During this season of Lent we are looking at some of the different encounters that people have with Jesus. As Jesus traveled from city to city He met with at least four distinct groups of people. First there were the crowds. These were the people who gathered to listen to what Jesus had to say, see the miracles He performed, and get a free meal if Jesus was in the mood to multiply some loaves and fish. These people weren’t sure if Jesus was the Messiah but they came to see Him for themselves.
Then there were the curious. These were the people who came and asked Jesus questions about life and faith. Some invited Jesus into their homes and others asked Him to bless their children. Many of the curious came looking for healing or help. They came wondering if Jesus could fill a void in their lives. They were searching for something more and thought Jesus might have the answer.
From that group came the converted. These are the people who found in Jesus what they were looking for. They found healing and hope and so followed Jesus. These people gave up old ways of thinking and living to embrace and embody the teachings of Jesus. Some converted because Jesus healed their bodies, others converted because He healed their hearts and forgave their sin. Many people turned and followed Jesus because He had restored their hope that there was a God who cared for them and loved them. Hundreds of people had their lives changed by Jesus and began to experience the fullness of life Jesus talked about.
From these converts emerged a fourth group of people who gave Jesus all they had. They were the committed. These were the disciples who left everything to follow Jesus. These were the fishermen Pastor David talked about who left their nets and followed Jesus, and the women who traveled with Jesus and helped support His work out of their own resources. They truly committed to placing Christ at the center of their lives and were willing to reshape everything to live for and serve God.
Looking at these four groups of people, where are you? Where are you on your faith journey? Are you part of the crowd? Please know that there is nothing wrong with being part of the crowd! Jesus loved the crowds. For many it was their first step of faith. These people were drawn to Jesus for some reason and so Jesus reached out to them and loved them. His heart was so moved by the crowds that He fed them in body and in spirit. Today you may not be sure about Jesus and you might just be here to check things out and see for yourself who Jesus might be. If you are part of the crowd, it’s ok, Jesus loves the crowd and He loves you.
Some of you may be truly curious and looking to Jesus for more. Maybe your life hasn’t turned out the way you thought it would and you are wondering if God has something different for you. Maybe your marriage or family is hurting and you are looking to God for hope and help. Maybe your job isn’t fulfilling and you are looking to find more purpose in your life and what God created you for. Maybe you are just looking for something more and you think God might have something to offer, so here you are.
Many of you I know are converts. You have given your life to Jesus and you are actively seeking to place God at the center of all you do. You are deepening your relationship with God, the church, and the world, and you are signed up for the DWELL class because you want to deepen your prayer life and learn how to read the Bible for yourself. You are on the path of faith and you are finding joys and challenges all along the way.
And some of you are truly committed. Not that you need to be committed, but you are truly committed to God, the church, and the world. God is at the center of all you do, you sacrificially serve God’s people, and you boldly share your faith, and resources with the world. To the world you might look like you need to be committed, but to God you are sold out and fully following Him.
Where are you in your own personal journey of faith? Again, please know that there is no shame in being in any one of these categories. Every relationship with God is a journey and we all find ourselves in different places at different times. My hope, however, is that no matter where we are today we will want to go deeper with God and take the next step. What will it take for you to take that next step?
One reason many people take their next step of faith is because they find themselves in a desperate situation. They have come to the end of themselves, their own strength, power, and wisdom, and have nowhere else to turn but to God. I had a friend who liked to say, Jesus won’t be all you need until Jesus is all you have. Sometimes it is in the desperate times of loss, pain, confusion, or emptiness that we reach out to Jesus and find that He is right there to help us along.
Today we are going to look at two people who both encounter Jesus out of their desperate situations, and they both grow in their faith. In this story we also see these four different groups of people who encounter Jesus. We find the story in Luke 8:40-42.
Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
First we have to notice the crowds. They greeted Jesus everywhere He went and Jesus is always looking to care for them. While at times Jesus sent the crowds home or left them behind so he could be alone with God, He also embraces them and the many different needs the people brought to Him. He loved the crowds and made himself available to them. Out of this crowd, a man came to Jesus who was desperate. His only daughter was dying.
Jairus was a ruler in the synagogue which means he probably lined up more with the teaching of the Pharisees than the new teaching of Jesus. Many religious leaders were part of the crowds that came to listen to Jesus, but not many followed him. They were skeptical because Jesus challenged their teaching and their religious practices. What made Jairus different from the other leaders was that he was desperate. His only daughter was dying and he was coming to Jesus for help. His desperation moved him from being part of the crowd to being curious enough to ask for help.
But Jairus wasn’t the only curious one in the crowd, there was also a woman who had been sick and bleeding for 12 years. She had gone to every doctor for help, which means she probably had spent all her money, and nothing had changed. Her sickness also kept her isolated and alone. Her physical bleeding would have made her unable to be around others. She had become an outcast. She is desperate for healing and help and hope. Luke 8:43-44
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
In her desperation she also reached out to Jesus and when she does she is taking a huge risk. It was against the law for a woman who was unclean to touch anyone let alone a man who many considered to be holy. If she was noticed, she could have been punished, even stoned, but in her desperation she has nothing left to lose. Her desperation moves from being part of the crowd to being truly curious.
Can Jesus change her life? She believes He can so she takes the next step and reaches out to touch the edge of his cloak and when she does, she is healed. But her healing is not finished, Jesus has more for her and calls her to take another step of faith. Luke 8:45-48
Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Jesus called the woman out of the crowd because her healing was not done. Remember, for 12 years she has been isolated and alone. She had been cut off from family and friends, and she had been cut off from God. Jesus didn’t just want to heal her physically, He wanted to heal her completely. He does this by calling her to come forward and when she does He calls her daughter. This one word tells her she has been restored, she is a child of the king.
But calling her out has also helped to restore her place in the community. When Jesus calls her out and says she is healed, it means that she is also clean and can return to worship in the synagogue. She can also now go into people’s homes. She can return to her family and friends. Life has forever changed because Jesus was willing to stop and call her out from the crowd. This was not only good for her, but it was good for the crowd because not only could they see Jesus' power, but they could make this woman part of their lives with confidence.
What we learn from this encounter is that all we have to do is reach out to Jesus in faith and our lives can be changed. If we are willing to step out of the crowd and reach out to Jesus, we will be blessed, maybe healed, but always forgiven and restored into a relationship with God. This encounter tells us that blessing, and wholeness, and life is found when we are willing to step out of the crowd, or maybe take a step of faith and put our trust in Jesus, or take the next stop of faith and surrender more of who we are to Jesus.
While God is the one who changes us, we have to do our part and be willing to step out of the crowd. We can go through all the motions of following Jesus and never really encounter the living God. We can attend worship our entire lives and never know the joy or power of Jesus because we just stayed part of the crowd. If we are willing to step out of the crowd, or step out in faith, this encounter tells us that God will bless us.
This woman’s story was an interruption of what Jesus was doing. He had been going to heal Jairus' daughter, and when they started out again, people from Jarius' home came and said, your daughter is dead. Luke 8:49-50
While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
Can you imagine how Jairus must have felt when he heard this? Not only was he filled with grief but maybe he was also a little angry and frustrated. If Jesus hadn’t stopped along the way, maybe they would have been able to save his daughter. No matter what he was thinking, his situation has just become more desperate and in his desperation Jesus calls him to take another step of faith.
Jairus, just believe and she will be healed. Jesus is asking Jairus to go from being curious to a convert. Trust me Jairus. Believe. Keep your eyes on me Jairus, keep me in the center of your heart and life, and things will be ok. No matter where Jairus might have been in his faith, Jesus is asking him to take another step. In your desperation, just believe. In your desperation keep walking with me.
Jairus does, and Jesus went to his home, took the girl by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Luke 8:54-55
Jairus took a step of faith and God honored that step by healing his daughter. God will always honor our steps of faith, the outcome might not be what we want, but God will always honor and bless us as we step out in faith.
Jesus encountered two people who needed God working in their lives. They were desperate for help, and desperate for hope, and when they reached out to Jesus, He reached out and helped them take the next step of faith. If we can identify where we might need some help or hope, and then reach out to Jesus, we might just find ourselves taking our next step of faith.
Where in your life are you feeling desperate? Where do you need some help? Inflation is hurting many people right now, so maybe it’s a financial need. Maybe your marriage or family is hurting and in need of healing or hope. Maybe it’s a physical situation where you need healing and are trusting God for it. Maybe it is the situation in our world right now that is robbing you of hope and joy. Where do you need help? Have you reached out and asked Jesus to help you?
I know that sounds really simple, but have we asked Jesus to help us? Think about how many people were in the crowd that day who needed help, or needed their own miracle, and they never reached out to Jesus. How often do we face problems alone instead of asking God to help us through? Every problem we face is an opportunity for us to turn to God. Every problem is an opportunity for us to experience God’s power if we will reach out to Him. Taking the next step in our journey of faith might be as simple as asking Jesus for help in a time of need.
We don’t have to wait for a problem to reach out to Jesus. We don’t have to wait for a desperate situation to take the next step of faith, we can take it today. Step out of the crowd. Allow Jesus to meet your needs and fill your life. Give Him all you have. If we take this next step of faith, Jesus will be right there with His power, and His grace, and His love.
Next Steps
Encounters with Jesus
Define these four groups of people who encountered Jesus:
● Crowds
● Curious
● Converts
● Committed
What group are you in? Where are you in your own faith journey?
Read Luke 8:40-56.
● What do we learn here about the crowds?
● In what way is Jarius and the sick woman curious?
● What risks did they take in reaching out to Jesus?
● How did their desperation push them to Jesus?
● What happened when each of them trusted Jesus?
What desperation in your own life might push you to Jesus?
How can Jesus meet a need you have today?
What is keeping you from reaching out to Jesus?
Where do you need to be more “committed” to Jesus and God’s will for your life?
One next step to help you experience the fullness of faith is to participate in one of our Rhythm Workshops.
● Dwell: Growing in prayer and scripture. March 13 & 20
● Share: Talking about your faith. April 3 & 10,
● Design: Finding your ministry. May 15 & 22
