The Dead Made Whole

[00:00:00] This audio sermon is provided by AnabaptistSermons.com and may be freely copied and distributed. You may not sell or edit this sermon. Our prayer is that you would be blessed by this ministry. I welcome each one of you to Calvary, especially those of you who are not normally with us. [00:00:42] And I would invite you to turn to Luke's Gospel, Chapter 8. Luke's Gospel, Chapter 8. It has been some time since we have been in this passage. We are studying through the book of Luke. We've had occasion for some special activities here in the pulpit, special speakers, which I'm sure we all enjoy. [00:01:17] We would like to come back now and pick up our study in Luke chapter 8. And I would like to read beginning at verse 41. We will then skip over to verse 49 after verse 42. You may recall that we have looked at verses 43 through 47, or 48 rather, in a previous study. Luke 8, 41 [00:01:51] 1. 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 dying. But as he went, the people thronged him. Verse 49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, [00:02:27] Thy daughter is dead, trouble not the master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in save Peter and James and John and the father and mother of the maiden. And all wept and bewailed her, but he said, Weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. [00:03:04] And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Made arise. And her spirit came again, and she rose straightway, and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished, but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. [00:03:38] This is the Lord's Word, and I call us all to hear it and to follow it. Looking at this passage, we would like to consider some faith issues. and the matter of wholeness and the requirement that God makes [00:04:14] that we completely trust in Him. It is interesting that our Savior's words relating to this 12-year-old girl speaks of wholeness, wholeness in the shadow of death. For it seems very clear from this passage that she had died. [00:04:50] The mourners apparently had been called in, as they would have had in that day, professional mourners were called in to weep and wail it would seem that that is the case I wouldn't necessarily be dogmatic about that but it appears that in the light of other passages and so on that probably the mourners had arrived and were loudly weeping and wailing over this death and the Lord says she shall be made whole [00:05:26] And we understand then that death in the mind of God is not the end and it is not even relief in one sense, although there's physical relief in death, I'm sure, but it is awaiting a wholeness. and that life is intended by God to be wholeness. [00:06:07] Great many thoughts that immediately come to my mind and probably to yours as you think about some of those things and the need for us as Christian people to seek such a harmony with the will of God that we know a real sense of wholeness even in this life. Though we recognize because of our brokenness and sin, it will not be perfectly realized until we are with the Lord. [00:06:40] An extreme test was given to this man. He was a ruler of the synagogue. He had come seeking Jesus' help for his daughter, his only daughter. And the earlier verses, verses 41 and 42, lay that background. [00:07:16] It says that she lay dying. And the test was, do you believe Christ? Do you believe God? or will you release her in death? Not many of us have that exact test. [00:07:55] But it was an extreme test. A test of a man who was not an open disciple of Christ. At least at this point, he came to Jesus seeking help. And then, in the scenario that the Scripture gives us, he has some news. [00:08:29] And the parentheses we looked at last time happens in the throng of people when the woman was healed. And as the Lord was finishing speaking to the woman, in verse 49, There cometh one from the house, saying, Trouble not the master, your daughter is dead. The Lord's response is the central point that I would like to emphasize. [00:09:15] If you'll notice it in verse 50, But when Jesus heard it, he answered, saying, fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole. This is a description of faith. A recognition on the one hand that as far as this life is concerned, all is lost. [00:09:53] a hearing on the other of God's commandment not to fear and a complete and implicit trust in God who does all things well so we have an emphasis upon true faith A faith that includes nothing. [00:10:27] All was lost. She had died. It was no longer a case of healing the sick, which the Lord was capable of doing and had just done, but it was no longer a case of healing the sick. She had died. There was, it seemed, no hope in this life. No longer was there anything doctors could do. All hope was lost. [00:11:07] As far as this life was concerned, she had died. and the Lord responds to that don't fear only believe and so in a sense even though the word is used here you have a definition of faith faith is not accompanied by works it produces works but faith is a surrender [00:11:41] without fear to the Lord putting ourselves totally and unconditionally at the disposal of the Savior it is a very very misunderstood truth today especially as Americans we we try to do our part and then let [00:12:11] God make up the difference. That's not faith. That is trust in ourselves and realizing we can't quite make it so we have God help us out a little bit. That is not faith. Faith is an unconditional surrender to a hopeless situation and a recognition of that and then an unconditional So there was nothing that anyone could do apart from God. [00:12:54] There was nothing and no one to help other than the Lord. I remember as a boy attending the weekly prayer meeting on Wednesday evening with my parents. Actually, it was Thursday evening in those days. But we were of that stripe that would have to be at death's door in order not to go to prayer meeting. [00:13:29] And I, as a child, didn't always appreciate that. I have to say that. But we sang of an old blue hymn book. I went looking for that hymn book this morning and I couldn't find it. I think it's downstairs somewhere at the house, but we found this in another hymn book. It's a song that you may be familiar with, at least the chorus. Reflects the truth here. [00:14:01] Fear not, little flock, from the cross to the throne. From death into life he went for his own. All power on earth, all power above, Is given to him for the flock of his love. Only believe, only believe. All things are possible. Only believe, only believe, only believe All things are possible, only believe Used to sing that in prayer meeting Fear not, little flock, he goeth ahead Your shepherd selecteth the path you must tread The waters of Marah he'll sweeten for thee He drank all the bitter in Gethsemane [00:14:55] Fear not, little flock, whate'er your lot, he enters all rooms, the doors being shut. He never forsakes, he never is gone, so count on his presence in darkness and dawn. Only believe, only believe, all things are possible. Only believe, only believe, only believe, all things are possible [00:15:26] Only believe You familiar with the chorus, anybody? Let's try to sing that chorus Only believe, only believe, all things are possible Only believe, only believe, only believe [00:15:58] All things are possible, only believe And that was the requirement for the ruler of the synagogue. That's what the Lord said. Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole. Now she was made whole, and so if the words of the Savior were followed, [00:16:29] which I believe they were, he must have believed. And then the Lord launches into this thing about sleeping again. In verse 51, he comes to the house. He takes just the three disciples this time with the father and mother. And he goes into the room. [00:17:02] As those were weeping in the house, as we suggested, perhaps the professional mourners, He said, weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. This is not the only time the Lord talked about death in the light of sleeping. I'd like you to turn to another passage which is probably familiar to you. [00:17:33] John chapter 11. John chapter 11, if you'll turn there. And beginning at verse 11, this is the case of Lazarus. These things said he, and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. But I go that I may awake him out of sleep. [00:18:05] Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. They were thinking if he had slept, he was going to be getting well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking rest and sleep. Then Jesus said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto him. [00:18:42] I don't think it would be a stretch to say that in the mind of God, death for the believer, and in a sense, death generally, is but sleep. That doesn't mean that we believe in soul sleep. But it means that in terms of the body, death is not the end. [00:19:16] For those who don't know Jesus Christ as their Savior and die, they will wish it was the end. But it isn't, for all will be raised, and those who have not received Christ as their Savior will be raised unto judgment and eternal damnation, but those who know Christ will be raised incorruptible, to be in glory forever. [00:19:58] So, for God, you see, while we as human beings say, well, death is the end, it isn't. And I think that's the truth that the Lord wants to impart with this word sleep. It isn't that death ends everything. Death is merely like going to sleep, but we will awake. Now, in this particular case, back in Luke 8, the girl was brought back to life, as we know from the passage, which is unusual. [00:20:38] There are just a few in the Scriptures who have known physical death and come back to this life. and all of those have died except one and that is the first fruits of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there are those few who have died twice in the scriptures or as recorded in the scriptures. [00:21:14] But what I believe the Lord would want us to see here is that death is simply in the mind of God like sleep. It stops, we lose consciousness, we awake a later day. And for this girl, she awoke the same day. There was no doubt from the witnesses as well as the declaration of the Scripture that she had died, verse 53 of chapter 8 of Luke. [00:21:46] they laughed him to scorn knowing that she was dead so the witnesses were clear this was not just she was not just comatose she was dead and he put them the mourners all out and took her by the hand and called saying made arise and here you have the scripture explaining what happened [00:22:16] Verse number 55 The spirit came again. Her spirit came again. And she arose straightway. And so, her spirit had departed from the body. And she was physically dead. But at the word of the Lord, And I would suggest on the basis of the earlier verse that in response to the faith of the man, the Father. [00:22:57] But the main point is, at the word of the Lord, she arose. You see, our Savior has absolute command of life and death. The Bible tells us that by Christ all things are held together, and that includes us. Now, medical science will give you some explanations about some of the whys, [00:23:34] but I've talked to many Christian doctors who say, we really don't know very much, and we really don't know why some things work, We had a surgeon in our congregation in Ohio. And he gave the entire congregation free medical work. He felt that was his contribution. And I sat in his office a couple times. [00:24:07] And he said, well, you have to tell me what is wrong. He said, we doctors might know 1% of why your body works the way it does. He said, that is probably being optimistic. So you need to tell me what the problem is as best you understand it and answer to my questions and then maybe we can get to some answers. And I've heard him say something like that a number of times with other people as well. [00:24:38] And I think any physician who is honest and who understands his limitations would have to say something similar. Why? Because it is Christ that makes us function, even physically. You know, why does your heart beat? Well, there's electrical shock and all this sort of thing directed by the brain and all those various physical explanations. [00:25:09] And I'm not saying that those are not true. I'm sure they are. But the bottom line is that the Creator keeps all those things working. And so in a very real sense, life and death are in His hands. Now we usually come to the bigger question, why did he do it that way? Or why did he allow it to happen that way? And that is not quite so easy to answer except in his sovereign will. [00:25:44] If we're interested when we're glorified, I doubt we will be, but if we are, we can ask him one day, those of us who know him. I think by then we will be so enthralled with the Savior We will not be interested about those questions anymore. But here, the Lord simply speaks a word. And that life spiritual part of this girl that had left, and left just simply a house, a physical body, lying there, [00:26:21] that life spiritual part returned. It says the spirit returned. And she got up straightway, and he commanded that she be given some food. I want to encourage us to trust implicitly in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is here presented as the life-giver and the life-sustainer. [00:26:54] we need to recognize that we are in his hands that does not violate our free will it does not violate our responsibility in the least but we need to understand that at the bottom line we are in the Savior's hands and there is no better place to be because if he takes his hands off then I would understand [00:27:25] we'd be like the girl before he set arise now there's something very interesting at the close of the passage and when we were looking at a previous passage back in verse 37 Brother Greg pointed out to me, he'd been reading ahead when we were sharing together, [00:28:05] and he pointed out to me that when you get to verse 56, you'll have a contrary command. And of course that is true. You'll notice in verse 56, Her parents were astonished, but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. And if you look back to verse 37, that, oh, verse 39 rather, the command to the demoniac, [00:28:38] Return to thine own house and show how great things God hath done to thee. And he went his way and published. And so you have the command of the Lord to show, it's a similar command to preach, to share what God has done. And then here he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. The Lord does not give us an answer to why he directed these things in two different ways, so we are somewhat left to conjecture. [00:29:11] This matter with the girl's resurrection, if we can say it that way, was certainly a family matter. He put people out. There were just those few there at that point. It was not particularly for publication. There is some Jewish factor in the situation because of the Jewish rejection of him. [00:29:42] Whereas in the situation of the Gadarenes, that would not have been so much the case. There are public factors in the earlier passage. A number of things that we could look at. I don't know what the answer is. The answer does not seem to be given, but it is clear that there are two different commands. One, publish it. The other, don't talk about it. And I reject the idea of reverse psychology. [00:30:19] That is to tell somebody to do the opposite of what you want them to do. It works. I have proved that it works. If you get somebody that's really obstinate, you tell them exactly what you don't want them to do, and then they'll do what you want them to do. That's a fact. And there's only one reason that I don't feel free to do that, and that is because of the matter of integrity. And so that brings us back to the Savior. [00:30:59] He of all people has the highest possible integrity. So I don't believe that you can argue that he used reverse psychology on them. If you want to believe that, I'm not going to argue about it particularly, but it seems to me an issue of integrity. And so there are undoubtedly other reasons why he said tell no man. They should tell no man what was done. [00:31:32] He is, in this passage, demonstrating through the scriptural record to us the power over death, which he himself illustrated completely at the resurrection. Now, should you pray for someone who has died to come back to life? I don't find that commanded in Scripture. [00:32:11] It is not a question of whether God can do it. He can. But it may be a question of whether He will. It seems to me that he is awaiting a time when he will bring all to life again. And so I doubt that this exact scenario will be repeated until the great resurrection. [00:32:43] I would not say it cannot happen because the God with whom we have to do doesn't fit in our boxes. But the biggest thing about this passage for me is the call to faith. You see, they didn't particularly pray for the girl to be resurrected. that was voluntary on God's part [00:33:17] that was Jesus' response they came and prayed him to come for healing and so the central lesson is to trust in God to trust without conditions to trust without asking him to add to our effort but to just simply surrender to his will. [00:33:48] And so I ask us today, are you trusting the Lord no matter what? Can you say to the Lord from your heart right now, I trust you no matter what. I put my future my present in your hands I am submissive totally to your will I call us to do that may we pray thank you father for this record for the manifestation of the power [00:34:37] over death and we want to put ourselves totally at your disposal whatever it means and we pray that your holy spirit will work among us to that effect we pray in jesus name amen Thank you for watching!