Introduction: God has no preference for certain people over other people, He loves all equally.  Skin color does not matter, educational background does not matter, ethnic origin does not matter, and even our sinfulness doesn't affect God's love or willingness to touch people's lives.

Like many societies in many ages there were those in Jesus' day that felt
that certain people should not warrant God's touch on their lives, that they
were unacceptable people. Ironically, it was often the religious leaders that
helped propagate this attitude.

As was so often the case however, Jesus demonstrated that His love and His touch were for anyone who came with faith … this is the good news for today also, no one is rejected by God that comes by faith, no one - but it is necessary to come by faith!

So often the world wants proof first, then they will believe, but this is not
the way God's kingdom works.

ILLUS:
Most of us, in our desire for meaningful faith, seem to be saying to God:
"Show me, and I'll believe!" This approach never works. God has made it very clear to us, in the life and teaching of his Son Jesus, that the process mustbe reversed. He is saying to us: "Believe in me, and I'll show you." -- John
Powell, S.J., in Through Seasons of the Heart. Christianity Today, Vol. 31,
no. 2.

The Bible teaches that even the most rejected person is welcomed to be
touched by Christ if they come by faith. God does not reject anyone with
faith … He welcomes the "clean" and the "unclean" who will come in faith.

1. UNITED IN CRISIS       

1. The Clean    

21  And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, muchpeople gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.
22  And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by
name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,
23  And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point
of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed;and she shall live.
24  And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.                             Mark 5:21-24

1. A good moral and godly man named Jairus found himself in desperate need,his 12 year old daughter was dying.

a. Jairus was a synagogue leader

(1. This meant being highly respected.

(2. A man respected by his own peers.

(3. Someone with a proven record.

(4. Someone who knew God's Word.

(5. A spiritual leader.

b. His 12 year old daughter was ill and dying.

(1. Apparently nothing could be done for her by the doctors of that time.

(2. No doubt he had exhausted all other means of helping her.

(3. He must have sought man and God for help … but nothing had changed.

2. Though many of the synagogue rulers had found Jesus a threat, and like somany of the Pharisees they had rejected Christ's claims, Jairus' need was sogreat that he was open to anything that could help his daughter.

3. The Jewish image of God that he knew offered no hope, he was open to Jesus being God's son and helping him, he had no other answer!

ILLUS:
The turning point in our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is. -- Patrick Morley in The Seasons of a Man's
Life. Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 3.

4. Jairus was not concerned about his standing at the synagogue, only his
daughter's life!

a. This is evident by the fact that when he gets to Jesus through the crowd
"he fell at His feet" … a position of humility and need. v24

b. Jairus pleads with Jesus for help.

c. He is not thinking about his position at the synagogue, or how it might
look for the local synagogue ruler to be seeking Jesus out, only how he can
save his daughter.

5. When we are really in need it won't matter how much money we have, how important we are, how our reputation may be impacted … we are only concerned about our need.

a. God is always open to a desperate heart that comes to Him by faith!

b. Painful events can strip away our pride … and this opens the door to faith.

2. The Unclean     

25  And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26   And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all thatshe had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27  When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28   For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.           
                Mark 5:25-28

1. Besides a desperate Synagogue ruler there is another desperate person whoshows up for help from Jesus … an "unclean" woman with an issue of blood.

a. Ironically, she has suffered 12 years with no help, the same number of
years as the age of Jairus' daughter.

b. No doctor or treatment had helped this woman either.

2. Since she was bleeding she was considered "unclean" by Jewish law.

a. This meant she could not attend the local Synagogue where Jarius was theleader - he would have had to stop her from entering to worship.

b. It may be that at one time she belonged to this synagogue and had Jairus
as her "pastor" … and yet for 12 years she has not been accepted at the
worship services.

c. This also meant not being invited over to family and friends houses for
meals or special events because her presence or touch would make others
ceremoniously unclean.

d. She must have been lonely and discouraged, not even her own family could touch her without becoming "unclean".

3. She is desperate like Jairus … and while Jesus is on his way to Jairus'
house to heal his daughter this unclean woman interrupts their travels!
(see 5:24 - Jesus was already on his way to Jairus' house … and now is
stopped by this woman.)

a. Imagine how Jairus must have felt about Jesus stopping to deal with this
"unclean" woman while his daughter is slowly slipping away!

b. Perhaps Jairus even knew this woman from days before she was "unclean,"her family may have attended his synagogue.

c. Jairus however does not protest … perhaps the fact that they both were
desperate allowed him to have had pity on her also!

d. Though one was "clean" and the other "unclean" they both had desperate
needs and needed Christ … they were united in crisis!

ILLUS:
God uses broken things. Broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to giverain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the
broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly,
who returns to greater power than ever. -- Vance Havner, Christian Reader,
Vol. 32, no. 4.

4. One had a suffering 12 year old, the other had suffered for 12 years … but they both needed Christ and Christ would not ignore either one of them.

a. To Jesus Jairus wasn't more important because he was a good man, a
synagogue ruler … he got Jesus' attention because he came in need and with faith.

b. To Jesus the "unclean" woman wasn't less important because she was
religiously unclean … she got Jesus' attention because she came in need and with faith too!

5. Since she was "unclean" she tried to sneak up to Jesus as he was walking to go to Jairus' house … she felt she would be healed if she could only touch the hem of Jesus' garment … an act however that could not be done with public notice since it would make Jesus "unclean" also!

a. Her decision to sneak up on Jesus was to prevent public recognition of her uncleanness and her desire to keep Jesus from being made "unclean" publicly.

b. She wanted no attention, just Jesus' touch to heal her.

c. No doubt she was afraid of being found out or recognized, but the heavy
crowd would give her the opportunity to touch Jesus without others even
knowing … she just knew that one touch from Christ was all she needed to be made whole again.

2. UNITED IN CHRIST 

1. The Unclean    

29  And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in
her body that she was healed of that plague.
30  And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of
him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31  And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32  And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33  But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34  And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in
peace, and be whole of thy plague.   Mark 5:29-34

1. She is healed immediately upon touching Jesus' garment!

a. Her suffering and her "uncleanness" would now be gone!

b. This meant not only good health, but the possibilities of being allowed
back into the synagogue and her family and friend's life.

2. Jesus however does not just let it pass … He stops and asks who touched Him!

a. The question surprises the disciples, how could Jesus ask "who touched me"
when there was a crowd pressing around Him the whole time He was walking toward Jarius' house?

b. What was Jesus doing, didn't He know this would expose the "unclean" woman publically? EXACTLY! … this was precisely why He was doing this, to make her "CLEANSING" public so there could be no question of her acceptance back at the synagogue and in society … both were present after all, the synagogue ruler and the friends and family members of the area in this crowd!

c. Jesus wanted to be sure to let the entire crowd know she was healed, not to embarrass her but to set her free from being ostracized!

3. This stopping on the way to Jarius' house could have been nerve wracking for Jairus .. every moment counted for his daughter … no doubt he was anxious to get Jesus moving again toward his home, yet he does not protest, why?

a. like her, he too was a desperate man, no longer could he look upon her in judgment as an "unclean" woman, he himself was in great need, he may have understood her desperation since he too was desperate.

b. under other circumstances he might have denounced her touching Jesus and making Him "unclean" by Jewish law … but he was in her shoes now too - desperate for help!

ILLUS:
Instead of putting others in their place, try putting yourself in their
place. - Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World
(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entries 3073.

4. Jesus had brought hope and life back to this woman, and even acceptance publicly.

a. At first she fell at His feet fearful (remember Jairus had also fallen at
Jesus' feet at first!) and admitted she had touched Him, but instead of being
scolded Jesus commends her for her faith and publicly declares her healed so she can be accepted back into the synagogue and her family and friends
without fear of rejection anymore.

b. What a release must have come into her soul as well as her body, Jesus had restored her physically and spiritually … and even socially!

5. This touch of God's love was so unlike the religious leaders … and so was the results so unlike the religious leaders … instead of fear she found
faith, instead of guilt and rejection she found healing and freedom!

ILLUS:
I read recently of a teaching hospital that found one of its young resident
students had a marvelous effect on children. They responded to him with
delight. They would do things for him and yield to his ministrations in a way
that they wouldn't do for any other person on the staff. They assigned a
nurse to discover what the secret of this young resident was. It wasn't until
the second week when she was on night turn that she found out the secret. It was simply this: Every night on his last round he would kiss, and hug, and
tuck in every one of the children. It was in that act of compassion, you see,
in that act of sympathy, that he made his contact. And it's this--this
sympathy, this compassion that belongs to Jesus--that reaches out to us. It's this about him that charms us more than anything else. -- Bruce W.
Thielemann, "Telltale Tears," Preaching Today, Tape 40.

6. She is free, now what about Jairus' daughter?

B. The Clean     

35  While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house
certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
36  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
37  And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
38  And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
39  And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
40  And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he
taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41  And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi;
which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42  And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
43  And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.                              Mark
5:35-43

1. While Jesus was still speaking (to the woman probably) some men from
Jairus' house show up and tell Jairus, "Thy daughter is dead: why troublest
thou the Master any further?"    v35

a. This stopping to touch the "unclean" woman cost the time needed to get to Jairus' daughter … she dies!

b. What might Jairus been thinking, "if only this unclean woman had not
sidetracked Jesus we might have made it on time!"

c. Notice the attitude in the friend's comments … "why troublest thou the
Master any further?"  - it would seem that they were embarrassed by Jairus' coming to Jesus, and in fact won't recognize Jesus as nothing more than just
a "teacher". Master is the same word in the Greek as teacher.

2. Notice the text says, As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. v36

a. These were no friends of his, Jesus ignores their cold approach and
instead turns to the broken-hearted father Jairus.

b. Jesus encourages Jairus to yet believe and all would be well.

c. The "unclean" woman did not cost him his daughter's life!!

3. It is never too late for Jesus!

a. Jesus had the crowds stop following Him to Jairus' home … He was not about to put on a "show" for them.

b. When He arrives at Jairus' house he tells all the professionally paid
mourners that Jairus' daughter is not really dead, she was just "asleep".

(1. These so called "sympahtizers" then LAUGH at Jesus … hardly the kind of folks you want around at a time like this …

(2. So Jesus gets rid of all of them, and only allows His disciples and
Jairus and his wife in the room with the 12 year old girl.

4. Notice Jesus touches the dead girl by taking her by the hand … Jairus was
not concerned that Jesus was ceremoniously unclean from his touch earlier
with the unclean woman … He was glad to have Jesus in his house, and by his daughter's side, Christ was his only hope!

a. All the pain and suffering had made a different synagogue ruler out of
him, he wasn't so concerned anymore over all the correct religious rules, he
was humbly concerned about others!

b. Sometimes all the painful events in life have a way of making us better!

ILLUS:
When they first manufactured golf balls, they made the covers smooth. Then it was discovered that after a ball had been roughed up one could get more distance out of it. So they started manufacturing them with dimpled covers. So it is with life; it takes some rough spots in your life to make you go your farthest. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 12.

5. Jesus simply says to the little 12 year old girl, "Damsel, I say unto
thee, arise. !"  (v41) and she comes back to life immediately!

a. Though everyone in the room had faith they are still astonished! (5:42)

b. Jesus instructs them not to tell anyone (Yeah, right - how do you keep a
dead 12 year coming back to life a secret!!!) - Jesus wasn't interested in
spectators, he wanted changed lives.

c. Jesus very practically tells the parents to get going and feed their
daughter, give her something to eat! Miracles don't exempt us from normal
responsibilities, in fact, they make them necessary!

6. Christ met the need of the "clean" and of the "unclean" - and both
received the touch of God they needed.

a. How about you? It doesn't matter what category you fall into, Christ will
meet your need if you come in faith!

b. Jesus didn't discriminate in His ministry, He only looked for faith and
need!

Conclusion:   No one was excluded from Christ's love and ministry. Jesus
touched the acceptable and unacceptable in society. God looks for faith, not social standing.
No matter who you are, what you are, or where you come from - you can come to Christ and you will be accepted, just come as you are with faith.