Feeding the 5000

So, we’re going to get started. Good to have everybody with us. Appreciate those who are with us yesterday and new ones today. We’re glad you could be with us. We are going to look at one of the miracles of Jesus today. Again, what we’re doing in these morning classes is just taking a what I call a day in the life of Jesus and just kind of focusing on that. Um, we’re going to focus on Mark 5. But before we get to Mark 5, I want to chase a rabbit with you first and I want to go to Matthew 4 here in just a minute.

Matthew 4. So, uh, but it’s good to have everybody with us. And like we did yesterday, I’ll be asking you some questions. You ask me questions and we’ll pass the answers on to David so he can tell us what to do. [laughter] But no, we are glad we could spend this time together. Let’s begin uh with a prayer. Let’s talk to heaven. Isn’t that neat phrase? Let’s talk to heaven. I love that. Holy Father, we’re thankful for this new day knowing this is blessing from you. We’re thankful we can start this day together and start this day in your word.

Help us to continue to walk with you, Father. You have done so much for us. We love you so much. Help us continue to be your people. Help us to be the lights into this dark world. And help us continue to grow strong. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. You know, one of the things uh we notice particularly when you focus upon the miracles of Jesus is the number of just sick, hurting, and problem people that came to him. And so one example of this is in Matthew ⁠4:24.

It says, “And the news about him went out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were ill with various diseases and pains, denomics, epileptics, paralytics, and he healed them.” I sometimes I sometimes think that we when Jesus is teaching and going about, we kind kind of get a setting like this. You know, we we we all good people. were nice people and everything, but that that wasn’t it. I mean, it would be like walking into the emergency room of a hospital and you can imagine parents trying to push their sick kids up to the front.

Here’s somebody with demons and we’re all taking about five steps away from that guy because we just don’t know what’s going to happen with him. And and what most people wanted was not salvation. They wanted wellness. That’s what they were after. And there as Jesus would give them wellness, he was hoping that they would stick around and follow him to get the salvation because that’s that’s really what he was after. And so so today as we dive into one of the miracles of Jesus, we’re going to we’re going to again see this concept brought about.

Let’s turn our Bibles over to the book of Mark. Now we’re going to focus on chapter five, but we need to begin in chapter four. There’s an interesting thing that Mark does for us here. that that again remembering that the chapters and the verse numbers were put in by man, not God. And sometimes we just read chapter to chapter to chapter and we stop and we stop and we stop and we get we lose the flow. And so there there’s something unique about Mark 4 and Mark 5 as you put them together.

And what Mark does is he shows us the all authority of Jesus Christ. And he shows this in four dramatic fashions. Um let let me just list them to you and then then we’re going to go back and kind of point out some of them to you. So he’s going to show that Jesus has all authority over the elements. He can change the weather. That’s going to be Mark 4. Then he can control demons. That’s the beginning of chapter five. Then our study today, he can cure the incurable disease and he can conquer death.

And so right right there are four impossibilities. I mean I I’ve done outdoor weddings where we’ve held umbrellas. Okay. Wish we could change the weather. Okay. We can’t change the weather. Okay. And and the idea of the spiritual world that that’s going to deal with demons. That’s going to deal with the death and and how Jesus has all authority. So, so in Mark 4, just looking at this real quickly here, just grabbing a couple of the verses here in in verse 35, it talks about how uh they got into the boat, went to the other side, and verse 37 and New American Standard, which I use 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, all begin with the word and.

It’s just like these are railroad cars all connected together. But but here in 37 it says and if and there arose a fierce gale wind and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Now you may not know anything about boats. You know somebody says the starboard side. You may say I don’t know what side that is but but 37 tells us three things that that we need to see. The phrase fierce gale of wind in the Greek language is where we get the word seismos seismograph earthquake.

Okay. So, this wasn’t a little bit of white water. This was an intense storm. Okay. Second thing 37 tells us is that the waves were breaking over the boat. The waves are supposed to be under the boat. When you’re in a boat and the waves are above your boat, you got problem. Okay? And then the third thing 37 tells us is that the boat was already filling up. The water is supposed to be outside the boat, not inside the boat. Okay? So, they have a problem here.

Okay? And and what’s interesting is the following verse is that when they awaken Jesus and notice what they say in verse 38, teacher, do you not care? They didn’t ask him, Jesus, have you seen anything like this? Jesus, can you stop this? Do you not care? We are dying. Don’t you care? And and again, that that’s is just a profound thing. So they so they get to the shore, chapter 5 begins, and immediately uh a demon-possessed man comes running at them, screaming, um begging Jesus not to cast the demons into uh the abyss.

Um now, now again, uh Peter, James, and John lived on this water. They’ve been through storms. Matthew had a desk job. He was a tax collector. And so I imagine Matthew about screamed as loud as he could during that storm. Soon as they get the other side, here comes this demon possessed. I think they’re back in the boat now. I think this is this is I thought when we signed up for this, this is going to be a wonderful journey with Jesus. That’s not wonderful. And and what one of the things that runs through this, it says this in chapter 4, but you see it in chapter five is fear.

Uh how many times the apostles were afraid. And now we we may get we may hear a noise in the night and get a little bit startled. We may watch a scary movie and get scared for a moment, but most of us we can go long periods of our life where we’re not really afraid. Uh this is almost every page of the of the gospels. So So then um the demon-possessed man comes, Jesus cast the demons into the pigs and the pigs rush into the sea and they drown. And uh it’s it’s interesting when uh the guys watching the pigs, this is gentile country, go and tell the masters and they come, they ask Jesus to leave.

They’d rather have the man with demons in their pigs than the man in his right mind and no pigs. And so uh that that kind So they get in a boat, they cross the other side. And this is where our story takes place in in chapter 21. We’re going to start reading and we see this synagogue official named Gyrus. He runs to Jesus. It’s a this a 911 call. My little girl is dying. Come. And we we’ll kind of stretch this here in just a minute here. So Jesus goes on the process of that.

There’s a woman with the issue of blood and there’s that encounter with her. The little girl dies and then Jesus goes and resurrects her. But but but in the midst of these two chapters, you see the authority of Jesus. He does what no one else can do. He can he can stop a storm by just saying a word. He can cast out a demon by just saying a word. He can cure somebody that has incurable disease. Or he can say a word to the dead and the dead obey him and they come back to life.

And so right there real real real short we we we just see that Jesus Christ is God on earth. That’s just a powerful little way of looking at. So what I want to do today it’s a little longer section. Let me read it and then there’s just layers and layers. One thing about these Bible stories, you know, most of us have read these a dozen times, but it’s like an onion and and okay, yeah, I got this. Oh yeah, you peel. There’s another layer. There’s another layer. and and you keep peeling it and it’s endless how many layers of lessons you learn here.

And that’s that’s what’s beautiful about the gospels here. So, let’s begin in in Matthew, excuse me, Mark 5, start with verse 21. And I’m going to read down to the end of the chapter here. Says, “When Jesus crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered about him, and he stayed by the seashore. One of the synagogue officials named Gyrus came up and upon seeing him fell at his feet and entreated him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death.

Please come and lay your hands on her that she may that she may get well and live.” And he went off with him. And a great multitude was following him and pressing in on him. And a woman who had a hemorrhage for 12 years, who had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and had not been helped at all, but rather had grown works, after hearing about Jesus, came up in the crowd behind him and touch his cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch his garments, I shall get well.”

And immediately the flow of blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. And immediately Jesus perceiving in himself that the power proceeding from him had gone forth turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And the disciples said to him, “You see the multitude pressing in on you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?” And he looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came 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 affliction. And while he was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher anymore?” But Jesus, overhearing what was spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

And they came to the house of the synagogue official, and behold, a commotion and people loudly weeping and wailing. And entering in, he said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” And they were laughing at him. But putting them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and his own companions, and entered the room where the child was. And taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Tellum, which translated means little girl, I say to you, arise.”

And immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was 12 years old. And immediately they were completely astonished. And he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this. And that and he said something should be given to her to eat. Well, notice one of the things we notice here. Four times the word immediately is used. It’s used in verse 29. It’s used in verse 30. And it’s used two times in verse 42. Again, that that is a that is a very very common expression of Mark.

Mark loves to talk about just how immediately these things happen with her. So, what I want to do begin with as we focus upon Gyrus and the woman with the issue of blood. It’s kind of a miracle within a miracle. Jesus is going to do a miracle, but in the process another miracle happens. I want to contrast these two people. Okay? Let’s talk about how they’re different. Immediately one’s a man, one’s a woman. Okay, that’s again in our culture it doesn’t mean as much as it really mean meant a lot back then.

What else do you notice in contrast about these two people? Okay. Okay. She know Gyrus there’s another contrast right there. We know his name. What’s the name of the woman? We don’t know. That’s a contrast there. Synagogue officials. First of all, let’s talk about that role. If you had to write on a piece of paper, what is a job description of a synagogue official? What what was his job? What would he do? Absolutely. So, so he he was kind of like in char He may be like a deacon today in the church.

He he was in charge of the scheduling. Uh over in Luke chapter 4, we read this one night in one of our lessons is when Jesus was in the synagogue there and it says in verse 16, he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as was custom, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, stood up to read. Well, Jesus didn’t just walk in and start reading. It was arranged. It was arranged for him to do that. It was arranged for him what he was going to read. Okay? uh because it says he opened the book.

Well, that would been the Isaiah and Isaiah was three massive scrolls. And so that’s the job of the synagogue official. Most of them were kind of wealthy. Now, what was the what was the economic status of this woman? She’s broke. She’s broke. She spent all her money on doctors and not got So, she’s broke. Okay. In fact, she she’s she’s to the point now where she’s hopeless and helpless because if you’re not well and you need to go to a doctor, but I spent all my money on doctors, what’s my next option?

Now, they didn’t have insurance back then. Okay? So, so that’s a major major contrast we see with that. Now, for 12 years, um, we’ve had joy from this little girl. Now, she’s sick and she’s dying. For 12 years, this woman’s been sick. Okay? Okay. So, we so we got we got a contrast there. And so, so it’s kind of interesting how how that kind of begins. And so, as as we go back to the context and start peeling this onion here just a little bit, noticing some things.

And so, it says in verse 22, one of the synagogue officials named Gyrus come up and upon seeing Jesus fell at his feet. Now, the woman, there’s another contrast. The woman’s going to come behind Jesus, but the Gyrus comes in front of Jesus. Now, what’s interesting about this is most of the synagogue officials did not like Jesus. Jesus had had been doing a lot of miracles on the Sabbath in synagogues. He had healed the man with a withered hand. And so, most of the synagogue officials don’t like Jesus.

Now, if you notice how this began in verse 21, it says there was a great multitude gathered about him. So, Gyrus doesn’t say, “Um, Jesus, um, can can we go back here in the background? I got to talk to you in private. My little girl’s dying. I don’t care. I don’t care what you think. I don’t care about my reputation. I don’t care about my status. The only thing I care about is my little girl. So, in front of this crowd, a synagogue official bows before Jesus.

That’s significant. That that that’s something that just, you know, everyone’s probably thinking, “Whoa, what’s going on? You synagogue officials don’t do this.” But he was doing this because of the situation. And so he he begs Jesus to come. Now, now we’re again I want I want you to notice in verse 23 and then also verse 28. In 23 he says, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come lay your hands on her that she may get well.” He has faith that she’s going to get well.

In verse 28, when we think about the woman with the issue of blood, for she thought, “If I just touch his garments, I shall get well.” We talked about the differences in these two people. The similarities is they both had faith that if I can get Jesus involved, Jesus is going to take care of the situation. So Jesus goes off. They’re in a hurry. I mean, you can you can imagine um you know, if you if one of your kids was dying, you’re not going to say, “Well, Jesus, let’s let’s stop by 7-Eleven, get some snacks first.”

Um we’re we’re going as fast as we can go, but there’s a throng of people, a big crowd. And so, this woman comes up behind Jesus, and the Bible says she’s had an issue of blood for 12 years. Uh, how would that have left her? Anemic. So, her color is not right. She’s weak. What else? Unclean, which meant she couldn’t go into the temple compound. Religiously, she’s unclean. Um, it’s a little bit embarrassing. You know, sometimes in our uh Sunday announcements, we we break a lot of HIPPA rules.

I think sometimes, [laughter] you know, we and and sometimes I I think we say things that uh the person at home who’s sick probably wouldn’t want to announce. We do things like that, but but you know, you go up to somebody say, “Well, what’s wrong?” Well, you know, my elbow’s hurting today. Oh, I feel it. What’s going on with you? Got an issue of blood. You know, isn’t that something you just, you know, is like, oh, okay. You know, you know, sorry.

You don’t you don’t know what that you don’t know what that would have done with that. So, uh but but it it tells us that she had heard about Jesus. She’s heard about Jesus and she seems to be somewhat embarrassed because she comes up behind Jesus and she she has this idea that if I touch him, if I just touch him, I will be well. and and and that kind of leads and and so let let’s let’s kind of focus on this woman now in verse 25. A woman who had a hemorrhage for 12 years had endured much at the hands of man.

I I like that phrase. She’s endured much. And and if you’ve ever chased that little rabbit about first century cures, I mean, it is off the charts. the things they would wear around their necks or something from an ostrich egg and drink this or do this and and and so it wasn’t just I got some medicine. I’ve endured and I’ve endured much for for a long time and I’ve not gotten any better. And rather verse 26 says she’s grown worse. Okay, so her condition is getting worse and worse. for she thought verse 28, “If I just touch his garments, I shall get well.”

Now, where do you think she got that idea from? She she’s probably heard about him. Let’s go over to Mark chapter 3, if you will. Mark chapter 3 and look in verse 10. It says in Mark ⁠3:10, it says, “For he had healed many with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed about him in order to touch him.” And then later in Mark chapter 6, Mark chapter 6 and in verse 56, Mark ⁠6:56 it says, “And whenever he entered villages or cities or countryides, they were laying their sick in the marketplaces and in treating him that they might just touch the fringe of his cloak and as many as touched it were cured.”

So, so this is not something that she just thought up of there. This is something that’s kind of going along here. And and she gets this idea that if I just touch his garments, I shall get well. Now, again, notice the contrast. Gyrus comes in front of Jesus, bows down. She comes behind Jesus to touch him. Now, here’s an interesting thought. I don’t if you ever thought about this before. I have weird thoughts sometimes. Okay, so did she steal a miracle?

I mean, most times when Jesus is doing the miracle, he he is a forefront of doing it, okay? You know, I’m stopping the storm. I’m raising the dead. Well, this one, somebody came up behind him and just touched them and they’re cured. It’s like, excuse me, you didn’t ask. No, no, no. No one steals a miracle. No one steals a miracle. Okay. And and you know again th this I [clears throat] think this is something we need to see from this. Jesus knew immediately. So let’s look at 29 and 30 and kind of talk about this here just a little bit.

In 29 and 30 it says and immediately the flow of blood was dried up and she felt in her body she was healed of her affliction. Well immediately she’s feeling stronger. Immediately her color is coming back to her face. Immediately her energy levels going up. She hasn’t felt this way in a long, long time. 30. And immediately Jesus perceiving in himself that the power proceeding from him had gone forth. It wasn’t like it leaked out. It doesn’t go out unless Jesus lets it go out.

Now, now again, when we get to the next verse, verse 31, and Jesus said, “Who touched me?” And the disciples said, “Who’s not touching you?” You know, you ever been to a ball game or a concert and you’re leaving and there’s just a throng of people and everybody’s kind of bumping. Everybody’s bumping. You wonder how many people bump Jesus that had a bad leg or a bad heart or bad and nothing happened. It wasn’t just bumping Jesus. She reached out because she believed if I touch him, I will be cured.

So, there’s a difference in just bumping Jesus and touch him. And Jesus recognized that. Jesus knowing hearts. You there are several times in our Bible when the Jews are upset with Jesus and they’re thinking things and Jesus knows what they are thinking. So Jesus knew what she had done. Okay. And that’s I think that’s that’s impressive to kind of see that as that’s kind of taking place. Now he turns around and looks at the woman who had done this.

33 The woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. So in her mind, I can come up behind him, touch him, I’m cured. Nobody’s going to know. But Jesus knew. And he stops and turns around. We’re going to talk about this tonight in our sermon about Jesus stopping. It’s amazing how he does that. He stops and turns around. Let’s go over to the book of Luke if you will. Notice how Luke says this in Luke chapter 8.

Luke chapter 8 and verse 27. And it says here [clears throat] and uh Luke ⁠8:27 uh that’s not the right passage. 47, I’m sorry, 47. It says, uh, “But when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down.” Why? Why do you think she’s trembling and falling down? You know, it’s like she’s scared. Okay. Okay. And then unlike Gyrus, she didn’t really ask, did she? She didn’t really say, “Jesus, will you heal me? caught with a hand in the cookie jar, didn’t she? Okay. All right. And she fell down and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him and how she had meatly been healed.

Now, while this is going on, what’s hope what’s happening in the synagogue officials home? See, we see we’re in a hurry. We got to get there before she dies. And Jesus is having this conversation with this woman. Now, this [clears throat] is where and and as we get some application, we’re going to see this. This is where God is so different than Mr. Roger. You I’m so glad I’m not there because I I would have messed this up because what I would have told this woman is, “Honey, you’ve had this for 12 years.

30 more minutes isn’t going to change your life. I I’ve got to get in the ambulance and save this little girl, then I’ll come back and take care of you.” This guy’s important. I don’t even know who you are. No, she’s important because she is a daughter of heaven. And so he stops and has this conversation with her. And [clears throat] you can imagine what Gyrus is doing now. I mean, you can just say, “Come on. Come on. Come on.” You know, we got to get to my house. My little girl’s dying, you know, and I don’t care how long you’ve had this or you’re well now.

Go. You can you just sense all these things coming out as this is taking place. And so and then then as this develops a little bit more verse 34 he said to her daughter term of endurement don’t be afraid you didn’t do anything wrong what you did is good now now you you you’ll see this uh in in uh the story with Zakius where he calls him uh a son of Abraham. Um, again, how how God uses these terms just to reassure them, okay? You’re you’re you’re scared now.

You fell down and and you think you’ve done something wrong. You did not do anything wrong. You did not do anything. As as if as if Jesus is the father, he’s not. But that relationship um you’re not just woman, you’re daughter. We belong to each other. And so, daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your afflictions. What Jesus wanted in her to see was that it wasn’t magical garments he’s wearing. So you touch the fringe of my cloak.

You touch my fringe of my my clothes, you got well. It wasn’t that if I take this off, anybody can come up and touch this and get well. It’s not that. It’s me who made you well. I am God who made you well. And he wanted her to see that. And he also wanted to see that it wasn’t really the touch, it’s the faith because he’s healed people before and there was no touch. But to see how important it is that it was faith that made her well. Okay. And so 35 while he’s still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue officials saying, “Your daughter has died.

Why trouble the teacher anymore? That’s it. Exactly. They they they put a ceiling on God. They put a ceiling. You can you can heal diseases. You can cast out demons. You can calm storms. But there’s a limit. And that limit is death. Even you, Jesus, can’t do anything. Why trouble the teacher anymore? Side point. We can do the same thing. Nobody can save this marriage. I just put a ceiling on God. No one can get me out of these addictions. I just put a ceiling on God.

No one can help me. I just put a ceiling on God. There’s no ceiling on God. And so and so again uh 30 36 Jesus over hearing what was being spoken said to the synagogue official do not be afraid any longer only believe. I love uh goodspeed his translation Jesus paid no attention to what they were saying. I love that. [laughter] And we need to do the same thing. You know we hear all kinds of yeah yeah yeah just pay no attention to that. I don’t pay attention to that. I pay attention to God. So, don’t give up. Don’t give up.

That’s why he’s telling the synagogue official, don’t give up. And so, they go they go to the house. Okay. And when they get there, 39 um or 36 there there’s a big commotion. Now, again, in the first century world in a closed very close Jewish community, when someone died, you had professional mourning. Wouldn’t you like to have that job? What’s your job? I’m a professional mourner. I don’t know who it I don’t know who died, but I’m coming over here.

I’m crying, okay? And I’m playing the sad flute and I’m I’m just whailing and whailing and just making a big scene. And so Jesus comes there and there’s all this going on and go, just go. And here we have this little expression here where he says in 39 it says the child has not died but is asleep. And we know multiple times in our Bible how among the righteous that’s used our friend Lazarus is asleep. Okay. Um and in 1 Thessalonians 4 it talks about the sleep.

Let me let me let me chase a little rabbit here with you for a minute and then we’ll come back to this because I don’t think I’m going to fit it in in the nights. But but I always every meeting I want to go to I I try to talk about death just a little bit. So turn with me if you will in John 14. Just a little side point here because I find I find even within our fellowship, we don’t get death and it bothers us and we’re afraid of it. And I’ve gone places where Sunday morning begins.

Brethren, we have the most tragic news to announce. Sister Smith died last night. the tragic news. She’s out of this negative world, you know. Bless her heart. Why couldn’t all of us go? You know, so in John 14, it says, “Let let your heart not be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my father’s house are many dwelling places.” King James version says, “Mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also.”

Now, for for a long long long time when I first started preaching, in my father’s house were many mansions. This is how I saw it. See, when I when I first got married, I thought Debbie had money and she thought I had money. Reality [snorts] hit us when he got home from the honeymoon, [laughter] you know. But, but one of the things we did, we lived in Indianapolis and we drive up to the north side of Indianapolis where all the big houses are and we drive around.

and I’d see a big old mansion. I said, “Honey, when I get to heaven, that’s going to look just like that.” And we drive around a little bit more and she see this beautiful Victorian house. Mine’s going to look like that. And boy, I just preached that and preached that David when he gets up to heaven, he’ll have a beautiful mansion, gate, a little pond out there, and Sean’s going to have his over here, and I’m going to have mine. And it’s like, oh, that’s just a beautiful picture. But I started thinking about that. if he’s got his five acres and he’s got five acres and I got my two acres over here.

I just we’re not together. That doesn’t make any sense. And so I started diving into the word and word really means in my father’s house are many rooms. And there’s at least three rooms that I know of. The first room is in our mother’s womb. We are a person. And we go through a door called birth. That’s all it is. It’s a passageway from that room to this room. This is life. And so then we go through another door. It’s called death. And and and we just go into the other room.

Everything we want on the other side that door, but all it is is a door. It’s just like birth, but it’s just the opposite. But we get so obsessed with that door. Now that door swings one way. Okay? You’re not going to meet anybody says, “What did you do on the weekend?” “Well, I went fishing.” “Well, I died, but I came back.” No, you’re not going to meet anybody does that. Once you go through that door, you’re in the other room. But everything we believe, everything we want is on the other side of that door.

It’s just a door. And we get so obsessed with that door. Now, back home when I was preaching at Charletown Road for 18 years, always the door on the right. That’s the one I always point to. And and and one day a mother was taking her child back to the classroom back there, and she goes, “Oh, mom, not through that door. That’s death.” [laughter] So then walk around the other door. You know, that’s a death sword. Don’t go through that. But but but that’s what it is. And so when you realize that, say, okay, I’m alive.

I was alive in that room. I’m alive in this room and I’m going to be alive in that room. All I’m doing is switching rooms. My dad died five years ago. You know what? He’s just in the other room. That’s all he is. And so when you get that from a believer’s perspective, it’s okay. It’s okay. Okay. You’re going to miss the person, but they’re just in the next room and all that they are, they’re still there and they’re enjoying life without all the stuff we have here because we have all the junk here and they’re over there with the Lord.

And so that’s all happens. So, let’s get back to our fire now. I kind of lost my place here, but but that’s a rabbit I wanted to chase with you. I wanted you to see that and I want us to get that in our hearts about about how important that is. So Jesus is going to the house and he says a little girl has not died but she’s asleep and one of the profound verses verse 40 they laugh at you. Can you imagine laughing at Jesus? But they thought, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

And so he puts them all out. He takes a child, father, mother, his own companions in the room. 41. He takes the child by the hand. I’m going to talk about that in just a second. He said to her, “Tluth,” which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” What language is tuthacum? Aramaic. Okay. It’s it’s it’s like it’s like Hebrew, but it’s more Judeian. And so that’s the language Jesus spoke. Notice two words are translated into about five words, you know.

And so when you go when you go from that to the Greek and and Mark is writing to Christians. He’s writing to Christians in a lot of different places. And so they would not known that phrase. This is what Jesus actually said. Well, what does that mean? Here’s what it actually means. Little girl, I say to you, arise. Now, now, two things I want you to notice here. First of all, turn your Bible to Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter one. How many times Jesus touches?

We remember times when he touched the leper or he touched the eyes of the blind person. Over here in Revelation chapter one, as John is seeing Jesus in this vision, it says in verse 16, “And in his right hand, he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining as strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as a dead man, and he laid his right hand upon me.” Like, “It’s okay, John. It’s okay. It’s me.”

Okay. So, he takes the little girl by the hand. Now notice what he says to her. He says,”Little girl, I say to you, arise.” Now again, this is showing the power of Jesus. We can stand at the grave of a loved one, say, “I miss you. I love you. Here’s what’s happened in my life.” But they don’t really hear us because they’re in that room over there. But Jesus has the power to to talk to people in that room and says, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

and she came when he said to Lazarus, “Lazarus, come forth.” Not everybody in that cemetery came out of the grave. Only Lazarus. And so again, this is demonstrating that Jesus has authority in all realms. And so so the reason for the demons and I think the reason for this was to show this. Okay? I I see you’re powerful, more powerful than storms. I see that you’re more powerful than diseases. How do I know you’re more powerful than the devil? What’s the devil’s greatest tool?

death. Devil took that little girl. I tell you, you little girl, get back here. And she came. She obeyed. And that that just shows that profound implication of who Jesus is and what that’s like. Over in the book of uh 1 Corinthians chapter 15, just just another reference for you. 1 Corinthians 15, Paul would say it this In verse 51, he says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Not all of us going to die. There will be Christians on earth when Jesus comes.”

That’s what this passage is telling us. So, Iran fires that nuclear weapon and we fire the nuclear weapon back. We blast the whole planet. We’re all going to die. No, we’re not. How you know that? Because the Bible tells me that there’s going to be people there will be Christians alive when Jesus comes. May not be in America, but there’s going to be Christians alive. And so by faith, we know that. Well, you know, global warming, we’re just going to burn up.

You know what? There’ll be Christians alive when Jesus come. We got believe the Bible and not what everyone else is saying. Ju just like Goodspeed said in his translation, pay no attention to that stuff. Okay? And so so the miracle ends in in Mark chapter 5. Get back there. And uh the little girl comes alive. They are completely astonished. Now you know you know one one thing about this unless I’m forgetting one. There’s only three times Jesus raised somebody.

He raised this little girl. He raised Lazarus. And there was someone heading to the cemetery, that young man in the coffin, he stops the funeral and raised him. I think sometimes we think he was raising people every single day. He wasn’t. Wasn’t it wasn’t the point that empty cemeteries. That wasn’t the point. The point was to prove I’m God on earth who came to die for your sins. And and so this is one of the few occasion that happened. Then he gave them strict orders in verse uh 43 that no one uh that no one should know about this.

and he gave and that something should be given to her to eat. Go back earlier in Mark 5. I want you to notice this contrast. There’s a great contrast in Mark chapter 5 earlier when we think about the demon-possessed man in verse n in verse 18 of Mark 5. Demonpossessed man was intreating Jesus that he might accompany him and he did not let him but he said go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you. This is the first time Jesus told somebody to go do evangelism outside the apostles.

And if you think about it, okay, now now before you do this, we got to have a 13-week class on evangelism. You got to understand premillennialism, Calvinism, communism, and this ism and that ism. No, just go tell your family what Jesus has done. Well, now now you got to have all these tracks. There’s no tracks. There’s no tracks. And what’s interesting is after this here in Mark five at the end Mark 8 several other times Jesus will say do not tell.

The first time he says go tell is somebody we say no not this guy. He used to be naked up in the cemetery screaming that night. Not that guy. But that’s the guy Jesus first tells go tell. And that’s remarkable. Now, I’ve got about three or four points of application, but your thoughts, questions, or comments. It’s a great story. It’s a great story. I just love this. My favorite chapter in the Bible. Just it it moves fast. There’s lots of things happening here.

And over and over, we see the compassion, the power, the authority of Jesus. Just great. Yes. 12 years. Yeah. And And she’s getting worse and getting worse. [snorts] Yes. Yeah. Yeah. She and she she had a great determination. I mean, you know, I mean, I I I don’t I not told the logistics where how close she was to Jesus. I I imagine she worked her way through the crowd somehow. And she was persistent. I’ve got to touch him. I’ve got to touch him today.

And and that great faith. Who else? Yes. Yes. Yes. That happens at Yes. Yes. That happens in uh uh Acts. Are you talking about Paul and Ephesus? Yeah, it is in Acts. Yeah. Yeah. they they were throwing out their napkins and and that would happen. Yeah. There there’s some other strange ones. There’s one in the Old Testament where um Acts 1911. Okay. Acts ⁠19:11. Let’s go ahead and grab that real fast. Acts ⁠19:11. Just to read it. Excellent. God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

Yeah. Yeah. That’s just different. [laughter] That’s just different in our book. Just a second. We’ll get to that. But yes. Yeah. And that’s but there’s another one in the Old Testament where somebody’s being buried and they touch the bones of somebody and that guy comes alive and that’s different. That brother, you had your hand up. Yep. Just believe. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. What? Let’s talk about that just a sec. I’ll come back to you in a sec. What do you think when he said just believe?

Where was that pointed to? Believe I’m going to raise your girl. Believe me, believe what do you think that was pointed to? I think I think more more than anything else is you came to me. Don’t give up on me. Don’t give up on me. Okay? I’m I’m going I’m going to see this through. Just believe. You came to me knowing that if I touch Here’s my man. What’s that? Oh, okay. Okay. [laughter] Okay. All right. So, so you know, if if you came to me with a hope that I was going to heal your daughter, don’t give up.

She’s dead. So, from from Jesus standpoint, she’s just in the other room and I can still talk to her. Now for us, we can’t do that. We’re limited. Not Jesus. And so so again, it I I I think I think for the, you know, the whole audience, their minds are just being expanded. But who is this? I mean, who can talk to somebody in the other room and they hear him and he can bring them back? That’s who it was. Yes. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And and had Jesus not worked, she was out of options.

She’s been to doctors and gotten worse. She’s out on money. She can’t go back to doctors now. Without Jesus, I’m going to die. She believed. She believed. She believed. But, you know, in those small villages, you know, word spreads from place to place to place. And they were hearing about, you know, lepers, incurable leprosy being cured, somebody blind getting their sight back. So, the word was spread. This guy, this guy can do this. And so, She had hope. Let’s go back.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. you know, and and you know, those of us that are my generation remember Paul Harvey and and he used to always say the rest of the story. Okay. Um can you imagine the next Sabbath in that synagogue with Gyrus, you know, be be a little little different that that Saturday, wouldn’t it? [laughter] You know, and and good. So, she had some others right here. Okay. Go ahead. Yes. No. Nobody did. Yes. Right. later on. Yeah. Right. So, it’s over in Acts ⁠2:22 as Peter’s preaching says, “Men of Israel, listen to these words.

Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested or proven to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst.” There weren’t very many secretive miracles. Most of them were done openly and there’s a point of that. So again, in her mind, I’ll come up behind him, I’ll get healed, nobody will ever know until maybe later on, well, you got well. Yeah. Yeah, I’m I’m well now. But this is an act of God. And so God wants everybody to know this.

Okay, that’s important. Yeah. I think I think you know again [clears throat] especially in the book of John you’ll find this little phrase my hour has not yet come and then at the very end the hour is upon us. So Jesus the you know Jesus was knew the clock was ticking and he had to do certain things and part of it was getting these 12 apostles who were kind of all over the chart. Um getting them knowing that I’m leaving and you’re taking over you know you know it wasn’t like okay [clears throat] these 12 apostles I’m going to bench them bring up the B team.

There was no B team. This is it. And so, so I so I think part of it is I can’t get word out too soon. Now, back to back to the demon-possessed man. Now, this is a Roger stretch, but I really believe it’s there. Later on, Jesus goes back into Gentile country, and there’s a Syro Phoenician woman whose daughter is is cruy demonpossessed. And she comes begging Jesus to heal her. And the disciples say, “Send her away.” Jesus cures that girl without even seeing her.

How would that woman in Gentile country know about that? Maybe the demon-possessed man went about here. Here’s what happened. You follow up? [clears throat] Yes. Yes, it does too. this there there’s a proper order of things and that’s that’s what we’re going to see with that. Um, other thoughts? Yes, sir. Yeah, that’s good. That’s a good point. Right. Yes. Yes. I’m going to And it wasn’t so much you’re going [clears throat] to take my life. I’m going to lay down my life and I’m going to bring it back. I have that power. I’ve often wondered, can can you imagine after the scene leaves Lazarus?

Lazarus is there with Mary and Martha. He brought me back. You brought me back. [laughter] You know, I’ve got I’ve got to die again. I I made it. I made it. And now you brought me back. I got to deal with temptation. I got to deal with the devil. I gota deal with Oh, why did you do that? Yeah. Oh, yeah. The very next chapter they try to kill him. Yes. Yes. So, so here’s a couple points of application. um the importance of everyone. Jesus shows us that this woman who’s unknown to us was just as important as a synagogue official.

And show that her needs was just as important as his needs. Sometimes I I can think I need Jesus more than you need Jesus or my my needs are more important than your needs. This passage shows us everyone’s important to Jesus. Everyone. And we can forget that. We we can we can think, well, you know, um you know, the preacher is more important than the common member. No, that’s not true. The elders more. No, no, they have different roles, but no one is more important than anyone else.

We’re all equal. Then I want you to go back. I want you to go back to the very last uh verse 42 once again. Mark 5 [clears throat] um 414 41 it says and taking the child by hand now we’re not told we know this is in Jerus’s house most likely she’s probably in her bed that’s you know somebody’s sick they’re dying that’s where they’re going to be they’re in bed taking the girl by the hand he said to her to Lutherum which translated means little girl I say to your eyes she opens her eyes and who’s the first person she sees Now, I don’t know if that’s how death is going to be, but I sometimes wonder.

We close our eyes to this world. We go through that door. The first phone we see Jesus. I like that. I like that. Like, it’s okay. I was with you here. You didn’t know it, but I was with you over there, and I’m going to be with you here, and you’re going to be with me forever over here. But just powerful, powerful thought about that. Okay, that’s everything I know. So, uh, any other thoughts? It’s a great great little study. It’s a great little compact. And I love how Mark does that.

Um, we’ll have one more tomorrow and then, [clears throat] uh, we’ll kind of wrap up this little series here. But, uh, what we’ve done is things you can just do on your own all the time. Just pick out a day in the life of Jesus. Walk through it slowly. Look at the words. Put yourself in that story. Um, you can imagine when the word came, you know, the little your your daughter has died. The Bible doesn’t have to tell us. We we we know what Gyarus would have died. He would have fallen to his knees.

He would have just broken out in tears. It’s too late. She died. She died and I wasn’t there. She died and help was here, but help didn’t come. but to see the great power that God has. I I just love that so much. Okay. Well, let’s let’s end with a prayer. Thankful, Father, for lessons like this. Thankful for who you are. Thankful that we know that you care the same about us as you did those people. We’re thankful that you’ve recorded this story because it moves us and touches our lives so much.

We long to be with you forever, Father. We pray that you’ll help us throughout this day. May we glorify you in all that we do in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you.