Jesus Loves The Desperate

We all hit points of desperation ... that sense of overwhelming hopelessness that things can never get better. When that happens, do you run away, depend on your own devises, run deeper into the mess, or look for another way? Jesus loves the desperate. This is what we talked about today at Joy Church.

That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Over the past few weeks, we have been talking about the Kingdom of God – how it came to be, what it is, what it offers us, and how we can become a part of it. We’ve been doing that by going through the Gospel according to Mark and looking at specific parts of Jesus’s life. Today, we’re going to dig into what the Kingdom of God has to offer us during our moments of desperation by looking at Mark, chapter 5

In Mark 5 we have a very special chapter of the Bible. It comes right after the scripture I just read, verses 35-41 of chapter 4. In those verses, where Jesus was in a boat with several of His followers and a storm came up, Jesus assured them that they can trust Him. They were convinced the boat would capsize in the storm and they’d all drown. But Jesus simply told the storm to stop, and it stopped, and they all saw that they can turn to Jesus in their need.

Now, in Mark chapter 5, we look at three people whom Jesus impacted in great ways. Three people who turned to Jesus at points of desperation and had their lives forever changed, forever made better.

As I talk about each of these three people, we will look at several things related to them:

1) Their desperation

2) How Jesus met their individual needs

3) What Jesus told them to do next

And after that we will also look at something very important that is the same with each of them – the defining moment that caused Jesus to reach them in their desperation.

I am going to do something different this week from what I normally do. A lot of times we start by reading our primary scripture for the day and then we work through it. This week, we’re going to change that up. The stories of these three people I think will all be at least a little familiar to you. So we’re going to talk about their stories first and then before we wrap up, we will read the full scripture and I think it will come together for us each in a big way at that time to understand the scripture before we read it.

So, the first person in Mark 5 who is desperate for Jesus is a man we call Legion or actually the Bible translation we will later use calls him Mob. This is the man who is possessed by many demons. He was living naked, hiding in the graveyard amongst the tombs on the outskirts of town, banished from his family and society. We are told that, when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran to Him and bowed before Him, seeking His help, but then the demons started spewing forth all sorts of bad things. The man himself was desperate but the demons did not want to leave his body. Jesus then commanded that the demons leave the man and instead enter a herd of pigs. The pigs then dove over a cliff and all died. Why do you think that Jesus got rid of the demons in this way? The reason was so that the man would have visible evidence that the demons had left his body. At the end of this, Jesus told the man to go back to his people – the people he had left and tell them the story of how God had had mercy on him.

The next person in Mark 5 is a Jewish leader named Jairus. Jairus came to Jesus and fell on his knees, begging Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter who was on her deathbed. He asked Jesus to come lay hands on her in order that she might be healed. And, as we will see in a bit, Jesus did just that and the girl was immediately healed. In that case, Jesus told them to not tell anyone what had happened and to give the girl something to eat. This is kind of odd isn’t it, that Jesus told them to not tell anyone. Most scholars believe the reason for that is that it would have caused Him to be mobbed and perhaps cut His ministry short here on earth, perhaps even causing Him to be captured and crucified before His work here was done. So, it was all in accordance with God’s plan. But, it’s interesting that He did tell them to give their daughter something to eat, a reminder that while we are alive we are to live and be active and vibrant.

Finally, in Mark 5, Jesus also meets the woman who has suffered a bleeding disorder for 12 years. I believe we talked about her a few months ago. Like the demon-possessed man, she also was ostracized from society and risked a lot by approaching Jesus. And yet she pursued Him and, with just a touch of the hem of His robe, she was healed. And, to her, Jesus says that her faith as healed her and she should go and live in peace, cured of her infirmity.

So, here we have three people, all living in their own desperation – the demon-possessed man, Jairus whose daughter was about to die, and the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. And Jesus changes all of their lives. But they had to all make a decision to pursue Him at their moment of desperation, didn’t they? Do we always do that? Let’s look at a TV commercial that’s been playing some recently which I find to be pretty funny. It’s modeled after the horror movies involving teenagers that some of us watched back in the 80’s – Friday the 13th, Halloween, and the others.

Let’s watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYae3ZAAbLc

We watch that commercial and we laugh but how often do we at our moments of desperation, our moments of need, run deeper into the mess instead of running to Jesus? We laugh at these teenagers but how often have we done the same thing? How often do we decide to hide behind the chainsaws – hide behind the mess of our lives instead of running to Jesus, instead of falling at His feet or grabbing at the hem of His robe?

Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Okay, there’s one more video I want to share this morning. This is one of my favorite songs of all times. The song is Desperado by the Eagles. Anyone else like that song? Hard to believe but this song is over 45 years old now. It’s not really a song about faith but it does speak to our condition as humans. All too often when we’re desperate and weary, we keep running … like I said, we run to the garage of chainsaws rather than to the running car or the loving arms of Jesus. In this song, they’re talking about a young man – Desperado – who keeps running away from love in his life rather than toward it. And they’re saying why don’t you come to your senses and let somebody love you? The same thing applies to our lives with Jesus, doesn’t it? Instead of running from Him in times of desperation, why don’t we run toward Him and let Him love us. Let’s check out the song.

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?

You been out ridin' fences for so long now

Oh, you're a hard one

But I know that you got your reasons

These things that are pleasin' you

Can hurt you somehow

Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy

She'll beat you if she's able

You know the Queen of Hearts is always your best bet

Now, it seems to me some fine things

Have been laid upon your table

But you only want the ones that you can't get

Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger

Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home

And freedom, oh freedom, well that's just some people talkin'

Your prison is walking through this world all alone

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?

The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine

It's hard to tell the night time from the day

You're losin' all your highs and lows

Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?

Come down from your fences, open the gate

It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you

You better let somebody love you (let somebody love you)

You better let somebody love you

Before it's too late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-bwXhts8Zg&list=RD3-bwXhts8Zg&start_radio=1

My friends, aren’t we all desperate in some way? There are all kinds of things that make us feel desperate. The definition of desperate is a sense of hopelessness that a situation is so bad that it’s impossible to deal with. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? In fact, I can’t imagine that a single one of us here doesn’t in fact have some area of our lives where we feel desperate today – where we feel hopeless, where we feel we have a situation that’s impossible to deal with. Something that we feel will never get better. Something that we’ve just given up on – decided it will never change.

Illness, Finances, Relationships, Addictions, Discovering God’s will for our lives – all of those are areas where we can feel hopeless, aren’t they? Maybe we even look at that list and feel so overwhelmed in all of those areas – we feel like there is no hope – that we’re in a situation that is impossible to deal with.

What are we going to do? Run into the chainsaw-filled garage like the teens did in the video? Keep riding fences and avoiding the reality of our life like Desperado? Or run into the arms of Jesus. A few weeks ago, we talked about James 4:8 – “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” If we take that step toward Him, He will take two steps toward us.

So, let’s look back at our original text for today – the 5th chapter of Mark. Remember, I promised we’d be reading it later on? Well, now is later on. So, again, in this text, we have three people – all at points of desperation: the man possessed by demons, Jairus whose daughter was on her deathbed, and the woman who had been plagued by bleeding for 12 years. We’ve already discussed these things for these three people:

1) Their desperation.

2) How Jesus met their needs – each one is different

3) Where Jesus directed them next

And, as I read the scripture, you will hear those things but now I want you to think about one more thing as well. At their point of desperation – their point of utter despair and hopelessness, how did these folks connect with Jesus? Did they run into the chainsaws like our kids in the fake horror movie? Did they keep riding fences like the young man – Desperado -- that the Eagles sang about? Or did they pursue Jesus? Did they come out of the tombs to find Jesus? Did they ask Him for help? Did they reach out and grab the hem of His robe? Let’s see. I’m going to read this from The Message.

They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, a madman from the cemetery came up to him. He lived there among the tombs and graves. No one could restrain him—he couldn’t be chained, couldn’t be tied down. He had been tied up many times with chains and ropes, but he broke the chains, snapped the ropes. No one was strong enough to tame him. Night and day he roamed through the graves and the hills, screaming out and slashing himself with sharp stones.

When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran and bowed in worship before him—then bellowed in protest, “What business do you have, Jesus, Son of the High God, messing with me? I swear to God, don’t give me a hard time!” (Jesus had just commanded the tormenting evil spirit, “Out! Get out of the man!”)

Jesus asked him, “Tell me your name.”

He replied, “My name is Mob. I’m a rioting mob.” Then he desperately begged Jesus not to banish them from the country.

A large herd of pigs was browsing and rooting on a nearby hill. The demons begged him, “Send us to the pigs so we can live in them.” Jesus gave the order. But it was even worse for the pigs than for the man. Crazed, they stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned.

Those tending the pigs, scared to death, bolted and told their story in town and country. Everyone wanted to see what had happened. They came up to Jesus and saw the madman sitting there wearing decent clothes and making sense, no longer a walking madhouse of a man.

Those who had seen it told the others what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. At first they were in awe—and then they were upset, upset over the drowned pigs. They demanded that Jesus leave and not come back.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the demon-delivered man begged to go along, but He wouldn’t let him. Jesus said, “Go home to your own people. Tell them your story—what the Master did, how He had mercy on you.” The man went back and began to preach in the Ten Towns area about what Jesus had done for him. He was the talk of the town.

A Risk of Faith

After Jesus crossed over by boat, a large crowd met Him at the seaside. One of the meeting-place leaders named Jairus came. When he saw Jesus, he fell to his knees, beside himself as he begged, “My dear daughter is at death’s door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live.” Jesus went with him, the whole crowd tagging along, pushing and jostling Him.

A woman who had suffered a condition of hemorrhaging for twelve years—a long succession of physicians had treated her, and treated her badly, taking all her money and leaving her worse off than before—had heard about Jesus. She slipped in from behind and touched His robe. She was thinking to herself, “If I can put a finger on His robe, I can get well.” The moment she did it, the flow of blood dried up. She could feel the change and knew her plague was over and done with.

At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from Him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”

His disciples said, “What are you talking about? With this crowd pushing and jostling you, you’re asking, ‘Who touched me?’ Dozens have touched you!”

But He went on asking, looking around to see who had done it. The woman, knowing what had happened, knowing she was the one, stepped up in fear and trembling, knelt before Him, and gave Him the whole story.

Jesus said to her, “Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.”

While He was still talking, some people came from the leader’s house and told Him, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?”

Jesus overheard what they were talking about and said to the leader, “Don’t listen to them; just trust me.”

He permitted no one to go in with Him except Peter, James, and John. They entered the leader’s house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Why all this busybody grief and gossip? This child isn’t dead; she’s sleeping.” Provoked to sarcasm, they told Him He didn’t know what he was talking about.

But when He had sent them all out, He took the child’s father and mother, along withHhis companions, and entered the child’s room. He clasped the girl’s hand and said, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up.” At that, she was up and walking around! This girl was twelve years of age. They, of course, were all beside themselves with joy. He gave them strict orders that no one was to know what had taken place in that room. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.”

So, I asked you to think about how each of these three people ended up connecting with Jesus. Let’s look at that. There was actually great risk that each of them took to connect with Jesus. The demon-possessed man, naked, had to leave his hiding place amongst the tombs and run toward Jesus. Now, think about this a moment … that was pretty risky, don’t you think? Didn’t he run the risk of being killed or arrested – a crazy demon-possessed naked guy running toward Jesus? Yeah, pretty risky.

Jairus on the other hand was part of the Jewish ruling class. In fact, he was the ruler of the local synagogue. And what do we know about the Jewish rulers during Jesus’s time? They didn’t trust Him, did they? This man, to approach Jesus about his sick daughter, risked alienation from the synagogue.

And finally, the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. She was considered unclean … she had to disguise herself in order to go near other people because they didn’t want anything to do with her for fear they might also become sick.

And yet, all three of these people, in their moments of desperation, their moments of hopelessness, went toward Jesus and He in turn did what? Did He run away from them or say “Who, wait a second, keep your distance!” No, instead, as they moved toward Him, He moved toward them.

My friends, I do not know exactly where each of you are today. But I do know this, there have been times in your life in the past when you felt desperate and hopeless and there will be times again in the future when you feel that way. And you may feel that way at this very moment … again, illness, Finances, Relationships, Addictions, Discovering God’s will for our lives – all of those are areas where life can catch us up and we feel hopeless.

Here is the defining question for our lives as Christians: What are you going to do at your moment of desperation? Keep riding fences, thinking you can figure it all out on your own? Run into the garage of chainsaws, essentially giving up and running deeper into your desperation? Or turn to the one who loves you – Jesus. Turn to the one who drove the demons out of the possessed man. Turn to the one who healed Jairus’s daughter. Turn to the one who was so powerful that just a touch of His robe healed a 12-year illness.

Wherever you’ve been, wherever you are today, and wherever your tomorrow may bring you, my dear friends, turn to Jesus – the only One who will meet you with grace, love, mercy, strength, encouragement, and endurance. He alone is our hope during our times of desperation. And, most importantly, He longs for you. You take a step toward Him and He takes two toward you.

Let’s pray.