Our Only Hope
Mark 5:21-43
Desperate need doesn’t make us weak. It just shows us life as it is. It doesn’t make us fragile. It shows us what we always were. And God, in his word, has plenty to say about the value of sobering up to your desperate need before him.
Psalm 90:12 says this, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Help us to think about this, God, in a way that develops wisdom in our hearts.
Ecclesiastes 7:2 talks about how it is better to attend funerals than parties. Why? Because it puts the reality of our desperate need in front of us in a way that develops wisdom in us.
James 4:14 talks about our lives being vapor, a mist. When the illusion of control finally cracks, when we take to heart the precarious situation we’re in, one of two things happens. Either—and these are two real options—either we harden ourselves in fear and bitterness, or we do what Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood did in Mark 5. We fall down at the feet of Jesus.
The reason why this isn’t the worst place they could be is where it has brought these people: to their Savior, to Jesus. When you’re bent low by your desperate need, Jesus will meet you there too. No matter who you are—and you see that here—Jairus and the woman are two completely different people. The world would consider them polar opposite ends of the social ladder, and Jesus meets them both side by side.
Jesus is their only hope. Jesus shows himself to be our only hope. He's worthy of our full trust because he's powerful, even over even death itself. And we get a hold of him. We lay hold of him by faith.
Faith is a position of the heart first and foremost. It’s not blind. Faith—and you see that here in Mark 5:27—is based in evidence, having heard about Jesus. The woman heard about Jesus, and then she came to him and told herself, “What I’ve got to do is get a hold of him somehow, and then I’ll be healed.”
And Jesus essentially says, “You got a hold of me when you believed.”
Let me ask you this—just think about it for a minute. This is not a theological question; it’s an honest question.
Who do you trust?
Who do you trust with yourself, completely?
Who do you trust with what is most precious to you?
When life starts to slide out from underneath you, what do you reach for? What is the thing you believe is going to hold you together? What is the thing you tell yourself, “This has to be okay in order for me to be okay”?
This is where your faith is.
The question is not if you believe; the question is who. Who are you trusting with your life?
Psalm 90:12 says this, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Help us to think about this, God, in a way that develops wisdom in our hearts.
Ecclesiastes 7:2 talks about how it is better to attend funerals than parties. Why? Because it puts the reality of our desperate need in front of us in a way that develops wisdom in us.
James 4:14 talks about our lives being vapor, a mist. When the illusion of control finally cracks, when we take to heart the precarious situation we’re in, one of two things happens. Either—and these are two real options—either we harden ourselves in fear and bitterness, or we do what Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood did in Mark 5. We fall down at the feet of Jesus.
The reason why this isn’t the worst place they could be is where it has brought these people: to their Savior, to Jesus. When you’re bent low by your desperate need, Jesus will meet you there too. No matter who you are—and you see that here—Jairus and the woman are two completely different people. The world would consider them polar opposite ends of the social ladder, and Jesus meets them both side by side.
Jesus is their only hope. Jesus shows himself to be our only hope. He's worthy of our full trust because he's powerful, even over even death itself. And we get a hold of him. We lay hold of him by faith.
Faith is a position of the heart first and foremost. It’s not blind. Faith—and you see that here in Mark 5:27—is based in evidence, having heard about Jesus. The woman heard about Jesus, and then she came to him and told herself, “What I’ve got to do is get a hold of him somehow, and then I’ll be healed.”
And Jesus essentially says, “You got a hold of me when you believed.”
Let me ask you this—just think about it for a minute. This is not a theological question; it’s an honest question.
Who do you trust?
Who do you trust with yourself, completely?
Who do you trust with what is most precious to you?
When life starts to slide out from underneath you, what do you reach for? What is the thing you believe is going to hold you together? What is the thing you tell yourself, “This has to be okay in order for me to be okay”?
This is where your faith is.
The question is not if you believe; the question is who. Who are you trusting with your life?
GOING DEEPER
Parallel, Related and Referenced Passages
Parallel Accounts: Matthew 9:18–26, Luke 8:40–56
1) THE DESPERATE NEED
2) THE NECESSITY OF FAITH
3) THE DEFEAT OF DEATH
Parallel, Related and Referenced Passages
Parallel Accounts: Matthew 9:18–26, Luke 8:40–56
1) THE DESPERATE NEED
- Leviticus 15 – Laws concerning uncleanness
- Psalm 90:12 – Teach us to number our days
- Ecclesiastes 7:2–4 – Facing death brings wisdom
- James 4:13–14 – The uncertainty and brevity of life
- Psalm 34:18 – The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
2) THE NECESSITY OF FAITH
- John 6:29 – The work of God is to believe in the One He sent
- Mark 9:24 – “I believe; help my unbelief”
- John 1:12 – Receiving Christ by believing
- Romans 10:17 – Faith comes by hearing
- Ephesians 2:8–9 – Saved by grace through faith, not works
- Hebrews 11:1 – Faith defined
- Philippians 3:9 – Righteousness through faith in Christ
3) THE DEFEAT OF DEATH
- 1 Corinth. 15:26 – “The last enemy to be destroyed is death”
- John 11:25–26 – Jesus as the resurrection and the life
- Isaiah 25:8 – Death swallowed up forever
- 1 Thess. 4:13–14 – Death described as sleep for believers
- Romans 8:38–39 – Not even death can separate us from Christ
- 1 Corinth. 15:54–57 – Victory over death through Christ
- 2 Timothy 1:10 – Christ abolished death
- Revelation 21:4 – Death shall be no more
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