Jesus and the Brokenhearted | Sunday Message

A New Beginning presents a book from Pastor Greg Laurie, with help for those suffering loss, called Hope for Hurting Hearts. God has used this book over the years to touch many people. If you've lost a loved one, or if you know someone that's recently lost a loved one, it would be an excellent thing to get this book into their hands, because I really wrote it for them.

So we're offering you a copy of this book, Hope for Hurting Hearts, for your gift of any size. Available at Harvest.org. Hey there. Thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners.

I'm Greg Laurie, encouraging you, if you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to Harvest.org. Let's pray together. Lord, we are here to worship You. We are here to hear from You. We ask You to bless this time as we open Your Word, and one of the things we're going to look at is brokenhearted people.

And maybe there's somebody here that just has a broken heart, something that's happened in their life that has caused them to be in despair and pain and deep sorrow, and I pray that what they hear today from Your Word will cause them to have their heart healed, because Jesus said He came to heal the brokenhearted. So speak to us from Your Word we ask now. In Jesus' name we ask this. Amen.

You can all be seated. Well, why don't you grab your Bibles and turn to Mark, chapter 5. The title of my message is Jesus and the Broken Hearted. Let me ask you, have you ever been in a situation that was just so bleak, you never thought it was going to get better? Compare it to a storm, and the storm clouds gathered and the rain began to fall, and then came the thunder and the lightning, and it got worse and worse, and you wondered is the storm ever going to stop? And then suddenly, the sun breaks through the clouds, and it's a whole new day.

And maybe your life feels that way right now. Well, that picture describes what we see before us here in Mark, chapter 5. We have two very different people in two very different sets of circumstances who you could describe as brokenhearted. And the one thing they had in common was they both needed Jesus. This is part of our Jesus and You series that we've been doing together. And now we're looking at two characters. One is named Jairus, who I'll introduce you to in a moment. The other is an unnamed woman who had a very intense medical condition.

Their story is found in three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And they could not have been more different. First we have this poor, helpless, hopeless woman. Her life grew more miserable day by day with no end in sight. She lost her health. She lost her wealth. In effect, she lost her hope.

She tried everything she could to fix her situation, and it just got worse, but she found what she needed from Jesus. And then we have a man who is quite different. His name was Jairus. He was a leader in the local synagogue. He was respected. He was powerful.

He was influential. But one day, his beloved daughter of 12 years became very sick, and he grew so despondent because his little girl was literally at death's door. But he too found what he needed from Jesus, reminding us that every man, every woman needs Jesus. We need him at the beginning of life, the middle of life, and certainly we need him at the end of life. And we see how Jesus came through for both of these people.

So let's read about it now. Mark chapter 5 starting in verse 21. Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake. This would be the Sea of Galilee. Where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore.

There a leader of the 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 who had suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding.

She had suffered a great deal from many doctors over the years and had spent everything she had to pay, but it had only gotten worse. And she heard about Jesus and came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. And she thought to herself, if I can touch his robe, I can be healed. Immediately the bleeding stopped and she could feel it in her body, that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Let's stop there. 12 years. 12 years this woman had this medical condition, some kind of hemorrhaging. She went to the local doctors, which first century medical care was not very dependable to say the very least.

She spent all of her money on these doctors, probably quack doctors. And now she's in this place where her only hope is God. And then 12 years is also the time that Jairus spent with his beloved daughter, probably his only child.

No question about it. She was daddy's girl. His heart was broken. His daughter was at death's door.

So 12 years is an important amount of time in both of their stories. And so now Jairus comes to Jesus hoping that he can do something for his little daughter. He says in verse 23, please come and lay your hands on her, heal her so she can live. And Jesus got up and followed him. So here now is Jairus. He's got Jesus.

Everything's getting better. He reasons in faith. If I can get Jesus to my daughter, he'll lay his hand on her.

And why not? The reputation of Jesus was spreading. He was trending on every social media platform. And every time you were flipping through reels, here's Jesus healing a leper. Here's Jesus restoring sight. Here's Jesus raising the dead. Oh wait, here's another one of Jesus calming a storm. If he could do all of those things, surely he could heal the daughter of Jairus. So they're on their way to the home of Jairus and it crowds around and suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, this woman appears who touches him.

Now you wouldn't even have noticed it if Jesus didn't stop and say, who touched me? So this is an interruption in how easily Jairus could have resented it. You know, she was cutting in line. Doesn't it bug you when people cut in line? So you know, when you're driving on the freeway and maybe there's a bunch of people backed up at a certain off-ramp and it's going way down the freeway. And you say, I don't want to get in that line. It's going to take me another 10 minutes to reach my destination.

So you kind of cruise along and you wait for an opening in the line and then you slip in. You know those people? That's me.

Sorry. That is me. I do that. Now, I don't do it in a rude way, but there's always a gap. And I'll tell you why there's always a gap.

Because everybody's looking at their phones, right? So the line starts to move and someone's looking at their phone and there's a moment and I just slip in. I slip in real nice. And I'll wave, hey.

Now, I admit I can be a cutter at times, but however, I let other people cut in front of me. So here in California, if you want to change lanes, they teach you in the DMV to use something called a turning signal, right? So I want to get in the right lane. You turn it on. Click, click, click, click. And you look over your right shoulder and you slip in.

Oh, no. In California, you put on a turning signal. What that really means to the other drivers is close the gap. Don't let them in. This is mine. So I try to let people in. Now, here's all I ask. If I let you in, if I let you into that line and you come in, give me the wave.

Just give me the little wave like, thank you. Don't just go in and go. I let you in. Nobody else would let you in. Anyway, I digress. I'm kind of venting now, I think.

But nobody likes it when people cut. Or how about when you're getting off the plane? You know, we're all in our little seats. We have our seatbelts on and they were waiting for the chime.

The plane stopped. We know we're there. We're waiting for the chime. The moment the chime goes, people bolt out of their seats, grabbing their overhead luggage, and everyone rushes to get ahead in the line. So, you know, if you're seated by the window, you're under the thing waiting there.

Thanks. You know, could you move your luggage from the aisle here? Cutting. So this woman was effectively cutting in line, cutting in on Jairus. He could have resented it. Could have said, hey, I don't know who you are. By the way, she was ceremonially unclean.

What does that mean? Because she bled constantly, that meant that she was declared unclean and she could not interact with other people. She would have been ostracized.

She would have been isolated. So here now is this end quote, unclean woman cutting in on him, a ruler of the synagogue. He's a VIP.

He's an important guy. And besides, you know, her medical condition could wait. His daughter was dying. He really needed Jesus, maybe a little bit more than she did. But she cuts in on Jairus and he does not object. He does not protest. Maybe he knew because, well, that's how Jesus rolls. He just helps people. Don't stop him from helping people.

I mean, he's helping me. So Jairus was being tested. And, you know, tests will come into the life of a Christian. Remember when you were in school, some of you still are in school, and there would be the pop quiz from the teacher, the unexpected test, and all the nerds would get really excited.

We're going to have a test today that I didn't tell you was coming. All the nerds are like. And I'm like, oh, no. Because I never read. I never prepared.

I never paid attention. I'm sorry to describe nerds that way. That was kind of rude. They're not like that.

I shouldn't mock nerds at all. The reality is we call them boss now, okay? They run all the companies, right? And all the goof-offs like me say, yes, sir. Yes, you did. No, ma'am.

Right? So anyway, tests will come. You don't always know when they're coming. Why does God test us? To make sure we're learning the material. In James chapter 1 it says, dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So tests are a way to grow spiritually and learn how to trust God instead of ourselves.

Often tests are there to prepare us for something that is ahead. If this was a test on the life of Jairus, he passed it with flying colors. He just handled it so well. He didn't protest. He waited for Jesus to do what Jesus wanted to do.

So it's a beautiful illustration of a man who understood that. And sometimes we grow impatient with God. God, when are you going to do this thing I want you to do? You know, when are you going to open up this door for me?

For ministry? When are you going to provide me with a husband or a wife? How long are you going to let that person get away with that sin? Hey Lord, how long until you come back and establish your kingdom on this earth?

When are you going to enter my prayer in the way that I prayed it? And sometimes in our impatience we take things into our own hands. And we make a mess of them. Now by nature I am impatient. Like if I go to pick up a pizza, by the time I'm home I've eaten three pieces. And it's not easy to eat a pizza when you're driving and cutting in on people.

And I can tell you that I burned the roof of my mouth more than one time eating extra hot pizza. Right? So we don't like to wait and we say I'll fix this. A good illustration of a man who was impatient and took things constantly into his own hands was Jacob. And what a mess he made of his life.

He ended up wrestling with an angel and walked away with a permanent limp. So we have to trust in the Lord and realize that God may have something better in mind. Take the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They were all personal friends of Jesus.

They lived in Bethany, which was striking distance from Jerusalem. And our Lord often showed up at their house for a meal made by Martha. And he enjoyed spending time with them. So one day Lazarus got sick. And they said, word to Jesus, hey Jesus, Lazarus whom you love is sick. They probably expected he would drop whatever it was he was doing and rush back to Bethany and lay his hand on Lazarus and take that sickness away. But we read instead of doing that in John 11 5, Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and he stayed where he was. Well in this time that he stayed where he was instead of going to where they were, Lazarus died. So when Jesus finally shows up a few days later, not only did he not heal his friend but he missed his funeral even.

And Martha and even Mary were both accusatory of Jesus. If you would have been here, they said, my brother would not have died. Jesus said, your brother will live again. Martha says, yes, I know he will live in the resurrection. Jesus says, Martha, listen to me, I am the resurrection and the life. And he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. And then he walked up to the tomb of Lazarus and he said, Lazarus, come forth. And Lazarus came back to life again. See, they wanted a healing. God wanted a resurrection. Sometimes the reason that God delays is because he wants to do something better than what you prayed for. He wants to do abundantly above and beyond. That which you could ask or think.

So know this. God's delays are not necessarily his denials. Just as important as the will of God is the timing of God. So here is this woman, unclean, ceremonially, reasoning if she can touch Jesus, she will be healed. Let's read about it. Mark chapter 5. Jesus realized at once healing power had gone out of him. He turned around to the crowd and said, who touched me? His disciples said, look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask who touched me?

But he kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said, daughter, daughter, I love that, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.

Your suffering is over. Isn't that fantastic? Daughter. This woman I am sure had a mom and dad obviously. I don't know what kind of relationship she had with them at the time.

They probably wanted nothing to do with her. Our daughter is unclean. Jesus says, daughter, you are better. You are healed. You are restored. But imagine this scene. Here is all these people pushing and pulling and Jesus says, who touched me?

I perceive that power has gone out of me. And the crowd kind of parts and there she is. Hi.

Yeah. He didn't want to condemn her. He wanted to commend her. He wanted to compliment her for her courageous faith.

And he said, power has gone out of me. The word used there for power is the Greek word dunamis. It is also used in Acts 1.8 when it says, you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you to be witnesses unto me.

The word is sometimes translated dynamic or dynamite. So Jesus is saying explosive power has been released as this woman came in faith and prayed for this and God touched her. Why doesn't God heal everybody? Sometimes people will say it is because you lack faith. If you had more faith you would have been healed. And the reason you are sick in the first place is a lack of faith.

That is nonsense. Because as we look in the Bible we see that it wasn't always the faith of the person being healed that caused the day to happen. Now in the case of this woman in particular it does appear her faith played a key role in her own healing. But in the case of the daughter of Jairus it was really the faith of the father. Not the faith of the sick person, the daughter. Then in the case of Lazarus it certainly wasn't the faith of Mary and Martha.

Lazarus had no faith because he was dead. So really it was just God exercising His will. So the point of the matter is God can heal us even with our limited faith. So what I suggest to you is you pray with as much faith as you can muster. And be like that guy in the Bible who said, Lord I believe.

But then he added this and I love it. But help my unbelief. Lord this is as much faith as I have. It may not be perfect faith. It may not be flawless faith. But I believe. Help my unbelief. And God honored that.

And look what he did now in this incredible story. So back to Jairus. So he is waiting patiently. Okay Jesus. Okay it's great.

It's great. Let's go. So they are headed to his house and the following scene unfolds. Mark chapter 5 verse 35. While he was still speaking to her. Messengers arrived from the house of Jairus the leader of the synagogue. They told him, your daughter is dead.

No use in troubling the teacher now. But Jesus overheard them. And said to Jairus, don't be afraid. Just have faith. How devastating. Your daughter is dead. I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that message. When I was told, your son has died.

Now that was put more delicately to me. Oh Christopher my son has gone to be with the Lord. But I knew what that meant. My son had died. There is nothing worse a parent could ever hear. Than those words.

And he was devastated. But I love what Jesus said to him. Don't be afraid.

Just have faith. You know we all choose what voice we are going to listen to. And the voice of the person. Who told him this news or he could listen to the voice of Jesus.

Yes they told me my daughter is dead. But Jesus said don't be afraid. I'm going to listen to the voice of Jesus. And we have the same choice every day. We have the voice of the culture.

We have the voice of Satan. Who says you're worthless. You're a failure. You'll never amount to anything. You're cursed. Or we can listen to the voice of God who says I love you. I have a plan for you.

I'll use you. Now I bet that Jairus was beating himself up over this. It's my fault. I should have pressed Jesus to come sooner.

I should have done more and often that happens. Especially when a child dies. A parent will assume a responsibility. That maybe is not really theirs to assume in those particular circumstances.

It depends I suppose. But ultimately we have to realize that life and death are in the hands of God. Not us. He alone decides when we will be born. And when we will die. But he just humbled himself and came to Jesus. And understand that Jesus was not high on the cultural ladder. He wasn't a rabbi. He was a carpenter's son from Nazareth.

And Nazareth was not a city that other people respected. But yet Jairus realized he was more than a carpenter's son. Jairus realized this is God walking among us in human form. So he a leader of a synagogue humbled himself and asked Christ for his help.

And he got it. And that is what everyone needs to do. The Bible says humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. And some people don't want to do that. But he was willing to. And God will make himself known to any person who comes to him in humility.

No matter what they have done. Even Judas Iscariot after he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And was leading the cohort of Roman soldiers and temple guard to arrest Christ.

There in the Garden of Gethsemane seeing them approach. Jesus sees Judas. He knows Judas has betrayed him. And yet he says to him, friend why have you come?

What? Friend? Judas was far from a friend. I would have said, fiend why have you come?

Then I would have punched him. Friend why have you come? You probably missed it but Jesus was giving him one last opportunity to repent. We can come to the Lord and if we come in humility and honesty he will receive us. And that is exactly what Jairus was doing.

And that is exactly what we need to do. But I love the words of Jesus. He says, don't be afraid keep on believing. Now Christ arrives at the home of Jairus. It is filled with people mourning.

Understand. These were not just people showing their sorrow for this young girl. These are professional mourners.

You literally, depending on how much money you made, could hire people to come into your home and mourn. They would play their musical instruments and sing their sad songs. And the whole house is filled with all of these people weeping and wailing. And Jesus walks in and we read about it in Mark chapter 5 verse 38.

He came to the home of the synagogue leader. He saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked, why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn't dead. She is only sleeping.

And he went immediately from weeping to laughing and specifically mockery. Who does this guy think he is? Coming in here and saying she is sleeping.

Clearly she is dead. He says, get out of here. You are all a buzz kill. He didn't say that but it is implied. He said, I am not going to work in this environment of unbelief.

I want these people gone. And they all left. And then he went to the bed of this little girl who indeed was dead.

And he knew that by the way. He was using the word sleeping as a picture. Because when a Christian dies the Bible describes it as falling asleep. Even when Stephen died the violent death of a martyr. We read that he fell asleep. Not literally. But it is a picture because falling asleep is not a bad thing.

Right? Now when you are a child it is the worst thing. Go to bed. Take a nap. No. When you are older it is like take a nap. Yes. Happy hour for an old person.

It is a nap. That's it. Happy hour. Right? So these are the jokes people.

Just not that good. Anyway. She is only sleeping but of course she had passed over to the other side. And Jesus says, little lamb arise. That is a literal translation of what he said. I love that. Little lamb.

It is so tender. Only Jesus can speak to the other side and be heard. Like he did at the tomb of Lazarus. He said Lazarus come forth. It is a good thing he said Lazarus come forth.

Because if he had simply said come forth every body in every grave would emerge at once. Lazarus I am talking to you buddy. Come here.

Come back. Same thing for this little girl. Little lamb arise and she came back to life again. You know what I love about this story is she comes back to life. And then Jesus says give her something to eat. That is so practical. She is probably hungry.

Get her a sandwich quickly. So here is the thing that we need to realize that when we lose a loved one most of us are not going to see them raised from the dead. But we know we will see them again. We know that when one of our loved ones dies in faith that they are indeed alive in another place and we will once again be with them in the future. They are not just a part of our past.

They are also a part of our future. When I did my interview with Jordan Peterson I mentioned I know that I mentioned the story of my son Christopher and how he had died and how I knew that I would see him again. And Jordan asked me why do you believe that? I said well it is faith. It is faith in God's word. And he asked me what is faith? I said well the Bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for.

It is the evidence of things not seen. And because God has kept His promises to me in the past I know He will keep His promises to me in the future. As an example God told me He would forgive me of my sin if I would ask Him to and He has done that. He told me also that He would give me a peace that passes human understanding. He has done that as well. He also promised me that He would give me meaning and purpose in life and that He would guide my steps. And He has done all of that. God has made many promises to me and I put those promises to the test and I have seen how God came through for me.

And Jordan asked me well how did God come through for you? And I said well I have seen what has happened to other people who have lost children. Their marriages unravel. Some have turned to drugs or alcohol. Some have just become bitter angry people. And that didn't happen to me and my wife. And I said it is not because I am a virtuous person.

It is simply because I believe the promises of God and I have found them to be true. And that is the truth. Applause So Jesus raises this little girl back to life again. It reminds me of another story. A woman who was caught in the act of adultery. And she was thrown before the feet of Jesus.

And one of the accusers says the law says she should be stoned to death. What do you say? Jesus said let him that is without sin among you cast the first stone. And then he kneeled down and wrote on the sand. And he stood up and said it again. And the Bible says they left from the oldest to the youngest. Wow what did he write in the sand?

Well the greatest minds in the church have grappled with this for centuries and I am going to settle it right now. No I don't know what he wrote. Maybe he wrote their names with a commandment they were breaking at that moment and looked up at them.

I don't know. Whatever he wrote it cleared the room. Now here is this woman alone. And he says woman where are your accusers? He said I have none. He says neither do I condemn you.

Go and sin no more. But it is interesting the word that he used there. He said woman where are your accusers? That can be translated lady or ma'am. I am sure this girl had been called a lot of things in her life but I doubt anyone ever called her ma'am or lady.

It was a term of respect. But Jesus didn't just see her for what she was. He saw her for what she could become. Going back to the woman who was healed of her medical condition. Daughter you are healed. You are a daughter now. I want you to remember that. And now to this woman caught in sin.

He says lady ma'am go and sin no more. See when I look at myself I see my failures. God sees my potential. I see my past. God sees my future. I see a blank canvas. God sees a finished painting. I see an end. God sees a new beginning. He sees you for what you can become.

And that is what he saw here. How do you become a daughter of God? How do you become a son of God? Sometimes people say we are all God's children.

Actually we aren't. We are all God's creation. We are all loved by God.

We are all valued by God. But we are not God's children by default. Well how do you become a child of God? The Bible says for as many as received him to them he gave the power to become a son of God. So you become a daughter of God. You become a son of God.

You become a child of God when you put your faith in God and invite Christ to come and live in your heart. And in closing I ask you have you done that yet? Have you asked Jesus to come into your life? Has he forgiven you of your sin? Maybe you come here today with a broken heart.

Maybe you come here today with failure in your life. You have messed up and you don't know what to do. You just come to Jesus and reach out. You touch him. Oh I wish God would touch me.

Why don't you just reach out and touch him? Because he is here right now. As surely as he walked this planet of ours 2,000 years ago he is with us right here right now ready to change your life. Ready to heal your broken heart. Ready to give you a new beginning. If you need that we are going to close in prayer and then you can pray and ask Christ to forgive you.

And you can start a new relationship with him or make a recommitment to follow him. If you need to do that why don't you do it as we pray now. Father thank you for every person here.

Every person watching and listening wherever they are. If they are not yet your son or your daughter let this be the moment they believe. Let this be the moment they come to you. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed. If you would like your sin forgiven. If you would like to become a child of God.

If you would like to begin this relationship with him. Why don't you pray this prayer after me. You can pray it out loud if you like or you can pray it quietly. But just pray this if you want Christ to come into your life. Just pray these words. Lord Jesus I know that I am a sinner.

But I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for hearing this prayer and answering this prayer. In Jesus name I ask it. Amen. God bless each one of you that prayed that prayer. Hey everybody thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to Harvest.org and to find out how to know God personally go to Harvest.org and click on Know God.