Back in Mark's Gospel chapter
5, where we left off reading a moment ago, let's pick up our
reading now in Mark 5 verse 21. Mark 5 and 21. And when Jesus
was passed over again by ship into 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, Jarius by name. And when he saw him, he fell
at his feet. The ruler of the synagogue, the
ruler meets the master, verse 23. 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 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. 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, in the midst of this multitude of people, 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 behold thy plague. This account of the woman with
the issue of blood is also recorded in Matthew chapter 9 and in Luke
chapter 8. Taking all three accounts, that
record this miracle, you have a total of only 19 verses. In Matthew's account and Mark
and Luke together combined, it's only 19 verses. But as John said
in concluding his gospel, if all the books were written, containing
all the things Jesus said and did, John said, I don't think
the world could hold all the books that would be necessary
to record it. Only 19 verses. Here in Mark's
account, you have the most, 10 verses. But they speak volumes,
don't they? They speak volumes of Christ's
mercy and grace. That's the whole purpose of the
miracles. That's what they're meant to
convey, to teach us. They're our Lord's acted miracles. His parables, someone well said,
were his spoken lessons, that which he taught verbally. But
his miracles were his acted lessons. And you know what? Every miracle
in the Gospels, every miracle illustrates, you know the purpose
of it. You know what we just read here
illustrates? You know what it's a picture
of? God's grace and mercy in the person of his dear son. That's what they illustrate.
That's what they're a picture of. For example, the demoniac
we read about, In the first part of chapter 5, our Lord said in
verse 8, come out, come out. The problem with the sinner is
within. Religion says, just deals with
symptoms. It doesn't go to the issue, it
doesn't go to the heart of the matter. Our Savior is one that
came to save his people from their sins. Religion says, touch
not, and taste not, and wear not, and go not, and things will
be well. No, no, no, no. This demoniac
needed more than that. They did what they could outwardly,
bind him. Religion binds people. The Lord
sets him free. But he addressed the issue when
he said, come out of the man, the problems inside. And we read
the result. After he had experienced that
miracle of God's power and grace, he sits in his right mind at
the feet of Jesus, dressed. not hurting himself anymore. And then after this miracle of
the woman with the issue of blood, our Lord goes to the house of
Jarius. That's where he was going when
this took place. And while this was taking place,
this woman with the issue of blood, while he was detained
there, that 12-year-old only daughter died. But it didn't
stop her master, did it? He told Jarius, don't be afraid,
only believe. And he goes in, takes her by
the hand, and here is the resurrection and the light, says, young maid,
arise. And her life came back to her. But in between those two events,
As he went, we read, the people followed. Can you picture that?
Can you picture that in your mind's eye? Our Lord has crossed
the sea. Evidently, what he had done and
was doing had spread abroad. The people heard it. Everybody
was talking about it. I wonder what he'll do next.
And they're watching him as he crosses the sea from Gadara.
and they've heard what he did for that demoniac, and they're
all waiting for him. Before the ship even gets to
shore, they're standing there waiting. And there's one that
comes and bows down before him, gets down at his feet and says,
will you come to my house? Will you do that? I've got one
daughter, my only daughter, and she's 12 years old, and she's
at the very point of death. Will you come with me? And our
Lord begins to go. And as he goes through the city
streets, the crowds begin to gather. And they begin to swell. And they're all talking. I wonder
if he can do it. I wonder if he'll raise her.
What if she dies before he gets there? Jesus of Nazareth, who
is this man? We've never seen it like this.
Afterwards, they would say, he's done everything well. But on
his way to the house of Jarius, there's this woman. Oh, you have
grace coming and grace going. You have grace before this, and
you have grace after, and you have grace in between for this
woman. Because as John tells us in chapter
1 of his gospel, We beheld him, that Word made flesh, as the
only begotten of the Father. And John says he's full of grace
and truth. Full, full. After he healed this
demoniac, he had no less grace. As he went to the house of Jarius,
he was still full of grace. As he was detained and virtue
and power flowed from him to that diseased woman, he had no
less grace. He's always full of grace. He
giveth and he giveth and he giveth, but he never has less. Lord,
isn't that amazing? John said, he's full of grace
and truth. And listen, he still is. His grace is still full to overflowing. In John chapter 1 again, he said,
for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. That law of Moses pronounced
this woman unclean. She wasn't even supposed to be
out in public. According to the ceremonial law,
she was unclean like the leper. She wasn't even supposed to be
in the street that day. She was an outcast. She'd been
to the priest 12 years before, and he said, you're unclean.
Leave your house. Leave your husband. Leave your
children. Leave. You're an outcast. You're
cursed. Yes, that's what the law did.
It pronounced her unclean. Luke tells us she attempted to
be hid. In that great crowd, she attempted
because she knew she wasn't supposed to be there. She tried to hide herself, sneak
through undetected, and just reach out a dying hand. If I can just touch that blue
border, that sign of his separation, if I can just touch the blue
border of his garment, I'll be made whole. I've heard of what
he's done. And I believe he can do it for
me. I've got to get to him. Yes,
the law of Moses condemned her and said, cursed, go away. But
grace comes, John says. But grace comes by Jesus Christ. That's so very important. That's
so very important. A lot of people don't know that.
A lot of professing Christians don't know that. That grace can
only be experienced through Him. It's not conferred through preachers
or priests or church. It can only be experienced. It
can only be received just as this woman received it. It can
only flow to me through Him. I can't have it, I can't experience
it, I can't possess it, I can't be cleansed by it, only through
Him. We've got to do business with
Christ. This crowd was just in this woman's
way. And I'm afraid that preachers just get in people's
way sometimes. The best thing we can do is what
Christ told us to do. Preach the gospel. There's the
Lamb of God. Look to Him. You've got to do
business with Him. I'm not a mediator. He is. I'm not a priest. He is. I don't
have grace. He does. I was reading something
just the other day about a 12-year-old boy. I'm not sure where he lived.
California, Texas. But anyway, He contracted, from
a cut on his lip, some terrible disease, and he was dying. Somebody came in, some Catholic
friend, they were Catholic, the parents, the young boy, and put
some symbol of some dead saint, somebody that died 1700 years
ago, let me correct myself, she wasn't a saint. They're making
her a saint today in Rome because of this miracle. But they put
a symbol on this boy or this woman, this Indian that lived
in the 1700s, and they said, She healed him. She interceded
for him. So now they're making her a saint.
Been dead over 300 years, but now they're going to make her
a saint, my soul. Isn't that marvelous? How deceptive. How deceptive. But they said,
great, she was the mediator for this young man. No, she wasn't. No, she wasn't. No priest. None, no preacher, no church
is the mediator. You've got to do business with
Jesus Christ. He's the only one that God's
appointed to be a prince and a savior. If I don't get to Him... Imagine if this woman had stopped
and talked to Peter and James and John. They were the elect
of the elect. They saw things even the others
didn't see of the twelve. The Lord took them into the garden
that night, just those three. They were the three with Him
on the Mount of Transfiguration. What if He had stopped with them
and said, can you help me? No. No, they couldn't. This woman
needed healing. She was dying. And there was
only one person in that crowd. Do you still have that in your
mind's eye? Do you still picture that multitude
of people as they walk through those dusty streets, just all
pressing up on Him? That's why the disciples were
astounded when He asked them, who touched me? And they said,
What? Who touched you? The people are
pressing all over you and you ask, who touched you? Yes, but
grace and truth comes by Jesus Christ. Only he has it. Only
he can give it. And only grace can be experienced
as we come to him. In our hymn book on page 59,
the hymn is entitled, The Great Physician. The great physician. It says the great physician now
is near. I have prayed much that that
would be so this morning. That he would come among us. That he would awaken some poor,
lost, dying sinner. That the great physician will allow some dying sinner to touch Him. To touch Him. And you know what will happen?
You know what will happen? Oh, if you touch Him, you'll
be made whole. You'll be saved from every sin. You'll be made whole. You'll
hear Him say what He said to her. You're whole. You're whole.
Go in peace. Enter into peace with God Almighty. Wouldn't that be something? Wouldn't
that be something? That the same thing will happen
here today. We sang a moment ago, only a
sinner saved by grace. Do you know that? Do you feel
that in your heart? Or did you just sing the words
as I made that attempt to lead you? Or have you been made to
feel that? Has God taught you that? I'm
only a sinner. Oh, but our closing hymn will
be this, to God be the glory. If only a sinner touches Christ,
they'll leave here exclaiming, to God be the glory, great things
He hath done. The need hasn't changed, has
it? Has it? Has sinner's need of Him changed? Has sinner's evolved beyond the
need of grace? Can it be realized in some other
way? I know we have all new ideas
today. We have traditional worship and contemporary
worship. Whatever the folks want, whatever
makes them happy, Everything and anything, entertainment on
the left hand and on the right, whatever it takes to keep the
crowd coming back, everything except the gospel of God's free
grace. The only thing that will help
a sinner is the one thing that they've set aside and tried to
substitute with all the nonsense. But the need hasn't changed.
The need is still the same. And you know what? God's law
hasn't changed. Just as it pronounced this woman
unclean, Sinners are unclean, condemned by the law of God. And God's law says the soul that
sinneth must die. And all have sinned without exception
and come short of the glory of God. Oh, but bless his name. The great physician hasn't changed
either. He's the same today as he was
that day on the streets of Capernaum. The same Savior the same glorious
Redeemer, the same great Physician, and He promised, He promised,
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll
give you rest. That's still true. He still does
that for needy sinners. The title of my message is Cured
at Last. Cured at Last. Three things. Behold this woman. Luke introduces
her with the words, Behold. And Mark tells us a certain woman.
Behold a certain woman, considered the patient. Oh, but behold the
certain physician. Not the many physicians, but
the one physician. Only he had the cure. And then
what happened? What happened when the patient
and the great physician came in contact with one another?
What was the certain outcome? She was made whole. First of
all, consider this certain woman. Behold her. She's hard to see. She's hard to detect in this
multitude. Because as we said, she's trying to hide herself.
She knows she's not supposed to be there. But insofar as her need is concerned,
she's not hard to detect, is she? In one sense, yes, but in
another sense, no. You know why? You know why she
stands out to me? You know why she stood out to
the Master? No one else. But she did Him. Because unlike this multitude,
so many following just for excitement. It's the thing to do. It's a
novelty. It'll soon wear off. But they
follow him for the excitement, for the curiosity. Many followed
him, he said, because I fed you. And you got hungry again, that's
why you've come looking for me. And when he began to speak about
God's grace and God's sovereignty, they turned around and walked
no more with him. But for the time being, for various
reasons, they press upon him. Oh, but there's this one certain
woman. Behold her. She's different. She's different. She's unlike
anybody else in that crowd. I don't know how many people
there were. Hundreds, thousands. I don't know. They were just
pressing against him. He could hardly move toward the
house of Jarius. But this certain woman is different. You know why? She's a rare individual. Do you know why? Can you identify
with her in what I'm about to say? She's a rare individual
because she knew she had a need. She knew that she had a need
and she knew that only Christ could meet that need. Are you
in that category? Have you ever felt that need?
Have you ever been stripped? Have you ever been made lost?
Have you ever been awakened to the sense of what you are by
nature and you know there's nothing or no one that can cure you except
the touch of the great physician? Can you identify with her? She's
not like the rest of that crowd. We're told her condition was
this. She had an issue of blood. She was hemorrhaging, bleeding
to death, and her plight were told that she'd went to many
physicians, verse 26, and had spent all that she had and was
nothing bettered. They didn't help her at all.
The only thing they relieved her of was her bank account.
That's it. She was nothing bettered, but
look. rather grew worse. Luke says, she neither could
be healed of any. She tried them all. She tried
all of the doctors, and she grew worse. They would never admit,
we can't help you. They just passed her around.
I want you to go see Brother Dr. So-and-so. Make another appointment. Let's have another x-ray. Let
me write you another prescription. We'll do another test. And don't
forget to pay your bill. And after spending all that she
had, look at those words, was nothing bettered, but rather
grew worse. By nature, we're like this poor
woman, aren't we? We have a disease. We were born
with it. We were born with it. Sin. In sin, David said, did my mother
conceive me? In Adam, all die. And we can't
cure ourselves. Perhaps we've tried. Perhaps
we've tried. Donny Bell said every year he would turn over a new leaf.
And he found out that leaf he turned over was just as rotten
as the leaf before. He found out that the whole tree
was corrupt. He needed a new heart, a new
nature. That's what we need. That's what
our Lord meant when he told Nicodemus, you must be born again. And Nicodemus
was a teacher. Nicodemus was an instructor.
Nicodemus was someone that the folks looked up to. He knew the
Old Testament. He could recite volumes of the
Old Testament, but he didn't have a clue as to what our Lord
was talking about. Nicodemus, you need a new heart. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that's what it'll always be, no matter what you
do with it. You can robe it, you can dress
it up in religion, but it's still flesh. You must be born from
above. It requires a miracle. And the
new birth is not produced by someone trotting up an aisle,
or singing a little prayer, or becoming religious. The new birth
is not something you do, it's something that God does. And
if God doesn't do it, it doesn't get done. Nicodemus, you must
be born again. He didn't say you can do it,
but he's saying you won't see the kingdom of God unless it's
done by God's Holy Spirit. She couldn't be cured by any,
and neither can you and I. Like these many physicians that
treated this woman, she was no better. Do you suppose
they tried to convince her that she was better? You know, doctors
will do that. They'll try to convince you that
you feel better whether you do or not when they don't know what
else to do. Peace, peace when there is no
peace. That's all that religion does.
It says it's all up to you. That's what poor sinners are
being told all over this country this morning. God's done all
he can do. It's all up to you now. You're
really not so bad. You're really not so bad. Nothing
that a little walk down the aisle to the front of the church won't
fix. Just repeat this little prayer after me. Just let me
put the words in your mouth. Just repeat after me. That's
all it takes. Your condition is not so bad
that a decision for Jesus won't straighten it out. Spiritual
quacks. Every one of them. Spiritual
quacks. They don't even know what the
sickness is. How can they prescribe a cure
when they don't even know what the disease involves? People
are given a clean bill of health without ever knowing they're
sick. Folks are pronounced saved that
have never been lost. They're clothed without never
having been stripped. Never been convinced that they're
real sinners. In Matthew's account of this
incident, just before it took place, our Lord told the Pharisees,
I've not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. I
will have mercy and not sacrifice. It's not the sacrifice of your
hands, it's my mercy. He said, go and learn what that
means. Go and learn what that means.
It's not the labor of your hands that can satisfy the law's demands. That won't do it. That won't
remove your sin. It's a matter of mercy. And that sinner who's been made
aware of his need of mercy and falls down at the feet of the
great physician is the sinner that we hear, go in peace. Go
in peace and behold of thy plague. Otherwise, otherwise you know
what it all amounts to. Just like it did for this poor
woman. We'll be nothing bettered. We'll be worse off than we were
before because now we have a false refuge. And that's worse than
none at all, Lester. That's worse than having none
at all. All over this nation, we said, this morning, people
will be given a false hope, peace when there is none. Preacher
will try to convince them, it's so easy. It's easy. And our Lord said, it's impossible. That's what the Lord said. The
disciples said, who can be saved? Who can be saved? This is in
the Bible. Who can be saved, they asked
Him. And preachers say, it's easy.
It's easy as pie. We can slip up on your blind
side. We can get you saved before you
even know what hit you. It's just easy. Our Lord said,
it's not easy. Who can be saved? Listen, He
said, it's impossible. With man, John, is that not what
He said? With man, it's impossible. But not with God. But not with
God. This woman wasn't play-acting,
was she? She wasn't play-acting. She wasn't
pretending to be sick. She wasn't pretending to be dying. She was dying. She had only one
hope. Only one hope. Are you listening? In that vast multitude, in that
vast throng of people, there's only one person that can help
her. And that's who she's trying to
get to. I've got to get to him, she said to herself. I've got
to touch him. Not Luke. He was a physician,
but he can't help me. Not Peter. Not John. Not the high priest. He pronounced
me unclean. He can't do anything for me.
Anyone else. I must touch him. If I've got to get down on my
knees. And perhaps she did. If the only
way I can get to and through this crowd is to get down on
my knees and crawl, I'll do it. I'm not too proud. I'm dying. I've got to get to him. I must
touch him. Anybody like that here? Is anybody
like that here this morning? Anybody like that here this morning?
saying to yourself, I've got to get to Him. I've never been
to Him. I've never touched Him and been
touched by Him. What flows from Him, grace and
mercy and truth, has never flown to me. I've never experienced
it. I've been to the front of the
church. Me too. I've been to the soul winner.
And I went through the religious hoops and the flip-flops and
the push-ups and the religious nonsense. Me too. But you know what it all boiled
down to? You know what it all came to?
I was nothing bettered. As a matter of fact, I was worse. Because I'd never been to Christ. Do you want to get to Him? Do
you need to? The hymn writer said, I can but
perish if I go. I am resolved to try, for if
I stay away, I know I must forever die. And here's the good news,
and I'm anxious to get to it. There's one great physician,
and he's able. I was in my doctor's office not
long ago, And I guess it's customary. Most doctors, I suppose, do it
this way. You're in that big waiting area with everybody else,
and then they call your name. Before I learned better, I thought,
aha, I'm getting to see my doctor now. I'm going, they finally
called my name. And you know what happened? They
put me in another little room. I had to wait some more. Usually
when I'm there, especially if it's a doctor I haven't seen
before, and he's got his plaques on the wall, I read them. There
are awards for recognition for his practice, what he's done,
what he's accomplished, the places he graduated from, certificates
and things like that. Listen, listen. Listen of what's
written about this great physician. Listen. Listen to what it says
about him. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by Him. He's able to save. There's never
been a sinner that came to Him that didn't receive mercy. There's
never been a sinner that came before Him having a need of grace
that didn't receive it. Never. He said, come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden. All ye that hunger and
thirst after righteousness. All ye that have need of a Savior,
He said, look unto Me. Look unto Me. I am God. Don't look anywhere else. Look
unto Me and be ye saved. He's able to save to the uttermost. Ask the demoniac. Asked Jarius. They come to him and say, as
he's dealing with this woman, and they said, don't trouble
the master anymore. Verse 35, thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master
any further? And while the words were just
barely leaving their mouth, our Lord said, don't be afraid, Jarius.
Don't be afraid. I'm still coming to your house.
Don't be afraid, only believe. She's dead. Why trouble the master? Lord, that's the reason too troubling. My two sons are dead in sin. God give me grace to trouble
the master. My daughter's dead in sin. God give me grace to trouble
the Master. Oh, Master, will you do for them
what they can't do for themselves? Will you go to the house, just
like you did here, and say, Maid, arise! Young man, arise! Is he able to do that? If I didn't
believe it, I wouldn't be your pastor. If I didn't believe he's
able to save to the uttermost, I'd close the book and go home
and go back to UK if they'd hire me and finish out time there. Oh, no. He's able to save unto
the uttermost all that come unto God by him. He can make you whole. Just like this woman. She was
made whole of her plague. Whole before God. accepted before
God, justified before God, glorified without fault before the throne
of God. Imagine that. Paul says, there
is therefore now no condemnation. Have you ever heard any better
news than that? There's no condemnation to every sinner that's in Christ
Jesus. God looks at them and He is as
well pleased with them as He is Jesus Christ because they
stand complete and accepted in His Son. You're whole. You're
whole. You don't lack anything. You've
got all the mercy and all the grace and all the acceptance
before a holy God that you'll ever need. You're whole. No wonder he said, go in peace. The prince of peace pronounces
peace and he also gives peace. Now last of all, look at the
cure. Look at the cure that was done
by him. He did it all, didn't he? He
did it all. Virtue had gone out of him. He's full of grace, grace that's
greater than your sin. Virtue went out of Him. From
her, there was only disease and death and corruption. But from Him, there's life and
virtue and power. And that's what flowed from Him
into her. John said, we received grace
for grace. Oh, His wholeness flew into her
corruption. His life flowed into her death. His grace flowed into her need. Virtue's gone out of me. And
bless God, she was cured. She was cured immediately, we
read. Oh, dear dying lamb, thy precious
blood will never lose its power till all the ransomed church
of God be saved to sin no more by a touch. Isn't that amazing? She just reached through that
feeble, trembling, fearful hand and she touched him. And that
fast, that fast, that fast, she was healed. She was cured. Immediately, we
read, oh, he has grace that's greater than all my sin. How different that was from the
many physicians she had suffered from for 12 long years. She'd heard, do this, do that,
stop this, let go, hang on. That's what religion does. And
the result was always the same, no relief, no relief. Do this, pray, read, profess,
walk, decide, get baptized. But nothing bettered. But one
day, one day, A seeking Savior found this lost,
wandering sinner. And the touch of the Master's
hand done what only He can do. Old things were passed away and
everything becomes new. Verse 29 says, straightway. He
did in an instant. what those many physicians couldn't
do in 12 long years. The vilest offender that truly
believes that moment from Jesus, a pardon receives. Can you see
her now? Can you picture her in your mind's
eye now? She stands up. She's whole. She's cured. And she knows it. And he said, you're whole. Go
in peace. Go in peace. Can you see her
walking through that crowd? Was she singing something like
this? Oh, I am so wondrous. Saved from sin. Jesus so sweetly
abides within. Glory to his name. Go in peace. Only the Prince of Peace can
speak peace to your soul. It wouldn't do any good for you
to come up here and me to tell you you have peace. What good
would that do? Oh, but go to Him right where
you are. Right where you are. Reach out
and touch Him. Right where you are without moving
a muscle. By faith, touch the Master. and you will be whole. And last
of all, did you notice this? That cure was absolutely free,
John. Didn't cost her a thing. It was all free. All free. They had drained her. Those hucksters
had taken all of her money. and she was no better but worse. But Jesus did in an instant what
they couldn't do in 12 years and it was all free. Grace is
free. Mercy there was great and grace
was free. Free. Is anybody thirsty? Before I dismiss you, before
we leave, before we go our separate ways, and before each of us stand
before God Almighty. Let me ask you, is anybody thirsty? Is anybody
thirsty? Does anybody want forgiveness?
Does anybody want peace with God Almighty? You went through
the religious hoops, but you're no better, and you know it. You
know it. You lie down at night, and you
know you don't know God. You don't know Christ. You know
Scripture. You know doctrine. You know things,
but you don't know Him. Oh, is anybody thirsty? Hmm? Listen, listen. Are you
thirsty? Ho! Ho! Everyone that thirsteth,
Come unto the waters. He that hath no money, come ye,
buy, eat, yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without
price. It's free. It's free. Wherefore
do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor
for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto
me. Hear, and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Anybody thirsty? Anybody thirsty? The last book
of the Bible says, Whosoever will, let him come
and take the water of life freely. It's free. The Spirit and the
bride say come. And let those who have heard
say come. And whosoever will, let him come and drink of the
fountain of living waters, Jesus Christ himself, and live forever. God bless you. God enable you
to do it for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen.