in the fifth chapter of mark's
gospel on verse 21 we read this account 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. Jesus went with him and much
people followed him and fronged him and a certain woman which
had an issue of blood 12 years and had suffered many things
of many physicians and had spent all that she had and was nothing
bettered but rather grew worse when she had heard of Jesus came
in the press behind and touched his garment for she said if i
may touch but his clothes i shall be whole and straightway the
fountain of her blood was dried up and she felt in her body that
she was healed of that plague and jesus immediately knowing
in himself that virtue had gone out of him turned him about in
the press and said who touched my clothes And his disciples
said unto him, Thou seest a multitude fronging thee, and sayest thou,
Who touched me? And he looked round about to
see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling,
knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him,
and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace, and be whole of
thy plague. 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, Talifa Kumi, 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. Behold, there cameth 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 she shall live. Now there is a rich tapestry
of pictures, of images, spiritual pictures seen in this passage. We see two miracles in this account. Two women, two damsels, two daughters
who are healed by Christ. The daughter of Jairus and the
woman with the issue of blood who comes unto Jesus as he heads
for Jairus' house. The woman had this issue of blood
for 12 years. Jairus' daughter was 12 years
old. The encounter with the woman
of the issue of blood comes, as it were, as an interruption
in the journey that Christ takes to Jairus' house. Why does Mark record that encounter
in the middle of his record regarding Jairus and the healing of his
daughter? Did these two things just happen
to happen? Or are they in fact connected
and part of the same picture that is being presented to us?
Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, the father of this little girl,
this father meets with Jesus and prays that Jesus would heal
his daughter. As Jesus and the people head
for the father's house, head for Jairus' house, they encounter
this other daughter, this other woman, who has had an issue of
blood. and has suffered many things
of many physicians and has spent all that she had and was nothing
bettered, but rather grew worse. And her faith is such that she
believes that if she just touches the hem of Jesus' garment, she
should be healed. And she does touch the hem of
his garment. And she is healed. And Christ
turns, knowing that virtue had gone out of him. and sees her
and speaks of her faith. Daughter, thy faith hath made
thee whole. Go in peace and be whole of thy
plague. Yes, there is a rich tapestry
of images here. And they are all connected. And
they all point us to Christ and his gospel. They point us to
the cross. They point us to the grave. They point us to salvation. And they point us to the church,
which is led by Christ and to the Father. Firstly, we read of Jairus. 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. This Jairus, the ruler of the
synagogue, who is named in this passage, when the other women,
his daughter and the woman with the issue of blood, are not named. This gyrus has a name full of
meaning. He's named because his name is
connected with what is being presented to us. His name means
essentially enlightenment. There is light to be seen in
this account. There is light to be seen in
whom Jairus is a figure. He is the father of the daughter. There is light to be seen in
the account of what happens. That he has a daughter at the
point of death. And that he comes to Christ believing
that if Christ lays his hands upon this daughter, she shall
live. There is light to be seen in
that this Jairus is a ruler of the synagogue, a ruler of the
church at that time. Jairus is a father. His little
daughter lies at the point of death. He sees hope for his daughter
in Christ, that if Christ's hands are laid on her, she will be
healed and she shall live. Jairus is a ruler of the synagogue,
a father. In the earthly realm, he's a
picture of a ruler of Jerusalem below of a ruler of the church
below and of religion below he's a ruler of the Jews and of their
religion and of their law and he's seen here as a picture
of what that religion and the law does unto sinners the effect
of the Jewish religion in that day, the effect of the law of
which they were custodians, of which the temple pictured in
the sense of at the temple on the altar the sacrifices were
brought and the sacrifices were made and blood was shed of animals
and the priesthood kept the law But the law condemned. The law condemned sinners to
death. And that is why the law prescribes
sacrifices. Because the only escape from
the penalty of the law, and a broken law, was for a sacrifice to be
offered up. So we see Jairus as this ruler
of the synagogue, as both a picture of the effect, the condemning
effect of a broken law upon sinners, which as it were led to the death
of his daughter, but also in terms of pointing us to the need
of a sacrifice for his daughter in order to be saved. We see
in Jairus, this ruler of the synagogue and his approach unto
Christ, one who has in his house someone close to death and one
who will be saved if another save her. In the Earthly realm, he was
a ruler of the synagogue. He presided over that religion
and that law in that religion, which kills. His daughter is
at the point of death. But he sees hope in Jesus, who
passes by. He sees hope in a savior. and in a sacrifice for his daughter. In the heavenly realm, Jairus
is also a picture of the Father. He is an earthly father with
an earthly daughter at the point of death. But he's presented
to us in this picture, in this passage, spiritually as a picture
of the Father whose daughter is close to death and whose daughter's
only hope of salvation lies in Jesus Christ and in the touch
of his hands. God the Father, the ruler of
the synagogue as it were, the ruler of the church, God the
Father who presides over all his people has a daughter who
is close unto death. A daughter of 12 years. A daughter
who has no hope in herself. No hope in her own strength.
No hope in her own ability. She's at the point of death.
But the Father knows. that if Jesus lays his hands
upon her, she shall live. Yes, this daughter, of whom Jairus'
daughter is a picture, this daughter, the church, the bride of Christ,
sinners, are slain by sin. They're slain and condemned by
the law. They're born in trespasses and
sins. They're under condemnation. And
the condemnation they're under is total and complete. And their
only hope, her only hope, the daughter's only hope, is in Christ
and Christ alone. This fact This truth, this hope
of salvation, is the enlightenment of which Jairus' name speaks
and which is presented to us in type and figure in this account,
in this journey which Christ takes unto Jairus' house. to visit the daughter that lies
in the house at the point of death. She is, as it were, in
the grave, but he goes to the father's house with his people
and brings salvation. And when he comes to her at the
end, he says unto Jairus, be not afraid, believe. And he says
unto the people, she's not dead, she sleeps. And they laugh him
to scorn because she is dead. She has died. But spiritually,
it's only until that day when Christ should quicken her unto
life again and restore her and heal her. Spiritually, she sleeps. So Jairus approaches unto Jesus
and pleads that he should come to his daughter and lay his hands
on her that she may be healed and she should live. And Jesus
went with him and much people followed him and fronged him. Yes, Jesus went with him. He
went with this father to his house to see his daughter. And the people followed Jesus
and fronged round about him. Jesus went with him. With Jairus,
yes. But spiritually, Jesus went with
the father. He went with the father. He was heading for the father's
house to see the daughter arise. and to bring her food. Much people
followed Him, because spiritually Christ here is leading His people
unto the Father's house. Are we seeing this? The pathway
of Christ through this world. He went with the Father. Everywhere
Christ went as He journeyed through this world, He walked with the
Father. He communed with the Father and
he journeyed to a point where he knew what his end would be. He was going to bring this daughter
unto life. and bring her living into the
Father's house. He was going to cause her to
rise again. He was going to heal her and
save her. That was the end for which he
came. But throughout his journey from
heaven's glory unto his birth in Bethlehem, through the days
of his life in this world as he grew and lived as a man, and
went on his journey unto Jerusalem, And unto that cross outside of
Jerusalem, unto Golgotha, on his journey every step of the
way, he went with the Father. He walked by faith. He walked
by faith. His walk was a walk of faith,
which is why in this passage we see faith presented. He walked by faith and this woman
comes unto him, this woman with an issue of blood, and believes
that he should be saved. And he says unto her, the offer
and finisher of faith, says unto her, daughter, thy faith hath
made thee whole. He should know. He gave her the
faith to believe. He says unto Jairus, when Jairus
is told that his daughter is dead, be not afraid, only believe. And he comes unto the daughter,
and the daughter arose, and the people that beheld were astonished
with a great astonishment, for mighty are the works of faith. Mighty are the works of faith. Yes, he went with him, he went
with this father of this little daughter. And then in verse 25
we read this, And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve
years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and
had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather
grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind
and touched his garment. For she said, if I may touch
but his clothes, I shall be whole. Now the entrance of this woman
into this account, the appearance of this woman and the record
of this woman and what she did and her encounter with Christ
here comes as it were into this account in this passage as it
were in brackets. Here Jairus comes unto Christ
and tells him of his daughter and Jesus went with Jairus And
we might imagine that the account would move on to say that when
he then approached under his house, this happened and that
happened. But here in the journey, inserted
into the passage as it were in brackets, is this account of
this certain woman that comes unto Jesus. She interrupts, as
it were, proceedings. The record of what happened here.
is inserted into the journey on the way with the father to
the father's house to heal his daughter. Another woman is described. A woman is described, a certain
woman with an issue of blood which she had for 12 years who
comes unto Jesus. Now this is not random, and it
is not disconnected, and it is not merely presented to us as
a second woman that Jesus happens to heal here. But this woman
here is directly related to Jairus and his daughter. It's directly
related to the account. And Jairus as a man, who came
unto Jesus, and travelled with Jesus to his house when he saw
this woman and saw what was true of this woman and what was done
to this woman. Should have learnt. This, as
it were, appeared unto Jairus on the way to enlighten him and
is presented unto us to enlighten us. How can Jairus' daughter
be healed? And what is the cause of Jairus'
daughter's death? This woman is presented unto
us as an example. She's an example of what the
religion, the preaching of the law, which went forth in the
synagogues, does unto sinners. She's an example of what the
physicians of religion below do unto their hearers. This woman had suffered many
things of many physicians and had spent all that she had and
was nothing bettered but rather grew worse. She's presented to
us as an example of what the killing letter of the Lord does
unto us because of our sin. It slays us. We are bleeding
to death by nature. And nothing that we do and nothing
that any religion and any efforts and the will of man or the works
of man do can make us any better. We see how she suffered of many
physicians. They didn't do her any good.
She went to these people who may be physicians in the passage. as in doctors that heal her of
a physical ailment, but really they are pictures of those spiritual
physicians, religious physicians, those that will say, this is
what you must do to be healed of your soul's ailment. This is what will save you, this
is how you will be saved. Do this and do that, make this
profession, go here, believe this. And yet for all that they
say and all that they preach, all the fruit of it is that it
brings suffering. This woman who was lost and knew
she was lost, this woman who was bleeding and knew she was,
this woman who was dying spiritually, suffered of many physicians. She went to them to be helped
by them, but she suffered through them. Rather than getting better,
rather than being bettered, she grew worse. Their religion slew
her. Their religion was a killing
letter. Now you may go. to many in this
day you may go to many churches and much that professes to be
Christianity and you might think that by doing what they say and
believing what they say and going to their meetings that you'll
be bettered by it but if you are a child of God you will come
to discover that rather than being improved by this false
religion rather than being improved by their lies you're worsened
by them They tell you to live a certain way, they tell you
to keep the law, they tell you to attend church, they tell you
to do this, that and the other and you try to. But rather than
being bettered, you grow worse. They tell you to accept Jesus
and all will be well. So you pray a prayer and you
accept Jesus into your heart like you're in control of it. And rather than being bettered,
you grow worse. They tell you that all is well with your soul,
if you've believed on Him, if you've received Him, if you've
accepted Him, then you'll be fine. But you can see no change
in your soul. You've made a profession, you've
made a claim. But does He know you? Has He
accepted you? You've accepted Jesus, but has
He accepted you? Why are you still bleeding? Why
are you still dying? Why are you worse in their religion
rather than better in it? They promise peace for your soul
and you're at war with him. They promise forgiveness and
you continually feel guilty before a holy God. You sin every day
and you know you're guilty. They promise salvation, but it's
just words. You're still dying. Religion in the letter, religion
in the flesh will do us no good. Mere professions of faith will
not save us. Our attempt to accept Jesus and
call him into our heart will do nothing if he hasn't accepted
us and called us first. Our works before him are as filthy
rags of unrighteousness. We need to be cleansed, we need
to be washed, we need to be renewed, we need the issue of our blood
answered. Otherwise we're nothing bettered,
we grow worse. Men speak of their free will
in religion, of their choice, of their choice of choosing Jesus
or not choosing Jesus. But the very idea of them having
a choice and being the one that chooses whether they're saved
or not is an absolute denial of who Christ is as God. It's an absolute rejection of
a sovereign God. It is to say unto God, I will
make the decision whether I'm saved or not, not God. It's to
take God off his throne and put yourself upon it. It's to take
the very character and position of God to yourself by insisting
that you will have the free will to choose whether you are saved
or not. both a denial of God's sovereignty
and a rejection of who God is. And that is the advice and the
preaching and the teaching of the vast majority of that which
professes to be Christianity today. It says you accept Jesus,
and you can do that if you like. But it doesn't mean he's accepted
you. Because a sovereign God, whom he is, will choose whom
he wills, and save whom he wills, and heal whom he wills. And it
doesn't matter what we say or think or do, except he does that,
except he touches us, except he lays his hands upon us, and
causes the issue of our blood to be healed, then we're still
bleeding unto death. we will discover that no matter
what we think or say that in reality we are nothing bettered
but rather we grow worse that's what happens under law what happens
under a legal religion what happens under the preaching of works
or the will of man or the worth of man before God it makes many
claims it comes as a physician it says it will heal us But it
brings suffering. It does nothing for our soul.
We die. We grow worse under such a religion.
And that is what she's a picture of. And that is the enlightenment
that comes from seeing this woman. That's what Jairus would have
seen in her. By faith, when God opened his
eyes to see it. And that's what we'll see in
her, by faith, if God opens our eyes to see it. For 12 years
she had an issue of blood, she was bleeding, and all these physicians
did her no good. She grew worse. But when Jesus
came, when she heard of Jesus, when she heard of him, When God
spake the truth unto her and she heard, then she came in the
press behind and touched his garment. There's the difference. She heard. Have you heard? Now many hear physically. You can hear of Jesus with the
outward ear. You can read of him upon the
pages of scriptures. You can know about him in your
mental understanding. But have you heard the Spirit
of God's testimony of Jesus? When the Comforter shall come,
he shall testify of me. Have you heard the Spirit say,
here is Jesus? Have you heard the voice of Jesus
himself speaking unto you? Have you heard? Have you had
the hearing of faith? She did, which is why she knew
she could touch his garment and be healed. She heard. She heard. and she knew that she could touch
his garment. If I may touch but his clothes
I shall be whole. Why did she believe that? Because
spiritually she understood that his garments were like the garments
of a priest. They were like the covering of
righteousness. And for her to be healed and
cleansed of her sin, she needed to be forgiven of her sin. She
needed to be washed of her sin. And she needed to be clothed
in righteousness. And if she might but touch that
righteousness by faith, then she would be healed. She might
touch the hem of his garment. as in touching the hem of the
priest's garment and be healed. And she does. She touched him. She touched him by faith. And
she obviously in the account touched him physically, but spiritually
she came by faith to this priest. to this one true priest of God,
to this king and saviour, her prophet, priest and king, and
she touched his garments. She touched the righteousness
of God and the righteousness of God touched her and cleansed
her and washed her and made her clean. And we read, and straightway
the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her
body that she was healed of that plague. Straight away, when faith
touched the garment of God's righteousness in Jesus Christ,
it healed. And it heals today. If you hear
of Jesus in the Gospel, if God gives you faith to look unto
Him and to touch His garment, touch the righteousness of God,
touch His blood, then you'll be healed. Healed of that plague. Healed of your sin. Delivered
from condemnation. She was healed of that plague.
What plague? The sin that flowed out of her
heart. The issue of blood. She was healed of the fountain
of her blood. What was the fountain of her
blood? Where was the blood pumping from? It was pumping out of her heart. it was flowing out of her heart
and the blood was flowing away and when it all went she'd be
dead she'd been bleeding for 12 years she'd been suffering
for 12 years under false religion and the blood was flowing out
of her heart And this blood flowing out of her heart, flowing out
of the fountain of her blood is a picture of the sin flowing
out of her. What comes out of the heart?
Sin. All manner of evil. For out of
the heart proceedeth all manner of evil. The heart is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked. and desperately wicked,
that's her plague. The blood, but the sin that flew
out of her heart. And that's your plague, and my
plague by nature. This is what we need to be cleansed
of. All manner of evil which flows out of our wicked fallen
hearts, which separates us from a holy God. We need to be made
righteous, we need to be cleansed. We need the flow of that sin
to be stopped. We need to be healed of that
plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue
had gone out of him, turned him about in the press and said,
Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him,
Thou seest a multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched
me? And he looked round about to
see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling,
knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him
and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace and be whole of thy
plague. Oh, what salvation. She came
and she touched his clothes. She touched righteousness, as
it were, by faith. Note how Jesus addresses her.
He says, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. We have
two unnamed daughters in this passage. Christ is heading to
Jairus' house, the father's house, where his daughter is dying. And here another daughter comes
his way, who has an issue of blood. And she touches the garment
of Christ. She touches as it were the garment
of the priest. She touches the righteousness
of God. And he says, daughter thy faith
hath made thee whole. We have two daughters in this
chapter because in a sense they are two views of the same daughter,
the same damsel, the same woman. The daughter of Jairus is as
it were lying in the grave dead. But the daughter with the issue
of blood here is one who encounters Christ at the cross. at the place
where the priest offers the sacrifice at the place where the righteousness
of God is manifested at the place where his blood was shed that
her blood might be cleansed where his life was given that her life
might be restored that she who was dead might live We have this
encounter with this certain woman with an issue of blood as a picture
of the cross. The only way that Christ could
go to Jairus' daughter, who laid as it were in the grave and bring
her to life, was if he went by the cross. As if he went via
the cross. As if that daughter was with
him at the cross. That daughter with an issue of
blood, whose heart proceeded Fourth, all manner of evil, whose
heart was full of sin, who was dead, if that daughter met him
at the cross, and was washed in his blood, and touched the
garment of his righteousness, then she would be healed. If
that daughter, as it were, met with him by faith, having heard
of him in the gospel, then she would be healed. So this account
with this first woman is absolutely central to the result, the consequence
that follows. Christ goes to the father's house,
goes to Jairus' house and heals his daughter, who as it were,
laid in the grave, dead. Twelve years old she was. but
he goes via the cross where this woman who had an issue of blood
for 12 years met with him and touched him and was healed we
read in verse 35 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. While he yet spake,
they came from this house and said, thy daughter's dead. What did Christ just said? He
said unto the certain woman with an issue of blood, he had said
unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole, go in peace
and be whole of thy plague. Daughter, thy faith hath made
thee whole. And while he yet spake, there
came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, thy
daughter is dead. They're speaking of the same
daughter. Here they come from the synagogue's
house. Here comes those from the law. And they say thy daughter's dead. She's dead. She's broken the
law. She's a sinner. She's lost. She's
gone. She's dead. There's no hope for
her. But Christ says, Daughter, thy
faith hath made thee whole, go in peace, and be whole of thy
plague. Yes, the law, as represented
by those that come from the synagogue's house, found her guilty. It found out the wretchedness
of the plague which proceeded from her heart. It found out
the guilt of her sin and the issue of blood that flowed from
a wicked and evil heart. Yes, she was guilty. Yes, she
was dead. Thy daughter is dead. They were
right. She was dead. She was a dead
sinner, condemned under the law, lost and ruined in the fall.
She was dead. But Christ, who passes, The daughter
on the way and meets this daughter at the cross can say unto her,
daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Be whole of thy plague. Be whole of thy plague. Oh, what
enlightenment there is here in the account of Jairus. Yes, the
law slays, but the gospel delivers us from the grave. Jesus says
unto Jairus, be not afraid, only believe. Be not afraid, only
believe. Thy daughter is dead. Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee whole. Thy daughter is dead. Daughter,
thy faith hath made thee whole. Be not afraid, only believe. Are you afraid, sinner? Are you
lost, sinner? Do you feel your guilt, sinner?
Do you know you're lost before a holy God? Have you tried religion? Have you tried all the physicians?
Have you suffered at their hand? Have you found that they bettered
you nothing but made you worse? Have you found that all the churches
and all their preaching and their Jesus that you accepted has done
you no good? And you're lost and you know
it. And there comes those who say, so say thy daughter is dead. They say you're dead. And you
know they're right. You are dead, you're lost. But
Jesus comes and says, be not afraid, only believe. Be not
afraid, only believe. Oh what faith does. God-given faith. Faith that God
gives when he causes his children to hear the gospel. When she
had heard of Jesus, she came in the press behind and touched
his garment. She believed. Have you heard
of Jesus? Then touch his garment. Believe
that he can save you through his righteousness. He came and
he suffered and he died. He was crucified. He shed his
blood that sinners like you might live. That daughters, dead daughters
of Zion might live. Cyrus said, 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. Oh, what hands Christ has, pierced
hands, hands that felt the nails of judgment through them, hands
that bled for sinners, but hands that should they touch you will
cause you to live. The account goes on. Jesus suffered
no man to follow him, but 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. Yes, he comes to the
house. He comes to the Father's house. He comes to meet with the damsel
at the Father's house. The whole account is a journey
of Jesus to Jairus' house, to the Father's house, to the damsel
who's dead, the healer, to the house, to the head of the synagogue,
to the head of the church, to the house, to the house of God,
to the house of salvation. and he suffered only Peter and
James and John to enter in with him. He chose who would come
in out of the multitude who were there, the multitude who professed
Jesus. He said, you are mine, come in. He chose those who would enter
with him. In this we see a picture of his
election. His choice of sinners. You've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you. There will be many on that last
day who come unto Christ and say, Lord, Lord, we did this
in thy name, we did that in thy name. And he'll say, depart from
me, I never knew you. There will be many who are offended
at him and turn back at the end. Not all who seek to enter in
will enter in. Only those who enter by the straight
gate and through the narrow way. But he said unto Peter and James
and John, follow me. and they went into the house.
And he took the damsel by the hand and said unto her, Talifa
Kumi, which is being interpreted, damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose
and walked, for she was of the age of 12 years. She was of 12
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. Yes, she arose. He came unto
this child, this daughter, this damsel, who was dead, and says
unto her, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And at his word
she arose straight away and walked. At his word she arose. and if Christ should come unto
you sinner and say arise you will rise from the dead you will
rise and walk and live with everlasting life if you hear of him in the
gospel if you're given faith to touch him and he says unto
you rise you will rise What a picture this damsel is! The bride of
Christ, the daughter of Zion, the church. She was of 12 years,
as the woman had had that issue of blood 12 years. Why 12? Because 12 is a picture of the
covenant. The covenant, an eternal covenant. There's a covenant of law. A
covenant of works which had had its total effect on them both.
It had slain them. It had slain them. It slew her. It slew her as it slew the other
woman. The law had its effect. But the
covenant of grace, the new covenant, the gospel, also had its effect. This covenant of grace, 12 years,
came unto them both and saved them. It saved them. She arose and lived and the people
were astonished and Jesus commanded that she should be given to eat.
The picture of the first woman's faith and healing at the cross
is the cause of this little daughter of Jairus rising again. It's the cause. If Mark hadn't
recorded in the gospel of this encounter with this woman on
the way, we would not be enlightened. as to the cause of why this little
girl was healed. But Christ could say unto her,
arise, because he had come through the cross. He'd come and met
with her spiritually at the cross. She'd had the effects of the
law, she'd had the effects of religion and he'd grown worse
under it, they'd killed her. But at the cross, having heard
of Jesus, she comes and touches spiritually his garment. Righteousness
meets with her. Righteousness of God meets with
her sin, meets with her issue of blood and takes the sin away. It washes her clean. It washes
her in the blood of Christ. No longer should her blood be
shed because his blood was shed to wash her and cleanse her from
all her iniquity. Oh what a picture of salvation
we see in this chapter. Two damsels, two daughters, Twelve
years each. Both pictures of lost, ruined
sinners. Both pictures of the same lost,
ruined sinner. O sinner, are they a picture
of you? Are you dead? Would the rulers
of the house come unto the Father and say of you unto God the Father
this day, He's dead. She's dead. It's too late. They're dead, they're guilty
sinners, they're lost, they're dead. There's no hope. Or will Christ come and say,
though they laugh and mock and deride, will he come and say,
she's not dead, she's sleeping. Will he come unto you and say,
damsel, I say unto thee, arise. because he's met with your issue
of blood he's dealt with your issue of blood he's dealt with
your heart he's dealt with the sin that flows out of your heart
he's dealt with that which was killing you for these 12 years
in the covenant he's dealt with that he's dealt with all your
ruin and all your despair and all your waywardness and all
your rebellion and all your hatred of God, and all your dismissal
of God. He's dealt with your rejection of God's character
and sovereignty. He's dealt with your exercise
of free will, in which you rejected God, and rejected His Son, and
rejected His Gospel. He's dealt with all your sin,
and all your unbelief, and He's touched you. As you've been brought
by faith to touch Him, He's given you the faith to touch Him and
He's touched you with His hands. He's laid His pierced hands upon
you and healed you. Has He done that? Will He do
that for you? Do you come before Him as a damsel
who lays dead in the grave? with nothing to commend you,
nothing that you can do, nothing that you can spend. You spend
all that you have on trying to save yourself and you grew worse. But has he come your way? Have
you heard of Jesus in the Gospel? Do you know that if you but touch
his garment you shall be whole? And having met with you at the
cross, having washed your sins away, and quench the flow of
that sin from your fallen heart, the fountain of blood within,
as he washed you in the fountain of his own blood. And does he
come unto you and say unto you in the gospel, damsel, I say
unto thee, arise.