Mark 5:21-43     OT p. 549 or 768

5:21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.

5:22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet

5:23 and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."

5:24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.

5:25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.

5:26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.

5:27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,

5:28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well."

5:29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

5:30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"

5:31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'"

5:32 He looked all around to see who had done it.

5:33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.

5:34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

5:35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?"

5:36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."

5:37 He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

5:38 When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

5:39 When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping."

5:40 And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.

5:41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!"

5:42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.

5:43 He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

INTRODUCTION:

Did you hear about the hunting guide who was hired by some hunters to take them into the backwoods of Maine. After a couple of days in the deep woods of Maine, it was obvious to the hunters that they had become hopelessly lost.

Of course, they began to doubt and question the competence of their guide. Finally, one of the hunters confronted the guide, "You said you were the best guide in all of Maine." The hunter came back and said, "I am, but I think we're in Canada now." (1)

Have you ever experienced a time in your life when everything seemed hopeless? Without going into great detail, I have. There was a time when it was everything I could do just to make it through the day. My life seemed so filled with despair that I couldn't sleep and I didn't function very well during the day. I felt immobilized and hopeless.

Today, in Mark's Gospel, we meet two people who walked that same path. A path of hopelessness and despair.

I. HELPLESS AND HOPELESS:

Mark tells us about two people; two people, unrelated, whose lives are nearly crushed by the burden of despair. Remember the TV show "Gun Smoke"? There was a character named Festus. I'll never forget what he said one day when Matt Dillon asked how he was doing. He said, "Well Matt, I'm feeling kinda low. I feel lower than a snakes belly in a wagon wheel rut."

That's how these two folks from the Gospel of Mark were feeling. Jairus was a leader in the local Synagogue. He was happily married and had at least one daughter. And we know that she was taken ill and was near the point of death.

If you have children you know what Jairus was feeling. If you've ever rushed your child to the emergency room. Or seen their fever spike at about 104, you get worried. And when nothing seems to help, you get frantic. And if your child gets to the point of death, you begin to feel helpless and hopeless and you start looking for any kind of solution.

Then there is the unnamed woman with the hemorrhage. For 12 years she had been burdened with this affliction. According to Jewish law, she was unclean. She wasn't supposed to be in mixed company. She wasn't supposed to touch anyone. For twelve years, she had lived as an outcast and spent every spare nickel seeking a cure, none of which helped. She was helpless and hopeless.

And then they heard about Jesus. And for the first time, there was a glimmer of hope.

II. FROM HOPELESS TO HOPEFUL:

Some folks have called this passage "the miracle on the way to a miracle." I like that. Jesus heard the despair and hopelessness in the voice of Jairus when Jairus came asking for help for his daughter. Jesus also heard the sound of faith and saw faith in Jairus eyes. And so he went.

But on the way, they were interrupted. This unnamed woman totally sidetracked the procession. In here despair and hopelessness, she ventured out in faith touched Jesus' garment and was healed. Jesus felt the power go out of Him. And asked who touched Him. A long discussion ensued, the woman was found, and she testified to what Jesus had done. Her only hope had been in Jesus. And as a result, she went from hopeless to hopeful.

Everyone rejoiced, except Jairus. Servants had arrived and the delay was too long, the little girl had died. Despair and hopelessness swept over Jairus and threatened to sweep him away. But Jesus was there. And with only a few words, Jesus brought back hope. When they got to the house, the mourners were already there in full force. They even laughed at Jesus when he told them she was only asleep. But not Jairus. His only hope was in Jesus. And as a result, his little girl was raised form the dead. Like the unnamed woman, Jairus went from hopeless to hopeful.

III. MINISTRY:

A. Now there are two things that strike me about this passage. First: whether we are in a hopeless situation or whether life is going just fine, like Jairus and the woman, Our Only Hope Is In Jesus. He is the embodiment of hope. He is the author or hope. He is God's hope made flesh. And because of Him, through Him, with Him, no matter how hopeless or filled with despair lives get, He is there for us.

He will lift us up and guide us. He will walk with us. He will give us strength. He will give us hope.

B. Second: This passage reminded me of something I discovered a long time ago in ministry. Most real ministry, most life changing ministry takes place while doing other ministry. Life changing ministry always seems to come in as an intrusion. It comes when we're not prepared. When we're thinking about something else or doing something else.

Ministry comes when we least expect it. The secret is keeping ourselves focused on Jesus and our relationship with God, so that we are able to discern those ministry moments. So that we are able to hear the call and prodding of the Holy Spirit.

I have an acquaintance. His name is Wayne and Wayne is a Gideon. Every time I see Wayne he is passing out verses of Scripture that he prints out on his computer. Wayne started working for the Census like some of you. And he told a mutual friend that there was one man that he was having a very difficult time getting in touch with.

Finally he got him. This man had the long form. And as he answered the questions, Wayne said it was pretty obvious, that this guy was in the brink of despair and was probably going to check out of this life. Wayne is a wonderful Christian man and when he finished the Census interview, he covered his badge or name tag or whatever they wear and said, "Forget that I work for the Census for minute. This is just me talking. You're God's property. Don't do what you're contemplating, it's wrong."

The next day, Wayne decided to check on this guy and called 2 or 3 times but couldn't get him. So, he decided to go by the man's home. He did but the man wasn't home. As Wayne was leaving, this gentleman came up to him, it was obvious that something had changed. And he confessed to Wayne that his wife had left him and that he had been contemplating suicide. He looked Wayne in the eyes and said, "Thank you. You saved my life." (2)

You see, you never know when you can be a messenger of hope.

CONCLUSION:

In the war years, triage (sorting out) referred to the policy by which medical assistance was given. It was up to the doctors to "color-tag" the wounded, placing them in one of three categories according to their condition. One color meant hopeless - nothing we can do will save them.

Another tag meant they'll make it whether they get help or not. The third color-tag indicated a doubtful prognosis - a chance to live only if medical assistance is given. Since there were severely limited medical supplies . . . assistance was being given only to this last group.

Lou was badly blown apart, including one leg severely wounded. The doctor who examined him made the decision that Lou was a hopeless case and tagged him as such, leaving him to die. But a nurse noticed Lou was conscious and began to talk with him. They discovered they were both from Ohio. Getting to know Lou as a person, the nurse just couldn't let him die. She broke all the rules and changed his color-tag.

There followed a two-day trip in the back of a truck and months in a hospital. But Lou made it. He met a girl in the hospital who he later married. Even minus one leg he has led a full happy life, all because a nurse broke the rules of triage and changed a tag. (3)

Maybe the task of the church is going around changing the tags. Maybe that's what Jesus meant to tell us when he healed the woman and helped Jairus. Jesus IS the Friend of the hopeless. He came to befriend and save the hopeless from despair. He gave His life on the cross and was raised from the dead for that very reason.

And He calls us to be His messengers of hope. He calls us to listen for the working and movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives leading us in those moments of ministry that happen in the busyness of life.

Keep your heart and life focused on Jesus, so you can be a messenger of hope.

1. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), October 1989

2. As told to me by John Boggs

3. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), January 1984

4.