Two Miracles - Thank you, Lord!

Women of Life

(Mark 5:21-43, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 25, 2018)

[21] And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. [22] Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet [23] and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” [24] And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. [25] And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, [26] and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. [27] She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. [28] For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” [29] And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. [30] And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” [31] And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” [32] And he looked around to see who had done it. [33] But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. [34] And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

[35] While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” [36] But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” [37] And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. [38] They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. [39] And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” [40] And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. [41] Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” [42] And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. [43] And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Daughters in great need

After a remarkable mission to the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and the kingdom of God leaders return to Jewish territory and encounter a woman and a young girl in great need. First the girl: She was the daughter of one of the elders in the local synagogue, Jairus. This distraught father came to Jesus as a desperate man and his posture before the Lord reflected the gravity of His need. He “fell at His feet.” Where else could he turn since the child was “at the point of death.” His words expressed faith: “Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.”

Jesus went, accompanied by a large crowd that “thronged about him.” Now the woman: She had spent twelve years facing an unending “discharge of blood” which kept her in a perpetual state of ceremonial trouble. She was unclean according to Old Testament Law.

Crowds of people that do not help

The people of the land were of no real help to either the young daughter or the older woman. In the case of the woman, she had been to the professionals, and they had tried a variety of treatments, summarized by this: She “had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.”

In the case of the young girl, by the time the Lord was able to go to the house of Jairus, He was met by a group with this sad news: “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” When Jesus and the others arrived at the house, the most that the people there could do was to mourn in the custom of the day. They were making “a commotion” with many people “wailing loudly,” but when Jesus spoke of the girl's life continuing, “they laughed at Him.” Worse than useless.

One Man who heals

Of course, one Man could do what needed to be done. The older woman knew that, and that was why she risked close contact with the Savior. Coming up “behind Him in the crowd,” she reached out her hand to at least touch His clothes. She reasoned in her heart, “If I touch even His garments, I will be made well.” This actually worked! She probably hoped to leave anonymously, and would have been able to do so except for one Man—the Lord Jesus. He knew that something significant had happened in unseen realms—that “power had gone out from Him.” He “immediately turned about in the crowd.” Then He said, “Who touched my garments?” The disciples found that to be a very odd question since He was being pressed by a large group of people.

It was the woman then who told the facts that she already knew in her soul. She “fell down before him and told him the whole truth.” Amazing! His reaction: “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” What disease? She already was healed of her bleeding. Perhaps she had another disease that was more significant than she herself understood... one that we all share.

Concerning the young girl, it was plain that Jesus healed her from the horror of death itself. “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” The result was shockingly immediate. “The girl got up and began walking.” Who can pronounce life upon the dead with such authority?

Hope for people everywhere

People all over the world in every generation need the power of Jesus to bring healing to their bodies. We are not like the ancient Greeks or gnostic heretics who didn't care about their bodies, imagining that the material world is evil. We also know that we have a root spiritual need that is connected to the trials that we face in this physical world.

Women are sinned against and often find themselves severely mistreated and harmed by men who should have protected and cared for them. Amos reminds us that God hates such abuse (Amos 2:7). He also knows women sin against others and that there must be a reckoning for sins that rich women commit against the poor (Amos 4:1). Like men, women are sinned against and they also sin. Who can rescue them, body and soul? The crowd will not be any help. We need more than sympathy. We need the only Savior.

What are we called to do as the church—the bride of Christ?

First, hear the voice of Jesus saying what He said to one very frightened set of parents: “Do not fear, only believe.” Jesus gives life—especially physical and eternal life.

Second, The New Testament shouts what Amos whispers. It's pretty clear that Law and discipline does not end abuse. Paul says in Romans 2:4, that “God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” Knowing that “Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6), it is our privilege to care for the weak as the best Husband of all cares for us.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 85 – Surely glory will dwell in God's land

New Testament Reading—Jude – Glory to the only God our Savior

How beautiful...

How beautiful is the body of Christ!

(Mark 5:1-20, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 18, 2018)

[1] They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. [2] And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. [3] He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, [4] for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. [5] Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. [6] And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. [7] And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” [8] For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” [9] And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” [10] And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. [11] Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, [12] and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” [13] So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

[14] The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. [15] And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. [16] And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. [17] And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. [18] As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. [19] And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” [20] And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

The tragic facts regarding a certain demon-possessed man

God created man male and female and He said that His creation was very good. But after the fall of Adam, it has become very easy to forget the truth of Genesis 1 (our beauty at creation) and Revelation 22 (our destiny). Consider just a few words from verse 4 of that final chapter of the Bible, “They will see His face.” Who is the being that we will see? Who are we who will see God? How utterly shocking! But this will happen.

Jesus came as the visible face of the invisible Father. The whole story of the Bible is the account of how we get from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. There is no way that happens without Jesus. Mark (Peter) is further introducing us in this fifth chapter to the Man from heaven who came to defeat evil.

Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake into Gentile territory. They, or more accurately Jesus, was immediately met by a man in a tragic condition. He had “an unclean spirit.” He lived among the dead rather than in the land of the living since he lived “among the tombs.” He was very strong and quite dangerous since He could not be restrained “even with a chain.” Maybe they could tie him up when he was younger and weaker, but not “anymore.” You could here this man crying out “among the tombs and on the mountains” like a wild animal. He also was a danger to himself, because he was always “cutting himself with stones.” This was the person that met Jesus that day.

What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

This man that no one could control “saw Jesus from afar,” and he “ran and fell down before Him.” What was that? Suddenly the man was desperately weak rather than frighteningly strong. There He is prostrate at Jesus feet yelling out a question and adding a frantic request to a Jewish Messiah who came from the other side of the lake: “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” Why? Because Jesus was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” This was not the language of happy submission to the Son of God.

Then the surprise. Jesus asks the key question: “What is your name?” The answer: “My name is Legion, for we are many.” A Roman legion at full strength had 6000 soldiers. We do not know the exact number of demons that plagued this son of Adam, just that it was “many.” They asked to stay there and be sent into the pigs, and Jesus “gave them permission.” This evil troop then entered 2000 animals and off they went to their death.

The reaction of the city

Now what? The “herdsmen” and the other local “people” did an amazing thing after they saw Jesus and the man, now “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind.” We are told that “they were afraid.” After hearing the account of what happened from those who had seen it all, “they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.”

There was one man who wanted to be near Jesus—the “man who had been possessed with demons.” He “begged him that he might be with him.” Jesus would not allow it, but sent him back to his own people with the words of his testimony on his lips as a witness to his own people: “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And so He did. Who was “the Lord” who accomplished this? Mark tells us plainly when He writes that the man “began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.”

Life after deliverance

Jesus came into a world twisted by evil and sadness. His intention in undertaking His mission was entirely good, and He had more than enough power to accomplish His perfect will. Though His great works of deliverance were undeniable, some who saw Him in person simply wanted Him to go away. The one man who had been most dramatically changed by Jesus had a better message for his family and friends.

What has Jesus done for you? Has He not made you beautiful? I remember a song...

How beautiful the hands that served the wine and the bread and the sons of the earth.

How beautiful the feet that walked the long dusty roads and the hills to the cross.

How beautiful is the body of Christ.

How beautiful the heart that bled that took all my sin and bore it instead.

How beautiful the tender eyes that chose to forgive and never despise.

How beautiful is the body of Christ.

And as He laid down His life we offer this sacrifice that we will live just as he died:

willing to pay the price, willing to pay the price.

How beautiful the radiant Bride who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes.

How beautiful when humble hearts give the fruit of pure lives so that others may live.

How beautiful is the body of Christ.

How beautiful the feet that bring the sound of good news and the love of the King.

How beautiful the hands that serve the wine and the bread and the sons of the earth.

How beautiful is the body of Christ.

Songwriters: Ann Wilson, How Beautiful lyrics © Music & Media Int'l, Inc

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 84 – How lovely is Your dwelling place!

New Testament Reading—Hebrews 13 – God's commands and benediction

The Perfect Man of Faith

Who is this?

(Mark 4:35-41, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 11, 2018)

[35] On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” [36] And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. [37] And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. [38] But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” [39] And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” [41] And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Jesus in the boat—sleeping through a dangerous storm...

This world is full of danger. To us, it all appears to have no master. Two of our ministers in Northern New England Presbytery, Jason Wakefield and Jon Taylor, were riding on an elephant in Nepal a few years ago when the animal was inadvertently separated from the rest of the herd for a moment and decided to eject them, leaning hard first to the right and then to the left. The Nepali driver gave our men a nervous thumbs up to signify that everything was OK, but that did not prove convincing to the Americans. Another former minister in our Presbytery, Tim Andrews, was in the bow of a whale watching vessel near Hampton enjoying the beautiful day watching a few far off whales when a Jaws look alike suddenly opened his gaping mouth right near him. Every proprietor throughout life's adventures will try to calm our nerves and convince us that all is well. Yet we can see the panic in their eyes. And what if the sea itself is the beast?

The true Master was in a boat in Galilee. He had directed the itinerary of His disciples, but later, He did not appear to be in charge or the source of stability when “a great windstorm arose.” Even earlier, the Bible says, “leaving the crowd, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was.” There were other boats with Him since so many were following Him wherever He went, so others were in danger along with His closest friends. Suddenly the boat was filling with filling with water from the waves that were crashing over the sides. Where was Jesus? In the stern, asleep on a cushion, trusting.

Does He care?

The others in the boat woke Him up in a great panic. They skipped some obvious and important questions about His knowledge, power, and love. (Here are a few interesting ones: Did He know that this would happen? Did He plan it? Was He able to stop it? If He had knowledge and ability over the weather, why did He ordain this experience? Did He love them? How was this crisis an expression of that love?) When they woke Him up they went to the lowest standard of basic human decency for others in a crisis: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

On a side note, we cannot help but think about the Old Testament prophet Jonah who brought trouble upon his fellow travelers through His own rejection of the will of God and was fast asleep in the inner part of the ship when he was about to sink. But Jesus was no Jonah. He was obeying God and not running away from Him. His shipmates were not pagan sailors, unknown to Him, making a living taking people to Spain. The disciples of Jesus represented the beginnings of the new kingdom of God who would themselves be the “foundation of apostles” in the temple of the Holy Spirit that Paul talks about in Ephesians 2:20. Their names would be written on the “twelve foundations” of the wall of heaven that John wrote about in Revelation 21:14. Yes He cared about them. He would pray for these men in John 17 on his way to the cross where He would lay down His life for them. On top of that, He had all knowledge and power in His divine nature, but in His human nature He was tired and was taking a nap.

Is He able?

The question of His ability that they had not asked was answered definitively by the power of His words after He woke up. He “rebuked the wind.” He gave a command to the enormous beast that was the Sea of Galilee: “Peace! Be still!” Did it work. Oh yes! “The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Jesus was able to do this and much more. They had questioned even His basic human decency in their panic, but now He had a couple of questions for them: “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Who then is this?

Even after Jesus demonstrated His amazing mastery over the wind and the waves, the disciples did not find this turn of events immediately comforting, but instead they were obviously extremely unsettled. Some of you may have seen the same modern film I did years ago, a true story about an epic storm that sunk a fishing vessel off the coast of Massachusetts. The end seemed to me to be a ridiculous lie. A few hardened sailors were using their last gasps of air laughing to each other about the good fight they gave that storm. No, they would not have been calm in that situation. And beyond death, mankind has an even bigger fear that we can barely talk about. Almighty God.

Witness Jesus' friends after the storm. “They were filled with great fear.” They could not even talk to Him honestly about what was going on. He was out of their league. They said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

The mystery of faith in Christ

Christ displayed His authority over the wind and the waves. What does this tell us about Him? He may appear to be sleeping through the storms of this challenging world, but we should have no doubt that He cares and that He has both the power and the will to overturn all evil. The fact that we doubt is the cause of much of our fear.

Consider this fact: Jesus will make everything obey.

Even now He governs the elephant, the whale, and the restless sea. He even stilled the just demands of divine holiness and truth. We will one day find perfect stability in His voice. Even now, it would be wise to leave here with more faith in Him rather than less. That would help us when we are confronted by the fact that we are not Almighty God.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 83 – That they may seek Your Name

New Testament Reading—Hebrews 12 – The city of the living God

Small beginnings and a glorious hope

Alive with Hope

(Mark 4:30-34, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 4, 2018)

[30] And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? [31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, [32] yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

[33] With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. [34] He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

The Smallest Seed

Jesus told those who were listening to Him what the topic of His parables was: “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?” It was not His purpose to teach botany, but to use the created order as a display of tremendous spiritual truths.

He spoke of a plant that started out with such a small beginning but then grew to a surprising size. Let's talk about the small beginning first.

“Certain orchids from the tropical rain forest produce the world’s smallest seeds, of which one seed weighs about 1/35,000,000 (one 35 millionth) of an ounce. These seeds are dispersed into the air like tiny dust particles, ultimately landing in the upper canopy of the rain forest.” (infoplease.com)

These orchids have such a small start, but they would not have served the Lord's purpose well as well as the more familiar mustard seed in this passage since after their full growth they produce orchids and not a bush where “birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Speaking of small beginnings, Zechariah 4:6 speaks of a kingdom that will come by the power of the Almighty through a descendant of David called Zerubbabel: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” Other powers in Zerubbabel's day were far more impressive. Note the verses that follow in Zechariah 4:7–10 “[7] Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ [8] Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, [9] ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. [10] For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.’”

God would build something (a worship “house” made of stones) through Zerubbabel that would start out very small, but should not be “despised.”

Larger than Expected Growth

Now on to the large bush for nesting birds that would spring from such a modest start. Were those listening to Jesus willing to see beyond the small seed to the promised growth that would one day came?

In Ezekiel 31, God spoke of proud empires that were towering ceders, powers like Assyria and Egypt, but they would be brought to nothing. What about God's kingdom? Ezekiel 17:22–24 says, “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. [23] On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.”

The promised descendant of David would be the beginning of a kingdom that would be not only for Jews, but for all the nations of the earth.

The Word of God and the Christian Hope

In order for the smallest seed to become a large garden plant, a great change that seems most unlikely at the beginning must take place. There must be growth. As we have seen from other parable, Christ promised that He and the Word about Him would be the seed for that heaven-sent growth.

We are in a far better position to evaluate the progress of the kingdom than those who heard the parable when it was first spoken. So then, how have the Last 2000 Years gone? What has Jesus been doing since He ascended into heaven? Has He sent-forth His Spirit-filled messengers of the Word to bless the earth? Has it worked?

Any fair assessment of the last two millenia should cause us to be most impressed with God. From the end of BC to 500 AD Christianity won a foothold in Palestine, Turkey, North Africa, and parts of mainland Europe. From 500-1000: Northern Europe, [Islam attacked and was eventually pushed back]. From 1000-1500: Expansion in Eastern and Northern Europe, [and Islam was pushed back even more]. Most shockingly, 1500-2000: Americas, Australia, Africa, Asia, truly to the very ends of the earth.

During those years important doctrinal battles have been fought and won, the Bible was slowly lost in religion and comparatively suddenly found again. The Spirit pressed the church forward in sincere worship and sacrificial obedience.

What about your (spiritual) life story: What has Jesus been doing in your life? Has He given you faith and repentance? Has He set you on a path of pursuing holiness in love? He has not finished with you yet?

Jesus taught about the kingdom of God using parables. The new era of human experience that He began was amazingly modest in its opening days. How will it all end? What the Messiah has humbly inaugurated will be gloriously completed at just the right time, but trusting Jesus for our destiny together is massively consequential right now.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 82 – Human “gods” and the Son of the Most High

New Testament Reading—Hebrews 11 – By faith