Getting to Blest

Have you ever been asked to do something that you actually wanted to do, but the way that you were asked made you suddenly change your mind? I expect that I’m not the only one with that kind of experience. On the flip side, have you ever been asked to do something that you really didn’t want to do, but the way that you were asked made you agree? And I’m not talking about salesmen here -- that’s a whole ’nother conversation. I’m talking about friends. There are those friends to whom I have a really hard time saying “no”. But they manage to remain my friends... by never asking for too much, I suppose. Whenever they ask me for something, they always seem to know what to say, and how to say, and when to say it to win me over.

Did you know that research has been done into the ingredients of persuasion? There are things people can do to increase the chances that their requests will be granted. For example, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology published an interesting result: did you know that a request was more likely to be granted if it was asked for at the beginning of a conversation rather than at the end of it? And, of course, entire books have been written on negotiating skills -- even some famous ones -- books all about, as they say, “getting to yes”.

But does any of this stuff work on God? After all, God can see through any tricks we might be trying to pull on him. “Negotiating” may be the entirely wrong approach when it comes to God. As Paul wrote (Romans 11:35):

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”

And as it never hurts to be reminded of the words of Isaiah (55:8,9):

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

In fact, if there was ever a formula for influencing God, it would likely start with “don’t ever think that there is a formula for influencing God.” So this morning, please understand that we aren’t looking for a formula, or talking about influence, or even negotiation. Instead, we are going to discover some principles: habits of the heart that we can develop so that we would get to know God more and begin to recognize how he operates in this world.

And to do so, we are going to look at an event in the gospels in which a man experienced God's activity on his behalf. And I pray that when we look closely at this encounter with Jesus, we would pick up some pointers about how to approach God and how to ask for things that only God can provide.

Our text this morning is found in Mark chapter 5 and Luke chapter 8. An abbreviated version is found in Matthew chapter 9. But Mark and Luke put this story in context for us. Jesus had just gone across the Sea of Galilee in order to seek out and deliver the man who was, very likely, of all people on the planet, the furthest from the Kingdom of God -- an event that Mark concludes with the words, “and all the people were amazed.” But now Jesus and his disciples are coming back across the lake to the towns and villages that they consider “home”. And our text begins with the words:

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.

A crowd had gathered. They were waiting. Jesus was coming and they knew it. They were all expecting him. But our text does not give us an exact location. That's likely because those disciples of Jesus who were fishermen had all manner of favorite spots up and down the shore. They chose to go to one of those, but they didn't text the crowd to let them know where they were going.

This last February, I had the privilege of visiting the Sea Galilee with Esther. Now it isn’t a “Sea” exactly. It is a large-ish freshwater lake, only ten kilometers across. And the other side is easily visible. So if a vessel were coming across the lake, people would notice it a long ways out. With a bit of observation, they could even estimate where it was going. And then, they could connect with the boat simply by hiking along the shore to meet it. And so in our text this morning, the crowd is waiting for Jesus -- a crowd that had devoted a chunk of their day to track him across the lake, and perhaps even walked a ways in order to make that connection.

But here we find our first principle this morning: If we would like Jesus to act on our behalf, we do well to make some effort to connect with him. Now that might sound obvious. But I’ve encountered far too many people who seem to think that they can snap their fingers and Jesus will be at their beck and call. Of course, when he isn’t, they then use that as an excuse to conclude that he doesn’t care, or doesn’t exist, or something equally absurd. If we would like Jesus to act on our behalf, we may need to invest some time and effort.

Now each of you here invested some time and effort to come out to church this morning. But did you come here to meet Jesus? Are you expecting him this morning? Did you know that he was going to be here this morning? As you likely remember, Jesus said, “where two or three gather in my name,” said Jesus, “there am I among them.” Well, we've covered the "two or three" part. But what about gathering in Jesus' name? I pray we do. Of course, Jesus warns us not to claim that we are doing things in his name when we really are not. But scripture gives us enough clues to understand that doing things in Jesus name means operating in the will of God and trusting Jesus. Now I know that many here this morning desire to do God’s will. And I know that many here this morning are also trusting in Jesus to do all that he has promised for us. So I'm going out on a limb this morning to claim that we do, indeed, have two or three gathered in Jesus' name, which means that -- according to Jesus’ words, that will never pass away -- that he is here among us now.

What makes us so special? Nothing. We are broken; we are tired; we are sinful. But the good news this morning is that Jesus makes it his signature behavior to look after the broken, and the tired, and the sinful. He binds up the brokenhearted. He heals the sick. He sets the captives free. And “he is here among us.”

But back to our text. We read:

Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came and fell at Jesus’ feet. 

Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet in an expression of humility and honor. Humbling himself, and giving honor to the one at whose feet he fell. And here we find our second principle this morning: if we would like Jesus to act on our behalf, it is highly recommended that we approach him with an appropriate attitude. Now this one, too, should be obvious. But once again, I’ve encountered far too many Christians who seem to pray as if they can boss God around. Jesus is the Lord of Creation and the King of Glory. We need to remember that when we approach him. Sure: the Bible encourages us to approach the Throne of Grace with confidence. But there is an important difference between confidence and arrogance.

On Thursday mornings, T. and I (with E., when she is in town) like to go to La Corde to make sure those students get some breakfast. I’m there to feed and to bless and to love and to take care of those dear children. And while those children can always approach me with confidence, I don’t tend to respond well when they try to order me around. Now God is much more gracious than I am, but I strongly suspect that there are attitudes that keep God from showing up when we would like him to. If we would like Jesus to act on our behalf, we, too, should approach him with an appropriate attitude. Let’s read on:

Jairus, a synagogue leader, 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.

Yes, this man was desperate. But desperation isn’t one of our principles this morning. It doesn’t hurt, of course. But it is tragic that so many people wait until they are desperate before responding to Jesus. Or let's say the same thing in different words: it is such a shame that so few people are aware of just how desperate their situation is without Jesus. As Paul writes (in Ephesians 2:12), “[those who are] separate from Christ…[are]... without hope and without God in the world.”

In any event, at this stage in the story, the scene changes abruptly. In spite of this man’s desperation, Jesus becomes distracted. Back to our text:

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him.  And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.  She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
“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.”
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...

Now this represents a remarkable encounter in its own right, and well worth its own sermon, but today we need to call attention to a few details -- especially in light of the law of Moses as it was understood and practiced in Jesus’ day. You see, an open wound or bleeding that wouldn’t stop -- as this woman was experiencing -- would have made this woman “unclean” according to the law. And we need to understand just how big a deal being “unclean” was to a Synagogue leader like Jairus. Here is how Leviticus puts it (15:25-27).

When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. 

And we see the implications of being “unclean” explicitly in the following two verses:

Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean... and anything she sits on will be unclean.... Anyone who touches them will be unclean.

Naturally, this woman wanted to be as subtle as possible about touching Jesus’ clothing; she wanted, in fact, to go entirely unnoticed! -- because religious men didn’t take particularly kindly to strangers making them unclean! But the fascinating thing about the entire encounter is that Jesus isn’t at all interested in the secrecy that this woman is trying so desperately to maintain. He seems to want everyone in the crowd to know that this woman has touched him. And he also seems to want everyone in the crowd to know exactly why she touched him. We read in Luke 8:47 that she explained why she touched him in the presence of all the people.

So everyone would know. She was unclean. She touched Jesus. That means, according to the law of Moses -- the same law that leaders of Synagogues went to great lengths to follow to the letter, and then some -- that Jesus was unclean. Now that’s inconvenient. Leaders of Synagogues would never let an unclean person into their home. Everyone in the crowd would have known that. And this particular leader of the Synagogue was urging Jesus to hurry in order to enter his home to heal his daughter.

Can you feel the tension? Can you sense the drama? Jairus was exercising remarkable restraint throughout this entire distracting episode. We could hardly blame him for becoming increasingly agitated throughout the process. His beloved daughter was dying. Notice that at this stage in the game, only Jesus and the woman are aware that she has been healed. But before we go on, we need to call out our third principle: if we would like Jesus to act on our behalf, it is highly recommended that we be gracious with others who are equally in need of Jesus’ attention.

Now this one isn’t nearly so obvious as the previous two principles. Just to remind you, they were: 1) put some work in and 2) adopt an appropriate attitude. But now, we also need to be willing to let Jesus reach out to others. Even in ways which are inconvenient or awkward or bothersome. In other words, we need to get over the common difficulty that many Christians have with… other Christians. Did you know that there are actually some Christians who voted for Donald Trump? Did you know that there are actually some Christians who voted for Hillary Clinton? For some people, issues like that are huge. But as big as they are, I’m afraid that being ceremonially unclean in Jesus’ day was much bigger.

This was a test of faith for Jairus. And I wonder how many similar tests of faith we encounter on a regular basis. Jesus is reaching out to all manner of people that we might be inclined to disapprove of. Whether we disapprove of people’s politics, or lifestyle, or theology, or forms of worship, or choice of Bible translation, we need to be able to pass these tests. And that means permitting Jesus to minister to them -- even if it might make us feel uncomfortable.

When we encounter someone who troubles us, and we think that it could be a test of faith for us, are we focused on being right or are we focused on being compassionate? Are we focused on the law or are we focused on grace. In our story today, the grace that Jairus showed toward a very troublesome and inconvenient interruption might well have been a key ingredient in the result to follow.

This was a test of faith for Jairus. Would he pull rank? Many people in the crowd would have been appalled that Jesus would delay his visit to this important Synagogue leaders’ house for the sake of a poor, miserable, outcast woman. But Jairus keeps his cool, and good thing, too. I'm so glad that he represents an example for us this morning. When God operates in ways that aren’t according to our agenda or timing, we would do well to recognize the ways in which He is caring for others of His beloved children. If we would like Jesus to act on our behalf, we would do well to be patient with interruptions, trouble and even inconvenience.

But now, in the instant that it was revealed that Jesus was ceremonially unclean -- or was he? -- poor Jairus is pushed to even greater limits. Two things happen in quick succession, and both would have certainly increased his emotional turmoil. First, let’s go back and finish the previous story:

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.”

Hello! Now for the first time, Jairus gets a glimpse of why Jesus might have chosen to stop, and delay his progress. In this moment, Jairus would have reason to rethink everything he had ever been taught about being “unclean.” Instead of the touch between Jesus and this woman causing Jesus to become “unclean”, that touch seems to have caused the woman to become whole by the power of Jesus.

And I love this detail, a detail that would not have been lost on Jairus: Jesus addresses this woman as “daughter.” Jairus wanted Jesus to have compassion on his daughter. Jesus wanted Jairus to have compassion on all of the children of God -- even compassion that came at considerable personal cost to him. But even before Jairus has the time to process all of this, we read:

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” 

Can you imagine? What a heartbreak! I don’t know about you, but whenever I experience disaster, I scan the past, thinking about all the “what if?s” Putting myself in this poor man’s shoes, I’m sure that in that moment I would be estimating how much time Jesus had been distracted, and be comparing it to how much time was needed to make it home. After all, this woman had been suffering for a long while -- surely another twenty minutes or so wouldn’t kill her. Why couldn’t Jesus have looked after her once he had healed my daughter? But as we see from our text, Jesus is aware that Jairus is finding it all too much to handle. (v50)

Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Believe? Believe in what? Believe in Jesus, of course. Jesus is saying, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” And trust in Jesus, Jairus did. And that, of course, is our fourth principle this morning: we must trust him, even when things seem particularly dire. And this is the difficult principle, of course. It is so easy, especially in our day and age, to put our trust in our government, or in technology, or in our employment, or in our family, or in our circle of friends. Now none of those things are bad, necessarily. But in each case, there will come a time when their claims will come into conflict with the claims of Jesus -- and that is going to be when it makes all the difference.

So let’s review. If we would like Jesus to act on our behalf, we do well to put in some work, to approach him with the right attitude, to be patient with interruptions, and we do well to trust in Jesus fully. Now let’s read to the end of our text:

When [Jesus] 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. 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. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Now this is the result that Jairus was begging for. But it didn’t exactly happen in the way that Jairus anticipated. Far from it. It was more difficult -- much more difficult -- but it was also much more glorious. Healings had taken place in the past, but here was someone with the power to raise the dead.

The crowd would have been tempted to consider Jesus to have been unclean. But on the other hand, the crowd would have been sympathetic if Jesus refused to touch a dead body (which was also considered “unclean”). In either case, Jesus would have been kept from performing this miracle of compassion and of power. But Jesus shattered both of these expectations, as he continues to shatter expectations today. I wonder how often Jesus is only limited by our refusal to give him the opportunity to act. It is like Jesus’ experience in his hometown, about which we read (Matthew 15:38):

he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. 

But our four principles are simply expressions of faith, aren't they: If we have faith in Jesus, we will put in some Work; we will approach him with an appropriate Attitude; we will be patient with Interruptions -- letting him follow his own agenda and timing; and we will Trust in him fully. But embedded in these four principles, there is an important message: “WAIT”. This is a word that both helps us remember our principles, but it also represents a final principle. And scripture tells us that there is a blessing built into following this one:

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

There may be many things on your mind this morning. There may be many things weighing you down or breaking your heart. I don't know what they could be. But to you, Jesus is saying, “don’t be afraid. just trust me." "Just believe.” Believe that Jesus is here, among us, just as he promised that he would be. Believe that the one who has the power to raise the dead also has the power to provide what we need. But you may also need to believe that Jesus’ method and timing might very well push you to your limits, as it did to Jairus.

Psalm 27:14 gives us this challenge:

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

This is my testimony this morning. May everyone here come to experience it as well.