[0:00] By way of introduction today to the message, I have a few slides, and maybe Ian can put the first one up.
[0:15] Most of these are slides that I've taken on my travels. So let's travel to the Sea of Galilee this morning, and Mark chapter 5, and open our hearts again to the wonder-working power of Jesus.
[0:31] Now, I love the tranquility that you find in Galilee, and that's a scene of tranquility there. From the early morning sunrise, there's another slide there, yeah, to evening sundown.
[0:47] As some of you already know, I have led tours to Israel for the last dozen more years, and together as we visit some of the sites, our minds are stimulated by the stories of the people and places associated with these sites in the Gospels.
[1:07] There are times when we're deeply moved by the Spirit of God as we visit these sites. And all we can say at these moments is, thank you, Jesus, for loving me.
[1:21] There are so many sites to visit, it's impossible to visit them all in one visit. And the 10 to 12 days that we normally spend there.
[1:34] But there is a super new site, and there's another slide there of Capernaum. That's Capernaum, first of all. And you'll see that's Capernaum in the foreground, and at the back, away in the back is Tiberias, and Mount Arbel and Magdala, or Migdal as it's called today, in the center there, about six miles away.
[1:59] And over the last number of years, since about 2015, 2016, we've been taking people there.
[2:10] But when you go there, there's something that may cause a little bit of confusion in people. Is there a connection between the woman healed in Mark 5 and Mary Magdalene, Mary of Magdala?
[2:26] Well, I'll explain later on. In 2000, another slide, just to give you an idea of where we are.
[2:38] Magdala and Jesus has come back from Cursey, where the pigs have gone into the water. And there's Tabca and Capernaum up at the top, Mount of Beatitudes.
[2:50] So that gives you just a little bit of a layout of where we are. And in 2009, there's another slide, Mount Arbel. 2009, the Roman Catholic Church began to build guesthouse in Migdal, just below Mount Arbel there, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, traditionally known as the home of Mary Magdalene.
[3:16] As the digging began there, a first century synagogue, next slide please, a first century synagogue was discovered. And very likely one in which Jesus himself would have spoken.
[3:30] As we read in Matthew 4 and 13, it says that he went through Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease, and every affliction among people.
[3:41] Now since Magdala is only six miles away from Capernaum, where the hometown of Jesus was, it's very conceivable that he would have preached in Magdala as well.
[3:56] Conceivably where he met with Mary Magdalene for the first time. Migdal, or Magdala, had a thriving fishing industry back then.
[4:06] It exported pickled fish, salted fish, to places as far away as Rome. But it wasn't only a synagogue that was found in the excavation.
[4:20] But an ancient port, paved streets, houses, mikvah, ritual bath, and only a small site. I think it's only about 10-15% of the site has been excavated so far.
[4:33] But the most exciting find is the Magdala stone. And there we are, surrounded around a copy of it. And the stone itself is just in the top left-hand corner in the synagogue.
[4:47] And if you click the next slide, there's a free church minister lurking there in the background. It's not me. You might, I don't know if you'll see him.
[4:57] It's Colin from Gerlach. He was on that tour with us. And this Magdala stone has numerous car rings, including the seven-branched menorah of which there was one in the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
[5:15] Now, the next slide, please. There's a beautiful new chapel being built there near the water's edge. And as you step inside, the first thing you see is that pulpit in front of you.
[5:27] It is a pulpit. And it's absolutely stunning, looking over the Sea of Galilee. And surrounding that chapel are four smaller chapels.
[5:38] The first one is one depicting Mary Magdalene, because this is the town of Mary Magdalene. And then there's one, another one, with encounter.
[5:54] Now, I've showed you that slide just to show the size of it. And the next slide shows the slide. And even if I touch his garments, I will have made well. This is the story we have here today in Mark 5.
[6:07] But we don't know if this happened in Magdala or in Capernaum. It doesn't say. It's an incredible visual touch of the story.
[6:20] But is there any connection with this unnamed woman and Mary Magdalene, who became a helper of Jesus?
[6:33] Well, as far as I can ascertain, the only connection may be the place. For nowhere in Scripture are we told it's the same woman.
[6:44] But seeing the picture here in Magdalene, wonderful as it is, could lead to maybe us getting a little bit confused about the story.
[6:56] And then in another chapel, there's the other story that's here of the raising of Jairus' daughter, Talitha Kuhn.
[7:07] Fantastic place to be in to visit. And over the years, I think there's a map there as well, just a quick map, just to give us a bearing again.
[7:18] That's the last of the slides, as far as I know. Okay. So over the years, people have encountered Jesus in different places. People have encountered Jesus in this very building.
[7:31] They have met with Jesus Christ for the first time here and bowed their knee before him. And each encounter is a miracle. A miracle of God's free grace.
[7:45] If you've met with Jesus, or perhaps meet with him here today, you will never forget that moment or the rest of your days.
[7:56] Just like Mary Magdalene, who met him and followed him all the days of her life. I remember that night in 1985, over 35 years ago, when the Lord Jesus made himself known to me.
[8:17] It's as clear now as it was then. And you know what? But I haven't regretted a moment of surrendering my life to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[8:31] Some of you I know will go back even further than that. Maybe not a whole lot further, because I'm growing a bit older now. And there are young people here today who may not have given their life to Christ yet.
[8:45] Maybe some older people. Maybe some people watching at home. But the first day that you walk with Jesus is a day you will never forget.
[8:57] What a miracle of grace that is. To have been brought from death to life.
[9:10] To be born again. And it's only made possible by the power of God. These miracles we have in our Bible reading from Mark 5 are nothing short of amazing. They're almost unbelievable to us today.
[9:23] They are miracles. And they could only be done through the sovereign, mighty power of Jesus Christ. Some people would say the age of miracles is no more.
[9:38] They've ended with the era of the first century apostles. But let's not underestimate for a moment the sovereign power of God. And that power has diminished not one iota since Jesus performed those miracles around the Sea of Galilee.
[9:58] As the author of Hebrews says, speaking of Jesus, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same all-powerful Savior. So when we come to Mark chapter 5, it tells us of three individuals.
[10:13] Three different scenarios. We didn't read the first one. All are held captive. One by demons. One by an illness. And the last one by the power of death itself.
[10:25] In each case, Jesus is showing his total authority over each situation. Without spending too much time in the first section up to verse 20, it's worth mentioning just for context.
[10:41] Jesus had crossed. Jesus had crossed from the western shores of the Sea of Galilee, across to the east, to the gentle area known as the Decapolis, the Ten Cities.
[10:52] There he was confronted by a man who was demon-possessed. And even as demons were reading the story acknowledged who Jesus is. You are the son of the most high God.
[11:05] The demons came out of the man and entered into around 2,000 pigs who rushed down the steep bank into the sea. That was at Kersi, across the lake where you saw on the map.
[11:19] What happened to the pigs would have eventually happened to the man. He would have destroyed himself if he hadn't had this encounter with Jesus.
[11:32] And while the people of that area told Jesus to leave, Jesus told the man to stay where he was. Because he wanted to go with Jesus and tell his family and his friends what happened to him.
[11:47] So becoming like a first century missionary in a gentle community. We read later on in Mark chapter 7 that Jesus returns to the same area, the Decapolis.
[12:00] And he'll encounter a people who have heard of his power. So this man, would it have been this man who was telling of the power of Jesus and what he had done in his life?
[12:15] Are we telling of the transformation, the healing that Jesus has done in our life? Spiritual healing? Physical healing? Mark 5.22 sees Jesus crossing back over.
[12:30] From the curses side, from the east side of the sea. To be met by a never-present waiting crowd. And here we find what seems to be a miracle within a miracle.
[12:44] As Mark inserts the account of the sick woman into the story of the healing of Jairus' daughter. So the Gospels don't identify, as I said before, the exact locations of the story.
[12:59] It may have been Capernaum. It may be Magdala, both fishing ports. But whatever the location, he encounters a second person here in Mark chapter 5.
[13:13] The man is named Jairus. A chief official of the synagogue. Maybe like an elder in the church today. Similar. Like a demoniac across on the other side of the sea, he also fell at the feet of Jesus.
[13:31] Despite the fact that Jesus had met opposition from him and his likes in the synagogue of Capernaum.
[13:42] And he would be well aware of that and who Jesus was. But now that means nothing to Jairus. All he knows is this.
[13:53] His daughter is dying. And Jesus has the power to heal. Jesus was willing, Jairus was willing to do anything to have his daughter back.
[14:10] Jairus is no different to any of us who has a child who is ill. Today, people will spend a fortune to make their child well.
[14:23] And you can understand that. Now, I cannot know everyone's situation. But no matter the situation you may find yourselves in today.
[14:35] No matter how hopeless your situation may seem. Jesus, who is the help of the helpless, is the hope of the hopeless.
[14:47] Don't be afraid. Just believe. Jesus, who is the help of the helpless, is the hope of the helpless. When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.
[15:01] And here we find the man whose daughter is dying. A few verses later, a woman, about whom little is known, kneeling before Jesus. Individuals, it seems, at the opposite ends of the social scale.
[15:18] One of them would have been looked up to and one, the other, would have been looked down upon. And Jesus, compassionate Jesus, has compassion on them both.
[15:30] No one is unimportant to Jesus. You may think you're unimportant, but you're not unimportant to Jesus.
[15:41] You are important to him. He loves you with an everlasting love. Then one of the synagogue rulers named Jairus came there.
[15:52] Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him. My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.
[16:04] So Jesus went with him. Jesus was there for the ruler. And Jesus was there for the woman whom he would meet along the road.
[16:20] Jairus had possibly seen the miracle in the synagogue in Capernaum of the man with the withered hand in Mark chapter 3. He may even have opposed what Jesus had done because it was done on the Sabbath day.
[16:35] But now it is he who needs the healer for to help his child. We know how people still mock Jesus and us for following him.
[16:55] But when they hit a crisis in their own lives, who do they turn to? God help us, they'll say.
[17:07] They come to realize often that the only hope they have is in turning to Jesus Christ. As a public figure, probably well known in his community and perhaps respected, coming to Jesus would potentially cause Jairus many problems.
[17:28] But what does he care? His daughter is dying. And he had to do something. She had to be made well. He came to Jesus openly.
[17:40] No matter what people will say. He didn't care anymore. Unlike the other ruler in John chapter 3, and Nicodemus who came at night. Perhaps you're here today or listening online, and you have a very real need.
[17:59] A need that no one else knows about or needs to know about. It may be a spiritual problem. And you know what you must do.
[18:19] You know you must lay it at the feet of Jesus and come and kneel before him. And deep down, you know that Jesus does care about you. You know that the only answer is found in him.
[18:35] Be that a physical healing. Or a spiritual salvation. You know that Jesus has the answer. Put yourself for a moment in the synagogue ruler's shoes.
[18:50] Your child, your only child, is seriously ill at the point of death. Long-held beliefs regarding the temple rules are now immaterial to him.
[19:07] What is most important is that your child will live. Jairus pleaded earnestly with Jesus.
[19:19] My little daughter is dying. And it appears from the story that before Jesus was able to go to the home of Jairus, a crowd gathered around Jesus, including this woman.
[19:36] From out of the crowd. A woman in need who shouldn't have been there in the first place because she was unclean. She had an issue of blood for 12 years and she wasn't welcomed.
[19:47] And she reaches out to touch him. Perhaps like this woman, you're seeking a touch from Jesus.
[20:00] You're no longer caring what others are saying. You need healing. You need healing. In your soul, in your body. Jesus was the only answer for her.
[20:17] Jesus is the only answer for you. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years.
[20:30] She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had. Yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought, if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.
[20:46] And immediately her bleeding stopped. And she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. If I had been generous at that moment, what would I have done?
[21:04] Would I have grabbed Jesus and said, come on, come on, hurry. My daughter is dying. I think I would have been tempted to hurry him along. My child needs help now.
[21:16] While Jairus would naturally have been anxious about the delay, Jesus was still prepared to deal with another situation that had arisen before him.
[21:36] I dare say Jairus would have been a wealthy enough man. But this woman, whatever wealth she may have had, had gone. In trying to find healing.
[21:49] Jesus' wealth could not save his dying daughter. And the woman was no penniless, didn't have any more money for the doctors. Both in a predicament. What were they to do?
[22:01] So we see a rich man and a poor woman, kneeling at the feet of Jesus, both looking for an answer. No one had told the woman to touch the garment of Jesus.
[22:18] But to read it, once Jesus realized that power had gone out of him, he turned around in the crowd and asked, Who touched my clothes? Immediately, this severely anemic, exhausted, desperate, even fearful woman touched Jesus.
[22:43] That she might be healed. Why was she fearful? She had known that by touching him in law, in the law of the Jews, that she would make him unclean as well.
[22:57] She had probably lived like a leper outside the community. Cut off from him for 12 years. She had done all she could to be healed.
[23:09] Now she had nothing to lose. Her life was epping away. Jesus was her last port of call.
[23:23] Oh, don't make Jesus your last port of call. Calling him while he's near. Jesus knew that someone had touched him in faith.
[23:36] And he wanted to know who it was. Who touched my clothes? He wanted to heal people. Of course he did. But he wanted to give them more.
[23:46] He wanted to give them himself. What did the disciples say?
[24:01] Come on, forget it. Seen the crowds pressing in. And you ask, who touched me?
[24:17] The truth is, we can be very close to Jesus as we are today, part of the crowd. But unless you submit to him. Unless you submit to him and to him alone.
[24:31] You will not be changed. If you haven't done so before now. Will you let him touch you?
[24:42] Today? Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
[24:57] He said to her daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. And be freed from your suffering.
[25:08] Knowing that she cannot hide or run away. She falls at his feet. She is pale from her illness.
[25:21] She is trembling with fear. Is she going to be punished for making Jesus unclean? And there she is, blurting out her story.
[25:33] For 12 years, she's had this illness. And telling Jesus why she did what she did. Only to receive the compassion of Jesus.
[25:49] At the feet of Jesus. Daughter. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace. And be healed of your disease.
[26:04] If this woman believed that it was Jesus who had healed her, she needed to confess it with her mouth. Maybe we, some of us, are still to do the same.
[26:21] Jesus makes time for this woman. And nobody compared to Jairus in that day. He is willing to stop by.
[26:34] And touch this woman. And heal her. And he is willing to touch you today. Here in this place.
[26:47] Or wherever you may be watching. Jesus wanted this woman to confess the change in her life before all others.
[26:57] And we're reminded what is written in Romans 10 and 9. If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord. And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
[27:08] You will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believed and are justified. And it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
[27:20] All this time. However long it took. There was Jairus. Deeply concerned for his own daughter. And as I said before.
[27:32] If I were him. How would I have been pulling at Jesus' coat by now? Come on. Let's go. Let's go. But bad news comes before they reach the house.
[27:44] While Jesus was still speaking. Some men came from the house of Jairus. The synagogue ruler. Your daughter is dead. They said. Why bother the teacher anymore? Too late. How would Jairus have felt now?
[28:01] It's gone. He didn't come in time. He spent time with this woman. When he could have been helping my daughter. They'd all hoped that Jesus would have healed the daughter.
[28:18] But now she's dead. And how could he raise anyone from the dead? Too late. But Jesus turns to Jairus and tells him.
[28:32] Don't be afraid. Just believe. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of what your friends are saying. Just listen to me.
[28:44] Look at how he shows Jairus' sovereign power. He did not let anyone except Peter, James, and John. The brother James. When they came to the house of the synagogue ruler.
[28:55] Jesus saw a commotion. With people crying and wailing loudly. He went down and said to them. Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep. But they laughed at him.
[29:09] They laughed at him. In those days professional mourners would have gathered round a house, round a family. To be with the family. Not that they had any real interest in the family.
[29:22] And he put them out. To them the girl was dead. It was all over. But then verse 41 says, Jesus took her by the hand and said, Talitha kum, which means little girl.
[29:36] I say, get up. Immediately the little girl stood up and walked around. At this, they were completely astonished. This was an answer to a father's heart cry.
[29:53] It's possible that you have prayed for a condition. For a situation. Like the woman prayed. Like Jairus had prayed since he found his daughter was dying.
[30:06] You're still waiting for an answer. For some here. Some online. Life has been good.
[30:22] It had been for Jairus. Until this moment. But we never know what a day or an hour might bring. Perhaps you've prayed for yourself.
[30:33] For your family. And God is still to answer your request. Do you ever consider that Jesus might have delayed the answer so the deadline would pass?
[30:50] And then ask, Despite what you see, do you trust me? No matter what. It seemed too late for Jairus.
[31:07] Don't be afraid. Just believe. There are three people in this chapter here. A crazy, possessed man.
[31:19] A woman who is dying. And a father who is full of fear. For his child. And all of them find what they need. Where? At the feet of Jesus.
[31:34] Is there anything you need today? Spiritually? Or physically? Come. To the feet of Jesus. Come.
[31:46] To the foot of the cross. And there you will find peace. And rest. And hope. Amen.
[31:57] And may the Lord bless to us. These thoughts. From his holy word. Father we thank you for your word. See you.
[32:27] Is there a list?