DON'T BE AFRAID; JUST BELIEVE

Luke 8:40-56
Key Verse 8:50

"Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, `don’t be afraid;
just believe, and she will be healed.'"

Today’s passage concludes our study of Luke chapter 8. Throughout this chapter we learn Jesus has authority over the whole physical world. Last week we learned he has undisputed power over the worst spiritual forces of evil in this world. This passage will show Jesus has power to heal any kind of sickness and he has power to raise the dead. As we go through this passage we will notice each person Jesus helps he also helps to give them a higher level of faith in him. Maybe we may never receive a PhD from a college. Nevertheless, let us not be spiritually complacent. Today let us allow Jesus train us to have a PhD level of faith.

First, Jairus, a good father (40-42a).

In last week’s message we learned the people of Gerasenes were not grateful at the cost they had to contribute to help Jesus heal one dangerous man full of a legion of demons. Because of their fear they asked Jesus to leave their region. Jesus did not make a big deal about the fact they didn’t want him in their region. He sent the man he drove out a legion of demons from off to tell others how much God had done for him. Then he gathered his disciples and sailed back across the lake. Now let see how the people at the next place Jesus sailed to welcome him.

Look at verse 40. “Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.” Somehow these people were tipped off Jesus’ boat would be landing. They happily welcomed Jesus. As is always the case for busy Jesus, his welcoming party turned into an emergency for someone. Look at verse 41: “Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.” Studying this verse closely we see it is packed with information about this man named Jairus. He is a ruler of a synagogue which is the center of activity in a Jewish community. This means this man was a well-respected man in the community. He is not a man you would expect to see humbly fall at the feet of Jesus, a carpenter turned preacher. Nevertheless we see this is exactly what he did. Moreover as a ruler of the synagogue his position indicates he had a close working association with Jesus’ enemies, the Pharisees and teachers of the law. For him to come to Jesus for help means he might have placed his position of ruler of the synagogue in serious jeopardy. He no longer cared. He only cared about one thing-helping his dying daughter to get well. I remember one time my wife called me up at work and told me my little daughter MaryAnna was in the emergency room. I immediately interrupted my schedule at work and went to the emergency room. MaryAnna did not have a life and death illness. She had broken her arm. Nevertheless I prayed for her in the emergency room in Jesus’ name that Jesus would heal her arm. Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old and much sicker. She of course had not always been sick. Before becoming ill she worked hard at her homework. When she wasn’t doing homework she enjoyed making arts and crafts and playing games with other girls her age. She was like little Hannah Ku or Grace Chun who like to play tag and hide-and-seek. Then one morning she developed a fever and her already thin body grew weaker because she refused to drink anything. Dehydration along with some kind of bacterial infection we suspect now placed her very close maybe only a few hours from death. Jairus certainly called the best doctor he could find. The doctor’s prognosis was not good at all. “She is dying”. Jairus however didn’t give up even though the doctor told him his daughter was dying. Jairus remembered the reports he heard about Jesus who healed many sick people. He heard that day Jesus would be arriving back in his town. He ran out of his house as fast as he could and went looking for Jesus. When he found Jesus he fell at his feet and pleaded with him: “Jesus my only daughter is dying please come to my house and do something for her.”

In the question sheet for this passage one question asks: “Why was Jairus a good father?” Some people say this is a ridiculous question. Most fathers are good fathers when their daughter is ill. Not withstanding it is a good question. When we think about this question in light of the importance of Jesus Christ we see Jairus specifically is a good father because he overcame his ruler ego and the anti-Jesus attitude among his coworkers and brought his sick daughter’s illness to Jesus Christ. Many fathers will bring their children to a doctor or to the best school but they won’t surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. Many points and lessons can be gleaned from this passage. I believe one of the main ones is to teach people how to be really good parents. Good parents must humbly bring their children’s lives to Jesus in prayer. A good parent must also surrender the lives of their children to Jesus. As a parent myself I am constantly humbly aware my correction of my children’s weaknesses has little effect. If I really want to help them overcome their weaknesses I must bring their weaknesses to Jesus in prayer.

What was Jesus response to Jairus’ very humble prayer? V42b makes us assume Jesus immediately followed Jairus on his way back to his home where his daughter laid dying. Jesus is not slow to answer the humble prayer of parents about their children.

Let us now look at Jesus eventful trip on the way to Jairus’ home. We know to Jairus the most important thing in the world is that his dying daughter is given immediate attention from Jesus. Certainly Jairus would be opposed if Jesus stopped to help anyone else on the way. Jesus on the other hand is not limited like a doctor. He can help at the same time any number of thousands and millions of people who choose to go to him by faith. Let us see how one of these people came to Jesus by faith and found her healing power from Jesus. Look at verse 43: “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years, but no one could heal her. Mark 5:25-26 account about this woman adds more useful details about this woman. It reads: “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.” In other words this woman had a terminal illness. Her suffering was incurable. More than this her type of bleeding not only left her physically miserable it made her spiritually miserable before God and man. This weekend is supposed to be a kind of fun long weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day. Tomorrow we are scheduled to have a fun picnic. This poor woman had not enjoyed a fun time with people for the last 12 years of her life. Her condition made her self-conscious both before people and God. She lived with her face down and had to decline all invitations to anyone’s house. I read about one woman who had an allergy to sunlight. Her condition caused her much suffering. No doctor could heal her. Finally because of it she committed suicide. In stark contrast to that woman, the woman talked about in this passage never gave up trying to find a cure for her suffering. She went to doctor after doctor. She spent all her money. Even though her condition only grew worse she never gave up hope of finding a cure. Does one of us here have some kind of chronic sickness that goes on year after year? Does it seem like it only grows worse? We should find encouragement from this woman who never gave up hoping and trying to find a cure for her bleeding. Her persistence to find a cure was not wasted. It strengthened and purified her character. Her persistence to find a cure gave her good heart soil so faith in Jesus could grow in her heart. Then by this faith she could come to Jesus by faith and find the cure for her bleeding.

Look at verse 44: “She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.” Marks gospel tells us she came up to Jesus with faith that said: “If I just touch him, I will be healed.” We are told crowds of people were touching and pressing against Jesus. They were doing it without faith in Jesus. They wanted to be around Jesus but they didn’t have any faith to receive some from Jesus. This is why some people receive something personally from Bible study and some people don’t. Those who personally receive something from Bible study and Sunday worship are those who come looking and believe they will receive it from Jesus.

When she touched Jesus by faith healing power was released from Jesus Christ. Twelve years of bleeding and suffering instantly was ended. Jesus felt this healing power leave him. He did not want it to go unnoticed. Look at verses 45 and 46: “Who touched me? Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Look at verses 47-48: “Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you, Go in peace.” Imagine how comforting these words of Jesus were to this poor woman who lived suffering and in a state of biblical condemnation for the last 12 years of her life. “Daughter your faith has healed you, Go in peace.” Jesus wanted to give this woman more than healing. He wanted to give her God’s word so she could receive God’s salvation. Before Jesus talked to her she lived in fear even though she was healed. Now after hearing the words of Jesus spoken personally to her all her fear was gone. Everyday people receive some kind of blessing from Jesus but they stop there. We must personally struggle to receive Jesus’ words so we can have peace with Jesus and peace with God. Jesus came not only to physically heal us but to also spiritually heal us through giving us his word.

Second: Don’t be afraid; Just Believe.

Meanwhile what about Jairus and his daughter? It seems Jesus allowed himself to be distracted too much by this woman and had forgotten Jairus’ daughter was dying. What was his purpose? Jesus’ purpose was to not only help the woman, he also wanted to help increase the faith of Jairus. While Jairus felt he was in a state of emergency Jesus was actually training Jairus to develop a higher level of faith. Jesus knew Jairus was more than just a good father. He had good spiritual leadership material if he allowed himself to be trained. To be a leader in the work of Jesus, a person needs more than a high school level of faith. They need a kind of PhD level of faith in Jesus Christ. Let us now see the high level of faith Jesus trained Jairus to possess and practice.

First, the high level of faith Jesus wants his leaders to possess is a faith that patiently waits on Jesus’ time schedule not our own time schedule. Leaders in the world are notoriously inpatient people. They enjoy telling the people under them: “I have no patience for fools.” However we know the gospel of God is not only for the wise it is also for the fools. Therefore a leader in the work of Jesus must have patient faith in Jesus. By stopping to help this nameless woman Jesus was training Jairus to have faith that can wait on Jesus’ time schedule.

Secondly, the highest level of faith in Jesus believes Jesus can raise the dead. There is only one way to go through this high level of faith training. Someone you love must die. Look at verse 49: “While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead, he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any more.” At this moment many people just give up their faith in Jesus. Worse other people curse Jesus and even blame him for the death of their loved one. Indeed Jairus was now at a critical crossroad in his faith in Jesus? He will now either turn towards Jesus or away from Jesus. Let us see how Jesus helps Jairus turn towards him by faith. Together let us read verse 50: “Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

We see just believe faith does not place the focus of our attention and thought on our worst fear but on Jesus Christ. For Jairus and for people in general the worst fear is the death of someone we love. Other people’s fears are failing a class. Being laid off from our job. Becoming sick and failing to carry out our responsibilities. For a bible teacher the worst fear is bible students giving up their commitment to study the bible. Missionary Moses’ worst fear when his son went to Iraq was that his son Moses would be killed. I had my own fears when my daughter attended her prom. There are countless fears that can cause us to be afraid. To all these fears Jesus declares to us: Don’t be afraid; just believe in Jesus Christ to influence and control events that will glorify him and work out events for the good of those who love him. When it comes to our fears we must be like a good soldier of Jesus Christ and obey Jesus who says: “Don’t be afraid; Just believe.”

Third, we must just believe from beginning to end. Jairus obviously believed in Jesus at the beginning; this is what compelled him to go to Jesus and pray. Then in the middle his schedule fell to pieces when the woman touched Jesus. In the middle we must believe in Jesus even though nothing seems to be working out. At the end we must keep believing in Jesus. Jairus heard the worst news any father could be told: “Your daughter is dead.” My grandfather once heard that news when he was told his 19 year son had died in the Korean War. That unemotional man screamed and cried at the news. Then he chose to just believe in Jesus Christ the rest of his life. In my minds eye the picture that is most clear to me of my grandfather is him kneeling in church and praying to Jesus with all his heart, soul and mind. I know my grandfather just believed in Jesus to the end of this life. We must just believe in Jesus to the end of our life.

Fourth, just believe faith means to believe in the word of Jesus’ promise. The word of promise Jesus gave to Jairus was: “Your daughter will be healed.” Jairus must exchange fear and the fact of his daughter’s death to just believe that Jesus will keep his promise to heal his daughter. Each of us must just believe our own Jesus’ word of promise given to us. My own lifelong Jesus’ word of promise is found in 1 Cor.15:2: “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” Every time I’m afraid about my soul’s salvation, I exchange my fear with just believing this promise that as longs as I hold firmly to the gospel I am saved.

Let us now go back to Jesus and see what he does after he gave Jairus his great “just believe” word of God. Look at verses 52, 53. ““Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing, Jesus said, she is not dead but asleep. They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.” I believe the events in these verses happened before the event in verse 51. Those people who knew Jairus were being controlled by unbelief and the fear of death. People who do not have “Just-believe-faith” are very emotionally unstable. One moment they are wailing the next they are laughing. To people who have just believing faith we see there is no such thing as death. When death confronts Jesus, death becomes synonymous to sleep. Jesus said: “She is not dead but asleep.”

Look at verse 51: “When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James and the child’s father and mother.” Jesus took control of the unbelieving observer by only allowing his key disciples and the child’s father and mother to enter Jairus home. Verse 54: But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned and at once she stood up.” The Bible doesn’t give us this young girl’s account what it was like to have her spirit leave her body for a while. What we do see is that her spirit was in complete submission to Jesus’ word and command. To give even more evidence Jesus physically and completely healed this girl from a medical stand point of death, Jesus tells her parents: “give her something to eat.” When a child or an adult have a hungry appetite after they have been sick, this is the best indicator they are healed.

Jesus kept his promise to Jairus and healed his little girl. Jesus was right. Jairus did not have to be afraid. All he had to do was just keep believing in Jesus and his daughter would be healed.

Today we learn faith in Jesus can heal sicknesses that not even doctors could heal. We also learn death is nothing more than sleep to Jesus. Today we learn we do not have to be afraid but, "Just believe in Jesus.” When we just believe in Jesus we can turn death into sleep and sleep into eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Let us be like Jairus and allow ourselves to be trained by Jesus to have a high level of faith. Today let us practice Jesus words by choosing not to be afraid but just believe in Jesus.