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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”
Scripture: Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”
Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.
Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat. Mark 5:21–43 NLT
There were times when Jesus got in a boat to go TO the crowd and other times when Jesus got in a boat to get AWAY from the crowd. In your life, when is it important for you to engage and disengage?
When in your life did you feel like an outcast? Did you believe you deserved to be treated that way?
The rules said you cannot touch this woman or anything she touches or you will be an outcast for a time. Jesus was on his way to save the life of a little girl whose daddy was an important official. Jesus stopped.
Who are you most like in this story? Are you still waiting for Jesus to heal?
Lord, thank you for stopping to give healing, peace, and a future to a “woman in the crowd.” She was frightened and trembling…but you saw her and you the daughter of God that she was. Lord, help me see myself as you do so that I can be useful in your hands for others. And thank you for not stopping with the physical healing, because we know this world is temporary and not our real home. Help me have faith!
Scripture: NOTE the similarities and differences in focus from Matthew’s point of view:
As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand on her.”
So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him. Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe, for she thought, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
Jesus turned around, and when he saw her he said, “Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
When Jesus arrived at the official’s home, he saw the noisy crowd and heard the funeral music. “Get out!” he told them. “The girl isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” But the crowd laughed at him. After the crowd was put outside, however, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up! The report of this miracle swept through the entire countryside.
After Jesus left the girl’s home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can make you see?” “Yes, Lord,” they told him, “we do.”
Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your faith, it will happen.” Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus sternly warned them, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” But instead, they went out and spread his fame all over the region.
When they left, a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus. So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed. “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!” they exclaimed. But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.”
Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 9:18–38 NLT
Describe Jesus’ heart. How is Jesus filling YOU with his heart for people?
Why do you think the Pharisees were threatened by Jesus’ kindness?
Are you obeying Jesus by asking God to raise up more workers to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ—at Antioch-Marion, Antioch-Oelwein, Antioch-Stoney Point, and Antioch-Online?
Lord, I’m bewildered and amazed by your heart for people and your extravagant displays of healing and affection for people regardless of their “importance” in the community. You regard everyone as someone made in the image of God and do not show favoritism. Thank you for loving me so that I can learn to love others with your love!
On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying.
As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.”
When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.”
But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened. Luke 8:40–56 NLT
“The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed.” Jesus not only healed her physical body…he also restored her position in the community. Jesus not only gave her back her life…he also gave her back her relationships. She was no longer “unclean” or an untouchable. What has Jesus done for you?
“There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” Have you ever been tempted to give up while you were walking with Jesus?
“Give her something to eat!” Jesus thinks of the little details. He cares. How can you serve like this?
Lord, thank you for making us, loving us, providing for us, being sensitive to our needs, and empowering us to care for others. Thank you for the extravagant gifts like raising a child from the dead and the simple details like encouraging her parents to give her something to eat. Thank you that we, as Christians, get to be your body on this earth. Help us be your hands, feet, voice, heart, and ears as we are moved by your Holy Spirit to do great things—even if they are very simple!
Scripture: NOTE: this is the last Scripture of the Old Testament. There would be 400 years of silence from Heaven, and then a little baby would be born in Bethlehem…
The LORD of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.
“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
“Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel.
“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:1–6 NLT
Some have suggested that “…the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings…” is a reference to Jesus. With this in mind:
Jesus indicated that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the prophecy that God would be “sending you the prophet Elijah.” There was both a fantastic opportunity AND warning associated with John’s preaching: “His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers.”
How do you see God’s grace—as an unstoppable force or a vulnerable opportunity? Would you describe God’s grace as an unstoppable projectile or a new, fragile life?
Lord, I marvel at your patience with people in history…and particularly your kindness to me. Thank you for surrounding me with people who fear you and love their neighbor. Thank you for planting grace in my heart…help me to nourish the opportunity and flourish as I learn to trust you more.
Scripture: Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”
Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.
Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat. Mark 5:21–43 NLT
As Pastor Jason indicated, Mark records that Jesus used his hometown language of Aramaic when talking to the girl he resurrected from the dead. It was a private, tender detail as he literally spoke life into the terror that gripped a grieving family. How has God met you and ministered to you in your most vulnerable moments?
Jesus told the woman he healed: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Read that again…what was Jesus saying to her? And how do the desires of Jesus’ heart for her ALSO apply to you?
Lord, thank you for your heart for those who are struggling. Teach us to know your heart for us…help us to be a conduit of your heart for others!
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