Jesus Is Willing (Mk 1:40-45; Mk 5:21-43)
by Pastor Cesar Crisostomo | July 22, 2018
Mark 1:40-45; Mark 5:21-43We live in a world today that encourages us to be self-sufficient in that we are to do things our own way, that we should not worry about getting any kind of help or care, that we should figure things out and do things ourselves. We live in a world that teaches us that things would be better if we just give it time and everything would be alright. The world today tends to say not to rely or trust on anyone else because they will end up failing you. That the very ones that says they will help you and care for you are the very ones that fails you. Eventually, this world tells us that we even can’t trust and rely on God and therefore, why bother going to Him.
We see that in our scripture passages three accounts of people and situations of hopelessness and great need. The man with leprosy, the father whose daughter was dying and the woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years were people in great need and in tremendous need of help. And out of their desperation came to Jesus for help. They were all looking for a miracle for themselves and for someone else. As they sought Jesus out and fell at His feet they each encountered the Savior’s love and power. The great thing about our Savior is that He is a healing, miracle working God who is compassionate and loving. Miracles really happens because of the love of God. I think we can draw a conclusion from these stories that Jesus really loved them, really loves people (Mark 1:41; Matthew 9:36). Jesus really loves you. He is aware of our situations and He is concerned about us. He wants to be with us and see us through our needs. We genuinely need to seek the Lord, come to Him with our needs and wait at His feet.
What we see in common in these stories is that all the miracles happened at Jesus’ feet. And I believe that at His feet is were we are called as individuals and as a church familia. Coming to a deeper dimension of praying that brings about greater things that God wants to do. We need to come to Jesus for ourselves and to come to His feet for someone else. To come to Him with faith.
The Need1. A man with leprosy (Mark 1:40-45).
- Leprosy at the time of Jesus is maybe something we can compare today with cancer. It is a devastating thing. It is not only painful for the person affected by it, but it affects and is painful for the family. It is very discouraging and difficult. Leprosy simply is the decaying of the body, it destroys the nerve cells and the body tissue gradually decays, rots away. It is death crawling through the person, death in the physical sense.
- The need today: people in situations where there are circumstances eating them up from the “inside out.” There are those present today that have things eating on you. For some it is fear, or sin that you have committed, and decay has started within, ashamed of the sin and don’t feel worthy of forgiveness. Others it may be anger, unforgiveness, hurt. You are tormented and eaten up from the inside out and you are dying slowly. Remember, the man with leprosy came to Jesus.
- Jairus the father of the dying daughter was a compassionate and desperate father. Remember that his daughter was on her death bed, possibly with a fatal disease. And we find him, falling before the feet of Jesus and asking the Lord to come into his situation.
- The need today: Jairus’ concern for his dying daughter relates to people today with concerns about dying situations within their family. There are people today within the circle of your family that there is some kind of death that has come. Maybe it is death in relationships and circumstances that you are saying “it’s too late.” But with Jesus, it is never too late. When we come to Jesus, we are never there too late. What is dying in our families, in our homes, in our church and in our island community? Remember to come to Jesus with family problems and as Jesus resurrected Jairus’ daughter, the Lord has resurrection answer for you where death has come upon something in your family.
- Slow constant bleeding for twelve years. This woman has tried many doctors and has spent all she had but instead of getting better she grew worse. There is great discomfort, despair, embarrassment and depression has set in. She has tried many things but no answer, she was drained physically and financially, but then she came to Jesus.
- The need today: What circumstances in your life that has drained the life out of you and you don’t know how the bleeding in your is going to stop?
Jesus is WillingIn each of these situations, Jesus provides a direct answer to each one. He deals with power the decay that sin causes. He deals with the sin that eats us up. He deals with the death that is happening in our family. He deals with the draining of life in us. The Lord wants us to see Him, to go to Him with our great needs and even with the everyday practical things of life. He loves us. And when we get to Him, everything changes. The issue sometimes is that we believe that we have come to Jesus, but it seems that nothing has happened. We ask, does God care? Is He willing to heal? Is He willing to deliver and intervene into my situation? Hopefully, we remain waiting at His feet, in His presence and recognize things are happening because Jesus is compassionate and committed. Jesus is willing and reaches out and touches our lives. We are never too unclean or unimportant for Him. Jesus is willing!
