Trusting the One Who Is Able

Luke 8:40-56 - Riley Boggs

Preaching is a lot more like tea than it is instant coffee. When you come and hear the preaching of God’s Word, everything doesn’t happen instantaneously. You don’t hear a sermon and immediately have the most faith, no doubts, and all the knowledge that there is to have about the Word. It’s not like instant coffee, where you get some water, open the pack, pour it in, and voila, you’ve done it. That’s not just how preaching works and it’s not how it is intended to work. By the way, if you don’t know what instant coffee is, then good for you. If you do know what it is and you choose to drink it, as your brother in Christ, let me remind you that you don’t have to do that. You have been saved from your old ways and can walk in the newness of the Lord by drinking much better coffee than instant coffee.

Preaching is much more like tea. If you only steep a tea bag for 20 seconds, what will you have? You’ll have weak tea. You’ll have tea that shows evidence of having not been steeped long enough. So it is with us and the hearing of God’s Word. When you show up here on a Sunday morning and hear God’s Word preached, you are simply letting the tea bag steep a little longer. As the weeks go by, and you continue to hear the Word, that time starts to accumulate. The Word begins to saturate more and more, growing in its fullness and richness. Not all at once, but slowly. Maybe even so slow that you don’t even realize at times. And eventually, what you’ll find is that you have grown in your faith and knowledge far more than you realized. That is the beauty of preaching and that is the way God designed it to be. We don’t have the capacity to understand and apply everything we hear each Sunday. But by God’s grace and the Spirit in us, we are steeped in the Word a bit more each week.

The reason I say that is because this morning we find ourselves in a text that is likely familiar to many of us. I’m not sure why, but this passage seems to be one of the passages I’ve heard preached the most in my life. I heard Ray preach this text before we were sent out from Coral Hill, I heard Lee preach this text before we were sent out from Cornerstone, and I heard this text preached just a month or so ago at the Kentucky Baptist Convention. And that’s just in the past few years. This is a commonly preached text and the points that I intend to bring out of this passage aren’t revolutionary. You probably aren’t going to hear anything I say this morning and think, “Now that is something I’ve never considered”. So what I want us to remember as we approach this text is that God has brought us here not to have this radical experience where everything in our life changes. Maybe that is the case for someone here, who am I to say. But, for the majority of us, this is simply a time to steep in God’s Word a little longer so that the truths we find right here in this passage might take further root in our hearts and minds.

Last week we looked at Jesus casting the many demons out of the man in the country of the Gerasenes. Not only did He cast out the demons that had been tormenting him, but He also clothed Him and restored him to the community. Jesus healed that man. And in response to this wonderful act of mercy, the people told Jesus to get out of town. Rather than welcoming Him in, they pushed Him away, and Jesus granted their request. He told the man that He had healed to go and tell that God had done for him, He got in the boat, and He left.

Now, in our text this morning, we see Him arrive back from the country of the Gerasenes, and in a stark contrast to the people who had just pushed Him away, these people welcome Him in; they had been waiting for Him. And as Jesus gets out of the boat and starts making His way, a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue, runs up to Him. The man comes up to Jesus, falls at His feet, and begins to beg Jesus to come to his house, where his only daughter was dying. Jesus hears this and agrees to go to Jairus house, and they begin to make their way there, but something happens along the way. This story of Jairus’ daughter is interrupted by a woman who was sick. You can see it in verse 43. There was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for 12 years. She had spent all her money going to see doctors to try and find a cure, but had been unsuccessful. No one could heal here.

And as Jesus is walking to the house and the crowd is pressing in around Him, this woman comes up behind Him and touches the fringe of His garment. When she does this, Luke tells us that immediately she was healed. But then Jesus stops, begins to look around, and ask, “Who was it that touched me?” No one spoke up, they all just sort of stood there, maybe a bit confused as to what Jesus meant. So Peter speaks up and says, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” In other words, everyone is touching you Jesus. You are in the middle of a big crowd of people pressing to be near you. It's like exiting a concert or a sporting event where everyone is kind of bumping shoulders. The question seems like it shouldn’t be “Who touched me?” but rather “Who hasn’t touched me?”

But Jesus meant something different by this question. We see that clearly in verse 46 where Jesus says, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” The woman hears this and realizes that there is no way out of this. Jesus isn’t going to move on, she has to confess that it was her. So she comes up to Jesus trembling, falls before Him, and tells Jesus that it was her who has touched Him. She tells Him why had done it, for she wanted to be healed. We know from Mark’s Gospel that she believed that if she were able to only touch the fringe of His garment, she would be healed, and she was right, so she told Jesus all of this. Jesus hears all of this, looks at her, and says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Now we can be tempted to be so captivated by this story of this woman being healed in such an amazing way that we forget that this is happening in the middle of another story taking place. Remember, Jesus was on His way to heal a little girl who was dying. And as He is still speaking someone from Jairus’ house comes up Jarius, who is still with Jesus, and says “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” Had Jesus spent too long healing this woman that He is too late to save this little girl? Of course not. Jesus hears this and says, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well”, and they start towards the house.

Eventually they get to the house and Jesus goes into the house, only allowing Peter, John, James, and the girl’s parents in with Him. And there were many people weeping and mourning, and Jesus told them, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” When they hear this, they laugh at Jesus, because they know that she really is dead. Then Jesus goes up the girl, takes her hand, and says, “Child, arise.” And Luke writes that immediately her spirit returned, and she got up. Jesus told some people to get her something to eat while her parents stood there in amazement. Then, He turned to them and charged them to tell no one what had happened.

I think there are 2 things that Luke is showing us about who Jesus here in this passage. The first one is this.

1.) Jesus has power over sickness

I’ve continually tried to remind us of the purpose that Luke is trying to accomplish by writing this Gospel which he tells us himself back in the first chapter. He says that he is writing these things so that we might be certain concerning the things that you have been taught. In other words, Luke is including certain stories and accounts so that when we read them, we walk away with confidence about who Jesus is. 2 weeks ago Luke included a story that showed us Jesus’ power over the winds and sea when He calmed the storm on the boat with the disciples. Last week he included a story where we saw Jesus display His power over the demons when He casts the out of the man and into the pigs. Now, Luke incudes a story where Jesus puts His power over sickness on display by healing the woman who had a discharge of blood for 12 years. We’re supposed to read this story and grow in our confidence concerning Jesus authority over sickness.

And it seems that this woman in the story had some of this confidence, at least enough confidence to go to Jesus to be healed. As I mentioned, Luke doesn’t include it in his account, but in Mark’s Gospel he includes that this woman had heard reports about Jesus healing. And even further that she was convinced that if she just touched the fringe of his garment, she would be healed. She was right. That is all it took.

That much of the story is pretty clear, but I do think there is a question that we have to ask of this text to really understand it. Why does Jesus call her out like this? After she is healed by the touch, why does He stop everyone and wait for her to reveal herself to be the one who did it? Couldn’t He have just gone on? Well, I think the reason is this. I think Jesus is doing this so that this woman might be restored to the community. Because of this woman’s sickness, she was considered unclean. And like the man who was filled with demons last week, this woman would have been considered an outsider. She would have been isolated and pushed away from the community. Jesus knew this and it’s why he makes sure everyone knows what has just happened to her.

When she touched Jesus garment and was healed, He could have just kept walking and let the woman go, but He wanted more for her. He not only wanted her to be physically healed, but He wanted her to be restored to the community. He wanted everyone there to see this woman and hear Jesus say to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” No longer would she suffer like she has for over a decade. She has been healed and restored right there in front of everyone. Such a clear picture of the grace and kindness of our Lord.

This is such an amazing picture of the Lord’s power over sickness. Doctor after doctor had shrugged their shoulders at this woman, they had nothing for her. It did not matter how much money she spent or how much she tried, healing was not any closer. But then, by simply placing her faith in Jesus, the sickness fled. I want to apply this more, but I need to make 1 more point before we do that. The next point is this.

2.) Jesus has power over death

I have a crystal-clear memory of the first time I shot a rabbit with my pellet gun. I was probably 10 years old walking around in our backyard with my pellet gun in hand, feeling really cool I’m sure. And as I was walking around looking for something to shoot, I spotted a rabbit just on the other side of this wire fence, right on the edge of the woods. I hadn’t ever shot anything like this before, but that was about to change. I raised the gun to my eye and put the rabbit in my sights. What happened next, I’ll never forget. I pulled the trigger and immediately this rabbit did a full backflip. I had shot this rabbit, and it literally did a backflip. I ran over to the fence, looked across, and saw the rabbit laying there with seemingly no marks on it. And as I kept looking at this rabbit, I regretted everything and was just hoping that the rabbit would get up and just hop away. Maybe I had just scared it or maybe it’s sleeping I thought. I was wrong. I had killed the easter bunny.

In all seriousness, I thought of that story as I studied our text for this week. When Jesus gets to Jairus’ house after being told that the little girl had died and He tells everyone to stop weeping because she isn’t dead, just asleep, I’m sure they all thought Jesus was thinking what I was thinking on the day I shot the rabbit. They probably thought, “He’s just denying the truth of the situation. You can hope and have wishful thinking all you want, but there’s nothing that is going to change the reality. This little girl isn’t sleeping, she has died.” In fact, we know that they are thinking this because when Jesus says this, they all just laugh at Him.

Man, I would have loved to see their faces when that little girl walks out of the room. See they were right about one thing, this girl had really died. And when Jesus says that she is sleeping He doesn’t mean this literally. What He means is that it is like she is sleeping, because He is about to wake her up. He takes her hand, tells her to arise, and what does Luke say happens? Her Spirit returns. Listen, your Spirit does not depart you unless you have actually died. This girl has died, her Spirit had gone. But Jesus, showing His power over death itself, causes her Spirit to return and for this girl to raise from the dead.

Jesus has power over not just sickness, but over death. He demonstrates that here, but then He tells all who were there to not tell anyone what happened. Why? Because Jesus isn’t finished displaying His power over death. He has come to put to death, death itself. In not too long He is going to die, be buried for 3 days, and raise again to show the world His power over death. This is just a glimpse, a foreshadow of what is to come, and He wants to keep things in order until then. He has not come just to deliver those who are presently dying from death, but to grant eternal life for all who would place their faith in Him. Jesus has power over death itself.

I want to stop here for moment and simply remind you that nothing in this story is happenstance. Though it might seem like the woman with the issue of blood was a hindrance to Jesus saving the little girl at first, as you continue you reading, it becomes clear that it all happened exactly as God intended, and that’s the case with this whole story. Theirs is nothing accidental, it is all intentional. That’s important for us to remember as we begin to apply this text to our own lives. Because, if we’re honest, as we have worked through this text, some of us might have tempted to think things like, “Well, if Jesus heals, why hasn’t He healed me? If He has power over sickness, why am I sick? Why is this person or that person still sick? Why aren’t they healed? Or maybe we might be tempted ask, “If Jesus can raise this little girl from the dead, why did He allow my loved one to die?” We see Jesus do these amazing things and we think, “Why not me Lord?” If that’s you, I want you to remember that God is sovereign over every aspect of your life, and no matter what your circumstances might be, you can and should trust Jesus. That is the final point I want us to see this morning,          

3.) We must trust Jesus even when our circumstances tell us not to

4,379 days. That’s how many days that this woman suffered with the issue of blood. We only see the one day she healed. And the danger of only seeing this one day is beginning to think that this day is how our everyday should be. We think that if God is really for us and He really cares for us, then healing should come immediately. But that isn’t the whole picture, it’s only a day. The reality is that God was orchestrating all things in her life for her good and for His glory. That doesn’t mean her suffering was easy, I’m sure it was incredibly difficult, but what it does is mean is that it was not in vain.

For us, it is easy to trust what Jesus has said when our circumstances seem to be trending the right way. When things are working out for you and seemingly getting better and better. When prosperity comes and days of rest seem plenty. In those times it can be easy to believe that Jesus is working out all things for our good. But in the days where our circumstances seem to be trending the other way we are tempted to begin to lose trust. When things aren’t working out, but suffering seems to be behind every corner. When your deficiencies seem to be the theme of your life. In those days we begin to doubt what Jesus has said.

When Jesus gets to Jairus’ house and tells everyone to stop weeping, they look at Jesus and laugh. Why? Because their circumstances are telling them to not listen to what Jesus has to say. They see that the girl has died, and think, “how Jesus is sitting here telling me that it’s all going to be okay?” They don’t believe, they don’t trust, because their circumstances are telling them not to. Don’t be the one who laughs at the promises of God. Don’t be the one who finds it absurd to believe that God would love you and care for you despite the fact that you are in a hard season of life. It’s so easy to get blinded by everything that is around us to the point where we lose sight of what God has said altogether. You can trust everything He has said, no matter what the situation looks like.

I think, in our society, there are 2 groups of people we have lost trust in, the government and the weathermen. We distrust the government for obvious reason I won’t go into, but why do we distrust those who tell us whether or not it’s going to rain? Well because they’ve been wrong before and so they’ve lost a bit of credibility with us. Imagine you want to go for a walk, but you want to check the weather first. So, you turn on the weather and the person on the TV says, “It is not going to rain today. There is a 0% chance of rain.” You hear that, but then you walk to the window, and it seems like there are clouds rolling in, in fact they look just like rain clouds. If that happens, are you going to go for a walk with absolute confidence that there will be no rain? No, you’re going to doubt what the weatherman said. You might not go on a walk, maybe take a rain jacket or an umbrella. You’re going to prepare for the rain even though the weatherman said it wouldn’t. Why? Because he could be wrong.

You know, you never have to do that with what Jesus has said. You never have to take a guess on whether or not what He said will come to pass. You never have to have a backup plan or prepare just in case. It doesn’t matter what your situation looks like. What Jesus has said of you and has promised to you is true. He knows your situation, and He cares about you. You can trust Him no matter what it looks like outside!

Consider that in our story this morning there is a woman who was considered ceremonially unclean and the daughter of a man who was a ruler of the synagogue. The woman was an outcast because of her condition, the family was well-known and respected. The woman had been suffering for 12 years, the daughter was only 12 years old. And both of them needed the Lord’s intervention. The woman needed to be healed and restored, the daughter needed to be revived. Jesus accomplished all of it. In time, in the way that He saw fit, Jesus delivered them both. He called the woman a daughter and told the child to arise. Jesus knew both of their situation and delivered them. One from sickness and one from death.

For all of us here today, both of things, sickness and death, are going to happen to us unless the Lord returns before then. We are going to get sick, and we are going to die. And I can’t stand here and tell you that the Lord is going to deliver you from those things in this life when they come, because He might not. But what I can tell you is that you can trust Him regardless. No matter what your circumstances are telling you, you can trust Him. You can trust that He loves you, that He is bringing about whatever it is for your ultimate good. You can trust that one day, if you place your faith in Him, all sickness and death will be behind you. And that’s because on the Jesus died for us. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross, bearing our sin and the punishment of our sin, and resurrected 3 days later conquering sin and death once and for all. He did all of this not because we deserved it, but because He loves us. We can trust Jesus, fully. Let’s be a people who trust Him in all things. Amen.