So a remark, chapter 5 and verse
21. And when Jesus was passed over
again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto
him, and he was nigh unto the sea. And behold, there cometh
one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and when he saw
him, he fell at his feet. And besought him greatly, saying,
My little daughter lieth at the point of death. I pray thee,
come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and she
shall live. And Jesus went with him, and
much people followed him. and thronged him. And then we'll
drop down to verse 35 and continue reading. While he yet spake,
there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain
which said, thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master
any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word
that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be
not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow
him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And
he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth
the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when
he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and
weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. 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 entereth in where the damsel
was lying. And he took the damsel by the
hand, and said unto her, Talitha, come, which is being interpreted,
damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose
and walked, for she was of the age of twelve years, and they
were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged
them straightly that no man should know it, and commanded that something
should be given her to eat. Amen. May God bless to us this
reading from his word. Our Lord Jesus Christ is always
good and kind, always gentle and patient to those it pleases
him to bless. So it proved in this chapter
five of Mark. These three miracles that we
have read together over the past few weeks, the miracle of the
gadarine demoniac, the miracle of the lady with the issue of
blood, and this miracle of the raising of Jairus' daughter,
are marks of the Lord's goodness and kindness. and we can see
it here. The Apostle Paul speaks of the
meekness and the gentleness of Christ. and here it is demonstrated
in his actions before us. And that is something that we
should remember. This goodness, this gentleness,
this kindness is how we should regard the Lord. Yes, we know
that God is great and God is all-powerful and he is the God
to be revered and the God to be feared. but he is a God who
loves us and he is a God who in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ draws near to us and sustains us and helps us and comforts
and blesses us. but there's a lesson here also,
that this God who is kind and gentle and gracious to his people,
he also will exercise our faith. And I want us to consider that
for a moment because to be forewarned is to be forearmed. I want us
to consider this exercising of faith so that we will be prepared
for it when it occurs. Now, pause and think about that
for a moment. Maybe you'll say to me, well,
you've only just made it in time because I am being pressed in
my life right now. Well, then this word is particularly
relevant for you today. But for others of us, for whom
perhaps the great pressures and trials of life have not yet fallen
upon us or are not immediately and imminently upon us, then
let us be prepared for them at their coming by what we see described
in these verses today. There will be times when the
Lord's dispensing of that goodness and kindness to us that we have
already thought about will appear to be interrupted, that his help
will be delayed, even postponed, and the blessings that we urgently
desire don't appear when we hope they might. As we think about Jairus today,
let us apply his case to ourselves. Let us see that the delay that
was imposed by the interruption of this lady with the issue of
blood was designed to teach Jairus a lesson, and indeed the disciples
a lesson. and thereby to teach you and
me a lesson as well. Maybe, like Jairus, you long
to see a child saved. Maybe you have a desire to see
your son or your daughter brought into a knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ as Saviour. Maybe that's your hope, that's
your prayer, that is what you have taken to the feet of the
Lord. and yet the Lord tarries and
time passes and our impatience and our desperation grows. If the Lord delays upon our requests,
whether it's that question or another, let us remember Jairus
and let us think on him and waited for the Lord Jesus
to end his conversation with the woman with the issue of blood.
Oh, how he must have longed for that incident to be at an end,
that the Lord would once again make haste to follow him to his
home, to that little girl's room, upstairs to her bed, where she
was lying in need of his touch. Lord, hurry up! but the Lord
was dealing with another need. And sometimes we have to learn
to be patient. We wait too, as Jairus did, upon
the Lord's purpose and the Lord's timing. We have to learn faith. learn what it means to have our
faith tried and tested and proved. Jairus was a leader of the synagogue. The name means whom God enlightens. And there is something lovely
about that. It seems as if there had been
a degree of enlightenment prior to his coming to the Lord Jesus
Christ that he had sought out Christ for the purpose of this
healing. But there was more light yet
to be given to Jairus. He was a top man in the religious
community. And maybe this is Capernaum,
we can't be absolutely certain, but it's likely that the Lord
had returned to Capernaum from the coasts of the Gadarenes.
But even if it isn't, he was a leader of the religious community
there in that region, that area. But what Jairus had discovered,
what he had realised is that his religion and all of the teaching
of the synagogue and all of the ritual that that contained, it
was inadequate in this moment of need. The need that was now
before him required more than his religion could provide. His daughter was at death's door.
And doubtless, like the woman with the issue of blood who had
tried for 10, 12 years to gain relief from the doctors, doubtless,
Jairus and his wife had tried all they could to help that young
girl. But desperation drove Jairus
to Christ. You know, desperation can drive
a person to drink. Desperation drives others to
despair. Desperation sometimes drives
people to self-destruction. But if desperation drives us
to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, then that is blessed
trouble indeed. it did for Jairus. And Jairus
was a man who had some faith in Christ's ability to heal his
daughter. And it may have been imperfect,
but what faith is not? and may have thought that it
required the presence of Jesus, it required the touch of Jesus,
it required the immediacy of that hand upon his daughter in
some way that served Jairus's understanding of the healing
power of the Lord Jesus Christ. But what we find here is that
true faith must be tested. It must be tried. In fact, Peter
talks about this, doesn't he? He says that the trial of your
faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though
it be tried with fire. might be found unto praise and
honour and glory at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. You
see what that's saying there? We thought about the death of
the saints being precious to the Lord. But at that time, at
that time when we enter into the presence of the Lord, that
trial of our faith, will be for praise and honour and glory. And so trial of faith is something
that is not to be denied or rejected. It is a helpful and wholesome
thing. As for Jairus in his circumstances,
so for you and me. As the Old Testament says, as
I think, there is a blessing in it. Jairus wanted a physician,
but he got a resurrection. And he found the Lord Jesus Christ
to be the resurrection and the life. Today, I want to consider
four lessons that this passage teaches us. And those lessons
come from four short phrases that we discover in the verses
before us. And I'm sure that these lessons
were for the disciples just as much as they are for us. But
may we learn from that little phrase that the Lord spoke to
Jairus, only believe. only believe. May we learn the
preeminence of faith. May we learn from the fact that
the people in Jerusalem's house laughed the Lord Jesus to scorn,
something of the perversity of religion. May we learn from the
fact that the Lord Jesus Christ put them all out But the nature
of grace is particular. And may we learn from the Lord
Jesus Christ's words to this little girl, damsel arise, that
there is power accompanies the words of Christ. So these are
the four headings that I have based upon these four little
phrases, the preeminence of faith, the perversity of religion, the
particular nature of grace, and the power that accompanies the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ. So here's the first point then,
the preeminence of faith. Based upon this little phrase,
be not afraid, only believe. These two words, only believe,
were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ to Jairus. And they were
spoken at that moment, that precise moment, when this man's greatest
loss and grief, and maybe we can even say failure, because
he had come to Christ to take Christ back to his daughter.
His people said, don't trouble the master anymore, she's gone
already. Thy daughter is dead, why troublest
thou the master any further? And there in his moment of grief,
in his failure, the Lord Jesus Christ looks at Jairus. As Jairus' hopes crash around
about him, He says, as it were, Jairus, don't worry, don't doubt, don't be afraid, I've got this,
only believe. He says to Jairus, as it were,
this is outside your power, but I'm in control. And there is
a calmness, there is a calmness, there is a calmness in the Lord
Jesus Christ's words, both in the way in which he speaks them. Only believe. Jairus, only believe. and there is a calmness effected
by those words because in Jairus' heart and in his mind he is given
a glimpse of something in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ
which he had not yet anticipated. That even yet Christ was willing
and able to do more for him than he had hoped. Jairus Do you believe
that I can? She's dead. She's gone. I've failed. If Jairus had pinned
his hopes on Christ before, then more so now. Would he? Could he? Believe. Do you and
I believe? the Lord Jesus Christ when he
speaks? Do you and I trust the Lord Jesus
Christ? Do you and I take the words of
Christ, take the works of Christ, and as they are revealed to us
in the gospel of salvation, Believe them? Believe that this is the
way of life? That this is how righteousness
is imparted and imputed and bestowed? That this is how sinners are
justified? That this is the way of life
and salvation? Do we believe? Here was a lesson
for Jairus and it was a lesson for the disciples, Peter, James
and John and the others, and it's a lesson for the church
and a lesson for you and me as well. When all our resources
are spent, when all our strength is gone, when all our ability
has come to an end, then all we have left is to look to the
Lord Jesus Christ in complete and utter dependence. And that
little phrase, be not afraid, only believe, only believe, it
goes to the heart of the nature and the purpose of faith. What
does the Lord look for in his people? Not good works, not offerings
of animals or things that we can sacrifice and give up so
that we might encourage him to look upon us positively. That's
not what the Lord's looking for from his people. He's looking
for faith, trust, dependence on him. Confidence and and comfort
in our souls, a sense of peace that he is in control, that we
trust the one who is able. And this goes to the heart of
faith because it takes and it lifts all of the obligation of
doing and duty and service in order to deserve, as if we're
some sort of mercenary serving God for his privileges and his
blessings, his kindness. It takes it off the weak sinner. and it lays it upon a strong
Saviour. Let me tell you simply what the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is
that He, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, has accomplished
for His people everything needful for our salvation. That's it. That is it in a nutshell. That Christ has done it all. Do you need peace of conscience?
Do you need cleansing for your sin? Christ has accomplished
that. 1 John chapter 1 verse 7 says,
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Do you need a righteousness,
a holiness that justifies you with God? That's accomplished. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 30 says,
He are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. We find what
we need in Christ. Do you need a reason to hope
in eternal life after you die? Well, it's supplied in Christ. Paul tells Titus, his young friend,
God that cannot lie promised his people eternal life in the
Lord Jesus Christ before the world began. Titus chapter one,
verse two. Do you need an explanation as
to how the Lord Jesus achieved all this? Okay, okay, you can
have it. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse
3 and 4, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again
the third day according to the scriptures. And do you want to
know what that all means for the believer? Well, the gospel
tells us In 2 Corinthians 5 21, God made Christ to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. And the Lord Jesus Christ points
us and he says, only believe, only believe, that's all that
is required. Faith is simply believing and
trusting and relying upon what the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished. That the Lord Jesus Christ is
all that we need. Now let me say something about
this little phrase, only believe, because some people, some churches,
some preachers, they put a lot of emphasis upon this point to
the degree that it becomes an all-consuming message of their
ministry. And it's designed in a way as
if it is being thrown out to the world, to unbelievers. But let me remind you something.
Jairus was already a believer. He had already come to the Lord
Jesus Christ, fallen down before him and pleaded for him to come. Now, I've already agreed that
it perhaps was an incomplete understanding. as to the true
identity of the Lord Jesus Christ, but he had faith in Christ nevertheless. Jairus was already a believer,
and the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ calls believers to believe,
the faithful to faith, and those who trust to trust more. Because it's in believing through
faith that our spiritual relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ grows,
that our experience of grace deepens, and that our comfort
with the Lord Jesus Christ is recharged and reinvigorated. When this little girl was dying,
Jairus hoped that Jesus could heal her. But faith will be tested
and faith will be tried and faith will be exercised. For Jairus
this day was to be one of those days of exercised faith. And maybe today is such a day
for you. Maybe your faith is being exercised
right now. The second thing that I want
to mention from this passage is this. These people that had
gathered in Jerusalem's home laughed the Lord Jesus Christ
to scorn when he told them that the girl wasn't dead, but that
she was just asleep. And from this, I want to draw
some thoughts about the perversity of religion. When the Lord Jesus
Christ reached the home of Jairus, they encountered these mourners,
and their mourning was already in full flow. This was a religious
tradition of loud, excessive weeping and wailing that went
on in the home of the bereaved. Mark calls it a tumult, and the
Lord himself calls it this ado. You see, Jairus, in many ways,
epitomized religious ceremony and tradition. He was a leader
of the synagogue, and these were his friends. These were his people. They were doing what tradition
expected and required of them. So in a sense, we could say this
was a religious practice and activity that was happening here.
And religion is a system that makes a lot of noise. It's a
tumult. It is much ado. But it is much
ado about nothing. Organized, popular religion can
be very demanding upon its adherents. But it is in itself powerless
to save. All this religion of Jairus could
do was to mark the passing of the dead. But it couldn't give
life. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
explained that he had the spiritual power to raise this girl, they
scorned the Lord of Glory. They laughed at the king of kings
and they mocked the creator of the world and the giver of life. Religious people who claimed
to know God denied he was God when God stood before him or
stood before them. They laughed in his face. And I'm going to make this a
little bit personal. Standing outside of formal, organised
religion can seem to be a cold and a lonely place. And there
is a very real sense that that is what we are doing today. You're
in your own home. You're not engaged or involved
in what would ordinarily, normally be called formal religion. And
I'm not simply talking about it being in a church or a building. But when the Lord God tells his
people to come out from among them and be ye separate, he is
distinguishing between all who mock the truth by denying the
gospel of free sovereign grace while setting up an alternative
of works religion, free will religion, and worldly values
in the place of the simplicity of the faith that is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. If Christ is not in it, then
we shouldn't be in it either. And if the Lord says, come out
from among them and be ye separate, then it might be an odd and even
a cold and lonely place as far as the society around about us
is concerned, but it is the right place to meet with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let's think thirdly about what
the Lord did when he met these people. He put them all out. He put them all out. This shows us the particular
nature of grace. That little phrase, he put them
all out, sets the cat amongst the pigeons. The world wants
an inclusive gospel. It wants a gospel for everyone.
A gospel that is for all people, giving everyone a chance, a gospel
of salvation that is based on everybody's free will, everybody's
religious duty, and everybody's good works, earning them God's
pleasure. Well, what have we seen? in these
early chapters of Mark. What have we frequently, often
seen in these early chapters of this little gospel? That the
Lord does not set his grace before all men and women, but he gives
it to his chosen elect people. Now I ask you, What greater evidence
and proof of his divinity, of his true identity, of his sovereign
power over life and death could there have been than to have
raised this little girl before an audience of cynical unbelievers? That would have been undeniable
proof. And yet given the opportunity
to do just that, rather the Lord emptied the house and put them
all out. This was not for them. This was
not for their eyes, nor for their ears, nor for their understanding. God's grace is particular. and
it is designed for his chosen people. Those that he selects,
the mother and the father, Peter, James and John, the chosen, privileged
viewers and receivers of his glorious truth. These were the people that he
had loved before time. These are the people that he
had represented in the everlasting covenant of peace. These are
the people that he came to earth to redeem, to deliver and to
convert. And Christ did not perform his
miracles and do his works and say his gospel for everyone to
see and to know and to understand. But he revealed these things
particularly to a chosen few. The Lord Jesus Christ could have
ended child mortality when he came into the world. But he only
raised this little girl. He could have stopped every illness,
but he just healed the woman with the issue of blood. He could
have destroyed every demon, but he went across the sea to where
that poor soul was in the land of the Gadarenes in order to
deliver him specifically. because these were his inheritance. These were his bride. And someday
the Lord Jesus Christ will again put them all out. And he tells
us what he will say so that we can listen out for it in the
day of Christ. And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. If we do not understand the particular
nature of the gospel, we neither understand the gospel nor the
Christ of the gospel. And finally, let us consider
the power that accompanies Christ's words. That little phrase, damsel,
arise. Hear the words of the Saviour
as he reaches out and takes this little girl by the hand. Damsel,
arise. Those words were not an offer
of life to be accepted or rejected at the free will choice of that
little girl. That little girl was dead. But these were words of power.
This was a command to death to release her. This was a command
to life to return to her lifeless body. And what a picture was
given to Peter, James and John in that moment. They had seen
the Lord still the waves and the wind. They had seen him expel
a legion of demons. They had now seen him raise a
dead child to life. What message were they receiving
as they themselves prepared to be the apostles of the church
of Jesus Christ? But that the word of Christ had
power, power to save, power to deliver. This was the gospel
that was committed to them as apostles and this is the gospel
that is committed to us today, to the Church of Jesus Christ.
It is the power of God unto salvation. Sometimes we call that effectual
calling because it is a word of divine power that is enabling
and brings life to lifeless souls, quickens the dead who are dead
in trespasses and in sin. Now, That little girl could no
more remain in her dead state, in her dead condition, than the
earth could refuse to form or the heavens refuse to exist at
the creative command of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such is the power
that goes forth in his word. The power to save. That is what
Paul calls the gospel, the gospel of salvation, the power of God
unto salvation. Let me summarise this and then
we're done. What we see in these miracles
is sovereign grace demonstrated and exemplified. The Gospel isn't
about free will, and it never was. It's not about universal
offers, and it never was. It is about the powerful, distinguishing
grace of the triune God, ready and able to save His people from
their sins and deliver them justified, righteous, holy and blameless. according to his covenant purpose
and promise. And that's the gospel that we
preach, and it's the gospel that saves. When Paul and Silas were
confronted by the Philippian jailer, crying, what must I do
to be saved? They might well have answered
in the words of the Lord, only believe. Only believe. But just in case there was any
doubt as to who is to be trusted and relied upon, they declared,
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy
house. May the Lord give us faith this
day to believe as his word of power goes forth in the gospel. Amen.