This and the following blog are inspired by our guest speakers at Solid Rock "A Jesus Church" the church i am currently attending. I have attached the link to play the sermon below and greatly suggest that you do.
Two people are presented to us in the following event in the life of Jesus. The first is a man by the name of Jarius,
Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet Mark 5:22
Jarius, as mentioned, was a ruler of the synagogue. Think of Him as being the head administrator for a church. It was His responsibility to choose who was to give the Saturday message, who was to read the scripture, he oversaw it all. He was then therefore a very outstanding man in the community, and community was everything to the Jews. In Israel, during the times of Jesus, don't think of cities as Seattle or Portland, think Banks or Boring, small towns where everyone knows everyone. Jarius would have been known by all for his title and position, and the Jewish leaders already decided that anyone who would follow Jesus would be kicked out of the synagogue; Jarius had everything to lose.
The second was a nameless woman,
And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, Mark 5:25
In Leviticus 15:19-28 it gives in depth detail for ceremonial cleanliness regarding a woman on her period, as was our unnamed character. She would be unclean, anything she touches would be unclean, anyone who touches her would be unclean and anyone who touches the things she touches would be unclean! Get the point? Now is the 1st century Jewish mind, God was in the temple, the place where His glory dwelt, and all true worship of God was also in the temple. The synagogue was a place of learning about God and His laws for the community. Now if you were unclean, you were kept out of the synagogue and the temple, that is to say in the Jewish mind, you were not allowed to be near God for that day. This was far from the purpose of the law given to Moses, but through years of legalism a social stigma would be attached to this poor woman. 12 years of no one touching you, 12 years of people crossing on the other side of the street, 12 years of her society rejecting her. The crowd was thick, she would have had to have touched many people to get to Jesus, weaving in and out of the group. Many people would have been furious with her, perhaps even wanting to stone her. She had everything to lose.
These people were desperate, willing to do anything and lose everything to get near to Jesus, to be close to Him.
Can I say the same? Or have i become so comfortable with my income and upper class lifestyle that i have forgotten the true meaning of being a Jesus follower? Am i desperate to know Him more and more, willing to do anything even if it cost me my life? Or am i only fooling myself into believing that my relationship is strong? Have the pleasures of this world choked my life from ever truly growing in the effectiveness that Christ offers those who are worthy of being called His disciples?
I dare you to ask yourself these very questions, if you are surprised with the answer, don't be, He's not. He knows you better than you know yourself and is not dispointed with your searching your heart and finding that you come up short. He is with you, holding you every step of the way, and He is ready to guide you if you are willing to submit and follow, let us fall face down before Him and learn together just how loving and willing Jesus is to save us.
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