Remove the Mourning Before the Miracle by Brother Curtis Hansen

         This morning the scripture reading will be from the book of Mark chapter 5. We will start at verse 35 but before we read this selection, the previous 34 verses in this chapter is packed with miracles Jesus performed. In the beginning of chapter 5 Jesus cast out the unclean spirits from the man dwelling among the tombs. Take note for reading later in verse 7 the legion of demons cried with a loud voice after the man ran and worshipped Jesus. The unclean spirit was known as Legion and the devils went toward a herd of pigs, causing the herd to run violently down toward the sea. By the time we get to verse 20 Jesus has boarded a ship, word has spread of what he was doing. We will start here at verse 22.

        22 And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet.

        23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lies at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay hands on her, that she may be healed: and she shall live.

        As Jesus went with Jairus toward the house, many people followed and surrounded them. Verses 25-34 tells of the woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' garment and was made whole. Verse 30 said Jesus immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him. To repeat, a lot happens in the 5th chapter of Mark. These two moments touched upon are sermons for separate times. This morning we are going to focus on Jairus.

        Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue in the scripture. He had a significant role there and was very committed to his faith for all intents and purposes. The faith he displays in verses 22 and 23, where he fell at Jesus feet instead of going to the priests of the synagogue or doing maybe an animal sacrifice to improve his daughters health, that faith in action speaks louder than any words. Now onto verse 35;

        35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why trouble thou the Master any further?

        36 As soon as Jesus heard the word was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

        37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

        38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and sees the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.

        39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleeps.

        40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and enters in where the damsel was lying.

        41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Tal-i-tha cu-mi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.

        42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

        43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. 

        Let us review briefly. People sought Jairus to tell him that his daughter had died. Jesus would tell this ruler in reply "Be not afraid, only believe." There will be some things in our life we cannot simply rebuke. In Jesus reply, he is asking for faith from Jairus. That faith is small and yet so powerful. It isn't a grand gesture, some big sweeping moment. The fact is this moment the daughter is dead. Jairus is facing not only exile from his community in seeking out Jesus, there is also unbelief within them regarding the healer. The priests and leaders were still referring to Jesus as teacher. 

        Fact 2: Thy daughter is dead: why trouble thou the Master any further? This is not a lie. Why trouble the master any further. Dead is dead to people. Jesus is still looking for the faith in his people today that Jairus had in that moment. There's no additional words from him. He didn't demand divine intervention, he didn't proclaim it was his right that Jesus act. No, he was standing up against his church and his house. Jairus faith was taken briefly by sadness over his daughters passing. Once again this is not a lie, but had Jairus just let himself be consumed by the sadness and not remain focused on his faith, it would be a limitation to God. God will fill every role in our life if we are open and receive, we limit him in how open we are.

        There are things in real life that happen that is not a struggle of the spirit or a bad turn, it's just life. In Jewish culture when someone passed there were mourners and musicians. The poorest of households had 5 mourners and 2 flutes. How many do you think a ruler has? When Jesus arrives at the ruler's house he is mocked to scorn by the mourners.

        The faith is in verse 36. It doesn't stop Jesus from being God as long as you don't limit him. You can limit him to a designation as a teacher or a pastor or an analyst and not Lord of your life. Faith activates the role of God in our life. Don't be afraid and stop dwelling on the sadness, the failures, the shortcomings and believe. If you take account the four gospels, many of the miracles Jesus performed were when he was moving away from the multitudes and seeking solitude. He was not in the synagogue or large field conducting a healing service. Not everything we experience in life is an attack from the enemy. A bad report is going to be for everyone at one time or another. The question we need to ask ourself is where is our faith grounded in?

        Jairus could not rebuke the devil. His friends brought forth the report. They told him of his duty and he was charged to fulfill his duty much like there's a duty for us even today. This is not the enemy or some spiritual attack, it was just a fact of life. Jesus suffered no man to follow him. He told the multitude gathered around him to stay. When it comes time in the scripture for Jesus to act, the circle shrinks with just Peter, James, and John. In times of life where things look dire, your circle too will shrink to a few. That's a good thing.

        Jesus came to the rulers house and the mourners there were distressed and weeping. Jesus said the girl was merely sleeping. He could have went in to proclaim he was going to raise the dead but he didn't. He put out the mourners before the miracle. There was a need to clean the house out of things much like today we too should also clean our house of things that are not of God. Jesus took the mother and Jairus as well as his disciples before the miracle. In the old law man could not touch the dead because it was unclean. Jesus taking the girls hand is significant. You cannot live in fear and claim to believe. You don't need to speak, but often like Jairus you should let your actions speak for you. He was at a crossroads but still walked to his house.