Sunday, January 28, 2018

Sunday Front Porch Sitting: Jesus' Promise--He Won't Forsake You!

It's another sleepy Sunday afternoon. Now that preaching is done, we might as well sit on the porch and sit a spell until supper is ready.

You know, there's these two people the Bible tells us about who reached out to Jesus at the same time, but we usually tell about them as two separate stories. I'm of course, talking about Jairus' dying daughter, and the woman with the issue of blood. While separately, both circumstances can teach us a lot, I believe there's a reason God told us about both at the same time. Let's look at Jairus.

"And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:
For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him." (Luke 8:41,42)

Think about that feeling of urgency. One's only 12-year old daughter on her deathbed. If you were Jairus, you would be ushering Jesus away faster than you've ever moved in your life. Then, when Jairus felt like time was already running out, Jesus was swarmed by a crowd of people!

Enter the woman. She'd been suffering for twelve years, spent every last bit of her money on doctors, and still couldn't be healed. You know the story: she knew if she could touch Jesus' garment, she'd be healed and sure enough, she was!

Now here's the part that always gets me. Jesus stops and turns around to ask who touched him. He's on His way to perform another miracle. But He stopped.Even the disciples were a little confused.

 "And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me." (vs 45, 46)

Jairus probably lost his mind at that point. I say 'probably' only because the Bible never tells us what Jairus was doing during all this. But we know he didn't go anywhere. He had to have been standing there when Jesus turned around to the crowd, asked who touched Him, received no answer, asked again, and healed the woman. And now, the first four words of verse 49: "While yet he spake". The worst news a father could ever hear came during this hullabaloo. His daughter had died.

"But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole." (vs 50). Again, Jesus was right there. He hadn't gone anywhere, either. Best of all, He had no plans to abandon Jairus' seemingly hopeless situation.

You've probably heard the end of the story. Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. All-in-all a happy ending right there. As for you and me, I think a good take-away is that we can count on the fact that when we feel Jesus is tarrying, we can rest assured He'll never leave us without hope. We know for a fact...He didn't just say it, He showed it!

Well, I can hear momma calling us in to help set the table. Supper will be ready soon. Happy Sunday, friends! 

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