All Interruptions Aren't Bad!

If you were here last Sunday morning, you’ll remember that we saw Jesus raise a twelve year-old little girl from the dead.  Jairus was her dad, and she was his only child and on death’s doorstep. 

 

In an act of desperation, Jairus, the Jewish religious leader, remembered possibly what he saw and definitely what he heard about and came and fell at the feet of Jesus begging Him to intervene in his crisis, and Jesus did.

 

In the face of laughter and doubt, Jesus raised the girl who had died.  She stopped breathing.  Her heart stopped beating.  Her spirit had departed.  Yet, Jesus performed a miracle and brought her back to life. 

 

Jesus has proven Himself as more powerful than disasters and more powerful than the demonic and more powerful than death.  Today, we will see that He is more powerful than disease.

 

However, from Jairus’ perspective, it almost didn’t happen.  It almost didn’t happen because of an interruption that takes place in Mark 5:25-34.

Generally speaking, I don’t like interruptions.  They catch me by surprise and throw of my schedule, and as you know, I’m a very scheduled person.  However, all interruptions aren’t bad.  This is one in which a life is changed forever.

 

If you look at today’s miracle along with last week’s miracle, there are three primary characters.  All of them deserve our attention today: this woman, Jesus, and Jairus.

 

 

1. A Desperate Situation, Mark 5:25-26

25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

 

This woman was diseased.  She had been hemorrhaging internally for 12 years.  Let that sink in.  Most commentators believe this was some type of ongoing bleeding in her uterus.  She was suffering physically.

 

She was also suffering emotionally.  She sought treatment for 12 years, and after every treatment she thought this was it.  I have been made well, but instead, she hadn’t.  She suffered many things from many physicians, and she was only getting worse. 

 

She also suffered emotionally because she was defiled.  Because of her bleeding, she was unclean according to OT Law and separated from the nation of Israel.  No one could be around her or risk defilement as well.

 

Leviticus 15:25, 25 ‘If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, other than at the time of her customary impurity, or if it runs beyond her usual time of impurity, all the days of her unclean discharge shall be as the days of her customary impurity. She shall be unclean.

 

Finally, she was suffering financially.  Mark 5:26 says she spent all that she had on her medical condition and to no avail.  

 

This woman found herself in a desperate situation.

 

 

2. A Determined Aspiration, Mark 5:27-28

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 

 

In our next two verses, we continue to see this woman determined or decide that she needs something different.  She aspired or hoped that her situation would change. 

 

Notice she heard about Jesus.  Then she acted on what she had heard, and she believed not in herself but in Him.

 

Today, I am telling you about Jesus.   Therefore, you are hearing.  You will then need to recognize the need for change in your life or the need to be saved from your sins, and my invitation to you this morning is going to be to put your faith in Jesus to save you rather than self to save you.

 

 

3. A Definite Modification, Mark 5:29-34

29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”  31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”  32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

 

These last several verses speak mostly about Jesus.  Jesus is omnipotent or all-powerful.  Just by touching the fringe of His garment, she was healed immediately.  Jesus was fully man and fully God.  Even during His earthly ministry, He could do whatever He chose to do, and the same is true today.  He is still all powerful.

 

Jesus is omniscient or all-knowing.  Jesus knew someone had touched Him.  I would even say He knew who touched Him.  He simply wanted this woman to acknowledge her faith publicly.  Peter didn’t think it was possible to know who touched Him, but Jesus did because He is omniscient.

 

By the way, just as Jesus desired this woman to come forward to confess her faith in front of this crowd, Jesus wants you to confess your faith publically this morning as well.  Faith is certainly personal, but you never see faith in the NT as private. 

Thirdly, Jesus is omnibenevolent or all good.  Jesus didn’t try to embarrass this woman, but wanted her to confess Him publicly.  When she did, He told her that faith had made her well, and blessed her to go in peace. 

 

 

Jairus

Now, don’t forget about Jairus.  As far as we know from the pages of Scripture and maybe even differently than I speculated last week, he was composed.  As far as we know, he was waiting patiently on Jesus while all of this was happening.  He didn’t interrupt.  He didn’t pull Jesus through the crowd. Yet, his daughter is dying.  He was composed.

 

Jairus was also committed.  Even after he got word that his daughter had died, Jesus spoke to him and reassured him that everything would be fine.  Therefore, he remained committed to his belief that Jesus could help.

 

Jairus was cared for.  I believe that as a result of his composure and his commitment, Jesus cared for Jairus and his family by bringing his daughter back to life.  When you’re faced with an interruption, remember that all interruptions aren’t bad. Stay composed. Stay committed.  Trust that you will be cared for.

 

 

Application/Conclusion

We can all find application in this story today and allow me to close with several.

 

First, Jairus teaches us how to handle interruptions.  Stay composed.  Stay committed. Trust that you will be cared for.

 

Second, from the woman, she acted on what she heard and believed that Jesus was more powerful than disease.  See James 5:13-18.

 

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

 

Finally, in the last verse of today’s text, we find something very interesting.  In the entire Bible, Jesus used the title of “Daughter” one time. It is here.  He called her daughter because she now had a heavenly Father.  If you will let Him save you this morning, you too can have a heavenly Father who will call you by name.

 

You can be at peace with God, see Romans 5:1, and Jesus will also demonstrate His power of your disease of sin like Paul wrote about in Romans 6:1-14.

 

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.