Sandwiched by Faith

[0:00] Our passage tonight, Mark chapter 5, verses 21 through 43, is another one of Mark's sandwiches.

[0:16] ! The healing of a woman who has been sick for 12 years is sandwiched by the events pertaining! to a 12-year-old girl. Faith is the common denominator between both narratives in this sandwich. Both the girl's father and the sick woman demonstrate faith in Jesus. Let's read the passage now. Here are Mark 5, 21 through 43.

[0:40] And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.

[1:04] And he went with him, and a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for 12 years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, If I touch even his garments, I will be made well. And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, Who touched my garments?

[1:46] And his disciples said to him, You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, Who touched me? And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.

[2:03] And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease. While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further? But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not fear, only believe. And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John, the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

[2:41] And when he had entered, he said to them, Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand, Here's the main idea for this passage.

[3:27] Jesus demonstrates his deity by conquering disease and death. Once again, Jesus demonstrates his deity by conquering disease and death. Tonight's passage has the third and fourth miracles that Mark documented in Mark chapter 4, verse 35, all the way through 5, verse 43. Themes in tonight's verses are also found in the stories of Jesus calming the sea. We saw that at the end of chapter 4. We also see some of the same themes that we saw last week when he healed the demon-possessed man. First, Jesus cares for those in trouble. Second, Jesus is the omnipotent God. He has authority over what is impossible for you and for me.

[4:15] Nature, demons, diseases, and even death surrender completely and immediately to his sovereign authority. Before we dive into the verses, consider some of the differences between Jairus, the father of the dying girl, and the sick woman. One was a man. The other was a woman. One was wealthy. One was poor.

[4:40] One was respected. One was rejected. One was honored. One was ashamed. One was leading in the synagogue. The other was banned from the synagogue because of her illness. One had a 12-year-old child. The other had a 12-year-long illness. Though they had no obvious relationship to one another, in God's perfect providence, their lives intersected that day in an unforgettable way. Jairus and the woman did have many differences, but as we go through Mark's account, we also will see that these main characters had more in common than what first appears. We'll break tonight's sandwich into three sections, starting with verses 21 through 24. And in those verses, we see the sick daughter. So the sick daughter is your first set of blanks. Look at verse 21 again.

[5:37] Jesus' crossing to the other side brought him back to Capernaum. Matthew 9.1 says he came to his own city, and that was a common designation of Capernaum because that was Jesus' headquarters for ministry activity. The people in the Gerasenes had begged Jesus to leave their region. However, Jesus was still very popular in Capernaum. He was months more surrounded by multitudes of people who wanted to gain something from being in close proximity to him. The next verses are where we first meet one of those people who hopes to gain something from Jesus. Look at verses 22 through 24 again.

[6:26] Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be made well and live. And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. The synagogue officials were a group of men, usually numbering between three and seven, in each local synagogue. They acted as the caretakers and administrators of synagogue life.

[7:04] They safeguarded the scrolls, cared for the facility, organized the synagogue school, and supervised the readers, teachers, and those who prayed. Jairus would have been both religiously devout and highly respected in the community. None of the gospel writers identified Jairus as a member of the Pharisees, but his position in the synagogue meant that he was intimately connected with the Pharisaic establishment of Capernaum. He was undoubtedly aware of the hatred that the religious leaders had toward Jesus, yet he was willing to very publicly seek Jesus' help. We easily could overlook the risk that Jairus was taking here. If the local religious leaders found out that Jairus was seeking help from Jesus, his job could be in jeopardy. More than that, he could be banned from the synagogue himself.

[8:01] Finding another job under those circumstances could be very difficult. But Jairus was so desperate that the risk was worth taking. Verse 23 tells us why Jairus was so desperate. When Jairus said, my little daughter is at the point of death, he was saying that she was at the very end.

[8:23] The wording here means that she was at death's door. She was breathing her last. It was not just that she was very sick and in intensive care. She was at the end of hospice care. Jairus was saying that if Jesus did not act immediately, the girl would surely die. But even at such a point, he had faith that Jesus could help. Here was another person who was facing a hopeless crisis, someone who came begging with all earnestness that Jesus would intercede in his crisis and resolve his problem. According to verse 42, Jairus' little daughter was 12 years old, which according to Jewish custom meant that she had entered the first year of womanhood. She was eligible to be married and ready to begin her life as an adult. Yet from Jairus' perspective, she was still his little daughter. What should have been the most anticipated time in this young girl's life, filled with joy and hope, was instead marked by suffering and grief.

[9:29] We see Jairus' faith in the last part of verse 23. Jairus said to Jesus, come and lay your hands on her so that she may be made well and live. Verse 24 tells us that Jesus rewarded Jairus' faith by going with him. Predictably for the Capernaum area, a crowd followed along.

[9:52] As Jairus escorted Jesus back toward his house, Jairus' heart must have been overjoyed at the thought that his daughter would soon be healed. The concerned father undoubtedly did everything he could to speed the journey along. Yet the congestion of the crowds made it impossible to walk quickly, but at least they were headed in the right direction, making slow but steady progress.

[10:17] Here again, we see the value that Jesus puts on one life. Despite the many other things that Jesus could be doing, he goes with Jairus to attend to Jairus' daughter. Jesus, however, knew that he would be making a stop along the way. In the second section of the passage, Jesus' trip to Jairus' house gets interrupted. Jesus pauses to deal with another person who needs his help. And in verses 25 through 34, we see the silent desperation. So the silent desperation is your second set of blanks.

[10:56] Look at verses 25 through 28 first. Here are those verses again. Starting with verse 25, it says, And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew worse.

[11:18] She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment, for she said, If I touch even his garments, I will be made well. Consider this woman's predicament.

[11:33] Having an illness for twelve years would be bad enough. However, other factors made her situation even worse than that. Financially, she'd spent all her money trying to find a cure. Now she was more than just sick. She was destitute. Mark is very blunt in his assessment of the doctors. Those same doctors who took all her money worsened her physical condition. Not surprisingly, in Luke's account, Luke was a little kinder to the doctors, probably because he was a physician himself.

[12:09] Listen to what Luke said in Luke 8.43. In Luke 8.43, Luke wrote, And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. So Luke is saying that not the doctors were bad, but that her condition was impossible to be healed. Both Mark and Luke probably are correct, actually. The doctors in the ancient world would have never wanted to make her condition worse. They simply did not have the medicine, the knowledge, and the tools at their disposal to give her relief. According to the medicine of the first century, her condition was incurable.

[12:57] To give you an idea of how primitive the medical treatments were in that day, here's a quote from John MacArthur. He said, The Jewish Talmud listed eleven possible remedies for such an infirmity. These included superstitious prescriptions like placing the ashes of an ostrich egg in a cloth sack or carrying around a barleycorn kernel procured from female donkey dung. Undoubtedly, this woman had tried every potential cure. Financially drained and emotionally exhausted, she suffered both the physical discomfort and the social humiliation caused by many years of continual bleeding. Let's talk about what the social humiliation would have been like for her. An unceasing hemorrhage was bad enough, but the Old Testament law declared that someone with that condition was ceremonially unclean. That meant that this woman could not attend the synagogue to be part of the worshiping community of Israel. In that sense, she was as unclean as a leper. No one was allowed to touch her or her clothes, lest he or she too become unclean. If she had any family or friends remaining, she only could interact with them from a distance. So this woman was suffering not just from physical misery, but social and religious misery too. She'd been banished from the presence of the people of God. Just by being in the multitude that was thronging around Jesus, she was actively disobeying the Old Testament ritual law. Like Jairus, she was compelled to approach Jesus by both the urgency of her need and the strength of her faith. Yet hoping to avoid notice, she came just close enough to touch the fringe of her. In Numbers 15, verses 37 through 41, the Israelites had been instructed to sew tassels on the bottom of their cloaks as a visible symbol that they belonged to God. These tassels served a dual purpose. They reminded the Jews of their commitment to serve the Lord while simultaneously testifying to the world that they were part of God's chosen people. Religious hypocrites like the Pharisees tried to exalt themselves by lengthening their tassels. Jesus, in contrast, would have worn a robe with traditional tassels attached to the bottom. The woman's faith was not in Jesus' clothing as if his robe had magical power, but in Jesus himself. She knew about his miracles and had no doubt that he could heal her. Her approach also says something about her sense of shame. She wants to touch the edge of his garment from behind and then make a quick getaway. Look what happened, though, after she touched Jesus' garment. Here are verses 29 through 34 again.

[16:00] And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, Who touched my garments? And his disciples said to him, You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, Who touched me? And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.

[16:35] And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease. This woman's plan seems to work because she's immediately healed. But Jesus knows that a healing has happened, and he knows that the woman needs more than just physical healing. So he asked a question, Who touched my garments? And this is where the detail about the crowd in verse 24 comes into play.

[17:07] The disciples' response to Jesus' question is a mild rebuke. The disciples must have been thinking, Did you happen to notice the crowd, Jesus? They're all pressing in on you. Everyone touched you.

[17:21] As usual, the disciples are blind to what Jesus truly is doing here. Jesus had a purpose for this woman's life that went beyond physical healing. For this woman, the Lord's power immediately healed her physical infirmity, but Jesus knew her spiritual condition still needed to be addressed. The woman had wanted to hide, but she knew Jesus was speaking directly to her. So the woman, fearing and trembling and aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. Verse 34 is filled with significance. Look at that verse again.

[18:02] It says, And he, that of course is Jesus, said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease. This is the only recorded time in Scripture that Jesus called someone daughter. The affectionate title signified the woman's new relationship with Jesus.

[18:24] This is similar to when Jesus healed the paralytic. We saw that healing back at the beginning of Mark chapter 2. Listen to what Jesus said to that man in Mark chapter 2, verse 5. Here is Mark 2, verse 5.

[18:40] It says, And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. These stunning declarations are stirring reminders that adoption as a child of God is an even greater gift than forgiveness. Forgiveness says you are not guilty, you are free to go. Adoption says you are free to stay here with me forever. Jesus says that the woman's faith has made her well. Jesus wants everyone watching to know that the lady's faith was more important than her touching of his clothes.

[19:20] We also need to remember this. Faith derives its value not from the one who expresses it, but from the object in which that faith rests. The woman rested her faith on Jesus, who we know is God himself.

[19:34] Jesus tells the woman that her faith has made her well. The meaning of that is somewhat obscured in the English. Jesus is talking about the woman's spiritual condition here. The Greek word for well in verse 34 is the Greek word sozo, a word usually used in the New Testament for being saved from sin. The Gospels often used that word to demonstrate a connection between a person's faith and that person's salvation.

[20:07] For example, when a penitent prostitute washed Jesus' feet with her tears, he told her the same thing he told this woman. He told that prostitute, your faith has saved you. The Greek in both places is identical. Jesus healed many people who failed to exhibit genuine faith and thus were made well only in a physical sense, but there were also those who expressed saving faith in Jesus. In such cases, their bodies and their souls were delivered. Jesus' response to this woman connecting the word sozo with her faith suggests that she was healed of more than just a physical affliction.

[20:47] Skip to the end of verse 34 now. You probably have surmised that when Jesus said, go in peace and be healed of your disease, the word for healed there is a different word than the word used for well earlier in the verse. When Jesus said that the woman was healed, the word translated healed is the common Greek word for physical healing. The word that the ESV translates as disease also is significant. It literally means whip or scourge. So this illustrates the traumatic nature of the trial that this woman had endured for so many years. Because she had been saved, she now could truly go in peace. Her bodily healing enabled her to be reunited with her family and restored to the synagogue.

[21:39] More importantly, her salvation meant that she was now reconciled to God. All of this was great news for the woman, but someone probably was having a hard time sharing in her joy because of that healing. Jairus by now must have been beside himself in anxiety and frustration.

[22:01] His daughter was at death's door. This woman had been sick for 12 years. She could have waited another 30 minutes. Unlike Nicodemus, who came in the dark of night, Jairus came in daylight, humble and begging.

[22:16] He demanded nothing, and yet he'd now been stuck waiting for Jesus to heal this woman. Had Jesus failed to understand how serious Jairus' daughter's situation was?

[22:28] But here's the significance of Mark's sandwich in this passage. We see someone pleading with Jesus, Would you please come and heal my daughter, my little girl, the one that I love?

[22:41] And Jesus, in the middle of the passage, gets interrupted and takes time to say, Hey, I've got to stop for a moment and heal my daughter. The woman belongs to Jesus.

[22:52] He sees her, he knows her, and he wants her to know, and he wants everyone else to know that she is his daughter. And that sets the stage for the third section of this passage.

[23:05] So far, we've seen the sick daughter and the silent desperation. In the last section of our passage, we see the surprising diagnosis. So the surprising diagnosis is your last set of blanks.

[23:20] We'll look at verses 35 through 43 in pieces, starting with verses 35 and 36. Starting with verse 35, it says, While he, Jesus, was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, Your daughter is dead.

[23:38] Why trouble the teacher any further? But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, Do not fear, only believe. Verse 35 also uses the word daughter.

[23:53] Someone rushes up to Jairus to tell him that his daughter is dead. Mark wants the reader to feel the drama of the moment. If Jesus were a doctor, this could be an example of medical malpractice.

[24:10] A little girl was on the verge of death, but Jesus stopped to heal a medical issue that was not life-threatening. Jairus' worst fear had come true. The messengers from Jairus' house essentially told Jairus, Stop bothering Jesus.

[24:26] It's too late. He can do nothing for your daughter now. Jesus had a different take on the situation. For those of you who have the ESV translation, you'll see a note that says the word translated as overhearing in verse 36 also could be translated as ignoring.

[24:45] Reading it as ignoring fits well with the circumstances, Jesus both heard and ignored what the messengers told Jairus. Surrounded by those panicky messengers and anxious Jairus and a crushing crowd, Jesus continued to move steadily in the sovereign purposes of his father.

[25:08] Knowing Jairus would be tempted to doubt, Jesus directly addressed his fears. The Greek expression could be translated, Stop being afraid and keep believing.

[25:21] According to Luke's account in Luke chapter 8 verse 50, Jesus added something else to what he said to Jairus. Listen to Luke chapter 8 verse 50.

[25:33] Luke 8 50 says, But Jesus, on hearing this, answered him, Do not fear, only believe, and she will be made well. With tender compassion, rather than waiting until he arrived at Jairus' home, the Lord reassured Jairus.

[25:51] So can you imagine the conflicting emotions that Jairus must have had at this point? Let's read on to see what happens next. Here are verses 37 through 40.

[26:03] Speaking about Jesus again, it says, And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John, the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.

[26:20] And when he had entered, he said to them, Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead, but sleeping. And they laughed at him.

[26:30] But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Even if Jairus had a big house, it would have been too small for the entire crowd.

[26:47] Jesus narrowed down the eyewitnesses to just his inner circle plus the child's parents. Verse 39 fits with the custom of the times.

[26:59] Although modern funerals in the Western world are generally solemn and quiet affairs, ancient Jewish funerals were nothing of that sort. Three distinctive elements characterized the first century funeral.

[27:14] First, those who attended expressed their grief by tearing their clothes. Jewish tradition included 39 regulations on how one's clothes were to be torn.

[27:25] For example, relatives of the deceased were required to rip their garments directly over their heart. The tear could be sewn up loosely, but a torn garment was to be worn for a 30-day period as a sign of prolonged grief.

[27:41] Second, professional mourners were hired to vocalize and broadcast feelings of sadness. Agony was magnified, not shrouded in silence. These professionals had mastered the art of howling and groaning.

[27:56] Their sorrowful antics set the mood for everyone who attended. Third, the funeral included the hiring of musicians, most commonly flute players. Like the mourners, they would play loud dissonant sounds that symbolized the emotional discord and pain associated with death.

[28:14] According to Jewish tradition, even the poor were required to have at least two flute players and one wailing woman at their funeral. Can you imagine making your life as a professional waler?

[28:29] Clearly, those occasions were neither quiet nor subdued. The scene at Jairus' house would have been chaotic. Because Jairus was a synagogue official who would have been better off financially, his family almost certainly would have hired more than just two flute players and one wailer.

[28:50] Friends with legitimate grief also would have been gathering outside. When Jesus arrives, that's when he makes the surprising diagnosis. Jesus says, Why are you making a commotion and weeping?

[29:03] The child is not dead, but sleeping. Because of those surprising sentences, we can understand why the beginning of verse 40 says, And they laughed at him.

[29:14] The family, friends, and especially the professional mourners knew what death looked like. Jairus' daughter fit that definition. She was dead, and they were sure of it.

[29:28] Jesus next makes some startling demands to go along with that surprising diagnosis. Mark 5.40 tells us that Jesus put all the mourners outside. The other gospel accounts tell us more about Jesus' other startling demands.

[29:44] According to the parallel accounts in Matthew and Luke, Jesus told the mourners to stop weeping and to go away. The unexpected interruption undoubtedly brought the funeral to a halt as mourners shut their mouths and stunned musicians put down their flutes.

[30:01] The drama of this moment was intensified by the sudden silence. Jesus then takes the girl's parents along with Peter, James, and John to the girl's room.

[30:13] Check out verses 41 and 42 to see what happens in her room. Taking her by the hand, Jesus said to her, Talitha, Kumi, which means, Little girl, I say to you, arise.

[30:27] And immediately the girl got up and began walking, for she was 12 years of age. And they were immediately overcome with amazement. Just as Jesus was ritually defiled by the touch of the woman with the flow of blood, here he was defiled by touching a corpse.

[30:47] But again, Jesus saw that the need of one of God's people outweighed the ceremonial law. With a gentle touch, as her mom and dad look on through tears, Jesus said, Little girl, I say to you, arise.

[31:00] With those words, Jesus unleashed his miraculous power. Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. This young woman was dead one moment and alive and full of energy the next.

[31:16] There was no need for recovery, rehabilitation, or physical therapy. As soon as Jesus gave her life, she stood up in full strength. Like all of Jesus' miracles, this was a creative work.

[31:29] Its effects were immediate, complete, and undeniable. The reaction from both the girl's parents and the three disciples was one of shock and awe. They were completely astounded.

[31:42] The verb translated overcome with amazement literally means to stand outside oneself or to be beside oneself with bewilderment. There was no human explanation for what had just happened.

[31:56] For Jairus and his wife, grief was instantly transformed into joy. Their pain gave way to praise. Daniel Aiken wrote, We have one more verse to cover tonight, and that's Mark chapter 5, verse 43.

[32:38] Here is that verse. And he, that's Jesus of course, strictly charged them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.

[32:50] The so-called messianic secret had been the focus of a great deal of speculation over the years and it still continues to be a focus of a great deal of speculation.

[33:00] Why did Jesus counsel silence about himself on several occasions? Well, among the Jews at this time, there was a good deal of misunderstanding of the Messiah and his vocation.

[33:15] It was widely held that the Messiah would be a military figure. Many hoped that he would lead an army against the hated Romans. If such a view of Jesus were to become widespread among the Jews, it could upset God's plan for Jesus by stimulating Roman antagonism toward Jesus.

[33:33] Jesus also knew that a miracle like the resurrection of Jairus' daughter could only be fully appreciated in the light of the cross and the empty tomb.

[33:44] Ultimately, it was Jesus' own victory over sin and death that enabled him to give temporary life to a dead girl and to offer eternal life to all of those who believe in him.

[33:55] If you remember our passage last week, you may be wondering why Jesus told the demon-possessed man to tell his family and friends what the Lord had done for him.

[34:07] Jesus gave that command in Mark 5, 19. But in tonight's passage, Jesus tells the girl's parents and his disciples to keep quiet. The gospel writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, chose to omit an explanation for the difference.

[34:24] However, the difference may have been because the formerly demon-possessed man was a Gentile living in a Gentile area. Jairus' his friend's family and acquaintance were Jews living in a Jewish area.

[34:41] We know the Jews misunderstood what their Messiah would be like. However, there was little danger of such a misunderstanding in Gentile country. So the Gentile man was told to tell everyone what had been done for him.

[34:54] Of course, keeping anyone else from finding out about the girl's resurrection would have been impossible unless her parents locked her in a room for the remainder of her natural life.

[35:06] But Jesus' command meant that the parents were to avoid spreading the news of their daughter's resurrection unnecessarily. For example, if they met a stranger, the parents were to avoid saying something like, This is our daughter. You've probably heard about her.

[35:23] She's the one whom Jesus raised from the dead. Jesus' next command that the girl be given food displayed his compassion and also confirmed that she was restored to good health.

[35:35] Her body had been resuscitated and returned to natural life, but was still subject to death and needed to be sustained by food. You can also understand why, in their commotion, Jairus and his wife may have forgotten that the girl probably was pretty hungry if she'd been sick for a long time.

[35:54] Remember the main idea. Jesus demonstrates his deity by conquering disease and death. We've talked about some differences between Jairus and the nameless woman, but Jairus and the woman were more alike than they were different.

[36:11] Note the similarities between them, some of which we've already mentioned. They both knew only Jesus could help them. They both knew that they were unworthy of Jesus' help.

[36:23] They both fell down at Jesus' feet, and they both believed that Jesus could heal. And, of course, their faith was rewarded. If you have yet to put your faith in Jesus and trust in his sacrifice alone to give you eternal life, only parts of those first two things apply to you.

[36:44] Whether you realize it or not, only Jesus can help you. We all have sinned, and we all will continue to sin while we are alive on this earth. God is a just God, so someone must pay for our sins.

[36:58] Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. If you trust only in Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross to be the payment for your sins, God will consider that death to be full payment for those sins.

[37:19] However, if you refuse to trust in Jesus' sacrifice as payment for your sins, you will pay for your sins in hell for all of eternity. For those of us who already believe and who already trust in Jesus alone for our salvation, we sometimes can be discouraged.

[37:37] Perhaps we have prayed to be healed of an affliction, but that healing has not yet come. Quite likely, we all have prayed for a loved one to be healed, but that loved one died instead.

[37:50] Sometimes God chooses to skip healing in this life. However, the day is coming when all believers will be raised physically to eternal life in a body that will no longer be subject to disease and decay.

[38:03] That is good news, regardless of whether God chooses to heal us and our loved ones in this life. The verbs translated arise in verse 41 and got up in verse 42 are often used with reference to the resurrection of Jesus and of Christians.

[38:22] Almost certainly, Mark wanted his readers and hearers to see in the resurrection of the girl a preview of the future resurrection of Christians. To the believer, death is only sleep.

[38:36] The body rests until the moment of resurrection. The spirit does not sleep. In death, the spirit of the believer leaves and goes to be with Christ.

[38:47] It is the body that sleeps awaiting the return of the Lord and the resurrection. And this truth is a great encouragement to all of us who have had Christian loved ones and friends depart in death.

[38:59] It is Christ's word of hope to us. Until that hope turns into reality, rejoice in the promise that John wrote about in Revelation 21, verses 3 and 4.

[39:12] Here are Revelation 21, 3 and 4. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

[39:22] He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.

[39:34] Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. For Christians, in the meantime, internalize the words of Jesus in Mark chapter 5, verse 36, where he said, Do not fear, only believe.

[39:53] Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the reminder of Jesus' power and dominion over disease and death.

[40:05] Let us always see that as a reminder that one day all of us and our loved ones will be physically raised to eternal life. Let us be even more willing to share that news with others.

[40:20] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.