People Jesus Met
Pt 4
“A Little Girl Resurrected”
Mark 5:21-42 “Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.”
25-33 (Woman with issue touched the hem of his garment)
34 “And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.’” 35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”
40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.”
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This is the third great miracle Jesus performs in chapter 5.
He has already delivered a demon-possessed man from his torment, and healed a gravely ill woman after twelve long years of suffering,
And now as a grand finale He raises a little girl from the dead.
–A tense drama unfolds in this story of the ruler and his daughter.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all give an account of it.
It begins with:
I. A desperate situation
We have a ruler of the synagogue, a Jew, coming to Jesus and falling at his feet in a desperate dilemma with a desperate prayer:
“My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”–vs 23
His desperate situation brings this desperate prayer and creates a desperate faith.
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Now as a ruler of the synagogue this man was not surrounded by fans of Jesus.
The synagogue was full of Pharisees that were among Jesus’s greatest enemies.
–But desperate faith doesn’t care what others think!
Foremost on this father’s mind was his precious daughter.
So he broke through all the entangling religious barriers and sought out Jesus.
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But wouldn’t you know it, right on the heels of his prayer to the Lord, there came:
II. A discouraging delay
Just as Jesus was making his way to the ruler’s house, the woman with an issue of blood we talked about last time touched the hem of his garment and was healed.
This caused Jesus to stop in his tracks and turn his attention to the woman.
I can almost hear the father say,
–“I can’t believe it!
–Now of all times!
–Why did this have to happen?
–My daughter is dying and now Jesus is distracted from getting to her!”
But I want you to notice how Jesus is never ruffled or hassled.
He could have said to the woman–“Woman, I can’t stop for you right now. I’m too busy!”
But no! Our Lord took all the time he needed to minister to this woman that had been healed.
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Meanwhile, the ruler’s daughter died.
“35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
At this news, this father’s heart dropped into his stomach.
It doesn’t tell us, but knowing human nature I’m guessing that he blamed it on the unwanted interruption.
“If only that woman hadn’t come along.”
“If only Jesus hadn’t spent so much time with her.”
“He knew my daughter was near death, so why did he stop?”
“Does he really even care?”
It reminds me of Martha and Mary who also thought Jesus was late, causing their brother Lazarus’s death.
They both said to Him, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21,32).
Again, the unruffled, unflustered, never in a hurry Jesus walked resolutely to Lazarus’s tomb and raised him from the dead.
Which is what is about to happen with this little girl as well!
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I want to pause a minute to point out that sometimes we don’t understand why God waits so long to answer prayers.
Nor why He allows distractions, delays, and interruptions to come and seemingly hinder our path.
But here’s what I want us to see today:
All throughout the Bible–even when things happen that are out of our control, GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL!
Listen to this powerful verse:
Ps 103:19 “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all [the universe].” AMP
Sovereignty means “God is in control of all things and rules over all things. He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels, and demons. Even Satan himself has to ask God’s permission before he can act” (Psalm 103:19).
In Is. 46:10 God says, “Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.”
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And most of us are at least familiar with Rom 8:28:
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Work together is from a word meaning “to cooperate.”
So the good news is:
God causes all things–even aggravating distractions and delays–to cooperate with His will for your life!
Even when it is Satan himself that causes the hindrance, God is in charge!
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.”–1 Thes 2:18
Yet we know almost certainly that Paul made it to them on his 3rd missionary journey.
Could it be that one of the incentives Paul had for writing 1 Thessalonians was to relay that he had tried to get to them?
If so, look at how God worked even a delay caused by the devil for the good!
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So now back to the desperate father, watch this:
On hearing the news, Jesus said to him,
36 “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
The never ruffled, never in a hurry, never flustered Savior headed straight for the man’s house.
When he got there he chased all the hired mourners out of the house, telling them, “The child is not dead, but sleeping.”–vs 39
In other words, her dead condition was not permanent, but she would soon come back to life!
He then took the parents, along with Peter, James, and John, into the room where the girl’s body was.
It says “41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
42 “Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.”
Now here is where Luke adds an important fact: “Then her spirit returned, and she arose…”
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This shows that our soul doesn’t die with the body.
It exists in a separate state after death, and will re-enter our body when Christ returns to give us a new, glorified body!
This little girl’s resurrection miracle was a type and picture of what will happen in mass all over the world when Jesus returns!
The bodies of believers in Christ will come out of the grave and be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet…the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”–1 Cor 15:52
The little 12 year old girl was restored to her parents, completing an exciting day in the live of Jesus where He revealed His victory over Death, Demons, and Disease.
So do you know Him today?