Let us now turn in our Bibles this morning to Mark chapter 5. We'll begin the scripture reading at Mark chapter 5, verse 18, and then read to the end of the chapter, verse 43. The text will be in two parts because of the healing that Jesus did to the woman with an issue of blood for 12 years in verses 25 through 34. Our text will be from verses 21 through 24, then beginning again, continuing in verse 35 to the end of the chapter, verse 43. The scripture reading will begin at verse 18 of Mark chapter five, where we read this word of God, When he was come into the ship, that's Jesus, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he, the man, might be with him, Jesus. Albeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, go home to thy friends and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee and hath had compassion on thee. He departed and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him, and all men did marvel. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea. And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. When he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, my little daughter lieth at the point of death. I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and she shall live. And Jesus went with him, and much people followed him and thronged him. And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood 12 years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press and said, who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace and behold of thy plague. And now continues our text in verses 35 and following. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, be not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter and James and John, the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, When he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel and them that were with him and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand and said unto her, Talitha kumi, which is being interpreted, damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose and walked, for she was of the age of 12 years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straightly that no man should know it, and commanded that something should be given her to eat. May the Lord bless us in the reading of that part of scripture. Love it in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Mark chapter five, the Lord gave positive and specific examples of the power of the word which he sows and the objects of his grace and spirit. In the first part of Mark chapter five, a man of the Gadarene country was delivered by the Lord from a terrible and grievous tyranny of devil possession. Jesus, by the word, commanded those devils to leave, and he was delivered. Then he commanded the man who was healed, go home to thy friends and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee and hath had compassion on thee, which then he did. Then the next event in Mark chapter 5 is with this woman who had an issue of blood, internal bleeding for 12 years, spending all of her fortune on cures none of which helped but only made her bleeding worse, she reached out and touched the hem of the garment of Christ in the throng as they went to the house of Jairus in Capernaum, and immediately that internal bleeding stopped, it's gone. But the Lord's work with her wasn't finished. She thought she could just touch that and be healed and that was it and she could go her way. The Lord instructs her and also us that that's not the way his work of salvation and the work of faith operates in us. He brings her to himself and draws out of her that confession of faith in which she tells him all the truth Then the Lord confirms that faith and strengthens that faith in his declaration to her, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace. You are justified. And through that faith alone, in me alone, you have peace with God. And the sign of that is, behold of thy playing. Now our text, the third story or section of Mark chapter five, develops that doctrine of Jesus which he taught concerning the woman he had healed of the issue or internal bleeding, the issue of blood for 12 years. He develops the truth of the relationship between faith and his word. and that clarification or that development of that for us is important. After we may get the impression from what Jesus says to that woman, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole, we might begin to think, well, does that mean that Jesus is teaching that her faith is somehow the reason, somehow the cause, somehow the trigger to this miracle, but also all that that miracle signifies of salvation in Jesus Christ. Was Jesus teaching that when he said, your faith, woman, makes you whole? Is that faith now a work that we, do to complete the work and the wonder of salvation in and through and because of Jesus Christ? That's why the Lord needs to inspire and did in wisdom this third part of Mark chapter five and the miracle of a divine wonder of which signifies the divine wonder of grace and the work of the spirit in all of his children, not just this 12 year old girl, but in all of God's children, young and older. We need, and we and our seed need, this Christ in the text to do his underlying, his all-sustaining, his efficacious, his irresistible work by his spirit in order that we may receive the gift of true faith. the engrafting into Christ, and also the activity of that faith in believing, in knowing, and being assured of everything that we have in Christ Jesus by grace alone. And then the Lord is pleased this morning to seal unto us that truth of the text in the sign and the seal of holy baptism. Call your attention then to the truth of the text under this theme, Jesus' raising of Jairus' daughter. Notice his amazing work. And secondly, we'll notice that's a wonderful sign. And thirdly, conclude with the blessed significance for believing households, for believers and their seed. We notice, beloved, there's a man named Jairus who was in great distress who came to Jesus as Jesus returned across the Sea of Galilee in the area of the city of Capernaum, which is on the northern coast of the Sea of Galilee. Jairus was a godly man, knew the Old Testament scriptures. He was married, had a faithful marriage. Blessed with a daughter, just one child, and it was her who is the focus of the text this morning. It is evident that they loved their daughter. We assume that they taught her the Old Testament scriptures. But when their daughter was 12 years old, she was stricken by God and his providence with a sickness which no medicine, no physician, Nothing could cure. It just continued to get worse. And she was at the point of death. It is at that point, Jairus, who knew of Jesus from the city of Capernaum, he goes to Jesus in what we would describe as a courageous activity. For Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum. He was a man of authority among the Jews, held in high regard and high respect for his position in that synagogue in Capernaum. And we also understand, as a result, he had much to do with the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were among the chief rulers of the Jews, not just around Jerusalem and Judea, but also in the north in Galilee and Capernaum. That means Jairus, being a ruler of the synagogue, he had witnessed the preaching of Jesus. He saw Jesus heal the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath day in that very same synagogue. He had witnessed the enmity of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians against Jesus. He knew very well that if he would give any indication of favor or friendship toward Jesus, that could put his position of authority in the synagogue in jeopardy. Nevertheless, he set that aside, set his own ambition aside. didn't concern himself about the risk for the position he might lose in the synagogue, he goes to Jesus for the sake of his dying daughter. We believe not out of a mere earthly longing for life or his daughter, but out of faith, the faith of which the Lord was working in him. He believed that Jesus was the Lord and had power over that sickness, power over death, He had seen Jesus heal, knew Jesus had that power to do so also to his daughter. Thus, in contrast to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the chief priests, the rulers of the Jews, He gave reverence and honor to Jesus, believing that yes, not only could he forgive sins on earth, but he could also heal that man with the withered hand, and thus his daughter too. We believe that this man is one of those examples of chapter four in the parable of the sower, of the good soil that's made soft and deep and clean by the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, prepared by the spirit to receive the word of Christ and to bear fruit. fruit of which we see in this man in being drawn to Jesus by the Lord who works out of him that confession of faith. At the feet of Jesus then in reverence to the Lord, he cries out, my little daughter lieth at the point of death, I pray thee come and lay hands on her that she may be healed and Then he says, with certainty, and she shall live. There is no question in my mind. She shall live. My little daughter. Expressing, you understand, his endearment to her, our covenant child given to us from Jehovah. They knew the Psalms. They believed that children were a blessing of the Lord. That daughter, that gift of the Lord, is about to die. Come and lay thine hands upon her and she shall live. In response, Jesus agreed with the request of Jairus. He follows him to his house in Capernaum near the synagogue. But then during that journey back into the city of Capernaum, Jesus was stopped along the side of the road by something that happens to him. Suddenly virtue goes out of him and he turns and asks that question to his disciples who touched me. Asking the question, not because he didn't know, but because of his disciples having to learn and the woman had to be brought to him face to face. to speak to him in a true faith, because that is the characteristic of faith. It isn't some objective, distant knowledge of Christ, but faith by the working of Christ is a face-to-face relationship with him in his truth. The wonder of the great things which he does for us and in us. From a human point of view, that interaction with the woman and that very important instruction about the nature of faith and believing between us and the Lord would be a unnecessary interruption, an unnecessary delay because precious time was, we would think, wasted for Jesus to get to the house and lay his hands on that girl and heal her. But we discover in the text that the Lord is in control of his ministry. He doesn't operate along our timetable as we would like. He is in control, governed by the will of his Father. There must be an apparent delay because the Lord has something to do for the glory of the Father and for the truth of the gospel. There is to be a revelation. of his truth in what he will do once he gets to the house. The messengers come then and give the worst news that Jairus feared, thy daughter is dead. And his servants advise him, why troublest thou the master any further? Jesus is too late. Nothing he can do for her. Is Jesus, like Elijah in the Old Testament, or Elisha, who did heal those children? We don't know. It's too late. And in response to that message, Jesus commanded Jairus, reflecting back to what he had said to him earlier, and she shall live. says to him, be not afraid. Only believe, only continue believing. Continue in that confession. Be not afraid even of the power of death over your covenant child. Be not afraid even over sin in your child as though God is cursing your daughter with death and now he's punishing you and your wife for the death of your child. Jesus says to him and to that covenant home, that household, no, be not afraid. Or to say it positively, you are justified in the sight of God. You have peace with me and the Father in heaven. Believe that, only believe. And out of that faith also believe I will do as you confessed. She shall live. I will show to you today the salvation of Jehovah. Only believe that. Now from a human point of view, if we were standing there and were among the crowd of those who did not believe in Jesus, those people would say, well, That word of Jesus is presumptuous. He hasn't even gone to the house yet and raised her from the dead. What kind of confidence is this? Well, beloved, it's a confidence of Jesus Christ, our righteousness, our sanctification, one who knew what he was going to do at the cross. He stands, though it isn't completed yet, historically, yet he stands in the conviction I will lay down my life also for that lamb and for this household. And because I will rise again the third day, she shall live. I will raise her from the dead. The word that I speak as the prophet of Jehovah, that word will never fail. It helps us to understand that when Jesus arrived at the house, how he responds to that noisy situation. Jairus was a very prominent man in Capernaum, and it was the custom in those days when someone in the family would die, perhaps a child or a wife, in his case. Others of the synagogue and neighbors would hire something which to us is rather curious, they'd hire professional whalers, something which we see also following Jesus to the cross. People that not necessarily even knew who Jairus was were sent just to weep and wail for him and to make the whole atmosphere very somber and dark. So there are in the house of Jairus some weeping loudly, others playing mournful music on their flutes, and Jesus enters into that, we can only describe as a void of mercy, no comfort, no relief of truth, enters into that darkness and says, why make ye this ado and weep? and then shines the light of the truth, the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. Jesus did not deny that the body on the bed in the room was lifeless and cold. Jesus meant as set forth in 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verse 14, death for all of God's saints is temporary. When we look at it from the viewpoint of the final resurrection, when we saw the body of the loved one we've known in the Lord, we know death does not have the last word. This is only sleep, of which our sleep every night is a picture. We will go to sleep in death, and in the morning of the resurrection, we shall arise at the word of the Lord. But secondly, that was also true what Jesus said from the viewpoint of what he was about to do. Jesus knew what the Father had sent him to do. And from the viewpoint of the miracle he must perform as a sign of the work which he does on the basis of his finished work. work on the cross and resurrection, she shall arise. And thus, this is just temporary, she's just sleeping. Thus Jesus takes her by the hand and then declares his word to her. He does that over against the scorn and the reproach he receives. Nobody believed him. He's presumptuous. He's speaking crazy talk. How can he say that? Jesus proceeds with his work as the Father sent him to do. He takes the three disciples with him. Peter, James, and John, he takes the parents with him in honor of that covenant relationship and that covenant household. He comes to do an engraft households into the church. And he enters into the room. He takes by his hand as Jairus had asked him, lay hands on her. Well, he takes her by the hand Nothing happens. Her hand is lifeless. Her hand is cold. Her hand is stiff. Perhaps you children have had the opportunity in a funeral of a loved one, perhaps a grandfather or grandmother, to touch the hand of that loved one. The hand formerly which embraced you now doesn't move. You touch it, it's cold, lifeless. That's the condition in which that girl was. Her hand was cold, lifeless. Jesus takes that stiff hand. Nothing happens, but then he speaks to her. Talotha kumi, or damsel, I say to thee, or little girl, I say to you, arise. Then by his word, suddenly that hand is warm, it's moving, she arises as Jesus picks her up or raises her up, and she walks in the house again as though nothing had happened. She didn't need therapy, she was fine, completely fine. And the parents and the disciples as eyewitnesses were astonished with a great astonishment They'd never witnessed this before. They were shocked. And Jesus reminded them, though that was such an amazing thing, the purpose of this is not for me as the Lord to gain popularity in my ministry, no, I am committed to being rejected of men, to being a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. I am on the road to the cross. That's why he gave that first command, don't tell anyone. It's not my motive to do this to make a name for myself. I am here to serve my father in heaven. And then commands the parents to give some food to the girl. That beloved is a wonderful sign. On the one hand, it's a sombering sign because the miracle does show as baptism reminded us in the form with the sign of baptism or the sign of this girl being dead on her bed, that's a picture of us by nature in sin, dead. Our hearts were closed to the word. Our wills were dead to God and to Christ in total depravity. Our minds were only darkness, would not receive the light. And as such, we are worthy of death and destruction and God's punishment and the curse due to our sin. So yes, in a certain sense, the parents, and Jairus was afraid that perhaps we are being cursed by God with the death of my daughter. He knew by that fear, how as a sinner, he and his children were worthy of God's punishment. And he knew, as we also learned, there is nothing the daughter could do, nothing that the parents could do to cure her, to deliver her, not just from the physical death, but that which it pictured. And even though her parents were God-fearing people, even though we would say there were members in the Old Testament church, Still the girl did not have the ability and the parents did not have the ability to overcome that sickness and that death and that which it signified spiritually. That is true of us too, beloved, by nature. Dead in sin. Opposite of the light. And even though like the girl, Jesus comes into the room, she still doesn't arise. He comes closer to the bed, she still doesn't arise. He takes her by the hand, she's still not alive. That's how close Jesus comes to her and yet she doesn't move. That's true of us. Even though our parents bring us to church. we're brought under baptism, we receive the sign and the seal of the covenant, receive all of that instruction under the preaching of the gospel and all of that covenant instruction in our schools and by our parents in the home, become that close to the word, to Christ, and yet of ourselves, we would not move one inch towards him because of ourselves, we are unable. That is a somber part of the sign of that miracle. It's humbling. But it also explains the reaction of the parents and the disciples to the miracle, which ought to be our reaction to not just the miracle, but that which it signifies in covenant-believing households. An astonishment with great astonishment When Christ comes in his word externally by the preaching of the gospel or the word which our parents bring to us in covenant instruction and then speaks to us in that instruction, in the means of grace, the wonder takes place where we are made alive unto him. That's amazing. That leaves us astonished. It ought to leave us astonished. We're amazed and we believe that Jesus has the power to do that. He has the power because he has authority over our death and all aspects of our death having died for us on the cross. He has covered us in the sight of God. In the sight of God, we have an atonement for our sin. God doesn't see us in our sin and therefore we're not worthy of the curse. The curse has been removed by Christ. Christ sees us in the righteousness of Christ and is disposed to us in his mercy to bless us, to save us. Christ has reconciled us unto the Father in love by his perfect work, and through him we have the right to life with him in his covenant of grace. That face-to-face fellowship pictured in the woman who is brought before Jesus and before his face tells him all the truth. Yes, that is the work which Christ has the right to do and by his spirit and in his mercy does do. He reaches out. He takes hold. He touches us. He delivers us from that death and that darkness and that unbelief. By that hand of mercy, by his word, he works in you and me that new resurrection covenant life. He's pleased to do that, beloved, by his word. Notice that's the emphasis in the miracle here. He took her by the hand, nothing happened, but when Jesus speaks, then she arises. It's by the word of Christ from God's right hand that God speaks to us externally in the preaching of the gospel, but then also internally. by the working of the Holy Spirit who prepares this dead heart and makes it alive to receive the word, and with that word to bear forth fruit. By the Spirit, we are made new. By the Spirit, he works in us a gift of hearing the Word, seeing the Word, believing that Word, and in that faith, embracing that Word with all our heart and mind. It's that work of Christ, then, to give us that life, that faith, whereby we may do what the man did earlier in chapter five, to go and tell, to speak, as prophets, as Christians, in our different stations and calling in life, in the home, in the church, wherever it may be, go and tell the great things that Christ has done for us and within us. That's the life, beloved, which God continues and is pleased to nourish in you and me. Remember, Jesus said to the parents, now give her something to eat. In this life, for her earthly life, she needs food. Similarly, we and our children, delivered by the Lord from death, from spiritual death, given life and faith in him, that's not just a work which he does once and then we're all set for the rest of our life. No, we continue to need nourishment for the food of our souls, for our spiritual life in him. That's why later Christ commanded the apostles and commanded the church Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. Feed them with my word. It's through that word, through my doctrine, that I will sustain that new life in them. I will sustain that believing in them so that they may continue as my sheep until the end. Of all that the Father hath given me, I shall lose not one. Then by implication, that applies to the parents of our baptized children, by implication believing parents must then also do what is signified by the parents giving the child food. We who have made that vow, At baptism, yes, I will instruct this child also in the fear of the Lord and in the admonition of the Lord and in the doctrine of this church, really the doctrine of Christ revealed in the infallibly inspired scriptures and has set forth in our reformed confessions. I vow to teach that to my child. Believing that God has given me this salvation in Christ and a salvation not just for me personally, but for this covenant household, I will teach that also to this child. I will give them food for their souls in my covenant instruction. day after day, bring them all of the different subjects and instruction I must give to them, principally the word of Jesus Christ. That miracle, beloved, is significant for the covenant home today. This miracle addressed a serious problem for those godly parents and for us. How is the promise of God's covenant going to continue from generation to generation? And that problem becomes huge when you see on that bed that lifeless girl. And that becomes even clearer when we bring the child to baptism. As the baptism form says, the first thing that baptism teaches us is we and our children of ourselves are conceived and born in sin and are children of wrath, dead. How is that covenant going to continue? But there echoes, beloved, out of the Old Testament from Genesis 17, verse seven, Word of Jehovah and his promise when Jesus said, little girl, arise. You hear it by faith, out of the Old Testament there comes at that moment when he takes her by the hand and he speaks that word and she arises. Here I will be the God of Abraham and his seed after him in his generations. I will be the God of your seed and you will be my people. in your generations. You hear that in Christ. This is the seed standing beside the bedside of that girl. There's the seed of the woman. There's the seed of Abraham. And that seed is Christ. All those in Christ, chosen in him from before the foundation of the world. That promise realized in the elect believers and their seed, like these parents and that 12-year-old girl in the house in Capernaum. I will be your God, the God of your seed. You will be my people. not dead and lifeless, but you will be my people in covenant fellowship with me, serving me in faith and truth, in love. And to be sure that that's true, that promise shall not fail, there is by the bedside of that girl, there's the answer, Christ. That's the sure fulfillment of the promise. Not your faith or my faith, that's not the certainty of the fulfillment of the promise, it's him, Jesus Christ, our sovereign, gracious teacher. For the sake of his atoning death and because of his resurrection, there is the finished, in principle, promise of Jehovah to believers in their seeing. And then by his spirit, He works that faith by which we are attached to him and out of which we receive from Christ that certain promise and all the riches of that promise in Jesus Christ. That's the power, the only power of the fulfillment of the promise. You understand then why Jesus said to Jairus, fear not, only believe. Look to me alone. I am the answer. I am the certain fulfillment of this promise of the covenant. Thus, beloved, that's significant for you and me as households. The word of Christ is very clearly to us, fear not. We may have many reasons to fear about the continuation of God's promise. in our generations. Many fears, sin, troubles. Fear the wrath of God upon our covenant homes. Fear old nature, what it can do to ruin things in our covenant homes. God declares to us who are brought to the knowledge of our sin, our nothingness, God also declares, fear not. You are justified before me by faith alone in Jesus Christ, through him alone. By faith alone, you have peace with me. I am not at war with you when I send trouble into your home, when you must even face death. You have peace with me. And you are sanctified in Christ by his word and spirit unto this life of new obedience to me. Yes, you are sanctified in Christ unto me. Baptism signifies and seals the certainty of that. Even though we fight against sin day after day, yet God declares in baptism Sins have been washed away in my sight. The curse has been removed. To you is anchored the blessing of Jehovah. You have peace with me. Incorporated into my covenant of grace. We have the assurance that the Lord who has purchased us with his blood, incorporated us into his body, he will continue to work his work of salvation in you and me, by his word, by his spirit, so that we may also go and tell the great things that the Lord has done for us. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father who art in heaven, we are astonished with great astonishment that thou and thy mercy has signified and sealed unto us the wonders of thy grace, has washed us in the blood of Christ, adopted us to be thy children. Thou hast declared to us that thou wilt surely work in us that life and faith in Jesus Christ Thou wilt not let the work which Thou hast begun in us to fail. Thou wilt preserve us. Thy work is irresistible and sure in Jesus Christ. And now, Heavenly Father, work in us that faith to believe. Out of that faith, to live in thankfulness to Thee. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.