Jump Start # 3373

Mark 5:41 “And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, ‘Talitha Kum!’ (which translated means, ‘Little girl, I say to you arise’).”

Our verse comes from the raising of Jairus’ twelve year old daughter. She was dying. Her father, a synagogue official, came to Jesus and before others, bowed. That took immense courage and faith. Most synagogue officials didn’t like Jesus. They didn’t like Jesus healing on the Sabbath day. But, for Jairus, he no longer cared about status, reputation, or what others thought or said. His daughter was dying and Jesus was his only hope.

And, as the story unfolds, Jesus is hurrying on to Jarius’ home when a woman with an issue of blood touches the Lord. She is healed. A conversation takes place. And, then word comes, the little girl has died. Jesus was too late. All hope is gone. Tears fill the air. A crushed father is helpless. The Lord says, “Believe.” On to the home they go. Everyone is ordered out except for the parents and three of the disciples. This is where our verse is found. She opens her eyes. There is Jesus.

Nothing is said about what she saw on the other side. Today, I thought about Jimi Barber. He was executed by the state of Alabama for his crimes he committed. Forgiven, there are still consequences. Executed, yet saved by the blood of Jesus. He was Heaven bound. Young in faith, Jimi had the hopes of Heaven. He closed his eyes here and opened them on the other side. What he must be seeing today. What joy and love he must be experiencing today.

My dear friend, Chuck Durham came and spoke to our congregation recently in our summer series. I told Chuck about Jimi. Showed him a letter that Jimi had written to the church. Chuck immediately connected to Jimi, like I have. I want to share with you the wonderful words that Chuck wrote to Jimi.

  “I sit here crying tears. Tears of joy and of sadness. Jimi helped me today to renew vigor. To think better. To want Heaven more.

  The tears of joy are for his words: ‘They can’t take Heaven from me.’ There will be two on the other side waiting for him. The Lord who will stand by the throne when the chemicals start flowing into his veins. And a thief…a thief who knows what true grace and mercy look like when everything has failed.

  The tears of sadness are for me who walks around in freedom and yet has let the trials of life, the pettiness of brethren’s actions…let myself be dragged down. I have been in prison. Jimi helped set my mind free. Really…Jimi’s Lord and mine freed us.

  John the baptist heard the boots of soldiers coming for him. He never let himself be offended because of his Lord and therefore was blessed.

  They took Paul outside Rome, to a place of execution. As he bowed his head to receive the blow…struck down, but not destroyed…he knew the Lord held a crown to place upon his head saying: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joys of your Lord!’

  And when the weight of all the sins of mankind wracked His mortal body; when He and the Father were ready…He dismissed His mortal life with a shout, a cry to all of Heaven and the depths of Hades…’It is finished!’ – and bowing His head that His spirit might be received into His Father’s hands—the legions of angels looking down from Heaven riveted with attention– all was made right, restored, set free, given life abundantly.

  Thank you, Jimi! That you for renewing my desire for Heaven! I will pray this day and that day for you. Please pray for me.

  The sweetest words of all– Brother! You are my brother!”

Signed,  Chuck Durham

Jimi’s last words he wrote to me were, “On July 21st I will be in a better place. Don’t be sad or hang your heads down. No. Look up, because when I get there I’m going to leave a light on for you all. I love you so much.

Signed, Jimi.

Jairus’ daughter opened her eyes and there was Jesus. She opened her eyes and I expect she saw a smiling Jesus looking right into her eyes.

Someday soon, we will close our eyes here for the last time. When we open them, we will see the face of Jesus, smiling, welcoming us to Him. Heaven holds all to me!

God is good.

Roger

Jump Start # 2874

  Mark 5:41 “And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, ‘Talitha kum!” (which translated means, ‘Little girl, I say to you arise!”).

I was at a funeral the other day. The dear soul that passed away was in his high 80’s. He had a long legacy of faithfulness and goodness in the Lord. It was a treasure to see a spiritual family honor one of God’s children. The casket was open. The preacher was doing a fine job highlighting the steps of faithfulness that this grand soldier of the cross had taken. As I listened and as I watched the thought came to be about resurrections. Our verse today is one of the N.T. resurrections.

I had never thought about this before, but have you ever considered the ages of the people raised from the dead. Here in our verse, the girl was twelve years old. In Luke, Jesus interrupted a funeral procession. A widow was burying her only son. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you arise.” There we have it again, “young man.” Then there was Lazarus. We are not told how old he was. Somehow I just assumed and imagined that he was likely around the age of Jesus, probably in his 30’s. The person who fell out of the window and was raised to life by Paul was a young man. Elisha raised a boy from the dead. The one exception may be Dorcas, raised by Peter. There is no indication of how old she was.

Why mostly if not completely young people? Why were there no 80 year-olds raised? Now I can build some reasons why I think only young people, but the Bible doesn’t say. Even though my arguments might make sense, especially to me, they stand upon my suppositions and not the word of God.

So, here are some thoughts running through all of this:

First, it is imperative that one allows the Bible to speak for itself. Don’t be reading between the lines. Don’t be making things up based upon how you feel or see things. Don’t be speaking for God. Deuteronomy tells us that the secret things belong to God. Whole systems of ideas and faiths can be built upon our imaginations and not the word of God. When I was in college I had some studies with the cultic group Moonies. In their writings, they concluded that the “forbidden fruit” that Adam and Eve ate was sexual sin. Their basis was because God covered them with animal skins, covering up the areas of sin. I remember asking one of the Moonies, “Weren’t they married? How could they commit sexual sin when there was no one else around?” He didn’t know.

Second, it is also easy to connect dots that were never intended to be connected. Jesus raising young people wasn’t a detailed plan discussed and implemented ahead of time. I see this as being more coincidence that designed. Few things disturb us more than a hurting child. A parent would rather take a bullet than let their child suffer. Raising these young dead would fill the hearts of many with faith. The purpose of miracles wasn’t to eliminate death. If it was, then Jesus failed. The purpose was to point to the absolute authority of Christ. The devil’s greatest power is death. Jesus destroyed that. Jesus could talk to the dead and they heard and came forth.

Not every N.T. thought is connected to an O.T. image. Some are. Many are. But not all of them. We must remember that the Gentiles would not have known the O.T. Building powerful bridges from the O.T. to the N.T. is great, if the bridges are supposed to be there. Sometimes, on this side of the cross, we understand things that others on that side would not have seen.

Third, false conclusions can be manufactured from assumptions we make. If we see that only young people were raised from the dead, then one can wrongly assume, “God doesn’t care about the life of an old person.” Live or die, God won’t help an old person. As silly and off as that sounds, one ought to read what is found in many religious books these days. Wild ideas about people dying and coming back, Jesus talking directly to people, and signs, just as visible as Gideon’s being used today. How can people believe this stuff? They have just enough Bible to make them dangerous but not enough to make a difference. Our conclusions must be consistent with the rest of what the Bible teaches.

Finally, the Bible teaches and reads the same for all of us. You don’t have your view and I have my view and we both are right. That doesn’t happen in school, sports or life and especially with the Lord. The truths taught in the first century remain the same truths today. Culture and customs have changed, but truth doesn’t. What God expects remains the same today.

Resurrections—someday we’ll be raised. What a grand day that will be. Build your faith and wrap your trust around what you know from God’s word. It is that word that will change your life and make all the difference in the world.

Roger

Jump Start # 2213

Mark 5:41 “And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, ‘Talitha kum!’ (which translated means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’)”

This morning I preach a funeral of a friend. He was a legend and a hero. His name won’t be mentioned on CNN or Fox News. Outside of our community many did not know him. But among the band of disciples in this area, he was a giant. A leader who spoke with kindness and gentleness and assurance. I enjoyed our time together.

Our verse comes to my mind today. I hope to use it today. Here, the Lord was hurrying to the home of Jairus, a synagogue official. His twelve year old girl was dying. That’s not normal. That’s not the way things are supposed to be. Twelve year olds are supposed to be playing outside. They are supposed to be learning how to bake and cook from their mothers. They are supposed to be full of dreams and hope and life. But for this twelve year old, her life was slipping away.

Her dad, Jairus, the synagogue official, approached Jesus and bowed before Him. He begged for Jesus to come to his home. This took place not in a back classroom, nor in a secluded place. But before a multitude. Mark says a “great” multitude. How difficult this must have been for Jairus. Synagogue officials had a track record of not liking Jesus. They often got angry with Jesus because he healed on the Sabbath in their synagogues. The pressure against Jesus was mounting from priests and synagogue officials.

But things were different. A little girl was dying. Not just any girl, it was Jairus’ daughter. Who cares what people think. Who cares what they might whisper. Who cares what is told back to the priests. His daughter was dying and he came before everyone and bowing before Jesus, he begged the Lord to come. He spoke words of faith. The cover was removed. He revealed himself. He showed all of his cards. He knew and he stated, if You will lay Your hands upon her, Jesus, she will get well. He believed that. He believed Jesus could do that. No one else could do this. The clock was ticking. The girl was dying. He was out of options and just about out of hope. His only hope was to bring Jesus. Boy, the neighbors will talk. His status may fall. He could even lose his job as an official. But at this moment, who cares. Save my daughter is all that he cares about.

After an encounter with the woman with an issue of blood and hearing her story, the report comes, the girl has died. Jesus took too long. It’s too late. The servants declared, “why bother the teacher any more?” There’s no need for Jesus now. He missed it. It’s too late. Even Jesus can’t do anything now. But Jesus comes. He runs everyone out of the house except for the mother, father and Peter, James and John.

This is where our verse comes. Jesus speaks and something wonderful happens.

Notice a few things:

First, Mark gives us the exact words of Jesus. They are “talitha kum.” Those are Aramaic words. The audience Mark is writing to knows Greek. With these words, Mark gives us the translation. The text states, “which translated means, Little girl, I say to you, arise.” It is interesting that two Aramaic words become seven Greek words. Translations are like that.

Second, the little girl heard Jesus. Everyone in that room heard Jesus, but what was most important was that the dead girl heard Jesus. His authority transcends his world and this life. He commands all of life, everywhere. He spoke and she heard.

Third, she obeyed. Jesus told her to arise. The next verse states, “Immediately, the girl got up…” She did exactly what Jesus told her to do. Jesus did this with Lazarus. He commanded, “Lazarus come forth,” and he did. How impressive that the wind obeys Jesus. The demons obey Jesus. Now, the dead obeys Jesus. She got right up. She got up and began to walk. It’s one thing if she had just opened her eyes. But whatever killed her, was removed. She had strength in her legs. She could walk. She seemed strong. She was recovered.

Fourth, I just wonder, between Jesus saying, “Little girl, get up,” and immediately she got up, if she opened her eyes and saw Jesus. She may not have know who Jesus was. Good chance they had never met. Her eyes opened, and there He was. Jesus was holding her hand, our verse tells us. Warmth, love, affection, and life—all there in the hands of Jesus. I like to think when we close our eyes to this world, that we open them and the first thing we see is Jesus. Jesus, the one we love. Jesus, the one we have obeyed. Jesus, the one we have trusted, talked to, and followed all of our life. We have remembered His death through the Lord’s Supper. We have sung songs to His name and glory. We end our prayers with His name. We have taught His word. We have believed Him. We belong to a band of followers called “Christ-ians,” those, that belong to Christ.

We close our eyes to this old world and we open them in the presence of Jesus. That’s a thought worth holding on to. That’s a thought that gets us through tough days. Jesus is there. Jesus is with us. Jesus cares.

Little girl, I say to you… what wonderful words.

Roger