The Introduction to the Two Miracles

Introduction to Mark's Gospel and the Current Passage

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, May 12th, 1985, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now may I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel according to Mark, Mark's Gospel and the fifth chapter. As we continue our consecutive expositions of the Gospel of Mark, we find ourselves this morning in the middle of the fifth chapter. Having completed our study of our Lord's mighty work in the casting out of the legion of demons from the Gerasene demoniac, we now begin reading at verse 21 of Mark, chapter 5. And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat unto the other side, a great multitude was gathered unto him, and he was by the sea. And there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he falls at his feet and beseeches him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. I pray that you come and lay your hands upon her, that she may be made whole and live.

1:27 And he went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they thronged him. Now let us again pause to seek the face of God in prayer, and ask God that by the Holy Spirit he would come and teach us out of his own holy word. Let us pray.

1:51 Our Father, in the singing of our previous hymn, we have addressed you in the person of the Holy Spirit as divine instructor, the one who alone can open the scriptures to us. And we pray that, by the Spirit's ministry, we may see in this hour the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ as it is set forth in this account of his interaction with needy people there by the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Our Father, as you have come in the past and pulled back, as it were, the veil, and given us the ability to behold the glory of your Son, so come this morning, that we may see him as he is mirrored to us in the pages of Scripture. We plead for his special help as we together come to your own infallible word. Hear us as we seek these mercies through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Mark's Emphasis on Jesus as the Mighty Worker

2:59 Now, from the very outset of our studies in the Gospel of Mark, I've constantly reminded you that one of the distinguishing, most significant marks of the Gospel of Mark is that he sets before us the Lord Jesus primarily as the mighty worker. Mark concentrates in his record of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus not so much upon the discourses of our Lord, but upon the deeds of our Lord, and those deeds which in a special way reflect his sovereign glory. The Lord Jesus Christ is the almighty power. Mark's purpose in doing this is stated very explicitly in the opening words of the Gospel. He tells us that he is setting before us the good news concerning Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And the good news which is particularly underscored in Mark's Gospel is that Jesus, the only Savior of sinners, who is the Son of God, is God's mighty worker.

4:13 There is no human need arising from human sinfulness which he cannot meet by that mighty power. And nowhere is this emphasis of Mark more clearly seen than in the section of his Gospel that we are presently examining. At the end of chapter 4, we study that marvelous account of our Lord stilling the tempestuous sea by the word of his own command. For three weeks, we have considered verses 1 to 20 in Mark chapter 5, in which we see the Lord Jesus bringing this demon-possessed man to his feet and then casting out the hundreds of demons by the word of his own power. And in the remainder of the chapter, we shall examine two more mighty works of the mighty worker. We find these two miracles, the miracle of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood that had plagued her for twelve years, and then the raising of Jairus' daughter from the dead. Now these two miracles are found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in all three of the Gospel records, they come to us in precisely this arrangement.

5:33 We have a miracle within a miracle, just as in the theater at times you have a play within a play. You find this in operas, such as Pagliacci. Some of you are familiar with that plot, and you have the play within the play. Well, in this section, beginning in verse 21, going through to the end of the chapter, you have the miracle of the raising of Jairus' daughter, which is interrupted by the performance of that other miracle of touching the body of the woman with the issue of blood.

General Circumstances of the Miracles: Geographical Location

6:07 Now what we will do, this morning, is simply examine verses 21 through 24, a paragraph which constitutes an introduction to these two miracles which fill up the rest of the chapter. And so this morning, verses 21 to 24, the introduction to the two miracles. And we shall consider, first of all, the general circumstances in which these miracles took place, and then secondly, the central figure in the second miracle, and then the setting for the first miracle. Well, you say, Pastor, that's kind of a mixed up order, isn't it?

6:49 Well, it may be mixed up to us, but it's not mixed up to the Holy Ghost. And since that's the order in which the facts of verses 21 to 24 come to us, I have determined to stick to the track of Holy Scripture, and I trust you will see the wisdom in doing that, as it sets the stage for these two accounts, or this one account of the two miracles, the miracle within the miracle. First of all, then, the general circumstances in which the two miracles were performed. Verse 21, And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat unto the other side, a great multitude was gathered unto him, and he was by, the sea. You will remember, if you have followed the expositions, that Jesus had been in the area of Capernaum, which is up on the north of the lake of Galilee, or sea of Galilee, and a little bit, we might say, on the northwest crescent, and he had taken the boat ride some six or seven miles over to the eastern shore, and a little bit central, central eastern shore, in the area where the garrison was, where the garrison demoniac was found. Now the text says, at this point, having been rejected by the garrisons, having been,

8:17 by unanimous consent, with but one descending voice, that of the healed demoniac, asked to leave their shores, we find in the text before us, that Jesus, with his disciples obviously with him, entered into the boat, and crossed again to the other side. And he returned back to the general area from which he had left, up near Capernaum, before going to heal the garrison demoniac. And the text says that in this setting, our Lord is found by the sea, and in that situation, once again, he is thronged with a great multitude. So the general circumstances in which the two miracles occurred are first of all, to be understood in terms of the geographical location. These two miracles occurred in an area where there had previously been an unusual concentration of the manifestation of the miraculous power of the Lord Jesus. The dwellers in the area of Capernaum were not ignorant of the mighty worker. He had done many, in fact according to Matthew 11, most of his mighty work, in that upper region of Palestine, in that very area of Capernaum.

General Circumstances of the Miracles: Spiritual Climate

9:42 So much then for the geographical location. Now the text also tells us something about the spiritual climate which constituted the second part of the general circumstances in which the miracles occurred. The geographical location, most likely outside the city of Capernaum, but definitely by the seashore in the midst of multitudes. And what was the spiritual climate into which he came?

10:12 Well, the text says that when he arrived at the shore, the great multitude was gathered unto him, is the rendering of our 1901 edition. But if we were to give a more literal rendering, a great multitude was gathered upon him. And it's the picture again of the multitude pressing in upon the Lord Jesus. In the parallel passage in Luke chapter 8 in verse 40, we read, as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him for they were all waiting for him.

10:52 Now do you sense something of the spiritual climate? They welcomed him on the shore because they were obviously waiting for him by the shore. Now the text doesn't tell us this, but there's only one way I can figure out that this happened. And this is conjecture, but I don't think it's nonsense.

11:12 Could it be that when the multitudes who had been pressing in upon him while he performed his miracles up in that area of Capernaum and by the sea, where he had taught the parable of the sower and the soils and done so many mighty works, could it be that when he said to the disciples, let us get in the boat and go to the other side for there was that needy demoniac upon whom he had set his heart of grace, could it be that when the boat slipped away, the townspeople got together and organized a system of three or two or six or eight hour watches with the agreement that whoever was on watch, the moment they saw that boat coming from that direction, coming up over the horizon, they were to notify everyone that they might have a welcoming committee to meet the Lord Jesus by the shore. Now I personally am convinced that something like that had to happen. The text doesn't say it, but somehow they were there to welcome him. Somehow they were looking for him and the strong inference is that that looking moved them to some kind of action that would apprise them of precisely when the Lord Jesus would return to their shores.

12:31 And in, you see, that particular spiritual climate, there is evidently a tremendous contrast underscored between the dwellers in the area of Upper Palestine around Capernaum and the dwellers in the area of the Gerasene demoniac. They had urged the Lord Jesus to leave their shores. They had said, Yankee, go home. There on the shores where he returned was a welcome sign.

13:06 Welcome home, Yankee. Jesus, go home, say the Gerasenes. Welcome, Jesus, say the dwellers in the area of Capernaum. So there was a spiritual climate of cordiality to the Lord Jesus, expectation of interest.

13:27 Now that does not mean that there was deep and true spiritual perception. Nor does it mean that ultimately those multitudes came to true and spiritual repentance. In fact, just the opposite proved true. For we read in Matthew 11 and verse 20, Then began Jesus to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.

13:58 And the last of them, and the last of those cities to receive the upbraiding word of Jesus, verse 23, And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? Thou shalt go down into hell. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom that were done in you, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that is, Capernaum, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.

14:30 So when I say that the text indicates that the spiritual climate was one of a favorable disposition to the Lord Jesus, an attitude of expectation and eagerness, I am not saying it was an attitude that had brought the multitudes to a saving perception of who Christ was and a saving reception of his person and of his identity. But the scripture makes it abundantly clear that where there is a prevailing climate of rejection and unbelief, Jesus did not in those places many mighty works. He could do there no mighty works because of their unbelief. And so the spiritual climate then is one that lends itself to the miracles that follow. It is not the spiritual climate that lends itself to the miracles that follow. It is not surprising that in this climate of welcome, of excitement, of anticipation, that there should be found individuals whose faith really reaches out and lays hold of Christ and finds him to be in personal experience all they had heard him to be to others whom he had touched in that very area of Capernaum. Well, so much then for the general circumstances in which the two miracles are performed.

The Central Figure in the Second Miracle: Jairus, the Desperate Father

15:58 The Holy Spirit has seen fit to describe those circumstances. Therefore, they must be vital to our true perception of the miracles that follow. Now we come in the second place to look at the text and consider the central figure in the second miracle. The central figure in the second miracle is introduced to us in verse 22.

16:22 And there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. And seeing him, he falls at his feet and beseeches him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. I pray thee that thou come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be made whole and live. And he went with him.

16:48 Now this central figure in the second miracle is obviously one whom we could describe as a desperate father. Now you mothers will have to forgive me. This is Mother's Day. And I would have liked it if the text contained the account of a desperate mother.

17:08 But the passage says nothing about the girl's mother. If she had a mother, she was probably the one at home even now with her hand upon the fevered brow of her daughter, tending, as it were, while her hubby runs off in order to plead with the Lord Jesus to come. But the text does bring into sharp focus this central figure of the second miracle, a desperate father. And the first thing it tells us about him is his position and his name.

17:42 Look at the text. And there comes one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus, by name. He was a ruler of the synagogue. Now each synagogue, which was a place of the religious, the center of the religious life of the Jews throughout all of Palestine and throughout all of the Roman world, as we read in the book of Acts, where Paul in his journeys would immediately go into a synagogue in the various cities of the Roman Empire.

18:18 And these synagogues became the center of the composition of the Old Testament scriptures, of the confession of the Jews, of their faith in Jehovah and his revelation. They became centers of praise and prayer for God's ancient people. And as in any organization there must be leadership, so in the synagogue there were leaders. And the leaders were generally what we would call elders, who received their position as best we can discern by inheritance.

19:00 They had a father who was an elder who could perhaps trace his position as an elder way back to the 70 in the days of Moses when at the advice of his father-in-law he appointed 70 to help him in the work of oversight of the nation of Israel. And this man was one such ruler probably of a synagogue in Capernaum. But be that as it may, when Mark tells us that he was a ruler of the synagogue, we are to understand immediately that he was no innocuous behind-the-shades-and-shadows kind of a man. He was a man of prominence.

19:42 He was a man who was no doubt known by most, if not all, of the townspeople who would have anything to do with him. He was in all likelihood a man of some means, though not necessarily, but he certainly was a man held in esteem and a man of prominence. And his name, Jairus, is an Old Testament name with a Greek or possibly Latin ending. You remember Jair in the Old Testament.

Jairus' Posture and Request to Jesus

20:16 There are two or three Jairs who come before us that is, the Jair of the Old Testament with a Latinized or a Greek suffix in order to complete the name. So much for his position and his name, but now more importantly, notice in this central figure his posture and his request. The text tells us that seeing the Lord Jesus, he falls at his feet and all through this section Mark uses present tense verbs. He wants to be he wants us to use our imagination transport ourselves backward and try to envision the thing as though it were happening before our very eyes.

21:01 And the first thing that is underscored is his posture. Seeing the Lord Jesus he falls at his feet. Now what was the significance of this falling at the feet of Jesus? Does it mean that he saw in Jesus God's Son and his appointed Messiah?

21:25 It would be reading too much into the text to assert that. This much can be said that in oriental fashion falling at the feet was the taking of an external posture to reflect an inward disposition of humility and submission. It's the posture assumed by an inferior who would make a request of a superior. So though he is a ruler in the synagogue he recognizes in Jesus someone who has a position of authority and power far beyond that which he occupies in the synagogue.

22:09 He takes the place of humility he takes the place of submission. How much true spiritual perception was there we do not know. Not only when we examine his request and his entreaty there is a mingling of faith and some unbelief and perhaps even a little bit of superstition. So we cannot dogmatize about the true inward disposition of his heart.

22:39 And it's one of the great dangers in preaching through the gospels that men will read in more than the text warrants and I seek consciously and constantly to resist that which is not true. The first posture was everything that follows with reference to his request in all of its details that request is given from the posture of a man prostrated at the feet of Jesus. Now then notice first of all the manner of his request. The text says that he is found beseeching him much.

23:15 Now there is that word beseech that we found several times with the demoniac. It's the word that means to plead earnestly to entreat with intensity. If a man has just got a dry mouth as I have right now his whole body is not as it were screaming out in an agony of thirst but he's just got a dry mouth he may ask someone for a drink of water. Sir, would you give me a drink of water please?

23:49 But if he's come through several hours of desert trekking and his body is dehydrated and his lips are stuck together and he has to almost with Herculean effort pry them apart and make his tongue to move in his dry mouth when he says, Sir, give me water. That's the difference between a mere request and a beseeching. And this man is found at the feet of Jesus again at the text in his earnest entreaty either repeated over and over again he beseeches him much or it could mean that he beseeches him and brings one argument upon another as to why the Lord Jesus should listen to his request but whichever it is the manner of his request is one of earnest and importunate entreaty. He is beseeching him much. Now what's the substance of his request? Well he starts with giving the Lord Jesus information.

25:07 Now here you see there is the element that on the one hand shows faith and the other that says well the faith is limited but he's convinced he must inform the Lord Jesus of the condition of his daughter and this is how he does it. He falls at his feet and beseeching him much says my little daughter is at the point of death. He gives this information my little daughter is at the point of death. Now when he refers to his daughter he does not use the standard word for daughter but he uses what is called the diminutive.

25:50 We don't have that in English you have it in Spanish and many other languages. One of our dear sisters in this assembly for a number of years was our sister Teresita. And when we addressed Teresa she preferred to be addressed as Teresita, the diminutive which has an element of affection and intimacy. We must say daughter or my precious daughter my sweet little daughter. Our English is impoverished in terms of making that distinction. We've got to stick words on the front. Other languages you can just put a little something on the tail end to give that sense of intimacy and affection and warmth. And when he begins to entreat the Lord Jesus with this information he refers to his daughter as his precious little daughter. His

26:44 dear daughter. According to Luke she was his only begotten daughter which means at least that she was his only daughter if he had sons and it could well mean that she was an only child who happened to be a girl. In either case his entreaty is a reflection of the depth of paternal intimacy between the father and his daughter. And here I resist making a very pointed application and will hold it for later but suffice it to say it is not unmanly for a father to be tender and intimate and affectionate with his daughters.

27:28 And if you've got any sick macho notion that a man can only be close to his sons, can it! Bury it! Ask God to burn it out of your heart. It is carnal and has nothing to do with biblical principles.

27:44 Here's a man who is every whit a man of responsibility and integrity and uprightness. A man who is a ruler in the synagogue. And he speaks of my precious little daughter. And he tells the Lord Jesus precisely her condition. He says she is at the point of death. And that's an attempt to translate a very unusual idiom. She has reached the final stage. She has come or is at the end. In other words when he left her all of the signs that death was just about to stretch out his bony icy fingers and grasp that little one and snatch her away. That death was there at the door chomping as it were at the bit to enter and take away his precious little daughter. She has reached the final stage. He gives the information. Then he

28:55 proceeds to implore for Jesus intervention. Look at the language. I pray thee that thou come lay thy hands upon her that she may be made whole and live. Now you see the mingling of faith and unbelief and perhaps a little bit of superstition.

29:19 He has not yet come to the place where he believes that Christ can heal from a distance. You remember there was a man in the gospel records who said Lord speak the word and though there be twenty miles between you and my sick servant he'll be made well. There was faith in its figure. His faith is not risen to that point. He said Lord you've got to come but I believe if you come and get where my daughter is at the very point of death you can reverse that terrible and horrible state and condition as no other man can do. Lord come. Then he says lay thy hands upon her. Now where did he get the notion that Jesus would have to lay his hands upon her?

30:06 Well probably from the fact that this seemed to be a practice that our Lord engaged in frequently in his healing ministry. If you will look at chapter six we read in verse five of Mark he could do there that is in his hometown no mighty work save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them. So the indication is that frequently in his healing ministry Jesus would lay his hands upon the sick probably to signify that the healing was coming from the virtue of his person. It was not coming by any magical incantations which people would seek to imitate but by the impartation of virtue and life and power that emanated from his person. But be that as it may he says you come and if you come and get close enough to lay your hands upon her then two things will happen. She will then he says be healed and the word translated healed is the standard word for saved. She will be delivered from the disease that has brought her to the very point of death and she will then live. I believe

31:26 there will be a complete reversal of the debilitating effects of this illness and life in all its vigor will once again be restored to her. Now that's his posture and his request. His posture is the posture of humility. The posture of submission.

Jesus' Response to Jairus' Request

31:48 His request in its manner is earnest fervent and importunate and in its substance it conveys some information and then it comprises an earnest intercession on behalf of his sick daughter. And what was the response of Jesus to that request? We've looked at the man, his position and his name, his posture and his request. Now notice the response of Jesus to that request verse 24 and he went with him.

32:26 Beautiful in its simplicity and again since the text in the tenses of the verbs urges us to try to relive it in our mind's eye what do you think transpired from the moment the man fell at the feet of Jesus poured out his earnest entreaty regarding his dear precious only daughter informs the Lord she's at the point of death and says oh come lay your hand upon her that she may be healed and live. And there the man is at the feet of Jesus. Can you imagine the Lord Jesus with all that we know of him in scripture simply backing off saying alright man get up I'll go with you. Can you imagine him dealing with a distraught agitated broken hearted father in such a cold calculating detached way I cannot conceive of it in that way at all. Rather I can picture the Lord Jesus stooping placing his hands upon the shoulders of that distraught father and speaking some words of consolation and saying to him I will come I will come I will accede to your request your earnest entreaty has laid hold of my heart and I'll share in this trauma of your own

Setting for the First Miracle: The Thronging Multitude

33:54 life and I like to picture the Lord Jesus then with his hand upon his shoulder his arm around him to let the crowd know who heard those in the immediate vicinity what transpired that indeed he was going to go with him. He was not simply to getting up to go away from him to some other need but he was going with him to meet that specific need and I like to picture in my mind's eye then the Lord Jesus with an arm upon his shoulder or around his shoulder identifying himself with Jairus in this confessed need with reference to his darling little daughter and making his way towards his house well we've considered from the text what we are told about the general circumstances in which the miracles took place secondly the central figure in the second miracle and now finally notice the setting for the first miracle that is introduced in the latter part of verse 24 and he went with him and a great multitude followed him and they thronged him now why does Mark add that little stroke well for the simple reason that that constitutes the setting for the first miracle we're introduced to the central figure in what we think is going to be the only miracle now Mark says no

35:22 there's going to be a miracle within a miracle and now I've got to set the stage for it so he sets the stage by this little descriptive element and a great multitude followed him and and this is significant they thronged him now that word they thronged him is a very strong word it's a word translated in its simpler form to afflict and trouble that is this great multitude pressed together in upon him and the parable of the sower in the soils with the thorny ground hearers the weeds grew up or the thorns grew up and choked the word that's the word Luke uses to describe what the multitudes were doing to Jesus they were so pressing in upon him not following in behind him so you might get the idea from the first part of the description of the word that they were so pressing in upon him not following in behind him they followed him when we played follow the leader kids somebody says I'm the leader you follow me and so the leader goes out you see and everybody follows him well you might get the picture that Jesus was like the leader in follow the leader but no Mark says they

36:50 thronged him Luke says they pressed in and we're suffocating him so as he goes forth with his arm around Jairus the crowds are before behind and on every side pressing in to make his way to Jairus' house. Now, why is that significant? Well, as we shall see, God willing, next week when we study the first miracle, it was that very climate of the intense closeness of the crowd, shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, pressing in upon the Lord Jesus. It was that very circumstance that made the woman with an issue of blood bold enough to think she could be healed by Jesus, but undetected by Jesus in the process. May I say it reverently? The Lord Jesus so ordered the disposition of that milling crowd that it would create the only context in which that poor woman would be bold enough to seek for healing from the Son of God. Who's going to cry out in a crowd, I have a personal female problem that has afflicted me for twelve years?

38:09 Who's going to cry that out in a Jewish crowd where to touch that woman rendered you ceremonially unclean until evening? Nobody!

38:20 She had to find a place where she could be lost in the crowd and keep her dark secret within while still reaching out to get hold of the Son of God. And what? Mark is doing by the guidance of the Spirit in this closing descriptive phrase is setting the stage then for that first miracle. And we see the Lord Jesus going off in the direction of the house of Jairus in close identification with Jairus and his need and the crowd so pressing in upon him from every side that they are like to suffocate him.

Lessons from Jesus: Selfless Accessibility, Universal Magnetism, Proven Ability

38:58 And that's where the introduction closes. And that's where my exposition, the introduction closes. Now then, in the remaining time this morning, what does all of this say to us? Well, I hope it has set the stage for the two miracles so that when we come to them, we'll consider them in the context in which God has placed them.

39:22 And that's the only responsible way to handle the Word of God. But this is not merely an introduction to two miracles. This is part of God-breathed Scripture that is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. And let me suggest to you this morning that in this passage, we have the Lord Jesus, we have Jairus, and we have the multitude.

39:49 And there is a great lesson to be learned from each one of those ingredients of the introduction. First of all, behold in the Lord Jesus, in this introduction to the two miracles, behold in the Lord Jesus, the three qualities perfectly suited to the needs of sinful men. What three qualities of our Lord are particularly highlighted in this introduction to the two miracles? Well, first of all, we see His selfless accessibility.

40:24 His selfless accessibility. If you will recall, the Lord Jesus had come from a period of intense activity before He left the area of Capernaum to go to the area of the Gerasene demoniac. He was so exhausted, you'll remember, that He was bone-weary and sound asleep in the stern of the ship in the midst of a violent storm. He no sooner reaches the shore of the Gerasenes than He has this encounter with the demoniac.

40:59 And when Jesus healed and cast out demons, His virtue went out at Him. There was an exhaustion of His holy humanity. And without any period of rest except the time it took to get from the area of the Gerasenes across to the area of Capernaum, He's had no lengthy period of rest that will rest. He no sooner comes within sight of the shore when He sees again the pressing, milling, demanding, but expectant and needy multitudes.

41:31 And some of us who've known just a little bit of what it is to minister to people day after day and week after week in the variety of their spiritual needs, we know that we reach a point where we say, if I see one more person in His need, if I try to minister to one more in His need, I'll need to be ministered unto. And the temptation is to draw back. But here the Lord Jesus is seen in all the glory and the beauty of His salvation. Selfless accessibility.

42:04 The crowd that is there by the sea to welcome Him meets with no rebuff from the Lord Jesus. He doesn't say, can't you give me any rest?

42:17 Give me a few hours to myself. They are there to welcome Him. And Jesus receives their welcome. But His response of availability to the multitudes in no way, neutrality, materializes the fact that He is the Savior in whose presence there are no unimportant or little men or women.

42:42 He's accessible to the multitudes, yes, in the vastness of their need to teach and instruct and to heal, but He's accessible to a brokenhearted Father who by sheer determination of paternal love and concern breaks through the multitude until He falls at the feet of Jesus and pours out, without His earnest treaty, come, come, lay your hands upon my precious little daughter that she may be healed and live. And you see the Lord Jesus who did not rebuff the multitudes who waded by the shore, did not rebuff the brokenhearted Father who entreated and pleaded, but we see here His accessibility to the multitudes, His accessibility to the individual. And my dear friends, if we didn't have a Savior like that, we'd be undone. And what a privilege it is as a minister of the gospel to say that in that sense, Jesus Christ is the Savior. Yesterday, today, and forever, if every unconverted person in this building this morning were in the next two minutes to go with the legs of repentance in faith to the Lord Jesus and fall not for my brother, my sister, my husband, my wife, my son or daughter,

44:10 but Lord Jesus, I come for my own! The Lord Jesus will be accessible to you, and if all of you were to come at once, you would not weary Him. If the whole town, not a one would find the Lord Jesus saying, I'm sorry, too many are applying to me for need, enough's enough! The word and promise of the gospel is Him that comes to me.

44:39 I will in no wise cast out, because the Lord Jesus is the same, selfless, self-loving, self-reliant, self-sacrificing, self-loving, self-loving. Jesus is the same selfless, accessible Savior now that he was in the days of his flesh. But then notice also the second quality in our Lord Jesus, and I don't know what else to call it but his universal magnetism. Notice what the text says, that when Jesus crossed again in the boat to the other side, it doesn't say that he gathered a great multitude.

45:13 It's a passive verb. A great multitude was gathered to him. And it doesn't say he called for the ruler. It says they're called a ruler of the synagogue.

45:29 Well, if the crowd was gathered, who was the agent that gathered them?

45:36 It was the magnetism of Christ himself. They were drawn by the previous reports they had heard of him. They were drawn. But what their eyes had seen and their ears had heard of his mighty works.

45:51 Many of these were those who were astounded when they heard the Sermon on the Mount. And they said, look, this guy doesn't just dabble in pious platitudes and rumble and mumble on with religious mumbo-jumbo like our scribes, not like our official religious leaders and our clerics and our proper reverends. It was the magnetism of his person, the magnetism of his preaching, the magnetism. It was the magnetism of his compassion.

46:26 And here in this passage, and we shall see, even with that poor, timid woman, embarrassed to her toenails with the nature of her disease, and having been brought to a state of penury because of all her living being spent on the physicians, there was something in Jesus that led her to believe that she would receive from him all she needed if she could but touch him. It was the magnetism, the universal magnetism of the Son of God that drew both the multitudes and needy individuals of all kinds to him, the well-known, the influential, possibly intelligent, upper-crossed ruler of the synodon, and a poor, penniless woman with a female disease that had left her in pain and penniless and an outcast. She was cast from the congregation of God because she was ceremonially unclean, but they all were drawn to Jesus. And my friend, that magnetism is still there today. And do you know why you do not come to him?

47:40 It's because in your willful blindness,

47:46 look upon him long enough to be captured by the magnetism of his glory. If you could but see one beam of the glory that darts from the countenance of the Lord, the countenance of Christ in the gospel, one beam of the glory of his compassion to sinners, one beam of the glory of his goodwill to sinners, your unbelief, your pride, your love of sin would be seen in ugliness, and you'd run from them like the demons that they are, and you would fall before Jesus, captured by the magnetism of his compassion, of his grace, and of his power. This introduction sets, before us, the qualities in the Lord Jesus perfectly suited to our need as sinners. His selfless accessibility, his universal magnetism, but also, and oh, we must not miss this, his proven ability to help those whom no one else can help. You see that in the passage, don't you? His proven ability to help those whom no one else can help.

48:58 What is it that brought the ruler of the synagogue to the feet of Jesus with a daughter who was at the point of death? She's as good as dead when he leaves her. He knows it's only a matter of time. Why doesn't he go to the local physicians?

49:16 He knows she's beyond the help of physicians. He doesn't go to the local rabbis. He's a ruler in the synagogue. Why doesn't he gather the local rabbis together to pray for her?

49:26 He knows that whatever her need is, their prayers, with all their deadness and lifelessness, an empty ritual they can't help, a daughter who's at the last point before death. And here it was that the previous report of Jesus as we saw in our studies of Mark, his fame had spread throughout that whole region and it was Jesus' proven ability to help the helpless that set the stage for these two miracles. It sets the stage for the miracle of the raising of Jairus' daughter. It sets the stage for the miracle of Jesus' child.

50:01 It sets the stage for the miracle of Jesus' child. It sets the stage for Ioannina Rubens' child. the stage for the healing of that woman who'd spent all her living on the physicians and was not one whit better. She was helpless and hopeless, but here was one who had a proven ability to help the helpless and to give hope to the hopeless.

50:17 And my sinner friend, that's who you need. There are people sitting here this morning whose case was hopeless. Hopeless!

50:28 But they sit here today with women and trophies of the grace and power who has proven ability to help the helpless and to give hope to the hopeless. What is there? What is there in Christ that you will not give yourself to Him? A Christ so attractive.

50:50 A Christ so radiant with glory that in this simple introduction to two miracles there's enough gospel to save the whole town of Montville!

51:04 Old friend, don't go on and you'll be a sinner. Don't go on and you'll be a sinner. Don't go on and you'll be a sinner. Don't go on and you'll be a sinner.

51:07 Don't go on and you'll be a sinner. Don't go on and you'll be a sinner. Don't go on and you'll be a sinner. Don't go on and you'll be a sinner.

51:07 Don't go on and you'll be a sinner. Ask God to pull away the scales from your eyes that you may behold in Jesus Christ, the Savior, perfectly suited to your need.

Lessons from Jairus: Godly Parental Concern and Action

51:20 But then very quickly, there's a great lesson in Jairus and only one, and I want to underscore it on this Mother's Day. Consider in Jairus the example of godly parental concern and action. What do we see in Jairus that is a pattern for us as parents? We see, first of all, his deep affection for his daughter.

51:45 He calls her, my precious daughter, my little daughter, my sweet daughter. Though he was a ruler in the synagogue and had many public responsibilities, and any man who has public responsibilities in one area usually has them in many. When you want to find someone to do something that demands time and energy, find someone who's already doing something. Isn't that the principle?

52:12 So no doubt he had all kinds of responsibilities, but he kept his parental priorities straight. He took time to nurture his relationship, not just to his sons if he had any, but to his daughter. And if, as a Jew, this was his only child and he had only a daughter, he had to break through the social pressure of considering himself cheated by God that he had no sons through whom he could pass on his name. And whether it was, whether it was God-given responsibility or social pressures of the age, this man is a pattern of Godly parental concern and action.

52:52 He developed a relationship of deep intimacy with his daughter. Father, Mother, go thou and do likewise. And don't tell me the pressures of the age and making a living and all the rest of such, I have no time for my kids. You have time for everything that you regard important.

53:13 No one came here in his pajamas this morning.

53:18 I haven't seen even the youngest of the children here in his or her pajamas. You felt it was important to take time to get dressed, and no matter how busy and harried and hurried you were, you got dressed because you gave it a priority. And as parents, you won't find time sitting there written all over it, use me to nurture intimacy with your children. No, you'll find a thousand signs blinking saying, follow me, use me for this, use me for that.

53:45 And you need to put on blinders and stop your ears and say, no, fathers, nurture your children. And how can I nurture them from a distance? They've got to know me, not only as the head of the home, but as their closest friend. And I thank God that whatever my sins and faults may be, I can preach about being the closest friend to my children with my children sitting in the congregation.

54:13 And I think I know something about what it is to be busy and have the demands of public life, constantly pressing in. And one must simply determine his priorities before God and stick by them with iron will. The days will pass and you'll look back and say, where's the time gone? Where have my kids gone?

54:40 Jairus is a good example of deep affection. Secondly, of honest realism about his kids. He didn't come to Jesus and say, oh, Jesus, my daughter's got a little fever. No.

54:53 He said, she is at the point of death. She has come to the end. Her plight is desperate. I don't like to face it.

55:05 The very thought of it fills me with horror. My whole inner life, emotionally and psychologically, is unstrung. But, Master, she is at the point of death. He was a realist about the state of his daughter.

55:20 Now, parents, if you're to be godly parents, you've got to be... You've got to be realist about the condition of your children.

55:27 They are not merely at the point of death. They are dead. They are dead in trespasses and sins. And with all of their cuddles and goo-goos and ga-gas and all of their sweet nothings,

55:44 there is a fountain of iniquity which, if not transformed by grace, will one day manifest its horrible and true condition. He was an example. He was an example of honest realism about the state of his child. And, thirdly, he was an example of determined and aggressive intercession on behalf of his child.

56:08 In the realism of what her plight truly was, he came to the Lord Jesus, not with an attitude, well, if I can get to him with all those hundreds between me and him, if a way just opens up, I'll get to him and put through a feeble little... I can just picture him seeing the great crowds, thronging in upon Jesus by the sea, but saying, I'm determined that I'll get to him.

56:33 And when he got to him, he was determined that he's going with me back to my house or I'm going to die in the effort. Isn't that the spirit that breathes through the record? He besought him much. He entreats him with earnestness, with importunity.

56:50 Oh, Jesus, you must come. You must lay your hand. You must give her life. You must heal her.

57:00 What a beautiful picture of parental intercession. Not this, now I lay me down to sleep, Lord, bless my kids and help them for Jesus' sake, amen, but falling before the Lord Jesus and taking hold, as it were, of his feet and saying, Lord Jesus, my children are not merely at the point of death. Lord Jesus, they're dead in sin. But, Lord Jesus, you can give life to the dead, but only you can do it, Lord.

57:29 Amen. Amen. Amen. I'm seeking to live before them.

57:31 I'm seeking to be honest. I'm seeking to catechize and instruct and take them to church and surround them with every godly influence. But, Lord Jesus, none of those things can give them life. Lord Jesus, give them life.

57:46 Now, you kids, let me ask you something.

57:49 If you were the daughter of Jairus and you were sick unto death and you were not in a coma or unconscious but awake and you knew Jesus was in the area, what would you think? What would you think of your daddy if he said he loved you and he didn't leave the house and pat your fevered brow and say, honey, my dear little daughter, daddy would love to stay by your bedside with mummy, but I've heard that Jesus has come back. The welcoming committee has spread the news. Jesus is back.

58:17 Now, honey, daddy's got to go and try to get hold of Jesus because he's the only one that can help you. Now, if you were Jairus' daughter, would you stick your lower lip out and say, daddy, you don't love me. You're leaving me, would you? No.

58:36 If you were Jairus' daughter, remember, she was 12 years old, so she was old enough to understand. If she was awake and not in a coma or not in a some kind of a frenzy of a fever that had taken away her rationality, she would have to consent that the best, the most loving thing her daddy could do would be to leave her and go to Jesus. You dear children, you listen. Don't be mad at mummy and daddy.

59:03 When they sneak away to get on their knees and cry to God to save your soul. And when they try to bring Jesus to you in the word of God, try to bring Jesus to you in the preaching of the word, seek to bring Jesus to you by their prayers in godly example. Oh, children, don't resent parents who want to see you healed, not from a physical disease that could merely take this life, but from the spiritual disease that could take you to hell forever. That's why mummy and daddy pray for you.

59:38 That's why pastor preaches to you. That's why we plead with you. That's why we urge you, because we don't want you to die in your sins and go to hell. What an example Jairus is of parental godliness.

Lessons from the Crowd: The Danger of Deception

59:58 And then I close and I'll only make the statement. There's a great lesson in the crowd that day. You see, and the great lesson is this, not all crowds, the crowds gathered around Jesus are an indication of a saving experience of his grace. The crowds at the shore who welcomed him are the very ones to whom Jesus spoke in Matthew 11 and said, Thou shall be cast down to hell.

60:28 And that's a great danger we face. A crowd attracts a crowd. And the larger this church grows and the bigger the congregation becomes, the more a crowd will attack the crowd. Listen, people.

60:41 Never be deceived into thinking because a crowd is gathered and at the center is Jesus and his word, that therefore everyone has the root of the matter in them. You can be caught up in excitement that centers in Christ and still go to hell. You must see through the crowd and beyond the vibes of crowd excitement until with your own eyes, the eyes of your heart, you see a beauty and a loveliness in Christ that causes you to be saved. That's the great lesson of the crowd.

61:17 We don't have time to expand upon it. May God write upon our hearts the lessons of this introduction to the two miracles and then the great truths that are in the miracles themselves as in subsequent weeks we study them together. Let us pray. Our Father, how we thank you for the richness of your word.

61:44 We never cease to marvel at how the entrance of your word gives light. And understanding, seal to our hearts the word we have contemplated together this morning. And may it issue in the fruits of some running to Christ, seeing those qualities in him which are perfectly suited to their need as sinners. May we be rebuked as well as guided by the godly example of Jairus.

62:13 Oh, make every one of our mothers and fathers a Jairus. Who will like this manner. May the man of God establish intimate ties with each of their children, have a realistic assessment of their true state, and come to you in fervent, importunate intercession that you would come and lay the hand of your grace upon them. Oh, Lord, may we not simply leave having heard the word, but may we be doers of the same.

62:44 Be with us. Continue to minister to us throughout this day. We ask through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.