June 28, 2020 Mark 5:21-43 “Just Touch My Hem!”

26 Jun June 28, 2020 Mark 5:21-43 “Just Touch My Hem!”

June 28, 2020   Mark 5:21-43  “Just Touch My Hem!”

A few weeks ago, we had a tragedy in this country where a policeman killed a man who was being apprehended after a robbery.  Now I’m not sure that he intended to kill the man but he did use too much force.  The result of this has been an outbreak of violence and hate that we haven’t seen in a long time.  I think that some unscrupulous forces are at work here trying to bring this country to its knees.  It almost seems that the news media is fanning the flames and once again we have government officials that act little better than if we had none at all.  I’m sure that you all have an opinion here and that is ok because that is not what I’m going to talk about today.  It seems to me that we as a people have to be always right.  And if we aren’t right or if people disagree with us, then it is our job to hate them.  This is so wrong on all fronts.  We need to learn and relearn that Jesus Christ is the answer to this and any other sort of unrest.  I would guess that there hasn’t been one leader of these radical groups that has even thought about going to Jesus in prayer before they went out to hurt people and destroy property.  I doubt if any officials did either.  Today we are going to look at a passage that seems to be all about healing but there is more.  Let’s see if we can find out just how good Jesus really is and why you should be in prayer with Him at all times.

Several years ago, there was an incident at a zoo where a toddler squeezed through the bars of the gorilla cage and fell in with a 450-pound gorilla.  The gorilla dragged the boy through the water twice before the zoo officials finally decided to kill the gorilla.  They put the life of a young child ahead of this massive primate.  The zoo officials stated that they were heartbroken by what they had to do but they had to do it.  Now here are some of the headlines from our wacko press after the incident.  Parents Get Death Threats, Shooting an Endangered Animal is Worse than Murder and Probe into Possible Criminal Charges.  Social media also had to get their hateful 2 cents worth in with comments like ‘How many people are supporting the shooting of a gorilla?’ ‘Shoot the parents.’  ‘SAVE A GORILLA, SHOOT A BAD MOTHER,’ ‘Murdering an endangered gorilla?’ and ‘Where are the stupid parents?’  Do you begin to see the depths we have descended?  It is so sad to say that this is the same kind thing that has happened in our press during the coronavirus and the riots .  We should be so ashamed of ourselves and this is how we tie this into Scripture.

We are going to talk a little bit about three parts of this and there could be so many more.  First, we have Jesus walking along as He always did when a synagogue ruler named Jairus came to see Him because his daughter was dying.  So, Jesus did what we would think He would do and He left with Jairus.  Then we come to the second incident.

But before we go there, I want you to think about Jairus for a minute.  His daughter is dying.  He would be in a hurry.  But Jesus stops because someone in the crowd had touched Him and Jairus wants to keep moving along.  He would probably say, ‘Come on, Jesus.  Let’s get going.’  In other words, he is screaming out ‘I can’t breathe!  I can’t breathe!’  This is a man in need just like George Floyd was in need.

This is similar to what has been happening in our country.  We have had riots.  We have had people killed for little or no reason.  We have shown the world that we cannot be trusted to be the fair and square country we like to make ourselves out to be.  And on top of everything else we have the coronavirus still going wild.  I have heard many people say things like ‘what will be next?’

Others and maybe many of you, like to think that you really aren’t part of any of this.  You might not have much to do with minorities due to geography or whatever.  You just aren’t in the thick of all this so why does any of this pertain to me.  But do you remember Jesus saying that what you did to the least of these people, you did to me?  I think that is easy to see.  But what He is saying is that those who took part in these demonstrations, even if they were peaceful, that those who didn’t throw the bricks were just as guilty as the ones who threw the bricks.  All of us might be just as guilty of discrimination because someone next to you discriminates.

It dawned on me this past week what was really happening.  We have become a country that is run by a group of elite people.  They are privileged.  They get to have whatever they want and there is no one to stop them.  And guess what?  These people aren’t you and me.  We are being discriminated against just like the black people in Minneapolis or New York or Dallas.  Systematic discrimination is everywhere and only the very rich are out of it.  They are causing it so they can keep their status quo.

Here’s what I mean.  How many poor people do you know in your neighborhood?  I know that most of us don’t consider ourselves to be poor because that is something that other people have to deal with, not me.  However, I would guess that most of you aren’t that well off.  But you can always find someone worse than you are.  So, what do you do to those people?  I tell you what with this policeman’s knee.  These poor people cannot breathe!  They can’t breathe.  Help them!  Don’t stand around like those other officers!  Do something!  Go and visit them and find out what they need.  I would guess that you won’t be able to help them much but anything is better than choking them.  This is what I mean when I say we are guilty, you are guilty.  This is not a black and white problem.  This is all of our problem.  There is probably a little girl in the area who is in huge trouble because of abuse, neglect and lack of food and you have to help.  Think about that the next time you think you are innocent.

Next, we have a part of the story that we all know.  This is the beginning of the great news of this passage and sermon.  Jesus is more popular than some of the super rock stars of today.  He cannot even walk.  The crowds press in on Him.  I would guess that He was jostled and maybe even pushed a little.  There just wasn’t any room for Him to walk.  I think that this is the way that it should be.  We should be so attuned to Jesus that He is always on our minds.  We are to be always coming to Him in continuous prayer.  We are not to leave Him alone.

Enter this woman who has been bleeding for 12 years.  Remember when you hear the number 12 something good is probably going to happen.  Unfortunately, this poor woman had to suffer for 12 years first.  Now she is desperate but also very full of faith.  If she could just touch the hem of His cloak, that is all she was looking to do.  The crowd is so packed that no one even notices this poor woman as she touched the cloak.  She touched his clothing and she was instantly healed.  Think about that.  Instantly!

Immediately, Jesus knows that she has done this as He felt some power leave Him.  So, He looks to see who did this and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”  Now the crowd is so thick that his disciples think it’s impossible to know who or if anyone or if everyone had touched Him.  But Jesus knew and this woman’s faith had healed her.  What I want you to notice here is that we don’t know this woman’s name.  We never find out and she is one of the most famous people in the Bible.  Everyone knows this story.  And I think that this is just great news for us and our friends and the whole world.

This is the point that most people don’t understand.  Many of you know that I post a little daily devotion most days of the week.  The other day I posted one about the love of Jesus.  We know about these things.  This is what I do.  However, someone on one of the social media outlets sent me a message about someone falling asleep as we have had race riots, coronavirus, and Donald Trump.  At first, I didn’t really understand what he was trying to say and then it hit me.  This poor person, I don’t know if it was a man or woman or boy or girl, didn’t even come close to getting what Jesus is all about!  I get far worse messages all the time from those who don’t know Jesus so they take it out on me.  To make a long story short, these are the people who are going to hell.  There is no doubt about it.  This is why I post things on line all the time.  I’m trying to reach those souls who are lost and there are a lot of them.

Now how many people do you know in your world who are lost just like these poor people on social media?  I keep beating this drum all the time.  There are many, many people in your own social group who need help to find Jesus.  It’s up to you to find a way to help these people.  What are you good at?  Where do you excel?  Use your gifts to help out those around you.  They don’t even have to know it’s you.  We never did find out who this sickly woman was who was healed.  This wasn’t important to Jesus.  What was important was that she had the faith to know that He was Lord and Savior.

Ok, let’s get back to our reading.  Someone came along from the house of Jairus and told him that his daughter had died.  Don’t bother with the teacher, Jesus, because He can do her no good now.  It’s too late.  Does this remind you of the story of Lazarus that will happen in the near future?  He was too late there also.  Now Jairus has been with Jesus as He has tried to travel in the mob.  Then took some time to heal a woman who no one knows her name.  Now because of this, he is too late in getting Jesus back to his place to heal his daughter.  He had to be severely disappointed at this time.  This is just natural.

Now all you know how I feel that prayer is about the most important thing you can do.  I don’t know how many times I have heard things like ‘I’ve prayed for this to happen for years,’ or ‘I’ve prayed and prayed and prayed and nothing happens.’  Maybe some of you feel the same way.  You have prayed so much that you are about to give up or worse yet, you have given up.  The little girl is dead so why don’t you, Jairus, just give up because it’s no use to pray for her anymore.  All I can say about all this is to keep praying because you aren’t in charge and you should praise the Lord for that.  Jesus does everything in His time and His way.  Many times, Jesus will answer you with a no.  Sometimes we even have non-Christian people praying and getting upset that they aren’t answered.  That is a whole different topic.  Anyway, there are many, many more reasons you should continue to pray than there are for not praying.

Look what happens.  Jesus goes to the rulers’ house where He is laughed at and made fun of because they all know that she is dead.  People are making fun of God!  She is dead and everyone knows she is dead.  Jesus goes to her and tells her to get up and she did!  People, this is about the nth degree beyond being a miracle.  This should give us hope beyond hope.  We should know for a fact that it is never too late to come to Jesus.  If you have never done this or you aren’t sure, then confess you sins to Jesus and ask Him to live in your heart.  You will never regret this decision.  You will never know when it’s too late to do this until it is too late.

As we look into our world, we see many ways or areas where we may be dead.  Your faith can even be dead if you don’t do anything.  Remember faith without works is dead as is works without faith.  Do something.  The church can be dead and many of them in this country are dead.  Just look at them as they parade around hurting people in the name of social justice.  Social justice without Jesus leading the way is useless.  Next time you see a demonstration or riot on TV, just pause and see if you can find Satan dancing with joy somewhere in the picture.

We can have dead holidays like Christmas and Easter which in some ways are more secular than religious in many areas.  Look around in the fall and you will see dead leaves, dead trees and dead grass just to name a very few dead things.  There really isn’t anything we can do about plants and animals.  Our job is only to help them live while we are here as much as possible.

As you are imagining all these dead parts of our lives with Satan dancing for joy in the midst of this chaos, please remember that we will have the last laugh in all this.  Jesus Christ raised this little girl from the dead.  He raised Lazarus from the dead.  He hadn’t even been to the cross yet and here He is defeating death.  Just think about how much more power He has since the cross.  He has defeated death on all fronts.  If you come to Him and accept Him as your Savior, then He will defeat death in your life also.  All you have to do is believe and follow Him.  He has never led anyone astray and you will not be the first.

Today we have seen a man who was in desperate need.  He had a name which is more than we can say about the woman who was sick for so many years.  He healed her and He will heal all of us with no names.  Finally, Jesus brings a little girl back from the dead.  He just shows us and shows us how wonderful He is!  We are trying our best to get rid of Jesus in this country but just look at the truth.  Jesus Christ is the truth, the way and the life.  He is the greatest thing you will ever see in this life.  Plus, you can see Him and be with Him, forever and ever.  He is so great!  Thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.