WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:03.169 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:06.209 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.870 --> 00:00:08.750 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.750 --> 00:00:11.169 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:11.310 --> 00:00:14.150 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:16.469 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10am in 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:18.809 the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.809 --> 00:00:22.329 us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.629 --> 00:00:25.030 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:30.350 sermon. God Bless. Lord God, thank you for this 00:00:30.350 --> 00:00:32.710 beautiful passage that we have from the Gospel 00:00:32.710 --> 00:00:35.109 of Mark of your tenderness and your compassion, 00:00:36.030 --> 00:00:42.090 your kindness to us who are in need, doing what 00:00:42.090 --> 00:00:49.869 you alone can do, saving, healing. God, we pray 00:00:49.869 --> 00:00:52.189 that you would speak to us again today, that 00:00:52.189 --> 00:00:54.770 you bless the reading and the preaching of your 00:00:54.770 --> 00:00:57.679 word. The words of my mouth and the meditations 00:00:57.679 --> 00:00:59.600 of all of our hearts would be pleasing in your 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.820 sight, Lord, that we would grow in faith and 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:08.920 belief and trust in you. Amen. All right. You 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:14.959 all remember that we left off the week before 00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:19.099 last Palm Sunday in Mark, right? Mark chapter 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:23.739 five. Did you have that bookmark still? No, okay. 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:26.459 Well, that's where we left off. And so we're 00:01:26.459 --> 00:01:28.239 jumping right back into the Gospel of Mark. A 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:31.799 lot of times, John mentioned earlier that we 00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:34.799 are in the season called Epiphany, which really 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:37.459 began on Tuesday, which was Epiphany, which is 00:01:37.459 --> 00:01:39.819 the 12 days of Christmas lead up to Epiphany, 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:43.120 where we remember the wise men coming and falling 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:44.739 at the feet of Jesus and offering their gifts. 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:46.959 But it's really the season where we think of 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:50.539 the revealing of God to the whole world. The 00:01:50.539 --> 00:01:53.500 manifestation of God in the flesh for the life 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:56.659 of the whole world. And so what we have done, 00:01:56.700 --> 00:01:58.900 what's been our practice at our church is that 00:01:58.900 --> 00:02:00.879 we've spent this time specifically looking at 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:05.340 the gospel texts. The gospels are these accounts 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:10.840 of the life of Christ. If there are books within 00:02:10.840 --> 00:02:13.780 the great book that Christians hold most dear, 00:02:13.860 --> 00:02:16.340 they are these ones that tell us about Jesus, 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:20.000 what he said. and what he did, how he taught, 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:22.759 and how he engaged with others, of course, about 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:24.979 the cross and the resurrection and all of that. 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:27.800 But these books, the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:29.699 and so we're in the second one, Matthew, Mark, 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:32.500 Luke, and John, they begin the New Testament. 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:37.080 And they are, they're biographies, right, which 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:42.199 means life writings, biographies, they're life 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:46.120 writings, they're life accounts. But they're 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:50.490 certainly not biographies like we think of biographies. 00:02:50.889 --> 00:02:53.389 We aren't told what school he attended, what 00:02:53.389 --> 00:02:57.330 degree he got. We're told nothing of what Jesus 00:02:57.330 --> 00:03:02.610 looked like really or what he sounded like. We 00:03:02.610 --> 00:03:04.770 don't have sort of this account that we think 00:03:04.770 --> 00:03:08.629 of as a biography. And in fact, it's kind of 00:03:08.629 --> 00:03:11.629 interesting. We only have one account of the 00:03:11.629 --> 00:03:15.409 life of Jesus from The birth narratives that 00:03:15.409 --> 00:03:19.469 we look at in Luke and in Matthew, all the way 00:03:19.469 --> 00:03:22.590 up until he begins his earthly ministry, which 00:03:22.590 --> 00:03:25.310 is like 30 years. And the ancient world knew 00:03:25.310 --> 00:03:27.250 just like we do that these are such formative 00:03:27.250 --> 00:03:33.189 times. We get one story. And actually in Mark, 00:03:34.050 --> 00:03:36.729 Mark just jumps right into Jesus' baptism in 00:03:36.729 --> 00:03:39.849 John. We don't even have an account of all of 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:41.469 the Christmassy stuff that we've been talking 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:44.860 about for the last month. in the gospel of Mark. 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:47.879 Was such a formative thing something that you 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:50.000 would expect in any kind of biography, right? 00:03:50.780 --> 00:03:52.319 If you want to learn about someone, where were 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:55.479 they born? What were their parents' names? Stuff 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:57.379 like Mark doesn't dive into any of that kind 00:03:57.379 --> 00:04:01.219 of stuff. So, we have this revelation of God 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:04.759 for us in the gospels, but it's not the revelation 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:08.069 that we might expect to have. And yet it's a 00:04:08.069 --> 00:04:10.669 true revealing of God, a true telling of the 00:04:10.669 --> 00:04:14.669 life and ministry of this God -made flesh. And 00:04:14.669 --> 00:04:17.029 one of the things that we see, particularly actually 00:04:17.029 --> 00:04:21.209 in this little section that we're in, is how 00:04:21.209 --> 00:04:24.709 wildly different it is. And in that wild difference, 00:04:24.870 --> 00:04:30.470 it calls for amazement, to be overcome with amazement, 00:04:31.329 --> 00:04:34.910 to be overcome with this real reality that God 00:04:34.910 --> 00:04:40.740 is among us. God in the flesh. And ever since 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:42.579 this was first written, ever since the events 00:04:42.579 --> 00:04:46.139 that were recorded in Mark took place, they continue 00:04:46.139 --> 00:04:50.740 to have the same reaction. Not with everybody, 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:58.240 of course. What an amazement. God? For us? God 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:03.100 who transforms lives, transforming me? So we 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:06.379 have an amazing couple of stories before us this 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:08.470 morning. Beautiful, beautiful stories, hopefully 00:05:08.470 --> 00:05:11.790 ones that you know. And they not only go together, 00:05:11.829 --> 00:05:13.730 but they actually go with the two stories that 00:05:13.730 --> 00:05:18.410 precede them. They are part of Jesus' Galilean 00:05:18.410 --> 00:05:22.410 ministry. This began actually, you heard in verse 00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:25.050 21, and when Jesus had crossed again in the boat 00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:27.350 to the other side. And so it's this little account 00:05:27.350 --> 00:05:30.430 of these three stories that take place around 00:05:30.430 --> 00:05:32.389 the Sea of Galilee. The first one is when they're 00:05:32.389 --> 00:05:35.160 actually crossing the Sea of Galilee initially, 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:38.839 which you'll remember was when Jesus is in the 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.019 boat with the disciples and he is asleep in the 00:05:42.019 --> 00:05:44.839 middle of a storm, a deathly storm, and he's 00:05:44.839 --> 00:05:47.620 just asleep there. And in the midst of it, they 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:49.199 wake him up and they actually say this word, 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:54.040 these words, do you not care that we are perishing? 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:59.399 And of all things, Jesus wakes up and he rebukes 00:05:59.399 --> 00:06:03.500 the wind and the waves and they obey him. He 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:07.279 just says, peace be still, and they are stilled. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:11.500 And the account ends, that account ended, verse 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:13.399 41, they were filled with great fear and they 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:17.000 said to one another, who then is this, the end 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:19.839 of chapter four, that even the wind and the sea 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:24.160 obey him? Their reaction to Jesus having power 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:27.019 over the physical world is one of amazement, 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:32.899 awe, a proper fear. But it also may be a greater 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:37.220 faith. Oh my word. What do we have before us? 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.660 What can he do? Then you might remember that 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:44.740 the next little story in this trio of amazed 00:06:44.740 --> 00:06:48.779 reactions to Jesus. So they cross over and they 00:06:48.779 --> 00:06:51.379 go and they find this demoniac. He was living 00:06:51.379 --> 00:06:54.620 among the tombs, right? He'd been bound by chains 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:56.339 and all this. And he was crying out and it says 00:06:56.339 --> 00:07:00.649 he was cutting himself with stones. And Jesus 00:07:00.649 --> 00:07:04.829 heals him and he goes to the towns and they come 00:07:04.829 --> 00:07:09.529 back and they're amazed. Verse 20, when he went 00:07:09.529 --> 00:07:11.750 away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis, 00:07:11.870 --> 00:07:16.910 which means the 10 towns, Deca 10 polis, the 00:07:16.910 --> 00:07:19.569 10 towns around, how much Jesus had done for 00:07:19.569 --> 00:07:24.420 him. And everyone marveled. People saw the amazing 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:27.420 work of Jesus to just speak and the wind and 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:30.180 the waves obey him and how he can speak and the 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:32.839 spiritual world has to obey him and the reaction 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.639 is one of amazement, awe, holy fear. Who is this 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:44.639 that's before us? The revelation of God, God 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:48.120 in the flesh. So today we have these two stories 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:54.959 and You all have heard me teach the past, especially 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:56.420 when we were looking at Genesis a couple years 00:07:56.420 --> 00:08:00.180 ago about how often the Bible uses this, a chiastic 00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:03.319 structure, this inclusio. And that's not quite 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.319 exactly what's happening here. That's a very 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:07.920 common Hebrew sort of way of teaching, but it's 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.319 definitely a narrative sandwich, if you will. 00:08:11.019 --> 00:08:12.939 There's bread on either side, right? And there's 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:15.259 some stuff in the middle and it's all working 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:17.339 together. You can't just kind of take off the 00:08:17.339 --> 00:08:19.779 bread and you don't have a sandwich anymore. 00:08:20.089 --> 00:08:22.470 And you can't just have bread or you just have 00:08:22.470 --> 00:08:24.029 bread. It's not a sandwich, right? They work 00:08:24.029 --> 00:08:29.430 together. It's sort of one account, but it's 00:08:29.430 --> 00:08:33.330 two stories within this one account. He's relating 00:08:33.330 --> 00:08:36.490 them to together in such a way that he's presenting 00:08:36.490 --> 00:08:39.190 us with one big idea. And so I want us to look 00:08:39.190 --> 00:08:40.750 at these two stories. And I want us to see some 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:42.330 of the similarities. I want to see some of the 00:08:42.330 --> 00:08:44.409 differences. And then I want us to kind of sit 00:08:44.409 --> 00:08:47.559 in the big idea, okay? So if you consider some 00:08:47.559 --> 00:08:49.080 similarities, there's some really interesting 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:51.980 similarities that are at play here in these two 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:56.779 different stories. Immediately, if you think 00:08:56.779 --> 00:08:59.480 of these two different stories of the young girl 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:01.620 and her father going to Jesus and then, you know, 00:09:01.700 --> 00:09:03.980 Jesus eventually ending up at her house and healing 00:09:03.980 --> 00:09:06.059 her and all. And you think of the woman who goes 00:09:06.059 --> 00:09:09.399 to Jesus and she just touches elsewhere. And 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:11.279 Luke says, just the hem of his garment, just 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.309 a little bit of it. The immediate thing that 00:09:14.309 --> 00:09:17.610 you think of as a similarity is a physical need. 00:09:18.529 --> 00:09:21.169 There's just this theme that's similar in these 00:09:21.169 --> 00:09:23.610 two stories that are at play. They're both sick. 00:09:27.070 --> 00:09:30.950 No doubt these accounts that we have all together. 00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:33.399 and the reaction of amazement have to do with 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:36.100 how Jesus showed his power, right? And we could 00:09:36.100 --> 00:09:37.799 say, okay, well, just in the similarities of 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:40.840 these two stories, where Mark is putting Jesus 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:43.100 forth, he's revealing Jesus as the one who can 00:09:43.100 --> 00:09:45.379 have power of the physical world and over the 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:48.139 spiritual world and actually over our illnesses. 00:09:48.539 --> 00:09:51.059 Like there's a truth in that that's at play in 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:54.080 that similarity between these two stories. There's 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.519 also just some really interesting small details 00:09:56.519 --> 00:09:59.200 that invite us to say there's something that 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:02.179 these are to be held together. So the first thing 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:07.080 that we read, verse 21, after he situates in 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:08.860 around the Sea of Galilee and they're coming 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:11.799 back across the other side, it says, a great 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:15.840 crowd gathered about him. And he was beside the 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:17.759 sea. So that's verse 21. And when you begin the 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:20.379 account of the woman with the bleeding, the second 00:10:20.379 --> 00:10:22.919 part of verse 24, it says, and a great crowd 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:24.980 followed him. It's the same phrase that's being 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:27.820 used there, this great crowd about Jesus. And 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:29.279 so we're supposed to take them together again, 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:32.919 okay? Just a small detail. Another small detail 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:35.679 that you probably heard when Cynthia read this 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:42.139 to us is that verse 25 tells us this, and there 00:10:42.139 --> 00:10:46.240 was a woman who had a discharge of blood for 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:51.139 12 years. And then if you jump down to verse 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:53.039 42, it says, immediately the girl got up and 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:57.000 began walking for she was 12 years of age. Just 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:58.820 a small little detail, but one that's interesting 00:10:58.820 --> 00:11:01.379 that, again, Mark is saying, take these texts 00:11:01.379 --> 00:11:07.179 together. He's tying them together for us. This 00:11:07.179 --> 00:11:09.879 is an interesting thing. In both stories, the 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:15.960 Lord is met with some rebuke. It is funny. It's 00:11:15.960 --> 00:11:24.419 kind of a silly thing. Verse 31. And his disciples 00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:27.259 said to him, you see the crowd pressing around 00:11:27.259 --> 00:11:30.320 you. And you can imagine sort of, you know, the 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.919 ancient Near East, like a lot of places today, 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:34.860 there's these crowds in these towns that are 00:11:34.860 --> 00:11:36.980 just pressing up against you. Maybe you went 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:43.519 to the farm show, think of that. You see the 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.879 crowd pressing around you and yet you say who 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:48.860 touched me. It's as though they are saying, Jesus, 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:55.549 this is absurd. Sort of rebuking. Later on in 00:11:55.549 --> 00:12:02.509 verse 39, it says, and when he entered, he said 00:12:02.509 --> 00:12:04.809 to them, why are you making a commotion and weeping? 00:12:04.889 --> 00:12:07.169 The child's not dead, but sleeping. And they 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:12.730 laughed at him. That laughter, that word laughter 00:12:12.730 --> 00:12:18.370 could be translated scoff, laughed him off, rebuke, 00:12:18.409 --> 00:12:19.889 because it's such an absurd thing. They know 00:12:19.889 --> 00:12:22.840 what dead people are like. They know why they 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:26.360 are mourning. They're not being fooled. So there's 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:28.899 this connection here of these rebukes taking 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:32.279 place against Jesus, the absurdity of what he 00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:36.759 is saying. Another really interesting similarity 00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:40.220 in these two stories of the account of Jesus 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:43.379 healing has to do with Jesus getting into contact 00:12:43.379 --> 00:12:48.440 with the unclean. Both are accounts in which 00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:53.690 Jesus comes into physical contact with those 00:12:53.690 --> 00:12:56.850 who are unclean. The woman with the discharge 00:12:56.850 --> 00:12:59.649 of bleeding, she probably touched the hem of 00:12:59.649 --> 00:13:02.529 Jesus because she actually was aware that if 00:13:02.529 --> 00:13:04.710 she was to touch somebody, that other person 00:13:04.710 --> 00:13:06.049 would be unclean and would have to go through 00:13:06.049 --> 00:13:08.789 all the ceremonial cleansing process and all 00:13:08.789 --> 00:13:10.929 of that. It was almost a way of her being kind 00:13:10.929 --> 00:13:13.389 and attentive because she knew, because she had 00:13:13.389 --> 00:13:15.309 been taught, it had been reinforced for her time 00:13:15.309 --> 00:13:17.470 and time again over these 12 years. Don't touch 00:13:17.470 --> 00:13:21.490 anyone. and Jesus comes into contact with this 00:13:21.490 --> 00:13:24.789 unclean person. This would have happened just 00:13:24.789 --> 00:13:30.610 by this interaction of touching him. But not 00:13:30.610 --> 00:13:33.809 only that, the interesting parallel is that Jesus 00:13:33.809 --> 00:13:36.350 touches the young girl who is dead, which again 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:39.970 would have made him unclean. But of course, this 00:13:39.970 --> 00:13:42.029 is part of the great lesson of Christian faith. 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:46.450 Jesus does not become unclean because he associates 00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:49.330 with sinners. Sinners become clean in our association 00:13:49.330 --> 00:13:53.730 with him. Amen. Thanks be to God. He makes us 00:13:53.730 --> 00:13:58.450 righteous. He can come among us in our uncleanness 00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:00.750 and make us clean. But those are some of the 00:14:00.750 --> 00:14:03.610 similarities. What I'm saying is it is unquestionable 00:14:03.610 --> 00:14:06.789 that these texts are to be taken together. We 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:08.970 take them together. But there's some really, 00:14:08.970 --> 00:14:13.879 really interesting differences too. There's some 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:17.320 sad differences. Think this young girl is deeply 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:20.940 loved. She's surrounded by a community that cares 00:14:20.940 --> 00:14:26.720 for her. She has a loving father that goes, it 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:32.899 seems travels to some extent to find Jesus. He 00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:34.980 doesn't mind humbling himself, he falls down 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:41.090 before Jesus. She has a loving father. I mentioned 00:14:41.090 --> 00:14:43.289 that there's a whole commotion of people, right? 00:14:44.210 --> 00:14:45.769 They get to the house, they come to the house 00:14:45.769 --> 00:14:47.529 of the ruler of the synagogue, verse 38, and 00:14:47.529 --> 00:14:51.110 Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing 00:14:51.110 --> 00:14:53.389 loudly. There's a whole community that surrounds 00:14:53.389 --> 00:14:56.549 this family and this young girl who loves her, 00:14:56.889 --> 00:15:01.570 who mourns her passing, who desired her life. 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:09.720 Almost as if to sort of exaggerate this, What 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:15.159 we're also told is that he, this is verse 40, 00:15:15.179 --> 00:15:17.019 and they laughed at him, but he put them all 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:20.460 outside and took the child's father and mother. 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.779 And this girl is surrounded by love, surrounded 00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:28.139 by care, a couple parents that desire her presence, 00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:33.320 who are mourning her passing. And yet, this is 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:35.580 a huge difference, right? This other woman seems 00:15:35.580 --> 00:15:41.000 to be completely alone. utterly destitute, on 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:46.639 her own through her trial. No one comes to her 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:49.259 as we read actually in Mark chapter two on her 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:52.940 behalf, tearing apart the roof, lowering her 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:55.419 down, getting her before Jesus that he might 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:58.940 see her and heal her. No one is alongside of 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:01.720 her. There are no friends. They're present for 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:04.000 her. There's no family that is there desiring 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:07.330 her healing. No one speaks and pleads on her 00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:13.110 behalf. We are just told that the woman came 00:16:13.110 --> 00:16:15.330 in fear and trembling and fell down before him. 00:16:15.750 --> 00:16:19.549 We're actually told that she had spent all that 00:16:19.549 --> 00:16:23.350 she had. Which is to say there's nobody sort 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:25.769 of helping her out in her ailment as far as we 00:16:25.769 --> 00:16:32.730 can tell. She was destitute alone. Another difference 00:16:32.730 --> 00:16:36.309 is that the girl's illness seems to be very acute, 00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:40.870 demanding immediate care. It's part of the strangeness 00:16:40.870 --> 00:16:44.429 of this passage is that Jesus takes his time 00:16:44.429 --> 00:16:46.549 with a woman who's had 12 years of bleeding. 00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:49.970 It's a chronic illness. Why not rush Lord Jesus 00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:53.830 to this girl who is dying? Don't you understand 00:16:53.830 --> 00:16:56.350 the difference between acute and chronic illnesses? 00:16:57.350 --> 00:17:00.399 It's a great difference here. A lesson for us, 00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:04.259 of course, in that of Jesus' knowledge, his awareness, 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:07.000 his timing is perfect, though it's not what we 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:13.279 often desire. Maybe the greatest difference in 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:16.240 these two accounts and these two people is the 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:19.859 power differential that's at play. It's highlighted 00:17:19.859 --> 00:17:23.740 for us actually very explicitly. We have Jairus' 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:27.019 name, and that's not necessarily part of what's 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:29.720 going on with the power differential. Likely, 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:31.700 most people think that Jairus is mentioned here 00:17:31.700 --> 00:17:34.339 because he maybe really became part of the worshiping 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:36.640 community. It was like, I've told you this before, 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:38.819 when there's a specific name mentioned around 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:40.400 a healing, you should really be like, why would 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:42.940 they do that? Well, the thought is go and talk 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:46.259 to them about it. It's Jairus. He's known in 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:47.720 the Christian community in the early church. 00:17:47.779 --> 00:17:50.630 Go and talk to them about it. And Mark rarely 00:17:50.630 --> 00:17:53.109 gives names, and the gospel writer rarely give 00:17:53.109 --> 00:17:54.809 names. And so when they do, you kind of got to 00:17:54.809 --> 00:17:58.509 go, why would they have done that? But his name 00:17:58.509 --> 00:18:02.670 is not really what's emphasized, it's his position 00:18:02.670 --> 00:18:05.589 that's emphasized. It's kind of interesting. 00:18:05.930 --> 00:18:09.990 His position is mentioned three times, as if 00:18:09.990 --> 00:18:12.730 to say, do you understand this is a big deal, 00:18:12.890 --> 00:18:17.009 okay? Verse 22, of course, then came one of the 00:18:17.009 --> 00:18:21.950 rulers. of the synagogue, verse 36, while he 00:18:21.950 --> 00:18:25.049 was still speaking there, came from the ruler's 00:18:25.049 --> 00:18:31.549 house, right? It could have just been from Jairus's 00:18:31.549 --> 00:18:37.190 house. Verse 38, they came to the house of the 00:18:37.190 --> 00:18:42.789 ruler of the synagogue. And a ruler of the synagogue 00:18:42.789 --> 00:18:46.329 would have actually, often it would have, come 00:18:46.329 --> 00:18:49.890 to that place because his aptitude, because of 00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:51.869 his know -how, because of his success within 00:18:51.869 --> 00:18:53.910 the community, because of his respect in the 00:18:53.910 --> 00:18:57.430 community, because of his devotion to God. He 00:18:57.430 --> 00:18:59.470 would have been somebody who was devoted, desired 00:18:59.470 --> 00:19:03.150 God, and it was known in the community and probably 00:19:03.150 --> 00:19:06.710 somebody of great organizational ability. That 00:19:06.710 --> 00:19:11.329 specific role within the synagogue would have 00:19:11.329 --> 00:19:14.660 kind of been like our equivalent of an elder 00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:17.960 in the church, okay? So they were to oversee 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:19.519 some of the building, but also the spiritual 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:22.799 formation, not the priestly role of the primary 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:25.440 role of teaching and sort of the sacrifices and 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.500 all that. That would have been different. This 00:19:26.500 --> 00:19:28.500 would have been a lay leader, but it's sort of 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:31.420 like thinking about in the Presbyterian world, 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:33.440 the moderator of the session or the clerk of 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.839 the session. So it would have been somebody that 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:36.880 was like known in the community and loved in 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:39.940 the community and certainly respected in the 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:45.700 community. One of the things you note is that 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:50.799 he goes to Jesus and he speaks to Jesus. He's 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.279 used to other people engaging with him and listening. 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:56.359 Now he does this humbly. He falls down before 00:19:56.359 --> 00:20:00.480 him, but he speaks. On the other hand, we have 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:04.660 this nameless woman, probably legitimately unknown 00:20:04.660 --> 00:20:06.920 to the entire crowd. Like I said, nobody there 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:11.339 with her. Likely a single woman. because she 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:14.839 had spent all that she had on the physicians 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:18.539 seeking her healing. She'd been unclean for 12 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:20.299 years, which would have been long enough for 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:22.140 even the friendships that she did have to sort 00:20:22.140 --> 00:20:26.519 of dissipate over time, not being able to engage 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:30.819 with her because of her uncleanness. She was 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:34.940 alone. She comes and she doesn't speak to Jesus. 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:37.059 Now she's invited to eventually and she shares 00:20:37.059 --> 00:20:40.099 it. She doesn't have the same approach. There's 00:20:40.099 --> 00:20:43.640 a massive dynamic of power at play here, massive 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:49.640 differential that we see here. And before we 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:51.900 get to the main, the big point of this text, 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:53.680 I sort of want you to sit in this because I was 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:57.240 thinking about this in some ways. I sort of wanted 00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:59.000 this to be the main point of the passage, but 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.619 I don't think it is. So I want to just sit with 00:21:02.619 --> 00:21:05.559 you for a moment. Think about how wonderful this 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:09.319 is. that Jesus is inviting all kinds of people 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:13.359 to him. I mean, it is a great temptation. I guarantee 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:15.859 you've had this thought where maybe Christianity 00:21:15.859 --> 00:21:20.660 is for kind of people. I mean, part of the big 00:21:20.660 --> 00:21:22.819 dynamic in the Bible, in the New Testament, is 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:24.339 Jew and Gentile. Maybe all the Gentiles have 00:21:24.339 --> 00:21:27.779 to become like Jews, right? Maybe those Magi 00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:30.099 just need to become Jewish in order to truly 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:36.200 worship him. Or maybe you think, Maybe think 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:39.359 that Christianity is only for a certain level 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:45.119 of education. Maybe a certain socioeconomic dynamic. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:52.279 Christianity is for the poor or is for the married 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:57.500 with children. I think we're tempted to think 00:21:57.500 --> 00:22:00.619 you have to have your life in this kind of way 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:05.529 to enter the doors of the church. What do I wear 00:22:05.529 --> 00:22:12.410 when I come? Right? That kind of question. But 00:22:12.410 --> 00:22:15.609 think of how destitute this woman is. Think of 00:22:15.609 --> 00:22:20.769 how well -to -do this man is. And Jesus welcomes 00:22:20.769 --> 00:22:23.930 them both. And he desires both of their healing. 00:22:24.230 --> 00:22:28.009 And he acts for both of their healing. His compassion 00:22:28.009 --> 00:22:31.089 and his love doesn't know the bounds that we 00:22:31.089 --> 00:22:36.500 want to put on people. It's a wonderful thing. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:40.019 One of the great differences in this text is 00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:43.160 actually that this destitute woman, let me say 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:45.960 this, she is the only one in all of the gospels 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:52.920 who Jesus calls this, is called daughter. The 00:22:52.920 --> 00:22:56.660 woman who's estranged, so she has nobody else. 00:22:58.259 --> 00:23:02.970 I mean, Jairus says my daughter, right? But Jesus 00:23:02.970 --> 00:23:05.569 calls this woman and he says, you are my daughter. 00:23:07.250 --> 00:23:09.809 And actually, it's really kind of interesting. 00:23:10.490 --> 00:23:13.009 You know, we have Jesus saying, little girl, 00:23:13.069 --> 00:23:15.950 I say to you, rise. But actually, first, we have 00:23:15.950 --> 00:23:19.190 it in Aramaic, verse 41. Taking her by the hand, 00:23:19.289 --> 00:23:22.009 He said to her, Talatha kumi, which means, little 00:23:22.009 --> 00:23:24.190 girl, I say to you, rise. And of course, there's 00:23:24.190 --> 00:23:26.210 a question there. I mean, I don't know if you 00:23:26.210 --> 00:23:28.769 have asked this question, but why would Mark 00:23:28.769 --> 00:23:31.589 leave that in the Aramaic? And why would he need 00:23:31.589 --> 00:23:33.210 to translate it? He's just spilling ink that 00:23:33.210 --> 00:23:34.849 doesn't need to be spilled. Why not just say, 00:23:35.150 --> 00:23:37.930 and he said something that meant, you know, little 00:23:37.930 --> 00:23:41.029 girl, rise up. Little girl, I say to you, rise. 00:23:42.430 --> 00:23:45.269 What's the deal? Well, I think the best explanation 00:23:45.269 --> 00:23:47.970 that I read about was that these were the exact 00:23:47.970 --> 00:23:51.970 words that Jesus spoke. And his words were cherished 00:23:51.970 --> 00:23:54.049 so much by Jairus and others. And they said, 00:23:54.269 --> 00:23:57.049 I know exactly what he said. Just like this woman 00:23:57.049 --> 00:24:00.450 said, I know he called me daughter. I know when 00:24:00.450 --> 00:24:04.890 he healed my daughter, he said, in Aramaic. Odd 00:24:04.890 --> 00:24:12.309 detail. Talatha Akumi. Jesus is calling all sorts 00:24:12.309 --> 00:24:15.250 to himself. He's doing so with kindness and gentleness 00:24:15.250 --> 00:24:18.849 and tenderness and compassion Which is to say 00:24:18.849 --> 00:24:21.089 there's no social standing that puts you outside 00:24:21.089 --> 00:24:26.349 of the possibility of God's grace And his invitation 00:24:26.349 --> 00:24:34.509 is for you wherever you are this morning The 00:24:34.509 --> 00:24:37.390 offer of salvation is for you where you are right 00:24:37.390 --> 00:24:42.650 now today alone, maybe filled with people around 00:24:42.650 --> 00:24:47.349 you, feeling outcast, feeling a part of something, 00:24:47.829 --> 00:24:53.250 God's invitation is for you. But there is something 00:24:53.250 --> 00:24:57.809 needed. And I do think this is more the big point 00:24:57.809 --> 00:25:07.009 of this text. Both the woman and the young girl 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:15.000 are healed because of faith in Jesus. They're 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:18.980 healed, they're saved because of faith in Jesus. 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:22.400 And it's a faith that is saying, you alone can 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:27.140 do what no one else can. I think both of these 00:25:27.140 --> 00:25:34.420 scenarios are painted as bleak as possible. Of 00:25:34.420 --> 00:25:38.480 course, you probably... notice, and I've mentioned, 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:42.579 but verse 25 and 26, it says in there, you know, 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:44.319 there's a woman with a discharge of blood for 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:48.200 12 years and who had suffered much under many 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:53.819 physicians and had spent all that she had and 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:56.599 was no better, but rather getting worse, growing 00:25:56.599 --> 00:25:59.839 worse. It's just the direst of dire situations. 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:04.000 And what is more dire than death and the community 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:07.640 around you mourning? I mean, what is clear here 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:11.079 is that they are saying, nobody else can do this. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:18.079 No one else. They're healed, they're saved because 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:21.440 faith in Christ that He alone can do what they 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:23.799 cannot do for themselves, what others cannot 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:29.539 do for them. They have faith in Christ Jesus, 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:33.059 but the help that they need, only God can supply. 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:37.440 And that is at the heart of Christianity. Coming 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:41.099 to a place where you say, I can't do it. The 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:45.779 world about me can't do it. You alone, faith, 00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:54.740 trust. They're both in utterly dire situations. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.859 I've mentioned a few times that the girl is dead. 00:26:59.319 --> 00:27:01.900 And I wonder if you're thinking, well, Jesus 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:04.640 corrects them. He says, she's just sleeping. 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:09.329 Did any of you think that? No, no, none of you 00:27:09.329 --> 00:27:12.509 did. Maybe you didn't because you know that sleeping 00:27:12.509 --> 00:27:15.289 is often actually a euphemism in the New Testament 00:27:15.289 --> 00:27:17.430 for death. That was actually mentioned in our 00:27:17.430 --> 00:27:19.450 adult Sunday school class this morning that Jed 00:27:19.450 --> 00:27:23.109 mentioned. And actually the word for arise in 00:27:23.109 --> 00:27:27.589 verse 41, little girl, I say to you, rise, is 00:27:27.589 --> 00:27:29.930 often used in the New Testament to refer to the 00:27:29.930 --> 00:27:33.150 resurrection. What will happen for those in Christ 00:27:33.150 --> 00:27:40.440 Jesus? Think of Actually, verse 42, we're also 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:43.720 told that she got up. This also is, again, a 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:46.680 word that's used for the resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:48.859 4, 16, which we also looked at this morning in 00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:52.599 Sunday School. It said, the dead in Christ will 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:56.299 rise. It's the exact same word that is mentioned 00:27:56.299 --> 00:28:01.339 to her, of her here. These are utter, dire situations, 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:04.200 which is to say they are situations that demand 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:09.299 God alone. God alone to act, to work, to save, 00:28:09.299 --> 00:28:15.839 which is exactly what He does. Which is exactly 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:24.220 what He's about. You all probably don't remember, 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:28.500 and that's totally fine, that the beginning of 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:30.940 last February we looked at this beautiful passage 00:28:30.940 --> 00:28:37.690 where these friends did lower their friend down 00:28:37.690 --> 00:28:39.430 through the roof, right? They took off the roof 00:28:39.430 --> 00:28:43.950 and lowered him down. And in that passage with 00:28:43.950 --> 00:28:48.029 the paralytic, Jesus says, which is easier, your 00:28:48.029 --> 00:28:52.470 sins are forgiven or rise, which by the way is 00:28:52.470 --> 00:28:56.230 the exact same word here in verse 42. Jesus is 00:28:56.230 --> 00:28:58.789 doing what he alone can do, bringing healing, 00:28:59.049 --> 00:29:03.009 bringing salvation into a situation that is completely 00:29:03.009 --> 00:29:06.680 dire that where they have to say, God, our faith, 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:12.539 our trust, our belief is in you alone. Of course, 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:14.900 at the end of chapter two, when he does this, 00:29:14.920 --> 00:29:17.480 he says this, those who are well have no need 00:29:17.480 --> 00:29:20.619 of a physician, but those who are sick, I came 00:29:20.619 --> 00:29:27.240 not to call the righteous, but sinners, the needy. 00:29:28.339 --> 00:29:32.759 Yes, Jesus is the great physician. but He is 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:38.380 so because He alone can do this work. He alone 00:29:38.380 --> 00:29:43.359 can heal us of our greatest need, our sins. What 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:45.720 this woman and this girl were in desperate need 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:49.119 of first and foremost, okay, first and foremost 00:29:49.119 --> 00:29:51.920 was not the healing of their bodies, but peace 00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:56.500 with God and eternal salvation, the forgiveness 00:29:56.500 --> 00:30:00.700 of their sins. And how did they receive this? 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:03.980 How did they receive this saving relationship 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:07.720 with Jesus? They received it the same way that 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:11.920 anyone only ever does, which is by faith and 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:14.539 by faith in the work of God for their salvation. 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:17.680 Think about this, verse 34 says something wild, 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:20.920 right? He says, daughter, which I said was just 00:30:20.920 --> 00:30:23.619 so beautiful and it's unique in the gospels. 00:30:23.900 --> 00:30:27.839 He says, daughter, your faith has made you well. 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:34.259 your faith has made you well. Verse 36, if you 00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:37.500 go down, but overhearing what they said, Jesus 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:41.440 said to the ruler of the synagogue, do not fear, 00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:45.319 only believe. That word faith has made you well 00:30:45.319 --> 00:30:46.960 and belief, by the way, in the Greek is the same 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:50.460 word. For some reason in English, we often change 00:30:50.460 --> 00:31:00.470 it. But have faith. Faith is what saves. We receive 00:31:00.470 --> 00:31:03.430 salvation by faith and by faith alone, which 00:31:03.430 --> 00:31:07.930 is to say it is never what you do. It is simply 00:31:07.930 --> 00:31:11.289 trusting the reality of what Christ can do and 00:31:11.289 --> 00:31:16.089 has done on your behalf. Which is why it's not 00:31:16.089 --> 00:31:18.410 based on your social standing. It's not based 00:31:18.410 --> 00:31:21.190 on your community that you have. Your salvation 00:31:21.190 --> 00:31:24.859 is not based on what books you have read. or 00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:27.579 what ailments you have, your salvation is only 00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:31.920 ever on the work of Christ and grabbing onto 00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:36.140 Him, trusting, having faith that He will do what 00:31:36.140 --> 00:31:38.240 He has said He will do, that He has done what 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:42.319 we are told He has done. One of the things that's 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:44.400 great about this passage is that it sort of highlights 00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:47.299 for us how much it has nothing to do with us. 00:31:47.619 --> 00:31:50.279 And I think it kind of does this in some, I think 00:31:50.279 --> 00:31:53.410 kind of funny ways. Because both of the faith 00:31:53.410 --> 00:31:56.069 of Jairus and the faith of this woman, they're 00:31:56.069 --> 00:31:58.329 not the faith that we would think like, oh man, 00:31:58.329 --> 00:32:01.829 they have strong faith. We need strong faith 00:32:01.829 --> 00:32:03.809 because then it makes it sound like it's up to 00:32:03.809 --> 00:32:06.529 us. If we put that category on it where you're 00:32:06.529 --> 00:32:08.289 like, oh, then it maybe it has to do with us. 00:32:08.609 --> 00:32:10.630 This has nothing to do with them. They have actually 00:32:10.630 --> 00:32:15.509 kind of superstitious faith. If I just touch 00:32:15.509 --> 00:32:18.769 the hem of his garment, maybe that's a magical 00:32:18.769 --> 00:32:23.140 hem, right? It's almost like a superstitious 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:28.059 faith. Ah, it's like a talisman, something special 00:32:28.059 --> 00:32:32.779 that can heal. As if Jesus couldn't just heal 00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:34.799 her by the word of his power, as he does so often. 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:37.400 He just spoke and the wind and the waves obey 00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:43.240 him. Don't need to touch his hem. Or think of 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:47.900 Jairus and all. We know from other accounts, 00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:52.319 that Jesus didn't have to be present for a healing 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:55.319 to happen. And yet Jairus is like, come on, come 00:32:55.319 --> 00:32:59.299 on. And the people go to him, you know, saying, 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:01.980 you know, your daughter's dead, but it's almost 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:03.900 like saying, why didn't you come? You have to 00:33:03.900 --> 00:33:08.599 be here in order for it to happen. Which we know 00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:12.940 that's not true. It's sort of this, I want to 00:33:12.940 --> 00:33:15.440 say it's a small faith, but it's a real faith. 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:20.119 And what an encouragement. The extent of your 00:33:20.119 --> 00:33:22.680 faith, right? Your ability in it is nothing. 00:33:23.220 --> 00:33:26.500 It is simply grabbing on, trusting, believing 00:33:26.500 --> 00:33:29.619 that God can act, that He can work, that He can 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:36.720 save, that He can do it. And interestingly, isn't 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:42.859 it? I mean, almost as if to drill this in, it 00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:44.599 leaves us with a real interesting theological 00:33:44.599 --> 00:33:49.369 question. The girl is saved. by the faith of 00:33:49.369 --> 00:33:55.269 her dad. I don't really want to, nor do I have 00:33:55.269 --> 00:33:59.750 time to get into that right now. But let me try 00:33:59.750 --> 00:34:02.869 to draw this near to an end, it's that time, 00:34:03.490 --> 00:34:07.069 with a thought for you. You likely think that 00:34:07.069 --> 00:34:11.750 it would have been better for God for him not 00:34:11.750 --> 00:34:14.550 to allow this woman to have 12 years of social 00:34:14.550 --> 00:34:20.489 estrangement. No doubt. nights, weeks, months 00:34:20.489 --> 00:34:25.889 of tears over her situation. A hemorrhage that 00:34:25.889 --> 00:34:28.630 lasts for 12 years, why would God allow that? 00:34:29.489 --> 00:34:33.949 No question you think, why allow a 12 -year -old 00:34:33.949 --> 00:34:36.150 little girl to go through this? Why allow her 00:34:36.150 --> 00:34:41.869 parents and her community to suffer so? My guess 00:34:41.869 --> 00:34:44.119 is that you have those... thoughts. And that's 00:34:44.119 --> 00:34:47.400 the main thing you think. If God would just allow 00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:51.760 the physical ailments to not be there, this would 00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:56.199 have been so much better. And yet I guarantee 00:34:56.199 --> 00:34:58.820 you that that is not the case for this woman. 00:34:59.780 --> 00:35:01.679 It's not the case for Jairus and his family. 00:35:02.819 --> 00:35:05.019 because it was actually in their most dire need. 00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:06.760 It was when they came to the end of themselves 00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:08.519 and the end of the ability of all the other things 00:35:08.519 --> 00:35:09.860 in the world that they've been grabbing onto, 00:35:10.139 --> 00:35:12.119 like the physicians and all this kind of stuff 00:35:12.119 --> 00:35:14.179 to get to, that they finally go, I need to go 00:35:14.179 --> 00:35:18.599 to Jesus. And it was there that they actually 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:24.519 found real lasting, everlasting life. that it's 00:35:24.519 --> 00:35:26.380 actually sometimes the very ailments and the 00:35:26.380 --> 00:35:28.300 trials that we go through that finally get us 00:35:28.300 --> 00:35:30.300 to the point where we say, I'm going to stop 00:35:30.300 --> 00:35:32.340 trying to control it all and actually trust in 00:35:32.340 --> 00:35:35.780 the reality that God can do what He alone can 00:35:35.780 --> 00:35:40.320 do, that God is able. They found their eternal 00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:45.260 salvation and they were amazed at God. I mean, 00:35:45.260 --> 00:35:47.760 why were the disciples in the boat amazed? They 00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:51.920 were full of fear and awe because they knew that 00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:56.210 God alone can do that. Why were the people in 00:35:56.210 --> 00:35:59.449 the Decapolis in such awe when this demoniac 00:35:59.449 --> 00:36:01.409 comes and tells them what had happened? Because 00:36:01.409 --> 00:36:06.590 they knew God was among them. Why at the end 00:36:06.590 --> 00:36:10.690 of our passage does it say, and they were immediately 00:36:10.690 --> 00:36:17.530 overcome with amazement? Because God alone did 00:36:17.530 --> 00:36:22.050 what God alone can do. All these stories are 00:36:22.050 --> 00:36:24.429 showing us that Jesus can do what God alone can 00:36:24.429 --> 00:36:29.949 do, and I want to tell you, go to Him. Go to 00:36:29.949 --> 00:36:34.650 Him. Go to Him in your feeling of loneliness 00:36:34.650 --> 00:36:38.869 and estrangement. Go to Him in your physical 00:36:38.869 --> 00:36:43.329 weakness and ailments. Go to Him when you've 00:36:43.329 --> 00:36:49.110 come to the end, not knowing what to do. What 00:36:49.110 --> 00:36:52.489 we see in The New Testament and the text of these 00:36:52.489 --> 00:36:55.590 gospels is that when God is revealed, when anybody 00:36:55.590 --> 00:36:59.130 comes to Lord Jesus and says, save me, heal me, 00:37:00.670 --> 00:37:03.210 He responds with compassion and with kindness, 00:37:03.889 --> 00:37:06.969 with gentleness. And again and again and again, 00:37:06.969 --> 00:37:11.690 He's saying, you can trust me. You can have faith 00:37:11.690 --> 00:37:17.670 in me. That's the invitation of Christianity. 00:37:18.429 --> 00:37:21.019 That's the revelation of God. for us this morning. 00:37:21.119 --> 00:37:24.500 Let me pray for us. Lord God, thank you for the 00:37:24.500 --> 00:37:26.679 gospel text from Mark this morning. Lord, thank 00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:29.639 you, Lord Jesus, that you alone are our salvation, 00:37:30.199 --> 00:37:34.559 that we can have faith in you, weak and frail 00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:37.400 and sometimes even superstitious kind of faith 00:37:37.400 --> 00:37:40.980 in you. And your compassion is for us and your 00:37:40.980 --> 00:37:45.840 grace is for us. God, increase in us our dependence, 00:37:46.500 --> 00:37:49.139 our trust, our belief, our faith in you, we pray. 00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:53.380 Amen. Thank you for listening to Second City 00:37:53.380 --> 00:37:56.320 Sermon's podcast. We hope this sermon has encouraged 00:37:56.320 --> 00:37:58.480 you to worship God and to celebrate the gospel 00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:01.179 of Jesus. Please consider subscribing to this 00:38:01.179 --> 00:38:03.940 podcast and joining us in person each Sunday 00:38:03.940 --> 00:38:07.320 at 10 a .m. You can find us online at secondcitychurch 00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:10.420 .org and on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. 00:38:10.780 --> 00:38:12.820 Thanks again for listening. God bless.