Hello, and what a
privilege to join you.
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I am Don Pate
from the International
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Radio Ministry,
Between the Lines.
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And I'm looking
forward to the opportunity
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to spend time with you
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as we go under the
surface of the word
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in between the lines.
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To spend a few
minutes with Jesus,
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to come to know Him,
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possibly in a way that
you might not have seen
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before to look at
issues of the backgrounds
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of the stories, some
of the episodes of Jesus.
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And so as we spend
time together today
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with just one of
the gospel of Ebionites.
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One of the little slices
of the ministry of Jesus.
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I just pray that we
will be richly blessed.
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Somehow the Holy
Spirit will predispose us
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to set us up for
something special,
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a special appointment
and rondevu with Jesus.
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And then that He will reward us
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with good insights that,
that will make a difference
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in how we live
today and tomorrow
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as we prepare for
the coming of the Lord.
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And so I'd invite
you to join me in prayer
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as we prepare ourselves
and--and ask the Holy Spirit
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to fulfill the promise of Jesus
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that the Holy Spirit will
teach us today. Let's pray.
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Lord, it is such a privilege
to spend time in the word.
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And we pray that
now as we are together
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that we might go into
the word with open hearts,
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so that Jesus
Christ might come alive
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in a special way
within us and in our hearts.
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This is our prayer
in His holy name, amen.
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I'd like first to spend time
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with one of the events
of the ministry of Jesus
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that sometimes it's
not really well understood.
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To find something
from the background
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that may be you don't know.
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It's a story that, that comes in
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the center of another story.
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Now, you may not
know that the gospels,
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the four gospels,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
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that they each
bring a certain flavor
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to the understanding
of the stories of Jesus.
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Matthew has his agenda.
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And he certainly focuses on
some things that may be Mark.
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It doesn't see quite as--as
to the degree of importance
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and may be didn't meet
His needs quite as much.
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But then Mark probably
taking the stories of Peter.
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Mark reveals some
things, some insights
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about Jesus that
Luke never got around too.
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Now, Matthew, Mark, and Luke
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as you probably
know, they called synoptic.
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And what that means is
they are the synonymous gospels.
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They're very much alike,
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that a lot of what's in Matthew,
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you will find in Mark,
a lot of what's in Mark,
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you will find in Luke.
Now John is off to the side.
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John is--is unlike the
others. John is written last.
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And probably may be
even up to 20 years after
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the other gospels are written.
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And John by his own
confession in the book,
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shares that he is
telling you stories
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that that you haven't
seen in the other three.
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He is reviewing
for the early church.
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And he says, "I'd like to
tell you some of the things
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that Jesus did, that may be
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the stories you haven't heard."
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And so John is
decidedly different
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than the other three.
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But even at that there is a flow
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with some common
theme of some of the stories
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that not permeated that make it
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into all four of the gospels.
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Now the story
that I'd like for us
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to focus on here as
we're together today
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is the story that comes in
the middle of a larger story.
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You probably are
aware of the background
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of the story of
Jairus' daughter.
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Now as you remember
if you know that story.
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And if you take
your Bibles in turn,
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you can turn and find the story
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actually in the Gospel
of Matthew in Chapter 9
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or you could go to the
Gospel of Luke in Chapter 8.
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But I, for certain
reasons find the Gospel of Mark,
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the way Mark reviews the story.
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I find that to be
the one that's probably
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in some degrees
the most insightful.
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And may be there are some things
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under the surface of the story
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that come out of the heart
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that you don't find
in the other two gospels.
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And so I would invite
you to take your Bible
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and turn to the
Gospel of Mark to Chapter 5.
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Now in Chapter 5,
Jesus has just been involved
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in some very momentous
events up in the Galilee.
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He has just done
some miraculous things.
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And the people-it sort
of taken their breath away.
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They have been astounded
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at His ability to
resolve certain issues.
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You have the story
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of the gathering
healing of demoniacs.
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And here you have, Jesus
now coming into Capernaum.
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Now I don't know how
much you know about Capernaum.
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Matthew actually calls
Capernaum, Jesus' own village.
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Now you'll say, "Wait a
minute, I don't understand.
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You know, I thought
Jesus was from Nazareth."
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Well, you probably know
that there are some people
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where you can go to
their house, you know,
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you can kick off your shoes,
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you can just lay
down on the floor,
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you can raid their refrigerator.
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You can have a good
time and you feel at ease.
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There are certain
people where you can
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just watch your hair
down as the vernacular says.
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You can be more
comfortable with them.
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There are certain situations
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and you are probably
aware of this in life,
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may be in your own circumstance
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where you always
have to guard your words.
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Somebody is a little critical
or they have expectation
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or they have agenda or
they have some decision that,
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you know, this is the
way you are going to walk.
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And they're always
sort of right there
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to be a little critical.
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And you know how much energy
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that takes out of you
when you have to sit there
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and way out every word.
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You know, that that
takes a toll on a person.
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Capernaum
was--number one, it was Galilee.
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It was--it was decidedly
removed from Jerusalem.
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Jerusalem of
course was the center
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of some of the issues
of challenge of Jesus.
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With the Jerusalem
hierarchy and the priestly class
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and the people who--
they had--they thought
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the larger picture in
mind because they had to deal
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all the time
with the interaction
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of the Roman authorities.
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They had to worry about
what the empire was thinking.
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What the senate would think.
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What the regents would
think who represented Rome.
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What the military
leaders of the legions
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would think there at
the Fortress of Antonia.
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Jerusalem was never an easily
comfortable place for Jesus.
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Jerusalem was a
challenge to Jesus.
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The Galilee was more at home.
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Now here in the United States,
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we actually have
a sense of Galilee
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that if I would
say this and to people
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who are from the United States.
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Most would understand this.
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Galilee was
Nebraska. It was heartland.
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It was mid America.
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That's sort of
in--in our culture.
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Galilee was the--the
phrase that is often used
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for the Galilean was Ab Haras,
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the people of the earth,
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just the people of
the land, the common folk.
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And so Jesus-- number one,
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He didn't have to face
all the geopolitical issues
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of--of what was going on
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with the body
politic in Jerusalem.
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The Sanhedrin, the
priestly class, the leadership.
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He didn't have to face
that challenge all the time.
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And more than that,
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these were
basically people of the land.
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And for that
reason, they were somewhat--
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they were less sophisticated.
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They were more
attuned to listening to Jesus
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for what He had to say.
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Yes, they came with
their expectation too.
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I mean, and I
don't want you to believe
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that the Galilee
was always completely
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easy living for Jesus,
that's certainly was not true.
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But generally things
were less challenging.
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Generally Jesus was
more received in the Galilee.
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And of all the Galilee,
the villages of the Galilee,
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the one where it seems
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that Jesus was more
commonly at--at home,
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at ease was Capernaum.
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And so in this story,
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you have Jesus
returning to Capernaum.
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The place where
at least to a degree
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He found greater acceptance.
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He wasn't as often confronted.
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And you remember
the story Jairus,
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the ruler of the synagogue
comes out to confront Jesus
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and he has an agenda,
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it's because his
daughter is deathly ill.
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Well, you probably
remember what happens then.
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Jesus is going with
Jairus up to wherever somebody
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who was of the upper
crest of society in Capernaum
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would live in--in
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the president of
the synagogue's home.
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Obviously not probably just with
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the average
person of the village.
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And this man had, you know,
a little higher reputation.
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And so to the little suburban
neighborhood of Capernaum
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was Jairus's home would be.
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Jesus is walking with His
entourage with His disciples,
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when suddenly this
story gets interjected.
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Mark Chapter 5 verse 25,
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"A certain woman
which had an issue
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of the blood for twelve years."
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Now remember if you
know the rest of the story,
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you'll say, "Wait a minute,
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wasn't that the age
of Jairus' daughter."
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This woman's dilemma,
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her problem is the
same length of time,
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has been going on for
the same length of time
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as Jairus'
daughter's whole lifespan.
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So you've got the
story of a young girl
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who is right on the
edge of becoming a woman
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within the economy of Israel,
00:10:06.84\00:10:08.35
within the society of Israel.
00:10:08.36\00:10:10.13
She was right on the
edge of becoming a woman,
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and then you have a woman
who for that whole lifespan
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has been facing a
sense of rejection of heaven.
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She has the
issuance of the blood.
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Now you might know your
Bible well enough to know
00:10:26.95\00:10:29.35
exactly what's going on here.
00:10:29.36\00:10:31.19
It is part of the Levitical code
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for issues of
hygiene, public health,
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and--and the Lord
had His reasons not that
00:10:36.99\00:10:39.70
we have to completely understand
00:10:39.71\00:10:41.79
all of God's reasons.
I mean, He can be God.
00:10:41.80\00:10:44.79
But the Lord had His reasons
00:10:44.80\00:10:46.13
for many of the issues of kosher
00:10:46.14\00:10:48.67
and a lot of it
dealt with issues.
00:10:48.68\00:10:50.76
Today we
understand a quarantine blood
00:10:50.77\00:10:54.54
in body fluid precautions.
00:10:54.55\00:10:56.13
Things like this that we
understand in our society
00:10:56.14\00:10:58.64
today that's
certainly back in those days
00:10:58.65\00:11:00.25
they could not have understood.
00:11:00.26\00:11:01.73
And this woman is going through
00:11:01.74\00:11:03.94
a period of ritual uncleanness.
00:11:03.95\00:11:06.71
The only problem is it's being
00:11:07.75\00:11:08.82
going for 12 years, 12 years.
00:11:08.83\00:11:13.00
And if you go
back in your Bible,
00:11:13.01\00:11:14.64
you can turn to
Leviticus Chapter 12
00:11:14.65\00:11:17.87
or Leviticus Chapter
15 to get the foundation
00:11:17.88\00:11:20.96
for understanding
what's happening in the story.
00:11:20.97\00:11:24.52
Now I happen to have here
00:11:24.53\00:11:25.62
a copy of
a--the Mishnah with me.
00:11:25.63\00:11:28.08
The Mishnah is a wonderful
resource for Christians
00:11:28.09\00:11:31.38
and most
Christians don't know it.
00:11:31.39\00:11:33.06
The Mishnah is the
codification of Jewish
00:11:33.07\00:11:37.21
overall tradition
from the days of Jesus,
00:11:37.22\00:11:39.65
the--the Second Temple Era.
00:11:39.66\00:11:41.30
The Rabbi sat down 200
years after Jesus, more or less.
00:11:42.38\00:11:46.77
And--and they codify.
They put into black and white.
00:11:46.78\00:11:50.88
The things that had been
taught from father to son
00:11:50.89\00:11:53.00
and from mentor to student,
from Gamaliel to Paul, Saul.
00:11:53.01\00:11:59.38
You have the codification
of the old tradition.
00:11:59.39\00:12:03.10
And so this is one
of the finest resources
00:12:03.11\00:12:05.68
for Christians to understand
00:12:05.69\00:12:07.12
what's really going
on in the world of Jesus.
00:12:07.13\00:12:09.16
To understand what's happening
00:12:10.19\00:12:12.71
in the expectation of the people
00:12:12.72\00:12:14.27
who are alive in Jesus day.
00:12:14.28\00:12:16.81
Now as you can see,
it's a fairly thick document.
00:12:16.82\00:12:19.10
It's about 800 pages
translated into English
00:12:19.11\00:12:22.96
and I find it fascinating.
00:12:22.97\00:12:24.38
No, I'm not--I
haven't memorized it all.
00:12:24.39\00:12:27.06
And in fact I haven't
read the whole Mishnah.
00:12:27.07\00:12:29.21
You may have
never read any of it.
00:12:29.22\00:12:30.94
Would I advise
you as a Christian,
00:12:30.95\00:12:32.72
may be to have a little, little
00:12:32.73\00:12:34.03
understanding of
the Mishnah? I think so.
00:12:34.04\00:12:36.87
I think so,
because it will flush out
00:12:36.88\00:12:39.86
the gospel
stories with the reality
00:12:40.96\00:12:43.16
of what's going
on in Jesus world.
00:12:43.17\00:12:44.57
And if you look
here, right here,
00:12:44.58\00:12:45.99
I'm gonna open this.
00:12:46.00\00:12:47.19
The Mishnah from
this point forward
00:12:47.20\00:12:49.43
to the back of
the book, ight here.
00:12:49.44\00:12:52.44
That much of the text.
00:12:52.45\00:12:54.45
Oh, what is it?
More than a third.
00:12:54.46\00:12:56.75
There are two booklets
that are called tractates.
00:12:57.91\00:13:02.95
And they are
completely dealing with
00:13:02.96\00:13:05.45
rules of ritual cleanness
00:13:05.46\00:13:07.90
and uncleanness or
that which is called kosher.
00:13:07.91\00:13:12.02
Kosher all that
means is that which is fit,
00:13:12.03\00:13:14.05
that which is acceptable,
and that which is called
00:13:14.06\00:13:16.50
tumah that which
is not acceptable.
00:13:16.51\00:13:20.37
Now there were
various types of tumah.
00:13:20.38\00:13:23.24
For Between the Lines,
00:13:23.25\00:13:24.45
every week I create a
new deeper look study guide
00:13:24.46\00:13:27.79
which is a gift for the
people around the world.
00:13:27.80\00:13:30.14
And this is the one that I did
00:13:30.15\00:13:31.82
a few weeks ago
on tumah, on tumah.
00:13:31.83\00:13:34.95
And it goes into the issues
00:13:34.96\00:13:36.62
of there--there are
layers of uncleanness
00:13:36.63\00:13:40.32
within the
expectation of the Bible people,
00:13:40.33\00:13:42.47
within the days of Jesus.
00:13:42.48\00:13:44.52
There were certain
things that were unclean
00:13:44.53\00:13:47.19
and they were
gonna be unclean forever.
00:13:47.20\00:13:48.57
There was nothing
you could do about it.
00:13:48.58\00:13:50.21
I mean, it
was--you could pray over it
00:13:50.22\00:13:52.22
all you wanted to,
and it was never going
00:13:52.23\00:13:53.72
to be considered ritually clean.
00:13:53.73\00:13:56.05
Then there were things
that were temporarily unclean.
00:13:56.06\00:14:00.75
As long as this
condition continues
00:14:00.76\00:14:04.66
that is a temporary
uncleanness or tumah.
00:14:04.67\00:14:07.57
And then there are
things that were only unclean
00:14:07.58\00:14:10.58
just for a
certain slice of hours.
00:14:10.59\00:14:13.90
You know, for
this one day etcetera.
00:14:13.91\00:14:16.05
This woman with the
issuance of the blood,
00:14:16.06\00:14:19.46
her degree of uncleanness
or her style of uncleanness
00:14:19.47\00:14:23.42
was related to as long
as that issuance continued.
00:14:23.43\00:14:28.10
That's what we find in
00:14:28.11\00:14:29.10
Leviticus
Chapter 12, Leviticus 15.
00:14:29.11\00:14:31.64
And then when this problem,
00:14:31.65\00:14:34.04
this--this physical
problem would resolve itself,
00:14:34.05\00:14:37.47
she would then be
allowed to make sacrifice
00:14:38.68\00:14:40.73
and--and life goes back to
normal. Everything is fine.
00:14:40.74\00:14:43.77
The problem is with this woman
00:14:43.78\00:14:45.40
who knows what
trigger this event.
00:14:45.41\00:14:47.10
Was it a childbirth?
00:14:47.11\00:14:48.45
Was it her natural
body process? We don't know.
00:14:48.46\00:14:52.70
All we know is
that 12 years before
00:14:52.71\00:14:55.03
something happened
and it never clarified.
00:14:56.07\00:15:00.17
Now if it had ever clarified,
00:15:00.18\00:15:02.05
if it had ever
come to resolution,
00:15:02.06\00:15:04.73
she could have
then made sacrifice.
00:15:04.74\00:15:09.02
She could have walked
back into the light of heaven
00:15:09.03\00:15:11.64
and known that everything
was fine between her and God.
00:15:11.65\00:15:14.85
She could have been part
of the ritual process again.
00:15:14.86\00:15:17.63
But as long as
the process continued,
00:15:17.64\00:15:20.17
this couldn't happen.
00:15:20.18\00:15:22.22
And so this woman
00:15:22.23\00:15:23.63
has the issuance
of the blood 12 years.
00:15:23.64\00:15:25.74
And verse 26
says, it wasn't that
00:15:25.75\00:15:28.28
she didn't try
to find resolution.
00:15:28.29\00:15:30.96
In fact the word
in this is wonderful.
00:15:30.97\00:15:32.45
It says, "She suffered
many things of the physicians."
00:15:32.46\00:15:37.62
I mean, she went to anybody
00:15:37.63\00:15:39.98
who had any possible
remedy, and you know,
00:15:39.99\00:15:44.51
wasted her life savings
trying to get the answer.
00:15:44.52\00:15:47.99
And you have to know that
00:15:48.00\00:15:49.33
there are
something more than that.
00:15:49.34\00:15:50.62
It isn't just that she went
00:15:50.63\00:15:51.77
to the physicians, the doctors.
00:15:51.78\00:15:53.63
You have to know
that this woman surely
00:15:53.64\00:15:57.29
must have spent, you know,
00:15:57.30\00:15:59.66
countless nights
looking up to heaven.
00:15:59.67\00:16:04.05
Lord, when is
this gonna be resolved?
00:16:05.69\00:16:08.01
And more than
that, more than that,
00:16:08.02\00:16:10.60
this is why the
Bible is good for all time.
00:16:10.61\00:16:13.65
Human nature doesn't change.
00:16:13.66\00:16:15.40
You know, we may
today in the 21st century.
00:16:15.41\00:16:18.13
We may be more
technologically cute.
00:16:18.14\00:16:21.36
We may be more
scientifically advanced.
00:16:22.69\00:16:25.98
But human
nature does not change.
00:16:25.99\00:16:28.39
And that's why the text,
00:16:28.40\00:16:29.43
the stories are
good for all time,
00:16:29.44\00:16:31.41
because my weakness and my flaw,
00:16:31.42\00:16:34.13
my little
carnality, my sinful self,
00:16:34.14\00:16:37.12
I still find the
same flaws and weakness
00:16:37.13\00:16:39.26
in me that I find
in the Bible characters
00:16:39.27\00:16:41.36
and I still find that
the answer is still the same.
00:16:41.37\00:16:44.14
That is not going to change.
00:16:44.15\00:16:45.29
Jesus is going to give me
the answers within the text.
00:16:46.39\00:16:50.35
How to find resolution
00:16:50.36\00:16:52.15
for the great
deep needs of my life?
00:16:52.16\00:16:55.21
This woman, you have to know.
00:16:55.22\00:16:56.59
She probably looked
up to heaven and said,
00:16:58.02\00:17:00.98
"What have I done?
00:17:02.92\00:17:04.03
What is it that that I did,
00:17:05.34\00:17:07.04
that was so
horrific, that that this curse
00:17:07.05\00:17:09.83
would come upon me,
and I could not sacrifice.
00:17:09.84\00:17:12.56
I can't stay in
healthy familiar relations."
00:17:12.57\00:17:17.80
You may not
understand what I just said.
00:17:17.81\00:17:19.74
According to the
Mishnah and Leviticus 12,
00:17:19.75\00:17:23.02
Leviticus 15, the
descriptions here.
00:17:23.03\00:17:25.32
According to our
understanding what was going on?
00:17:25.33\00:17:27.64
Any chair that
this woman would sit on
00:17:28.78\00:17:31.55
became ritually unclean.
00:17:31.56\00:17:34.29
And if I went and sat on
that chair after she had been
00:17:34.30\00:17:39.10
on that chair, it
would render me unclean.
00:17:39.11\00:17:42.28
Any folk that
she would eat with,
00:17:43.40\00:17:45.29
any bowl that
she would eat out of,
00:17:45.30\00:17:47.13
she couldn't
embrace her husband.
00:17:48.53\00:17:51.27
She couldn't comb
her children's hair.
00:17:51.28\00:17:53.81
But that she would
render them unclean.
00:17:55.00\00:17:57.82
How long do you wanna put up
00:17:59.93\00:18:00.94
with that kind of
isolation in life?
00:18:00.95\00:18:03.28
You live life not knowing,
00:18:03.29\00:18:05.74
what in the world have I done?
00:18:06.91\00:18:08.58
And heaven seems like vast.
00:18:08.59\00:18:11.93
There is no answer that
comes back to this woman.
00:18:11.94\00:18:14.41
She goes to every
faith healer, physician.
00:18:15.42\00:18:19.32
Hocus-pocus man she can find.
00:18:20.88\00:18:23.28
I mean, I assume she
went the whole spectrum.
00:18:23.29\00:18:26.23
And certainly she must have
gone to many priests saying,
00:18:27.43\00:18:30.56
"Could you appeal
to heaven on my behalf.
00:18:30.57\00:18:32.90
What have I done wrong?
00:18:32.91\00:18:34.10
What do I have to do
to have this resolve,
00:18:34.11\00:18:36.18
so I can go back and
to live in real life?"
00:18:36.19\00:18:39.02
Now the story says, that when
she heard, this is verse 27.
00:18:39.03\00:18:44.40
"When she heard that
Jesus was coming into town."
00:18:44.41\00:18:49.20
She said very clearly. This
is very important, verse 28.
00:18:49.21\00:18:53.72
"If I may but touch
the hem of His garment."
00:18:53.73\00:18:58.75
When I was a kid I
used to hear the story.
00:19:00.29\00:19:01.60
I heard preachers,
you know, tell the story.
00:19:01.61\00:19:04.09
And I had this
impression that, well you know,
00:19:04.10\00:19:06.20
she--she has been
bleeding for so long,
00:19:06.21\00:19:07.87
she has this issuance
of blood, she is anemic,
00:19:07.88\00:19:10.41
her iron levels are down,
00:19:10.42\00:19:11.77
she is so weak that what happens
00:19:11.78\00:19:14.26
is there is this
press of the crowd
00:19:14.27\00:19:16.10
and we even see
that later in the story
00:19:16.11\00:19:18.21
of course where Jesus says,
00:19:18.22\00:19:20.02
you know, "Who touched me?"
00:19:20.03\00:19:21.05
And they say,
"Lord, such a crowd,
00:19:21.06\00:19:22.57
such a mob around us."
00:19:22.58\00:19:23.93
I had this feeling
that she was so weak,
00:19:26.01\00:19:27.31
she just sort of
stumble forward and,
00:19:27.32\00:19:28.46
you know, that's all she
got was the hem of the garment.
00:19:28.47\00:19:30.26
It's not what the
text says, I was wrong.
00:19:31.34\00:19:33.80
The text says very clearly.
00:19:33.81\00:19:35.34
When she heard
Jesus was coming to town
00:19:35.35\00:19:37.59
that He was at the
edge of the village there
00:19:37.60\00:19:39.77
that was her only intension.
00:19:39.78\00:19:42.69
That's all she intended.
00:19:42.70\00:19:44.34
Was to come up behind Him
00:19:44.35\00:19:45.76
and to touch the
hem of His garment.
00:19:45.77\00:19:48.01
She was going to--
are you ready for this?
00:19:49.21\00:19:51.77
Steal the healing?
00:19:52.90\00:19:55.95
I don't know if you've
ever thought of that way before.
00:19:57.31\00:20:00.20
She was going to
steal the virtue from Him.
00:20:00.21\00:20:03.12
Now we could go
into the background
00:20:04.82\00:20:06.37
of why she wouldn't
approach Him directly?
00:20:06.38\00:20:08.78
Why she wouldn't stand
in front of Him and ask?
00:20:08.79\00:20:11.66
I mean, you
could-- you can sit there
00:20:11.67\00:20:13.28
and spend time
speculating and praying
00:20:13.29\00:20:16.05
about that and thinking,
you know, if I was there,
00:20:16.06\00:20:18.31
if I was in her shoes,
if I was in her sandals,
00:20:18.32\00:20:20.86
you know, would I
come up to Jesus directly?
00:20:20.87\00:20:22.64
Well, think of how many times
00:20:22.65\00:20:23.78
she had been
rejected in 12 years.
00:20:23.79\00:20:26.39
Certainly she had been
set up to expect rejection,
00:20:26.40\00:20:31.72
because of the
ritual uncleanness,
00:20:31.73\00:20:34.97
because of people avoiding her.
00:20:34.98\00:20:36.76
And she can't even
get an answer from heaven.
00:20:37.76\00:20:39.61
The priests don't
have an answer for her.
00:20:40.71\00:20:42.82
Certainly, I don't wanna
be too hard on this woman,
00:20:42.83\00:20:45.52
because if I had
been in her sandals,
00:20:45.53\00:20:47.08
I probably would
have done the same thing.
00:20:47.09\00:20:49.62
I wouldn't have had
a lot of reason to hope
00:20:50.70\00:20:53.61
that a holy
teacher would listen to me.
00:20:54.89\00:20:57.76
Would--would allow me to
appeal and have response.
00:20:58.79\00:21:04.87
Yeah, I'm not
being critical of her,
00:21:04.88\00:21:06.50
but that's all
she intended to do.
00:21:06.51\00:21:08.52
She intended only to
touch the hem of His garment.
00:21:08.53\00:21:11.38
And of course,
with that touch of faith
00:21:11.39\00:21:13.51
that moment she knew.
00:21:13.52\00:21:15.56
I mean, she
could-- she could feel
00:21:15.57\00:21:16.97
the color come
back into her cheeks.
00:21:16.98\00:21:18.60
This long term anemic condition
00:21:19.60\00:21:23.21
was resolved just like that.
00:21:23.22\00:21:24.79
The only problem is, what
is she gonna do with that now?
00:21:28.12\00:21:30.39
Have you ever thought of that?
00:21:30.40\00:21:32.11
What is she going
to do with it now?
00:21:32.12\00:21:33.61
She knows she has been healed.
00:21:33.62\00:21:35.74
But she has a problem.
00:21:38.08\00:21:39.35
Jesus of course, He asked
His disciples and He says,
00:21:40.91\00:21:44.41
"You know, there's a crowd
around us. Who touched me?"
00:21:44.42\00:21:47.66
And Peter on the other side,"
00:21:47.67\00:21:48.66
Oh, Lord, You can't be serious."
00:21:48.67\00:21:49.85
Some years ago I
actually was in a huge crowd
00:21:50.86\00:21:54.55
at the Super Bowl. I didn't
pay for it, it was a gift.
00:21:55.87\00:21:59.68
And I want to add,
and there was this mob
00:21:59.69\00:22:00.91
and I was actually walking.
00:22:00.92\00:22:03.08
My wife and I were walking
00:22:03.09\00:22:04.33
with a member of
the National Football
00:22:04.34\00:22:06.24
League Hall of
Fame, Mean Joe Greene.
00:22:06.25\00:22:08.50
We were--we sat with
him, we walked with him,
00:22:08.56\00:22:10.24
and everybody was reaching--
reaching out and touching Joe.
00:22:10.25\00:22:12.52
Hey, there is Mean Joe.
00:22:12.53\00:22:13.52
You know, very famous
American football player.
00:22:13.53\00:22:15.40
Very--you can pick him
out of a crowd, big man.
00:22:16.83\00:22:20.34
There is Mean
Joe, there is Mean Joe.
00:22:20.35\00:22:21.63
Nobody was going,
"Hey, there is Don Pate."
00:22:21.64\00:22:23.19
You know, they didn't
think anything about me.
00:22:23.20\00:22:25.40
But it was so
fascinating to watch people
00:22:25.41\00:22:27.47
as we were near
so many celebrities
00:22:27.48\00:22:30.21
that day because of
where we happened to be seated,
00:22:30.22\00:22:32.45
I mean, there were some
major names Donald Trump,
00:22:32.46\00:22:35.63
Ted Kennedy,
Christie Brinkley, you know,
00:22:35.64\00:22:38.37
major names of
popular American culture,
00:22:38.38\00:22:41.27
they're sitting right around us.
00:22:41.28\00:22:42.76
And people wanting to
touch, wanting to touch.
00:22:44.43\00:22:46.21
Jesus, you know,
He was a celebrity
00:22:46.22\00:22:48.13
of His day in His time.
00:22:48.14\00:22:49.57
Notorious to some,
notorious in a bad way,
00:22:49.58\00:22:52.63
but--but certainly Jesus
was a celebrity in His day.
00:22:52.64\00:22:56.61
And when He
says, "Who touched me?"
00:22:56.62\00:22:58.40
The disciples says,
"Lord, this is ludicrous.
00:22:58.41\00:23:00.95
You know, everybody
wants your autograph.
00:23:00.96\00:23:03.53
Everybody wants to touch you."
00:23:03.54\00:23:05.06
Everybody wants to spend
time being near the aura.
00:23:05.07\00:23:09.15
This is when
it's happening, Lord.
00:23:09.16\00:23:10.56
Jesus said, "No,
this one was different."
00:23:11.94\00:23:13.41
Can you imagine the
horror that this woman had
00:23:14.52\00:23:19.05
at that moment
because she got caught?
00:23:19.06\00:23:23.41
She thought she was going
to be able to steal the virtue,
00:23:25.22\00:23:29.45
steal the healing, and
just walk away scot free.
00:23:29.46\00:23:33.07
And she got caught.
00:23:33.08\00:23:34.32
Now think about it, friend.
00:23:36.42\00:23:38.66
If Jesus knows
He's been touched.
00:23:38.67\00:23:41.51
If He knows He's
been touched more than
00:23:42.91\00:23:44.80
just jostled by the crowd,
00:23:44.81\00:23:46.98
you think He didn't
know who touched Him?
00:23:46.99\00:23:48.72
Jesus is not
asking this question
00:23:49.78\00:23:52.42
for His own
information. Who touched me?
00:23:52.43\00:23:56.39
He has a reason
behind the question.
00:23:57.99\00:24:01.43
And to me this is
one of the insights
00:24:01.44\00:24:03.38
of the scripture
that is so remarkable.
00:24:03.39\00:24:06.17
It teaches me what the necessity
00:24:07.22\00:24:09.99
of confession is all about.
00:24:10.00\00:24:12.14
I don't know if it's
ever crossed your mind
00:24:13.40\00:24:15.01
that and there are
some Christians I think
00:24:15.02\00:24:17.07
who fall into the
trap of believing that
00:24:17.08\00:24:19.08
somehow they will
earn their way to heaven
00:24:19.09\00:24:21.11
by confession
that if I can congest,
00:24:21.12\00:24:23.78
confess accurately enough.
00:24:23.79\00:24:25.69
If I--if I can
create a mental checklist
00:24:25.70\00:24:28.36
of the sins, down the
list that if can come up with,
00:24:28.37\00:24:32.38
"Oh, boy, oh, that's right."
00:24:32.39\00:24:33.76
At the moment
12:47 this afternoon
00:24:33.77\00:24:36.04
just for a second my
mind sort of--Oh, Lord,
00:24:36.05\00:24:38.48
I--if we can earn our
way to heaven by either
00:24:38.49\00:24:41.48
accurate or aggressive,
proactive confession,
00:24:41.49\00:24:45.12
then we don't
really need the cross.
00:24:46.59\00:24:48.13
Confession isn't, it
isn't to tell something to God
00:24:49.15\00:24:54.94
that He doesn't know.
00:24:54.95\00:24:56.62
I mean, are we
going to believe somehow
00:24:58.44\00:25:02.06
that that the Lord
is sitting in heaven
00:25:02.07\00:25:05.90
and--and I get
down to confess my sins
00:25:05.91\00:25:08.00
and I say, "Lord,
this afternoon at 4:17,
00:25:08.01\00:25:10.84
I--I kind of lost my
temper and I kicked my dog
00:25:10.85\00:25:13.72
which I'll never do I--you know,
00:25:13.73\00:25:15.31
I'm very gentle with animals.
00:25:15.32\00:25:16.80
But you know,
Lord, I kicked my dog."
00:25:16.81\00:25:19.12
And certainly the
Lord doesn't sit there
00:25:19.13\00:25:21.38
and look over and say,
"Gabriel, did you hear that?"
00:25:21.39\00:25:23.82
It isn't like the
Lord doesn't know.
00:25:25.86\00:25:27.74
We don't confess,
00:25:27.75\00:25:28.98
because the information
is necessary for heaven.
00:25:28.99\00:25:31.96
There's a different
reason for confession
00:25:33.00\00:25:34.70
and that's what
Jesus tries to evoke here
00:25:34.71\00:25:37.59
in us to understand.
00:25:37.60\00:25:39.29
Jesus said, "Who
touched my clothes?"
00:25:39.30\00:25:41.67
Verse 30, verse 33, the
woman fearing and trembling
00:25:41.68\00:25:45.52
because she knew
she had been caught.
00:25:45.53\00:25:47.75
And you know why she
touched the hem of His garment?
00:25:49.99\00:25:51.98
If she reaches out and
touches Him on the hand,
00:25:53.12\00:25:55.21
He's probably be
gonna-- gonna know it.
00:25:55.22\00:25:57.45
She thinks she can get away
00:25:57.46\00:25:59.16
with just brushing a
little piece of His clothes.
00:25:59.17\00:26:01.59
He won't feel it, you know.
00:26:02.77\00:26:03.99
Because if Jesus--
Leviticus 12, Leviticus 15,
00:26:06.84\00:26:10.47
"If Jesus knew He'd
been touched by a woman,
00:26:10.48\00:26:13.39
remember if she
even sat on the chair,
00:26:13.40\00:26:14.97
it became ritually unclean."
00:26:14.98\00:26:16.62
What happens to
Him if He gets touch?
00:26:16.63\00:26:18.42
If He knows He's been
touched by this woman.
00:26:18.43\00:26:20.45
She has rendered him unclean.
00:26:20.46\00:26:22.39
And she expects Him
to be unhappy about this.
00:26:22.40\00:26:25.10
And Jesus says,
"Who touched me?"
00:26:27.17\00:26:29.07
She got caught.
00:26:29.08\00:26:30.34
And He evokes
confession from her.
00:26:31.88\00:26:34.55
It wasn't that
Jesus had a big problem
00:26:34.56\00:26:36.07
of what she had done.
00:26:36.08\00:26:37.26
He evoked confession from
her because think about it,
00:26:38.42\00:26:41.46
if--if Jesus had not
confronted this woman,
00:26:41.47\00:26:43.96
if Jesus had not
challenged to her and said,
00:26:43.97\00:26:45.66
"Come on, you've got
to be honest with me."
00:26:45.67\00:26:47.59
If Jesus hadn't done that.
00:26:47.60\00:26:49.54
The next day in
the market place,
00:26:49.55\00:26:52.13
she might have been
walking along in Capernaum
00:26:52.14\00:26:53.84
and Jesus would have
been walking this way
00:26:53.85\00:26:55.45
and she would've
had to avoid Him.
00:26:55.46\00:26:57.47
She couldn't made
eye contact with Him.
00:26:57.48\00:26:59.40
She couldn't have--have
any friendship with Him.
00:27:00.43\00:27:03.07
She couldn't have
any relationship with Him
00:27:03.08\00:27:05.43
because there was this barrier
00:27:05.44\00:27:06.63
between them
because of her guilt.
00:27:06.64\00:27:08.35
You remember what happens.
00:27:10.47\00:27:12.57
She steps forward.
She says, "It was me."
00:27:12.58\00:27:14.40
As if Jesus didn't know.
00:27:14.41\00:27:15.93
And Jesus smiles and He says,
00:27:15.94\00:27:17.71
verse 34, "Daughter,
it's okay. It's okay."
00:27:17.72\00:27:22.29
And I think that why
it's important for you
00:27:23.98\00:27:25.95
and I to confess,
00:27:25.96\00:27:26.96
not that we're
earning something with God.
00:27:26.97\00:27:29.70
But that we are
being honest with heaven,
00:27:29.71\00:27:33.02
and the honesty then allows us
00:27:33.03\00:27:35.17
to have
relationship, friendship.
00:27:35.18\00:27:38.31
So we don't have to
always be looking over
00:27:38.32\00:27:39.97
our shoulder believing
that we need to avoid heaven.
00:27:39.98\00:27:43.83
Let's pray, Oh, Holy Father,
00:27:46.35\00:27:49.16
we--we pray that we
would live in honesty
00:27:50.43\00:27:52.53
with You in friendship
with You, and with Jesus.
00:27:52.54\00:27:57.51
This is our prayer
in His holy name, amen.
00:27:57.52\00:28:00.81