If you turn with me to Luke's gospel, Luke's gospel, chapter eight. This is a chapter which is full of miracles. You'll notice, if you will, in verses 22 to 25, we have the account of Jesus stilling that storm on the Sea of Galilee. He's the King of Creation, commanding the waves and the wind to be still, to be hushed, and they were. And in verses 26 through 39, you have the account of the healing of this gathering demoniac. This man had a storm in his life. A storm that couldn't be tamed. This demon possessed man. And he's delivered by Jesus. You notice there at verse 35 you find him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. He is the king of redemption. The Gadarene demoniac becomes an ambassador for Christ. It says there at verse 39, he went his way and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. Wonderful. See, one thing is clear from these accounts, isn't it? When Jesus is present, amazing things happen. And they happen to all kinds of people. The closing verses of this chapter, verse 41 through 56, they further illustrate this to us. As two very different people have an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's these people I want to look at this evening. The first is a man called Gyrus. He's a man who holds a prominent position in the community because we read there at verse 41, he was a ruler of the synagogue. So he's a highly respected man. One who would lead public worship in the synagogue. He's a deeply religious man. But although that's true of him, he's faced with a situation over which he has no control. We read verse 42, he has an only daughter, about 12 years of age, and she's dying. And he would undoubtedly have done all he could to help her, as would any parent. But it was all to no avail. So we find him here, verse 41, falling down at Jesus' feet and begging Jesus to come and to help him. All three gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, preface this account with the words, behold. In other words, take note of this. Give it your undivided attention. Behold. And what we see here is this, isn't it? It matters not who we are. It matters not what position we hold in society, how wealthy we might be or poor. There are situations in life which we will face which are beyond our control, which we can't handle. However, The gospel writers tell us there is one who can control these things, one who is Lord over these things. Behold, behold. You see, just as Jairus needed Jesus in his hour of need, so do we all. That's the first person. The other person who's prominent in this passage is unnamed. She wouldn't even have been noticed in this crowd, this large crowd that was milling around the Lord Jesus. In fact, she shouldn't even have been there. And the reason for that was for 12 years, we're told. You know that, by the way, 12 years, that's the same time as Jairus' daughter had been alive. And she, for all that time, had been suffering from what Luke, and Luke was a physician, Luke was a doctor, he tells us she had an issue of blood, verse 43, or a flow of blood. So she'd been suffering from an internal hemorrhage of blood for 12 long years. And her life was gradually ebbing away. Her physical condition was compounded by the fact that according to Old Testament ceremonial law, you can read about this later if you like, in Leviticus 15, that also rendered her ceremonially unclean. And that meant she would not have been allowed to enter the temple to worship God. And further, she would not have been allowed to touch other people, or they too would have become defiled. They would have required cleansing. And that must have meant that she was alienated from others, even from those of her own family. So this woman is the other person in these verses. And you'll notice, I'm sure, she's at the other end of the social scale to Jairus. While he was highly respected, she was a nobody. And as I say, because of her condition, virtually an outcast of society. However, both are found here seeking Jesus. What brought them? What brought them? Well, the answer's obvious, isn't it? It was their need. It was their need. They were both needy people, desperately needy people, but they're also people who believe that Jesus could help them. And both were desperate to find a cure. Jairus, of course, for his only daughter, and the woman for her internal bleeding. There were multitudes of people crowding around Jesus Christ. But it's these two who are in such great need who truly meet with him. I wonder, is this to review this evening? Do you realize your need? Jesus said this on one occasion, the whole need not a physician, but those who are sick. And none will ever seek Christ, none will ever receive his salvation, but those who see their need of salvation, their need of a saviour. and are determined to find him. They're called in the Bible to seek the Lord while he may be found and to call upon him while he is near. And isn't that exactly what these two people were doing here? Jesus was passing by, he was near, and they determined to meet with him. In that vast crowd of people, there would be many there with different motives. Some, no doubt, were there out of curiosity. Others were there to see Jesus work a miracle. But these two were there with a purpose, with an objective. They must meet with Jesus. For he was their only hope. the only one who could help them in their hour of need. Is that a picture of you this evening? Whether you're young or old, I hope you're not just here because it's a Sunday and, you know, it's the thing to do to go to church. It's a good thing to do, of course. But over and above your presence here, I hope you've come determined to meet with Jesus Christ. because he alone can meet your deepest need. Let's look more closely at the woman, first of all, who Luke tells us about here. Look at her resolve to find a cure for her illness. We're told there in verse 43, she has spent all her living upon physicians. Neither could be healed of any. Well, that tells me she was clearly not the sort of person to give up easily. She was not just going to sit by and let her life slowly ebb away. She was going to seek a cure. So she went and searched for one and visited numerous physicians. No doubt she traveled great distances. She certainly spent all her money. But Mark, in his account of this, in chapter five and verse 26 of his gospel, tells us, she was nothing better, but rather grew worse. And that's not so surprising, you know, if you look at some of the cures of that day. Vincent, in his word studies of the New Testament, tells us what the Talmud prescribed for someone in this woman's condition. The Talmud talks of Jewish tradition. I'll give you a few lines of what he had to say. This is one of the remedies for somebody with this woman's condition that was around in that day. He says this, take, he says, of Persian onions, three pints, boil them in wine. Give her to drink, and say, arise from thy flux. And if that doesn't cure her, set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her right hand, and let someone come behind and frighten her, and say, arise from thy flux. It's no wonder, is it, with such remedies, I mean, it's humorous to us today, but such things happen. But it's no wonder with such remedies that Dr. Luke says that the woman neither could be healed of any. She could not be healed. But she was resolved to keep trying. She was determined to find a cure. And then as now, there were no shortage of quack physicians with supposed miracle cures and remedies around who were ready to relieve this poor woman, not of her illness, but of her money. It's the same today, you know, in the spiritual realm. There are enormous, numerous people about who claim to the answer to life's needs. who claim to have the answer to that sin and guilt which people feel within. People who promise much, but in the end give nothing, give useless advice. Many years ago now, when I was in Cyprus, I met a young man who was traveling the world. He said he was seeking for the meaning of life. And in the end, he met with Christ and he was saved. But prior to this, he said that he tried all kinds of things to find peace for his soul. For his troubled conscience, he dabbled with various cults. More recently, he told us he'd gone to see a Greek Orthodox priest and a deep concern of soul. And that priest gave him this wonderful advice. He says, what you need, he says, is to eat regular meals and to write home more often. That will ease your trouble conscience, he said. Incredible. But sadly true. Sadly true. There are 1,001 supposed remedies out there which simply leave people who have great spiritual needs not cured, but worse than they were before. That's a wonderful thing if it drives them to Christ. This woman arrived at a position finally where she had no money left. Verse 43, she spent all her living. That is all her livelihood, says Luke. And in desperation, she resolved to touch Jesus Christ. For 12 long years, she sought a cure. For 12 long years, she'd been told repeatedly, this will work. This is different. Try this. This is a proven remedy. It's new. However, there's a small fee. But now she's going to come into contact with the great physician. Now she's going to receive a cure without money and without price by God's grace and God's mercy alone. But as I said, it was only when she was bankrupt, it's only when she come to an end of her human resources that she sought Christ. And every other avenue of help was exhausted. When she had nowhere else to turn, in her desperation, she sought the Lord. And she plucked up the courage to come to Christ. She felt unworthy. She knew she should not have been there in that crowd of people, as I've said. But she felt if she could just touch him, She could just touch the hem, she could just touch the border of his garment, she would be healed. And Luke says here at verse 44, notice she came behind him, so as not to be seen. She came behind him and touched the border of his garment and immediately her issue of blood stanched. She was healed. She was cured immediately. This wondrous miracle took place in a moment. Now think about that. Put yourself in her shoes. Twelve long years of hopes being raised and dashed. You know what the Bible says, hope deferred makes the heart sick. This poor woman had been 12 long years of disappointments, heartaches, taking medicines and portions guaranteed to help, but proving to be useless. Think of all the time and labour and effort that she'd gone to. And now in a moment, she's healed. She's cured. She just touched Jesus, the border of his garment, and she was well. The important thing is this. She touched him in faith. You say, how do I know that? Well, I know that because Jesus says so. She touched him in faith. He says at verse 48 to her, thy faith hath made thee well. This wasn't blind superstition. She believed Jesus could heal her. Perhaps she'd seen him perform miracles on others. Her faith may have been weak. It was the faintest of touches, but it put her in touch with the Lord of glory. And that's your need if you're not a Christian. It's Christ and Christ alone who saves. Our faith is but the hand that touches him. Some gospel preachers in the past tended to over spiritualize this passage. And they did so by saying, well, you know, the border, the hem of a garment is the finished work. It's the last thing that is done when making a garment. The hem, the border. I think that's true. So they said, if any touch by faith the finished work of Christ at Calvary, they will be saved. But it's stretching the account somewhat here. But it's true. It's true. If we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if we believe God's Word which tells us that he finished the work of redemption on Calvary's cross, if we believe that he paid the price for our sin, and if we come to him in our extremity and cast every hope of salvation aside and call on him to save us, he will save us. Because he's the great physician. And something else, dear friend, there's nothing to pay. Not a penny. Not a penny. Nothing to pay. You cannot contribute to your salvation. Christ has paid the price in full. It is finished, he cried, upon the cross. And you know, what was true of this woman has been replicated in the lives of countless people down through the running centuries. People who sought a remedy for the guilt and the sin within their lives. People who have sought relief from a troubled conscience in various ways. that have never found a cure until they come by God's grace to an end of themselves. It's God who brings us to an end of ourselves. And they reach out in faith and they trust Christ alone to save them. And they find that which they've sought so long in a moment. Here in Luke 8, notice after this lady was healed, she just wanted to melt away into the crowd. But Jesus does not allow that to happen. Verse 45, he says, who touched me? What a question. What a question. No wonder Peter and the others say, Master, the multitude, they're thronging around me and they're pressing me. And you say, who touched me? Well, the reality was many people had touched him physically. But only one had touched him in faith. And Jesus knew it, of course. But he wanted the woman to confess her faith and to tell what had happened to her. Verse 47, when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. Part of the reason that Jesus called this woman out into the open was that it was important that this woman confess Christ. If we're saved, we not only believe in our hearts, we're to confess Him with our mouths. That's what the Apostle Paul tells us. Some like this woman are timid. But if we've trusted Christ, if he's healed us, if he's saved us by his grace, we ought to tell others. We ought to be more like the gathering demoniac. We tell others what great things the Lord has done for us. And we confess him publicly by being baptized in his name. So encouraging to hear these two to be baptized. But there was perhaps a further reason why Jesus called this woman to confess that she had touched him and was healed. Remember her position because of her illness. It was that of being virtually an outcast. She was a solitary figure. She was, as it were, on the fringes of society. And by calling her to acknowledge what she'd done and then declaring she was healed, verse 48, daughter of the oak of comfort, I faith have made thee whole, go in peace. Jesus was publicly removing from this woman the stigma that she'd lived under for so long. The prejudice, the scorn that she'd had to live under was removed and she could take her place fully in society again. She could worship in the temple again. So our Lord's aim in calling this poor woman to acknowledge she had touched him was in no ways to embarrass the poor woman. No, far from it. As she gave God the glory, her faith was strengthened. And by his reply, Jesus, as it were, reestablished her place within the community. Wonderful Savior, isn't he? This is the Christ I know that is preached here week by week. Wonderful Savior. He's full of compassion. He's one who knows our needs and our sorrows. And he's one who, as we come to him feeling absolutely unworthy, yet coming in faith, as we obey his word, will make us whole indeed. What a change her encounter with Jesus made to her life. She came feeling totally unworthy. She came fearful, we're told, trembling, falling down. But she left with a new hope in her heart. She left with her dignity restored, with the assurance that she was healed, that she'd be made whole. And with those words of Jesus ringing in her ears, my faith hath made thee whole. Do you know peace, my friend, in your life? It's marvellous, it's wonderful. Are you whole? I'm really asking, are you right with God? Has Christ done for you what you cannot do for yourself? Has he saved your soul? Has he forgiven your sin? It may be you feel that there's no hope for you. because of the things you've done. Can there be forgiveness for me? I remember years ago speaking to a young man and he said, I preached the gospel and said, can Christ really forgive me? He couldn't get his head around it because of his life and the things he's done. He can. He can. God can restore the years that the locust has eaten. He can. He's the great restorer. So I say why not follow this woman and turn to Christ and call upon him for salvation. But there are two characters out there in this story. We must move on. For while this woman is healed, as she goes on her way rejoicing, let's not forget Jairus. Let's not forget Jairus. Jairus is standing by. All he wants to do is to get Jesus back to his home, to where his only daughter is so seriously ill on the verge of death. But as he stands there, As he stands there waiting, the very worst of news is brought to him. Verse 49. Someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house saying to him, my daughter is dead. Trouble not the master. You know, what a bombshell those words must have been to Jairus. That word dead being spoken of his only beloved daughter. It's final, isn't it? Death is the end. When someone says he or she is dead, well, they're past the point of return, aren't they? Trouble not the master, says the bearer of the sad news. Put yourself in Jairus' position, how his heart must have sunk. Any hope he had just evaporated. But Jesus, overhearing these words, says to Jairus at verse 50, Fear not, he says. Believe only, and she shall be made whole. Fear not. Believe only. Believe what? Believe in me, Jesus is saying. Trust in me. You know, dear friends, this is a word for all of us who know the Lord, isn't it? I don't know you're here this evening. You might be facing some great trial in your life. Your heart might be filled with anxious forebodings. Situations can arise that seem impossible to us, don't they? anxious forebodings. How am I going to bear with this? What's going to happen next? And if we believe this, you know, where is God in all this, we may think. I can't see his hand. And such situations do arise. When our hearts are gripped with fear and we're asking, what shall I do now? What next? Jesus would say to us, fear not. Only believe. Do not be afraid. Have faith in me. Trust in me. That's our need. That's our need. And if we do that, we will not sink out of the trial, however great it may be. Faith will triumph over fear while we live and trust in Christ. And here in Luke 8, you notice the scene that greets Jesus when he arrives at the house of Jairus. It couldn't be more solemn, could it? Verse 52. We read, all wept and bewailed her. See, the mourners had gathered. Death had claimed another victim. And she was so young. But Jesus says, verse 52, weep not. She is not dead, but sleepeth. Well, you see, those gathered knew better than that. Verse 53, they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. So there was this outburst of laughter. They laughed in its face. The mourning and the weeping and the whirling that was going on gave way to this derisive laughter. She was dead. She was not about to come back to life, to wake up from sleep. She was dead. Solemn fact there. The Bible tells us in Adam all die. And this young girl, like us, had inherited Adam's sinful nature. She was one of Adam's fallen race. She died. And that was the end of it. But it wasn't. It wasn't, dear friends, because God's word here goes on to say, Or we read in 1 Corinthians 15, 22, in Christ shall all be made alive. In Adam will die, but in Christ shall all be made alive. There's one who is stronger than death, and his name is Jesus Christ. And his claim here to be the conqueror of death is met by laughter and derision and scorn. And it is today. It is today. But he is the death of death and hell's destruction to all who believe. He's the risen glorified Savior who has conquered death. He's the one who appeared to the Apostle John. John had been exiled on the Isle of Patmos because of his testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the risen Christ appeared to him and said to him, I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. What tremendous words of comfort. Tremendous words of hope. And here in Luke 8, he exercises his power as the Son of God to raise Jairus' daughter to life. It's a wonderful story. You notice what simplicity this miracle takes place. As along with Peter, James and John and the girl's parents, as it were, those grieving parents, he takes the girl's hand, verse 54, and he says to her, maid, arise. Little girl, arise, he says. Get up. Wake up. Must have been similar to the words she'd heard many times from her mother in the morning when it's time to get up. But now she heard them from the Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ. And she who was dead woke up as from a dream. Her body and soul are reunited at Christ's word. She is no longer dead. She's very much alive. Bring her something to eat, says Jesus. He commanded to give her meat. Death. It's the end, isn't it? That's what atheists tell us. They tell us it repeatedly. There's nothing after death. When you're dead, you're done for. But death is not the end, dear friends. We're not naked apes. We are made in the image of God. Eternity is within us. Sometimes you hear older people. who are aged you speak to them and they say something like this it's strange they say despite all the aches and pains that I've got from my loss of memory I don't feel any older you know why? they have eternal souls Eternity is within us and eternity is before us. Before us. The great question is, where will we spend eternity? And it all rests on what we do with Jesus Christ. Jesus called on Jairus to believe, to have faith in him, to trust him. It wasn't the only time he spoke such words. On another occasion, he spoke to Martha, who had lost her brother Lazarus. Lazarus, who had died. And he said to Martha, these words, I am the resurrection and the life, he said. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believest thou this? It's believers, believers in Christ who shall be saved. Their bodies may be laid to rest in the grave, but he who brought body and spirit together here in Luke 8, in this young girl's case, will do so for all his people one day. Christ will call all his people from their graves, and the voice that called this girl to arise will be heard. The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. What a day. What a day for those who believed. For those who are trusting in Christ, it will be to everlasting bliss to be with him. To those who have not believed on him, everlasting woe. The scenes of joy in the house of Jairus on the restoration of their daughter, you know, on her return to the family circle. They're sort of in a microcosm, they're sort of foretaste, aren't they, of what is to come for all the Lord's people. Every single believer will be reunited in heaven, around the throne of God, never depart. There'll be no benediction in heaven. What do you say? What are you going to do with Jesus Christ? Will you believe his word? Will you put your trust in him? Will you do in effect what these people did long ago at that girl's funeral service? Will you laugh in his face? Will you spit in his face? Will you ridicule his wisdom and his power? Will you deny that he is the eternal son of God? Will you reject his salvation? Do you believe, dear friend, that you're wiser than God? I urge you to follow the unnamed woman this evening. I urge you to follow Jairus. Don't ridicule his claims. Don't dismiss Jesus Christ because he alone can save you. He can save you from your sin. He's the only saviour. He's a wonderful saviour. Look at his great compassion, his mercy and his love in this very chapter. And then look to him as he expires on that cross at Calvary, bearing the awful weight of his people's sins. Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Do you know what you've been doing in resisting Christ? Father, forgive them. Look to Christ and say this evening, it's Christ for me. I will believe on Him. I will trust in Him. I will trust in Him to be my Lord and my Saviour. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter about your station in life. It doesn't matter if you're 12 years of age or much older like the woman here in this passage. If you touch him in faith, if you call upon him in your great need, you will be saved. Saved from sin's power and saved from its ultimate penalty. Saved to the glory of God. and saved to live for Christ. It's a great thing being a Christian, isn't it? It really is. May the Lord speak to you. May his word take hold of you. And may you cast every other hope to one side. Put all your eggs in one basket. and trust in Christ for your soul's salvation.