Sermon Notes - "Master Over Illness"

Intro - We come to another story of Jesus’ healing miracles. A synagogue ruler by the name of Jairus has a daughter near to death. He comes to Jesus and begs him to come to heal his daughter. Jesus agrees and goes with him. Along the way another woman, full of faith, touches the hem of Jesus’ garment and she is immediately healed of a bleeding disorder she has had for 12 years. This passage is often talked about from the woman’s viewpoint, from the disciples’ viewpoint or even from Jesus. Today we'd like to talk about Jairus' point of view.

Why? Simply this. He was a father looking out for the health of his child. Today is Father’s Day. So we can learn much from the little we see here of Jairus that can inform us about what it takes to be a great Christian dad. Secondarily we can also learn much about having a sick person (child, spouse, parent, good friend or patient) in our charge.

On Fathers Day we are reminded that Great Dads…

#1 - ________________ without shame.

“A man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet…” Luke 8:41a NIV

All the things that make for a great dad - providing a good home, spending time with children, teaching them the important lessons of life - are made better when dads seek Jesus without shame. Like Jairus, we will come to a place in our life as a parent when we are confronted by something we cannot fix ourselves. And like Jairus, we will want to have Jesus in our corner!

What about you? Later in this gospel Jesus tells us this -

“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory.” Luke 9:26 NIV

Becoming a dad and caring for another life brings honesty and humility into one’s life. When we’re honest with ourselves, we know we cannot do this thing alone. We need help. We need strength. We need wisdom.

#2 -________________ into their homes.

“Jairus… pleaded with [Jesus] to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.” Luke 8:41b-42 NIV

We don’t know exactly what illness caused Jairus’ daughter to be so sick. But we do know the battle was almost over. She was dying. There was only one thing that could be done - bring Jesus into the home. Let the Master Physician have a look.

The truth is that the best thing we can do - Dads - is to bring Jesus into our homes early and often. No need to wait until someone is dying. Jesus shouldn’t be our final act of desperation but our first act of daily invitation. Our daily prayers should be, “Jesus help me today be the best dad I can be. Help me to teach my kids about you!”

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4NIV

Have you ever been exasperated? A feeling of intense frustration, rage, anger, unfairness? Dads - the more you have felt exasperated yourself as a child, the more likely you are to exasperate your own children! Doesn’t make a lot of sense. You’d think we’d remember what it was like - when the one man in our life - so much bigger, so much more powerful, in control of everything - lays down the final word, the final decision, the final punishment with no appeal.

How do we break that cycle from one generation to the next? By bringing Jesus into our homes. How do we do that? Ephesians 6:4 lays it out for us - in the training and instruction of the Lord. That means we need to be gentle teachers for our kiddos all the time, not just when they mess up. Gentleness, meekness - Dads that means power under control. That comes from knowing…

#3 - _____________ (and it’s not them).

Here we involve the third person in the story - the woman with the bleeding illness - who comes to Jesus to find healing for herself…

“She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.” Luke 8:44 NIV

Usually at this point in the sermon, the attention changes to the woman and the dialogue she has with Jesus. We’re told that the healing power in him went out. He immediately knew it. Jesus wants to know who it was that touched him. Peter gets involved. “Who touched you? In this crowd? Are you kidding?” Peter is always good for comic relief. The woman comes forward and falls to Jesus’ feet and admits it was her. Jesus tells her that her faith has healed her.

Bring the attention back to Jairus. Let’s look at these events through his eyes. His daughter is dying. Timing is critical. He is rushing Jesus back to his house. Then everything stops for this woman who touches Jesus. Can you imagine his panic? His sense of worry for his own daughter? And then someone from his house shows up and says the most insensitive two words - “Don’t bother.” His daughter had already died. He may have been the master in his own home and even the leader of his synagogue, but here he was just a spectator.

Dads - the hardest thing to admit in tough family situations - especially in life and death circumstances - is that we are not in control. Also tough to admit is that even when we turn things over to our Master Jesus, is that He is also the Master Jesus to many others. People say, “My Jesus,” and usually it’s intimate and affectionate. But the truth is that he doesn’t belong to me or to you alone. Sometimes Jesus moves in directions that are the opposite of the direction we would have Him move, as he did here with this woman.

Jairus doesn't say one word of complaint to Jesus, even though his heart had to be broken. It is Jesus who tells him not to be afraid. And it’s Jairus who faithfully follows Jesus - the Master - back to his house, even when the situation seems hopeless.

This leads us to the question of who really is the master of this relationship? You or Jesus? Paul reminds us…

“Let every detail in your lives - words, actions, whatever - be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.” Colossians 3:10 MSG

Underline “every detail.” Surely that means even those details of our lives when things don’t go the way we expect. When our best to take care of our children (or our patients) is not good enough. Even when we have prayed and come to Jesus for help, and it appears that he has helped someone else instead of us. So what do we do?

#4 - _______________ to Jesus’ care.

“Someone came from the house of Jairus. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ he said. ‘Don’t bother the teacher anymore.’ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’” Luke 8:49-50 NIV

How do we trust children to Jesus’ care? 2 instructions were given to Jairus. (1) Don’t be afraid. (2) Believe. Two opposites of the same coin. Believe means to trust in spite of the circumstances, and in spite of the fear. It’s not hard to believe when everything is going your way. It’s hard when everything is going against you. The more you can trust, the less afraid you can be. They go hand in hand.

How do we really trust our children to Jesus’ care? By understanding that we are not the only ones who love our kids. Jesus loves them too. And we’re told that he puts his power behind his love.

“Be careful. Don’t think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always with my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18:19 NCV

This is the only reference in the NT to guardian angels! Every place else the angels are associated with protection of Jesus or the strength or messenger of God. But in Matthew 18, Jesus tells us that children - who in 1st century Palestine were considered worth less than even a slave - was so valuable, so precious to God that they each have angels in heaven.

The concept of the angel's protection is so different than we usually think. We usually think of our angels being unseen, invisible warriors and protectors that keep us safe from harm. But where does Jesus tell us they are located? (1) in heaven. (2) with God the Father. It’s like they are each keeping their eyes on your child(ren) and letting God Himself know when your child(ren) have a need! They are angel prayer warriors! That’s how much Jesus cares for your children!!! So what’s left for us to do?

#5 - _______________________.

“Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.” Luke 8:55 NIV

We come to the end of the story and see the miracle take place. The daughter everyone said was dead is now alive, healed miraculously by Jesus. Luke tells us how much she is healed. “At once she stood up.” No swaying. No just opening her eyes. She’s not just barely alive. She’s all the way healed! Then, like any good doctor, Jesus gives them a prescription for her follow-up treatment: “Feed the girl!”

Sometimes we don’t have options. We don’t know what to do. But then sometimes the command from Jesus isn’t something theological or even spiritual. Sometimes it is simple and physical. “Feed the girl.” Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is simply to do what we can do. Maybe that doesn’t solve everything. Maybe it only gets us to tomorrow with no firm knowledge about the day after. But we do what we can do. Sometimes simple actions are the best evidence we have of our true faith in Christ.

“So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.” James 2:17 GNT