6/30 Sermon - Don’t Be Afraid, Just Believe
Mark 5:21-42
One evening your 12 year old child or grandchild tells you, “Mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, my head hurts.” A little concerned, you give them some Tylenol and send them to bed. The next morning you wake up and it’s your nightmare. A 103° fever burns their forehead, they’re half conscious, paler than the grave. What do you do? Drive as fast as you can to the hospital.
Jairus was there. His little daughter was dying. Not sick. Dying! All the memories of her life were flashing before his eyes: Her first steps, her first words, her laughter. All the memories that he might never see: her marriage, her children, her growing into an adult. Jairus was wealthy. No doubt he tried to bring in doctors. But they didn’t help. His little girl was burning, dying, her life slipping away between his fingers like sand. He would never even get to hold her again.
But he had heard gossip about a miracle worker, a man named Jesus who could heal. And he was close! So Jairus runs as fast as he can to find Jesus.
Jairus tracks Jesus down, runs to him, falls on his knees, and begs Jesus, “Please, come and save my daughter, my little girl.”
So, Jesus goes with him.
But he’s too late. On their way back, a messenger comes and tells Jairus, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?”
What if that was you? What despair, what terror would be in your heart? Your little daughter, you granddaughter, dead. Gone. You would never again hold her, laugh with her, play with her. How much pain would that cause our hearts?
Death, and the fear of death, is everywhere. Death is kind of like the elephant in the room, isn’t it? 3 of my 4 grandparents are gone. One spouse will always die first. For many, a child or grandchild will die or has died before they do. We all probably know friends or family would have died. We’re afraid of the pain those losses will cause us. And we know that eventually it will happen to us as well. Despair and fear fill out hearts.
What does Jesus say? Don’t be afraid. Just believe. Whenever we feel the fear of death, the despair of death, listen to Jesus’ words, Don’t be afraid, just believe. And Jesus gives us two big reasons why we believe in him.
1. Don’t be afraid, just believe, for death has been changed to sleep. Jesus walks into Jairus’ house, and what does he see? Professional mourners, people paid to cry. They’re wailing, weeping, and acting with anguish. And Jesus says one simple sentence. She is not dead, but asleep. You can almost see the ridicule in their faces, then they laugh. But Jesus has no time for that. He throws them out.
Through Jesus, that’s our reality. Death has been changed. It’s just sleep. When I die, someday I’ll wake up again. When you die, you’ll wake up again. When a loved one who believes in Christ dies, they’re just taking a nap. They’ wake up again. How? Through Jesus.
2. Don’t be afraid, just believe, for Jesus will raise us from the dead. Jesus took Peter, James, and John. He took the parents. He marched into the back room of the house. And there lay the dead girl. Cold. Stiff. Rigor mortis had set in. Her eyes had no life. No breadth. Jesus took her hand, and said two words, “Talitha Koum,” Which means, little girl, get up. And she got up.
Jesus conquered death. He rose from the grave and lives forever. Jesus holds power over death. Someday, he will say to you, “Get up.” He will say to every one who trust in Jesus, “Get up.” And we’ll get up. We’ll rise and live forever in heaven. What happened to Jesus, what happened to the girl, will happen to you.
The world has no time for Jesus. We see two big reactions by the world here in our reading. Laughter. People hear the message of life through Jesus and they laugh, ridicule it. “What foolishness,” they say. And maybe we think that. In our hearts, we laugh. “Is that really what I believe? It seems so foolish.” Or dismissal. “Why bother the teacher any longer?” What good could Jesus or God’s Word possibly do for me? And we even can think, “What good will it do? Why bother God? He can’t really help me…”
Our death is terrifying. The thought of losing someone close to us is horrible. There is so much fear. But Jesus gives us hope. He even gives us joy! We will see every single person who dies in Christ again. Don’t be afraid, just believe. In Jesus, death is only a sleep. And Jesus will someday say to us, “Get up,” and we will rise and live forever.
