, he knew that Jesus was the only hope that he had.

And there are times in our lives where we get that way.

Perhaps even in your life before becoming a Christian, there were things that maybe you

were acquainted with about Jesus.

You weren't willing to commit to him as Savior and Lord.

You weren't quite sure if you were willing to commit to all of these things that the Bible

says about him.

But in a moment of despair, you realize through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life that

you have actually no hope but him.

And in that moment, you too run to Jesus as Jairus ran to Jesus.

And you didn't know a lot about him.

You didn't know everything there was to know.

You didn't know everything there was to know about the Bible.

You were uncertain of a lot of things.

But the one thing that you knew is that you were in a desperate need and that the only hope

that you had was Jesus Christ.

And that's where Jairus is.

He doesn't know everything.

What he knows is that he has a need and he runs to Jesus and he bows before Jesus and

he says, I know if you will come, she will live.

If you will just come.

And so he demonstrates this great faith and whatever reservations he might have had about

Jesus were abandoned as he ran at that moment.

We call that repentance.

Because for us to really know the Lord and receive salvation, it is not merely about giving

some type of intellectual assent to the things that we read in the Bible, but it's actually

abandoning all the other things in order to pursue him alone.

So whatever reservations Jairus might have had, he abandons and he runs to Jesus.

It's proof that even the hardest of hearts can be transformed to follow Christ.

And we noted that despair is often a prelude to grace.

And in this case, in the case of Jairus at least, his desperation led him right to Jesus.

But even more remarkable than Jairus, this person tied in likely with the religious establishment,

even more remarkable than him running to Jesus is the fact that when he made it to Jesus,

Jesus so willingly and compassionately agreed with him.

That is, he agreed to his request.

And this is significant to our understanding here.

Verse 24 says that Jesus immediately stopped what he was doing to go with Jairus.

And it's a simple statement, but it's an important one.

Look again at verse 24.

And Jesus went with him.

This one who probably at that point had been an enemy of Jesus.

It didn't matter.

He had come to Jesus.

And Jesus went with him.

And he received him as he was in that moment of his faith.

And Jesus' love and compassion are so great that he will turn no person away who comes to him in faith.

And that's the interaction that he has with people often in the New Testament.

We see his invitation for people to come.

And then we see his promise that if you do come to him in faith, he will not turn you away.

And we quote this verse all the time.

John chapter 6 and verse 37.

John 6 · chapter mention

Jesus himself said,

All that the Father gives me will come to me.

And whoever comes to me, I will never cast away.

We don't know everything that there is to know.

We don't know much at all actually about Jairus.

But let's say that he was one of those Pharisees that was telling everybody in Galilee,

This man is possessed by Satan.

And yet in this moment, he runs to Jesus in faith.

And what does Jesus do?

He goes with him.

He accepts them at the point of his faith.

And it is only from there that Jesus begins to do this work in his life.

He gives him more understanding.

His faith is strengthened because of the wonderful grace of our Savior.

And so Jesus's willingness to go with Jairus, it doesn't only reveal his compassion,

but it is actually significant for us to understand the unfolding nature of the story that we just read.

This conclusion in verses 35 to 43.

Now listen, when Jesus agreed to go with Jairus, he was agreeing to heal his daughter.

Are you with me?

When we see in verse 24 that Jesus went with him, it wasn't just for fun.

Jesus wasn't just going along with this and saying,

Okay, well, we'll just, we'll see what we can do.

No.

Jairus comes to Jesus, pleading for Jesus to come and lay hands on his daughter so that she might live.

And Jesus, in going with Jairus, agrees to do that thing.

Not merely to go with him, but to go to his house, lay his hands on his daughter in order that she might live.

That's significant for us to understand everything that's going to unfold now as we work through these verses together.

The issue here was not about whether Jairus believed Jesus's power,

but whether Jairus believed Jesus's promise.

Because this faith that he exemplified in verses 22 and 23 was about to be severely tested.

Every step of the way, think about this.

Every step from where he met Jesus until he got to his house where his daughter was,

he was hit time and time again with every reason why he shouldn't believe that Jesus was going to be able to do anything.

Think about it.

Perhaps he gets excited at first because Jesus is actually going with him.

And on the way, what happens?

Jesus stops.

Jairus is over here urgent because his daughter's about to die.

And if Jesus doesn't get there, she's not going to live.

He needs Jesus to, come on, Jesus, let's pick up the pace.

And what does Jesus do?

Somebody touches him in the crowd and he stops and just decides to have a conversation.

And right there, he's hit.

Maybe this isn't going to work out.

And then he gets this news.

She's dead.

And he's tested again.

It's too late.

And then he gets to the house.

And they're already wailing.

And he's tested again.

The point was not, was Jairus going to believe Jesus's power?

We already know that he believed Jesus's power.

The point of this passage was, is Jairus going to believe the promise that Jesus made?

When Jesus said, I'm going to go to your house and I'm going to lay my hands on your daughter

so that she will live.

Was Jairus going to believe that?

Was he going to continue in that faith?

And that becomes the unfolding issue as we come to this today.

So we not only see his power over death, but we see the necessity of faith

in experiencing the life-giving power of Jesus.

While Jesus was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said,

Your daughter is dead.

Why trouble the teacher any further?

So knowing the urgency of the situation, you can imagine, as we mentioned before,

how flustered Jairus must have felt when Jesus stopped to interact with this woman.

We don't know how long Jesus spent talking to her, but during their conversation,

some messengers from Jairus' house came with the news that his daughter was actually now dead.

And what a devastating moment this must have been for him.

He knew this was a possibility, but he had had hope.

Now that Jesus was coming with him, he had perked up.

Jesus agreed to heal the girl, but now all of his hopes seem to be crushed underneath the news.

However, it does seem like there is somewhat of an exchange, an unwritten exchange,

but I think it's safe for us to say that they don't immediately say,

Why trouble the master anymore?

It seems as if maybe they come and they say,

Jairus, we're sorry to tell you this, but your little girl, she's dead now.

And maybe Jairus still, with a little bit of energy and hope,

I mean, Jesus is right here and the house is just down the way,

and he's thinking, Well, maybe we can still bring Jesus.

Maybe he can still do something.

And then eventually the messengers say, No, it's too late.

Why bother Jesus anymore?

The messengers assume that Jesus's power could do nothing once death had arrived.

And if we're honest, most of us would have been just like the messengers.

We're not told that they had any doubt that Jesus could have done something in the beginning,

but now that she was dead, why was there any reason for them to think that Jesus would be of help to them?

And so this question that the messengers ask really sets the stage for the drama that's about to unfold.

So they didn't deny that Jesus has power,

but to them, Jesus was just a uniquely gifted rabbi whose power was limited by death.

They would have understood that only God has power over life and death.

And like so many others in Mark's gospel,

it hadn't occurred to them that Jesus was anything more than a man.

So they responded to Jairus like any one of us would have responded.

Why bother Jesus anymore?

It's too late.

She's dead.

And they were urging Jairus then to let it go.

Go home.

Mourn and move on.

That's essentially what they're saying in this statement.

There's nothing you can do now.

There's nothing Jesus can do now.

Just go home.

And the question then becomes,

was Jairus' faith only about receiving a miracle?

Or did he believe that there was something more to Jesus

than simply being a powerful healer?

And that's significant.

And it reminds us here that appreciating Jesus doesn't make you a Christian.

These messengers weren't bad people from all that we can tell.

They probably were even somewhat hopeful that Jesus would actually come to the house

and that he would heal the girl before she died.

But their understanding and their faith in Jesus was limited.

They thought that he was nothing more than just this significant teacher.

Maybe he's got this power and maybe he can help.

But at the time that their faith reached its limit,

they thought that it was over.

And so they had an appreciation for Jesus.

But an appreciation for Jesus is not enough.

We must believe in who he is and what he's done.

Verse 36, overhearing what they said,

Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue,

do not fear, only believe.

Literally here in the present tense,

stop being afraid,

keep on believing.

Stop being afraid, Jairus.

Keep on believing.

And so Jesus overhears the conversation with the messengers,

knowing the doubt that was developing in Jairus' heart.

Jesus does what he always does.

And he gently and lovingly interjects

to encourage Jairus' faith.

And I love this.

Because do you ever have moments in your life

where you believe Jesus,

you're passionate about Jesus,

but you just don't understand what's going on,

and you're hurt, and you're discouraged,

and you don't know how it's going to turn out,

and your heart begins to doubt a little bit.

It begins to doubt a little bit.

And then the Holy Spirit comes right along

and encourages that faith.

And that's exactly what Jesus is doing for Jairus.

He gets this message and he's hit once again.

Is he going to continue in this faith?

And Jesus interjects.

He doesn't interact at all with the message.

He just focuses on Jairus.

And his statement to Jairus is literally,

stop being afraid, keep on believing.

But what is it that Jairus was supposed to keep on believing

now that his daughter was dead?

He was to keep on believing the thing that gave him hope in the beginning.

And that is the promise of Jesus, the word of Christ.

I remember what we noted about Jesus agreeing to go with Jairus.

He wasn't going to evaluate the situation.

His response to Jairus wasn't,

no promises, Jairus, but I'll come along with you

and we'll see what happens.

Maybe I can help you out.

That's not how Jesus operated.

And that's not how Jesus was operating here.

When he agreed to go with Jairus,

he was promising to restore the girl's life.

So when Jesus commanded for Jairus to keep on believing,

he meant for Jairus to keep on believing Jesus's word.

Keep believing me, Jesus says.

The basis of Jairus's faith was to be the promise of Christ,

the word of Christ.

And we need to be careful that when we come to passages like this,

we aren't seduced into a sort of name it and claim it type of theology.

Jesus wasn't teaching here that we will receive everything that we want

if we just believe hard enough.

And the takeaway from this text is not that Jesus will raise

your loved one from the dead if you just keep believing.

That's not the takeaway here.

That's not what Jesus is getting at.

Faith is not a means by which we satisfy our lust for material gain

and the wants that we want in life.

And beware of the people that try to present Jesus

not as the savior of your sin,

not as the one who rules the world

and as the Lord who governs your life,

but beware of the people that come to you and say,

Jesus is somewhat of a bellhop for you.

That if you just believe hard enough

and you just make your request,

he's obligated to give you whatever you want.

That is not what's happening here.

That's not what's happening.

Jesus wasn't saying that we can believe something into existence.

He was telling Jairus, keep believing me.

And what was it about Jesus?

He was to keep believing the fact that Jesus agreed

to do what Jairus had requested.

Yes, the Bible promises that those who belong to Christ

will receive blessing and peace and joy in all these things.

But it also promises that we will endure hardship and persecution.

And true faith is simply submitting to the word of Christ,

not just this generic faith that if we just have the most positive thinking

that we can have, that God is just going to give us what we want.

No, believe his word.

And what was his word to Jairus?

I'll go with you.

I'll lay my hands on your daughter and she'll have life.

In fact, Luke tells us that that's exactly what Jesus said.

She will live.

And what he's being tempted by in this moment

is not a doubt of Jesus's power,

but a doubt of Jesus's promise.

Now notice quickly that Jesus didn't engage at all

with the message that the messengers brought.

He didn't engage with them.

In fact, some have even translated that word overhearing.

They've translated it as ignoring.

He almost pretends like they're not even there.

He focuses in on Jairus.

And he didn't stop to explain what was happening

or how he was going to resolve this situation.

And this frustrates us, doesn't it?

It frustrates us.

Maybe it frustrates me.

Maybe you're better than me.

It frustrates me sometimes.

Well, like, why didn't Jesus just tell him?

Why didn't he just tell him?

Jairus here, look, listen, it's okay.

I'm going to go.

She's going to be dead.

It's okay.

I'm going to say this Aramaic thing,

and she's going to get up.

You're going to give her some food.

He doesn't do any of that.

Because when it comes to our faith

and the perplexities of our life,

God often deals in promises, not explanations.

That doesn't mean that we can't logically reason

through the scriptures.

Of course we can do that.

But it's true that there's just a lot of things

about our lives we don't understand.

We don't understand all the whys.

We don't understand all the hows.

But what we have in the word is a book of promises

from the God who has never broken one.

And in Jairus' case, it wasn't about understanding

how Jesus was going to help his daughter.

It was just trusting that Jesus would fulfill

the promise that he made.

And listen, that's the case for our lives too.

It's not about knowing how things are going to work out.

It's not about knowing how God is going to do this thing for you.

It's not about knowing how Jesus is going to work out

his purposes in your life.

It's just trusting that he is.

And casting your hope, casting your care,

casting your faith wholly on the promise of God.

Jairus didn't need to know how it was going to happen.

He just needed to trust the Lord.

And I don't know what's going on in your life right now

where your faith is being tested.

And the faith of whether or not you're really going to trust

the promises of God's word.

I don't know how that's being tested right now.

But I can tell you this, that God's not going to explain it to you.

He's just going to say, trust me.

Just believe me.

I haven't broken a promise.

I'm not going to start with you.

Just trust my word.

Look with me at verse 38.

They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue.

And Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

And so as Jesus approached Jairus' house,

Mark wrote that there was a great commotion taking place

regarding the death of this little girl.

And the description is somewhat interesting.

The description of what the commotion was

tells us verbs of things that we hear.

It says that they were weeping and wailing.

Those are things that we hear.

But when it uses the action of Jesus,

what it says that he was doing is that he was seeing.

In other words, the mourning, the commotion at the house

was so intense that it could not only be heard,

but it could be seen.

It was a visible and an audible grief and mourning.

And it was a commotion.

A tumult was taking place.

And as they are approaching the house,

not even quite on the house yet,

they can clearly see and hear that there is a problem

and that people are hurt and that they're mourning.

And so when you consider the circumstance,

a 12-year-old girl dying, perhaps unexpectedly,

it's not surprising at all that this would be the case.

The description of this verse also conveys a Jewish custom

that's foreign to our American culture.

Whenever someone died in this particular day,

there were professional mourners that came to their home

and were hired to quite literally weep and well

as if the loss was their own.

In fact, it was not only a customary thing,

but it was actually a requirement in Jewish law.

Even poor families had to hire at least one mourner

and two flute players whenever they had a funeral

in their house.

And there were a number of reasons for this.

Partly it was to give the family an opportunity

to express an intense grief

without having more attention drawn to them.

But you can imagine Jairus being probably somewhat wealthy

and well-known in the community

has had his family that has obviously hired

many of these mourners.

And so just a great way off from the house,

they can already hear them.

And perhaps it's overcomplicating the issue

with what's going on.

And so that's what they're walking into.

And we don't know how long the girl had been dead,

but it was at least long enough for these mourners

to have been hired and in place before Jesus arrives.

Now, if we think through this timeline,

we're going all the way back to verse 21 now.

If we think through this timeline,

when Jairus leaves the house,

his daughter is still alive,

though she could die at any moment.

And he finally gets to wherever Jesus is.

He finally gets through the crowd.

They have this conversation and Jesus goes

and then they get held up

and all the things begin to unfold.

She had at least been dead long enough

that the mourners had already been alerted.

They had already gathered at the house

and they were already doing the thing.

Okay, so this has been quite some time.

If we follow this timeline,

it's likely that Jairus' daughter

probably was already dead

before he even made it to Jesus to begin with.

Which tells us something significant.

Jesus never intended to heal Jairus' daughter

of her sickness.

This was never about a sickness.

This was always about a resurrection.

Jairus didn't understand that.

He didn't know.

Jesus didn't tell him.

But he never intended to heal the illness.

He actually had something much more spectacular.

Which just brings us to another point

as we're just making kind of these random applications

as we work through.

Be careful that your despair

doesn't lead you to become a critic

of God's work in your life.

Now think about Jairus here.

You won't always understand

why God allows the things in your life

to unfold in the way that they do.

But the one thing that you can trust

is that he is always working out

what's right and what's best in your life.

Jairus didn't realize what was about to happen.

But Jesus knew all along what this was going to be.

It wasn't a problem for him to stop and help the woman.

Jesus knew this was going to be a resurrection.

Abraham said

in relation to God's judgment

on Sodom and Gomorrah.

Abraham said

shall not the judge of all the earth

do what is right?

And I found that to be a comforting verse

at a number of moments in my life

when I was doubting

whether or not

God's work was actually good

and was actually right.

And then we come to a moment

and we begin to see that God is always right.

He's always right.

He does all things well.

And he does all things

for our good

and for his purposes

and for his glory in our life.

And that doesn't mean

that his way is always easy.

It's often not very easy actually.

But it is always right.

And you may not understand

why exactly you're going through

the things that you are right now

but you can trust that he's right.

Keep on believing.

Stop being afraid.

Verse 39

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.

So once Jesus entered into the house

he immediately confronted the commotion.

And he did this

in somewhat of an unusual way.

He proclaimed all the people

that were there weeping and wailing.

That the girl is not dead.

She is sleeping.

Now Jesus wasn't lying.

Okay.

He wasn't being deceitful.

He wasn't trying to be mysterious.

He wasn't actually speaking

of a literal sleep.

He was referring to the fact

that her death was only temporary.

And we understand this is the case

because the New Testament

often deals with the death of believers

with this type of metaphor.

This metaphor of sleeping.

Paul used it in 1 Corinthians 15.

He said,

Behold I tell you a mystery.

We shall not all sleep

but we all shall be raised.

In other words,

not every Christian is going to die

because at some point

the Lord is going to come back.

And those who are living

are going to be united with the Lord

in those moments.

Jesus said this to his disciples

on another occasion.

You'll remember when his friend Lazarus

had died.

In John chapter 11

John 11 · chapter mention

it says,

After saying these things

he said to his disciples,

Our friend Lazarus

has fallen asleep

but I go to awaken him.

And the disciples didn't get it.

Here's what they said.

The disciples said to him,

Lord if he has fallen asleep

he'll recover.

Now Jesus had spoken of his death.

They thought he had meant

taking rest and sleep.

And then Jesus told them plainly,

Lazarus has died.

So Jesus clearly isn't speaking

of a literal sleep here.

He's talking about the temporary nature

of this young girl's death.

It was a real death.

But the mourners

that were in the house that day

didn't understand the metaphor.

They took Jesus' words

literally in that moment.

And the task that they performed

in this mourning

was something that they did

professionally.

They weren't in the habit

of mistaking a comatose patient

for someone who was dead.

They weren't in the habit

of coming home

and seeing that someone's

taking a nap in the bed

and just assuming

that they're dead

and calling all the other mourners.

Okay?

They knew what death was.

They knew what it means

to be dead.

And they didn't understand

the metaphor

that Jesus was saying.

And their reaction

was not to trust Jesus

as Jairus had done

and was continuing to do.

Their reaction

was far opposite of that.

They mocked him instead.

Laughed him to scorn.

We're told they did.

And it was an indication

of the hardness

of their heart.

Which is probably

why Jesus said it

the way that he did.

Because Jesus was exposing

the hardness

in their heart.

It was also a validation

that she was actually dead

and everybody there

knew it.

And so Jesus says,

she's just sleeping.

They laughed

and mocked him to scorn.

And everybody in the house

knew who was truly believing

and who wasn't truly believing.

Look at verse 40.

Here's how Jesus responds.

He put them all outside

and he took the child's father

and mother

and those who were with him

and went in

where the child was.

So Jesus responded

to the mockery

of the mourners

by forcing them

to leave the house.

So the only people

that remained then

were Jairus, his wife,

Peter, James, and John.

But that just brings us

to another question.

Why would Jesus

make them leave?

I mean, wouldn't it make sense

if Jesus would allow

these mourners

to stay in the house

and actually witness

this resurrection?

They would verify

this incredible power

that he has

in this moment.

And so have you picked up

on how my mind

critically and cynically

engages with the scripture

from time to time.

We've come through this

and every time,

what have my biggest questions been?

Why did Jesus do it that way?

Because I often think

that I could do it better.

We often do, don't we?

But Jesus is always right.

As the song goes,

Jesus doeth all things well.

And Jesus had a purpose in this.

I think it's actually threefold.

In fact,

if you're going to write

anything down,

write these three things down.

Here's why I think

Jesus did this.

Number one,

though Jesus desires our faith,

he is not desperate

for our approval.

Though he desires our faith,

he's not desperate

for our approval.

Jesus wasn't like

the modern social media addicts.

He wasn't spending

all of his time

and doing all these miracles

in order to stroke his own ego.

That's not what this was about.

Jesus isn't desperate

for our approval.

He desires our faith

because he desires

our salvation.

But he's not desperate

for us to come along

and boost his ego

as if he were some prideful man.

Okay?

So that's one reason.

He doesn't have to keep them around.

Number two,

Jesus' miracles

weren't for the purpose

of entertainment.

That's not why he did

the things that he did.

The crowds treated him

as if he was just

an entertainer or magician.

In fact,

many of the people

that followed Jesus

around in these crowds,

they were either just looking

to get something from him

or they were just looking

to see something magnificent

from him.

But Jesus didn't do

the things he did

to entertain us.

There's a reason

he didn't allow

the massive crowd

to follow him

to Jairus' house.

And it's the same reason

he often asked

those he healed

not to say anything about it.

The miracle here

was about the restoration

of the girl's health

and the strengthening

of Jairus' faith.

That was the purpose

of what he was doing.

Not to let everybody know

what was going on.

Okay?

Number three,

I think this is

a real life example

of Jesus' parable

in chapter four,

verse 25.

425.

Flip back there with me.

Let's read it.

Chapter four,

verse 25.

Remember,

this is a further explanation

about the parable

of the soils.

And Jesus says

in verse 25,

He that hath

to him shall more be given.

And he that hath not

from him

shall be taken away

even that which he has.

Now remember,

when we were going

through that passage,

this is in relation

to the parable

of the soils.

And think about the soils.

There were three

in which the seed

was sown,

but they produced

no fruit.

And in each one

of those cases,

the seed that they

were given

was destroyed.

On the pathway,

the seed was taken

and devoured

by the birds.

In the thorny soil,

it was choked out

and destroyed

by the weeds.

In the shallow soil,

it sprouted

for just a moment

and then it was

baked in the sun.

What they had been given

was taken away.

But the good soil

that actually were

good hearers of the word

actually had the work

of God producing fruit

in their lives.

Okay?

And then we get

to verse 25

and Jesus explains

that further.

He says,

he that hath

more shall be given.

He that hath faith,

more understanding

will be given.

He that has not faith,

even the opportunity

that he has

will be taken away.

Now,

fast forward back

to this story

with Jairus.

What's happening here?

Jairus shows up

to Jesus in the crowd

with what?

Faith.

It's an imperfect faith.

He doesn't know

everything that he needs

to know

or everything

that there is

possible to know,

but he shows up

with faith.

And what does Jesus do?

Every step of the way,

he reassures him.

He strengthens his faith.

He gives him more.

He gives him more

and more understanding

and then he is allowed

to experience

this magnificent

miracle of resurrection.

But what happens

with those

that don't have faith?

Even the opportunity

that they had

was taken away.

And then we understand

that just because

they saw the resurrection

doesn't mean

they would have

believed anyways.

In fact,

Jesus said,

if they won't believe

my word,

neither will they

believe someone

even if they come

back from the dead.

And so Jesus

cast them out.

Number three,

if you're keeping up,

the life-giving Savior.

And we'll wrap it

with this, okay?

The life-giving Savior.

This is verses

41 to 43.

And so we once again

see the tender

compassion of the Lord.

what was it

that he told

Jairus he would do?

What did he agree to do?

He agreed to lay hands

on his daughter.

He agreed

that she would

live.

And what does Jesus

do as he comes in?

He lays his hands

on the daughter.

He fulfilled

every part

of the promise

to the smallest

detail.

He always does.

And he comes

in the room

and in his tender

compassion,

he takes her hand

and he says this

phrase in Aramaic

is how Mark

records it.

Aramaic would have

been the common

language of the

Hebrews in that day.

And he says,

Talitha kum,

which means

little girl,

wakey,

wakey,

essentially.

This was just

a common phrase.

What's the whole

purpose of this?

This was not

some magical

incantation.

The power

wasn't in the

words because

every parent

woke their kids

up this way.

Little girl,

time to get up.

Jesus just

uses an everyday

phrase because

the power is not

in the words.

The power was

in the one

who spoke

the words.

And Jesus

comes in and

he says,

little girl,

awake.

And immediately,

just as every

one of Jesus'

miracles,

immediately she

gets up off

the bed and

begins to walk

around fully

restored to

life.

What once was

dead,

immediately is

brought back

to life.

Why?

Not because

Jesus said

the magical

words,

but because

Jesus himself

is God

incarnate,

which is the

purpose of

all of these

stories.

He calmed

the storm

because he's

God.

He cast out

the demons

because he's

God.

He healed

the disease

of the woman

because he's

God.

And he raised

the girl

from the dead

because he's

God.

God.

That's the

point.

The point

is Jesus

of Nazareth

is the

Messiah and

the Son of

God.

Repent and

believe the

gospel.

That's the

whole thing.

People in

the room

didn't have a

perfect faith,

but they

didn't have to

have a perfect

faith.

None of us

have a perfect

faith.

faith.

But even

with the

faith,

the size

of a tiny

mustard seed,

they experience

the life-giving

power of our

Lord and

Savior.

The same

life-giving

power that

he gave to

each of us

that came to

him with just

a mustard seed

of faith.

faith.

And the

narrative finishes

with two

simple

instructions.

Give the

girl some

food and

don't tell

anyone what

happened.

Giving the

girl some

food was to

verify that

this was a

bodily

resurrection,

that it

wasn't an

apparition.

Just in

case they were

worried that

they were

seeing a

ghost running

around the

room in

that moment,

Jesus says,

give her some

food.

food and

it was

verified in

that moment.

That's an

important note

here.

It doesn't

seem like it

but it is.

Jesus did the

same thing in

Luke 24.

After his own

resurrection,

he appears to

the disciples

out of nowhere

and yet it was

still a bodily

resurrection because

sitting in the

room with the

disciples, he

eats some fish

and he drinks

some water or

something else

that was with

him.

He ate some

food in that

moment.

It was a bodily

resurrection as

was this girl's.

But then we

perhaps get a

little bit confused

once again because

we get to the

end of this and

we think it's

so fantastic and

Jesus says,

don't tell

anybody.

Don't tell

anybody.

And every time I

read this, Jesus

does it a lot and

every time I read

it, I always

wonder, why?

Why?

And we've really

dealt with it

already.

As Sinclair

Ferguson said,

those who will

not trust Jesus'

word will not

trust his deeds

either.

And it takes us

back to the

emphasis of what

Jesus was

commanding Jairus

to have faith

in.

And that was

his promised

word.

And I quoted

this a moment

ago in Luke

Luke 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16.

You'll remember

Jesus mentioned

this in his

story about the

rich man and

Lazarus.

Remember they

both died and

the rich man

went to hell.

And he's having

this conversation

in the story with

Abraham.

Luke 16 says,

And he said,

I beg you,

Father Abraham,

to send him to

my father's house

for I have five

brothers that he

may warn them,

lest they also

come into this

place of torment.

But here's what

Abraham says in

the story.

They have Moses

and the prophets.

Let them hear

them.

In other words,

they have the

word.

And the word has

everything that they

need.

Let them go to the

word.

And here's how the

man responds in

Jesus' story.

No,

Father Abraham,

but if someone

goes to them

from the dead,

they will repent.

And he said to

him,

If they do not

hear Moses and

the prophets,

neither will they

be convinced if

someone should rise

from the dead.

Over and over

and over,

Jesus emphasized

the scripture

over experience.

We read it last

week in 2 Peter

2 Peter 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Peter referred to

this amazing

experience that

he had on the

Mount of

Transfiguration.

He literally

saw Jesus

transfigured on

the mountain and

he saw Moses and

Elijah and the

voice of God and

he relates that

experience that he

has.

And then he says,

But we have a

more sure word.

The emphasis is

always on the

scripture.

And there are

many that say,

I'll believe if

God will just do

something to prove

it to me.

But no.

No, you won't.

Because Jesus

said you won't.

If you won't

accept his word,

you won't accept

his work.

And there were a

lot of people in

Jesus' day that

that applied to.

They wouldn't

listen to his

word and they

saw his work and

they still didn't

believe what makes

you think you'd be

any different.

If you were any

different, Jesus

would be a liar.

So what does

Jesus say?

Go to the word.

What's our faith to

be in?

Not our experience.

The word of God.

What about when you

doubt?

You don't trust your

feelings.

Trust the word.

Trust the word.

The fact that Jesus

had power over nature

and demons and

disease is amazing.

But it's his power

over death that

fills our hearts with

joy and hope,

isn't it?

Of course, we

understand that in

his resurrection.

We understand it

primarily in his

resurrection.

But even when we

come to a passage

like this, we're

reminded that Jesus

has power over our

death.

And so when we

reflect on the

inevitability of that

death, we can't help

but ask that question.

Has anyone defeated

death?

And if so, can they

defeat it for us?

And the Bible has a

resounding guess.

It's Jesus Christ.

It's Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of

this little girl pointed

to his resurrection and

it prefigures the

resurrection that all

believers will have an

eternal life.

And I remind you of

Jesus' words in John

11.

I think it was to

Martha after Lazarus

had died and Jesus was

about to perform another

resurrection.

What was it that Jesus

said to Martha?

I am the resurrection

and the life.

Whoever believes in me

though he die, yet he

shall live.

And everyone who lives

and believes in me shall

never die, Jesus says.

And then stay with me

right here.

Stay with me.

We're almost done.

I know there's people

out there.

Just stay with me.

Jesus asked her an

important question after

that.

He makes this statement.

I'm the resurrection of

the life.

Believe in me.

You'll have eternal life.

And then he looks at

Martha and he says, do you

believe this?

And that's the question

I'll leave you with

today.

I know you're used to

church.

I know that.

I know that all of you

could probably tell me

all the stuff.

I know that.

But that's not my

question.

My question is not, do

you know all the stuff?

My question is, do you

believe this?

Do you believe that he

is the resurrection and

the life?

Do you believe that he

is the Messiah and son

of God?

You say, well, I don't

feel like I believe it

very strongly.

You don't have to

believe it all that

strongly as we've seen.

He will meet you where

you are.

But if your heart is

hardened to that, you'll

be cast out.

But if you will but

believe, you'll be

forgiven.

And you will not have

this death.

Because true death is

not the soul's

separation from the

body.

True death is the soul's

separation from God.

God.

And that's why he died

on the cross and rose

from the dead.

In order to reconcile

us to God.

And he says, all who

come to me with this

faith, I will never

cast out.

And that's you too.

Just believe.

Well, let's take aNINGNING