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Pray that this pandemic will end soon and the resumption of the postal service.
Subject 22 : The Gospel According to LUKE
[Chapter 8-3] On Whom Bestows God The Grace of His Power? (Luke 8:40-56)
(Luke 8:40-56)
“So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. And Jesus said, ‘Who touched Me?’ When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, ‘Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’’ But Jesus said, ‘Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.’ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. And He said to her, ‘Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.’ While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.’ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.’ When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, ‘Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.’ And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Little girl, arise.’ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.”
Jesus Healed Jairus’ Daughter
The passage of Luke 8:40-56 tells us that Jesus healed the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, and I am going to share with you the grace of God shown in the Scripture. Jairus fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. His desperate plea led Jesus to heal his daughter right away. That was the Lord’s mercy that saved the dead and healed the sick so that they could live well on this earth.
We should all thank God for His mercy and love that He has shown us. You and I were helpless sinners, who would die from the sickness of sin. However, the Lord of infinite love has healed us completely from all sins and diseases. If we had not encountered the righteousness of Christ, we would have been waiting to die just as Jairus’ daughter. I wonder what we would be doing and how we would blame someone at our dying moments if we didn’t have God’s grace of salvation. We would probably die crying away sorrowfully and lamenting on our dying souls. We would have remained lonesome and empty before death just like the last leaf on an autumn tree.
Nevertheless, what kind of mercy did our Lord show us? Jesus Christ, who is God Himself and the Son of God at the same time, healed our sickness of sin and saved us from the spiritual death. Today’s passage includes the story of Jesus’ healing of Jairus’ twelve-year-old girl; for what reason did the Lord heal her? At that time, Jairus’ daughter was only twelve years old. She would be a sixth or seventh grader in today’s world, and this little girl was dying at this young age from physical illness. How vexed would Jairus have been when he thought about his daughter? For his daughter, who was at such sweet age, was slowly dying off. So he begged Jesus with all his strength for his daughter was in a situation that she would suffer all her life but would soon die in pain.
Our Lord answered to his earnest request. He went to the dead body that had no feelings, and raised her back to life with His power. Let’s look at what the Bible says about the miracle. “Jesus said, ‘Little girl, arise.’ Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat” (Luke 8:54-55).
Brothers and sisters, Jairus’ daughter in today’s passage represents all of us who were destined to suffer and die from sins. Everyone in this world is born to die just like Jairus’ daughter. People can die either from spiritual diseases or from physical diseases. We were all about to perish due to our sickness of sin before God. We, human beings had no way to get away from the sickness of sin. No matter how much money you have; no matter how good the medication you take, you cannot heal the sickness of sin completely. Physical diseases might be curable, but how can anybody heal spiritual disease like the sickness of sin? Sins and illness in the heart cannot be healed no matter how good the medication you take; they can be healed only by the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Think about it. How many doctors do you think Jairus’ daughter might have seen? In spite of all kinds of medicine she tried, she hadn’t been healed and was dying at the age of twelve. Then, what does this mean to us? Likewise, it is impossible to be healed from our spiritual sickness no matter how much we offer the prayers of repentance or how much good work we do. We are all meant to die from our sickness of sin in such a way. We were supposed to linger from the sickness of sin and die just as the young daughter of Jairus who couldn’t get away from her death.
However, what else does the Bible say? It says that the dead girl got up as if nothing had happened when Jesus said, “Little girl, arise!” That is right. Jesus Christ saved us from the disease of death by taking over all our sins that we commit throughout out whole lives through His baptism by John the Baptist. He completely solved the problems of all our sins by His baptism, His blood on the Cross, and by His death and resurrection.
There Are Times When We Get Disappointed Even As We Live by Faith in the Righteousness of Jesus Christ
Our hearts often become bondage to our weaknesses. However, we should always remember that our Lord enabled us to live a powerful life, a righteous life throughout our life. It is because He took our lifetime sins all at once. We need to know how great that power is that is before God. Jesus Christ, who is God, came to this earth, eradicated all our lifetime sins and saved us from death. You and I should feel thankful to God whenever we think of His powerful grace.
We, who are insufficient and weak, are prone to see only what is near us, but neglect what is far away from us. However, we still have a grateful heart for God’s saving grace upon us. We truly thank God from our hearts as we remember that Jesus Christ carried away all our sins, and took them away from us through His baptism once and for all. We should keep this in mind and remain faithful to God. For we are blessed people on whom God bestowed His grace.
As we trust and follow the righteousness of the Lord, we will still have moments that we cannot rely on His righteousness because of our insufficiency. However, we should always remember this. Just as Jesus healed the girl right away by saying, “Little girl, arise,” He bestowed the same grace of salvation upon us. We should believe in the saving grace which is upon us and thank God for it.
Jairus’ daughter didn’t do any good work to be saved. Her father went to Jesus begging for her life, and Jesus complied with his earnest request. She did nothing to Jesus, but Jesus still came to her and saved her from her illness and death. Brothers and sisters, what we should know here is that Jesus Christ Himself visited her in person. Our Lord Jesus Christ went to see Jairus’ daughter in person, healed her illness and saved her from death.
What does this mean to us? Our Lord Himself came to us in person and saved us from sins. Think about it. When did we ever look for the righteousness of Jesus? We, who were suffering from spiritual illness that leads us to spiritual death, have never done anything other than wandering around wondering, “How can I get this disease healed?” However, the Lord came to us, healed our sickness of sin and gave us spiritual food of righteousness. We can never thank God enough for the grace He bestowed upon us physically and spiritually.
Did God Show Us the Great Grace of His Salvation?
Brothers and sisters, do you have grateful heart for the great grace of salvation God has given you? Actually, we all have eyes that can see only what is close to us, and have the tendency to overlook God’s amazing grace. Nevertheless, God still visited us and bestowed such a great grace of salvation upon us and taught us about it. This grace of God gives us hope when we feel hopeless, courage when we get discouraged and new strength when we are weak. We encounter so many problems and difficulties as we live in this sinful world. However, each and every time we have problems, our Lord never fails to solve the problems for us. You and I are truly blessed with such a great grace of God’s salvation. How fortunate and thankful we should be! Even though our hearts are so changeable and become disheartened so often, our Lord saved us with the grace of salvation once and for all. This is so gratifying and comforting to us.
How did God bestow such a perfect grace of salvation upon us? Whenever we think of this grace, we remind ourselves as such; “I am alive today and will live tomorrow thanks to the everlasting grace of God.” How impatient and irritated would we feel if God had not bestowed His grace just little by little and not all the grace at once? But God did not do so. God gives us limitless storage of grace for us to use just like we can deposit a huge amount of money in a bank all at once and withdraw from it whenever we need some. That is why we can live our life as a whole enjoying God’s grace day by day. That is a very, very gratifying thing.
In today’s Scripture, Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter died from her illness. People said she was dead, but Jesus said she was sleeping. They all laughed at what Jesus said. But what happened after that? When Jesus said, “Little girl, arise,” the girl came back to her life and got up. Then Jesus told them to give her some food to eat.
Dear beloved saints, we need to ponder how much grace God has bestowed upon us just as He did on this girl. Where did we get the strength to trust and follow the Lord until now? We gain strength for our life from Jesus because He bore all our sins, even the sins we will commit in the future. What would have happened to us if Jesus Christ had not given us eternal blessings? Would we be able to come to God’s Church and listen to His Word, have fellowship, sing praises and pray? We all have difficulties of our own as we live in this world, but how can we gather here with cheerful heart and sing praises together? It is impossible without God’s grace of eternal salvation.
No religion in this world can do this. Religions in this world are what people resort to when they feel heavy-burdened, but stop depending on when they feel peaceful. On the other hand, people like us, who are blessed with genuine faith by God, go to God and receive long-lasting grace from Him no matter what circumstances we are in; when we have tough times, or good times; when we are sick; and when we are in agony. People in God’s hand can come to Him, praise Jesus, enjoy His grace and thank Him even when they are going through trials and tribulation as well as when they are happy. That is right. The only reason we can always praise, and worship God and pray to Him is God’s blessings which He has bestowed on us for our life.
We Can Thank God Everyday for the Grace Our Lord Has Given Us throughout Our Lives
How grateful do you think Jairus’ daughter felt when Jesus healed her? It is not strange to think she was indeed grateful to Jesus since she came back to life. Brothers and sisters, you and I are in the same situation. Our souls came back to life from spiritual death through our Lord. What a gratifying event that is! Jairus’ daughter probably could never forget for the rest of her life that the Lord brought her back to life from the dead. She might have had moments that she wished she had died then when she got into difficulties later, but she couldn`t help but remember Jesus and thank Him for what He did for her. Just as He did for Jairus’ daughter, Jesus Christ delivered us from the spiritual death as well as from the physical death. Therefore, we cannot ever forget this Jesus Christ. It won’t change no matter when and wherever we are. I am saying that the grace Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us throughout our lifetime is unforgettable.
Brothers and sisters, we are different from people in the world. What difference do we have? The difference is in the fact that the Lord has given us everlasting grace. That is right. Those who received the everlasting grace from Him are definitely different from people in the world. Our appearances may look similar to that of worldly people, but we have totally different souls. Once we taste the grace of Almighty God, we become different people. We are now blessed people who can overcome any tribulations, difficulties, persecutions or gossips. We are blessed people by God.
Look at the people in this world. Those who didn’t receive any grace from the Lord rejoice, mourn or suffer over things that are visible and temporary, and eventually perish from their sins. But how about the people of faith who have put on everlasting grace from the Lord? They are always grateful for the fact that they are alive because Jesus Christ has bestowed everlasting grace upon them just as He did on Jairus’ daughter. They are different since they have tasted the grace of Jesus Christ, who revived their souls, and gave them hopes in their hearts. God has given us such grace. Are we blessed with such grace or not? Just because we are blessed with such grace, we are different from worldly people. Thanks to the grace which is full of blessings from God on each of us, we can always thank God and praise Him as we live.
Dear beloved saints, do you believe that God has bestowed that everlasting grace of salvation upon you? I hope you will never forget His grace of salvation no matter when and where you are. Then when did the Lord give us that grace of salvation? When Jesus Christ visited us and removed all our sins by His baptism, we received the everlasting grace. However, we often forget about the grace even though we have been blessed by the everlasting grace of God.
Brothers and sisters, please keep this in your mind. As blessed people with God’s everlasting grace, we should thank God everyday. No matter what we are facing, we should not be disappointed; rather, we should remember that we have received the everlasting grace of God, and we should thank God for such a great grace. We also need to acknowledge the Lord and follow Him in our daily lives. We have the strength to live such a life thanks to Jesus Christ, who came and showed us great grace that we need for life. We are following Jesus Christ not because we expect Him to show us favor in the future but because He has already bestowed on us the grace that will last our lifetime.
That is right. We are not following the Lord conditionally. We are following Him because of the grace He has already given us, not because He will do something for us in the future. What is the reason that we cannot deny the Lord or forget Him? It is because we are given all the grace we need for our life. Do you agree with me on this?
Brothers and sisters, God’s grace is so big as such. We are very moody and fickle but the Almighty Creator God gave us all the grace that we need throughout our life at once. He never changes. That is why those who once tasted the great grace can still follow and serve the Lord with admiration and trust in spite of their insufficiencies. Truly the Lord has given us abundant grace. He has given us all the grace that we need to follow the Lord throughout our lives; we are abundantly given the grace to live for Him, and the grace to go through hardships. The grace of God is so great that you and I can follow the Lord without denying Him. We can follow Him today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and forever. We can do so because the loving Lord has given us all the grace all at once.
If He had not done so, we would have quit this ministry at any time. But what is the Truth? Jesus Christ filled us with all the grace we need for our life. If that wasn’t true, we had no choice but to depend on our own strength for life, thinking, “I am going to live with my own strength.” But for you and me, that is not the case. You and I can trust and follow the Lord as we live because He has already given His followers all the grace for life.
There are so many things that do not go as well as we wanted. Nevertheless, we can trust and follow Jesus because we were given enough grace for life. So we can follow the Lord any time, in any and all situations. The grace of the Lord is so big and this is so comforting for us, who have to live in this sinful world.
Brothers and sisters, please remember this. Though we are changeable, we can follow the Lord genuinely thanks to the grace He granted us, not because of our physical strength. We faithfully follow the Lord from the gratitude for such a great grace of salvation. We are not following Him willingly for a specific reason, but we follow Him just because He is so great and so good to us. When we look at Peter and James, we can assume how great He was. Both Peter and James were hot-tempered. These two men said to the Lord, “Lord, send a fire from heaven and burn these people right away. Isn’t Your one word enough to do so? Get rid of those garbage people completely.” But what happened to these two men later? Peter and James, who used to be merciless, carried out the gospel work of evangelizing genuinely to those people. Since they had a short temper, they could have turned away from the people any moment they didn’t feel like putting up with them. As a matter of fact, those eager followers of Christ left Christ after He had ascended to Heaven.
But at the sea of Tiberias they found out that Jesus had not abandon them. Since then, they followed the Lord until the day they died. What was the reason? Because God has given them all the grace they needed for life, even the hot-tempered men like them could follow the Lord to their death. For a same reason, all eleven disciples including the doubting Thomas could follow Jesus without fail.
Can We Follow God without His Great Grace upon Us?
The great grace of God on us enables us to genuinely follow the Lord. Would you agree? That is why people are never changeable before God even though we may be before other people. Doing God’s work makes me really happy. How much God’s work can I actually do? I am always thankful even when things do not go well just because I am doing the work with the grace of God, for the work of the gospel and for the Lord.
My heart is glad no matter what I do when I imagine God would be pleased with my work. Whether you did the job right or wrong, you would feel proud and grateful as long as you remember you are doing the work for the Church, congregation, the Kingdom of God and the souls. Think about it. Out of all things we do in the Church praying and praising to the Lord is the greatest thing; our hearts are glad and thankful even we do such a small work, because the Lord loves us and cherishes us. The Lord acknowledges us no matter what we do for the Lord.
That is right. Even if we make mistakes from our insufficiency, our Lord is always pleased with us. He doesn’t care whether our work for Him went well or not, but He rejoices over us. People at work serve the Lord at their work, and students who go to school serve the Lord at school. Some of us serve Him with materials or prayers; the Lord looks at us with favor no matter how we serve Him. Even when our work is meager and small, our Lord is always pleased with us. We can thank God for such love even when our hearts are troubled.
The grace the Lord healed Jairus’ daughter, and the grace that He has bestowed upon you and me is such a great grace of love. In today’s Scripture passage, the Lord brought Jairus’ daughter back to life from death, which means she received all the grace she needed for her life. She probably didn’t have anything else to ask for before Jesus since she was given her life back. This young girl received salvation from the curse of disease that led her to death.
How about you and me then? We were destined to die from illness of sins in pain, but the Lord saved us just as He did to Jairus’ daughter. Thanks to that, we received all the grace that we can get from the Lord and all the grace that we need for our life. We do not lack anything before God since we received such a great grace. But there is only one thing we need to do. We need to remember the everlasting grace of God, and live with praise and gratitude to the Lord. We can do this because God also gave us the strength to love and follow Him for the rest of our life.
I thank our God of love. I thank God for such a great grace on us. “I follow the Lord because He gives me this and that.” Those who think this way do not fully know the grace of the Lord or believe in Him. Brothers and sisters, we are not one of them, are we?
We follow the Lord because He has already saved us. Because the Lord filled us abundantly with the grace of salvation, we can serve Him and give Him thanks and glory despite our weaknesses. Thank You, Lord.
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