LUKE 8:49-56 TEMPORARY AND ETERNAL RESURRECTION2012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 8:49-56 Temporary And Eternal Resurrection

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012. Well, this morning as we look at this portion together, you know, the Lord put it on my heart as we were preparing for the Easter service and the resurrection of Jesus and

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It's amazing how he just aligned it just right, that instead of covering, you know, the Easter story as we normally would, the empty tomb, that would have been the normal plan. But then as I began to look at the passages and realized that God had lined it up, that

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As we're studying chapter by chapter, verse by verse through the book of Luke, that the next passage to study is a study on the subject of resurrection as we see this account where this little girl is raised from the dead.

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And it's so appropriate because today we're celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. And so I want to talk about resurrection today, but not looking at it in a traditional fashion, but instead looking at the temporary as well as eternal resurrection and understanding the differences between them and seeing what God has for us here in Luke chapter 8. So temporary versus eternal resurrection.

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As we'll see in this account, this girl is resurrected and that would be what I would call a temporary resurrection. And it's a temporary resurrection because, well, she is brought back to life and she will grow up, she will grow old, and then she will die again. It's not a resurrection so that she will never die again, but it's a resurrection back to life. She will live and then one day die again.

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That's a temporary resurrection. Jesus, on the other hand, as we celebrate his resurrection today, his resurrection was a completely different kind of resurrection. It was an eternal resurrection.

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And eternal resurrection is where you're resurrected, but then never to die again. Jesus was resurrected not to then grow old and then later on die of old age. No, he was resurrected in what we call a glorified body. That is a body that was made to last for eternity. And so he will never die. He conquered death as he resurrected with this eternal resurrection.

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Now this is important for you and I to understand because, well, the scriptures are very clear that Jesus is not the only one who will experience this resurrection. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 that you and I are given the promise of resurrection just like Jesus was resurrected because Jesus resurrected.

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So because he raised from the dead in this way, those who believe in Jesus will be resurrected as well. And so we have this hope and this promise of resurrection that is beyond something that is temporary, but is an eternal life that God promises for those who follow him.

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Paul tells us in Romans chapter 6 verse 5, if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, that is when you believe in Jesus, you identify with him and you recognize that he took your place upon the cross. And so in that way, we are united together in his death.

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Because he died on our behalf in our place. And so Paul says if that's the case, certainly, here's what we can know, we shall be in the likeness of his resurrection as well.

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And so as he resurrected from the dead with this eternal life, this eternal body, you and I have the same promise because we have identified with him. He died upon the cross in my place. And so as we look at the subject of resurrection today, we're looking at this account of this girl who is resurrected. It was a temporary resurrection, but we're also considering that Jesus Christ was resurrected eternally and has that same promise

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Well, as we begin to look at our passage this morning, we need to back up a little bit because we're jumping right into the middle of an account that's been going on for a few verses. Last week, we looked at the beginning part of the portion we're studying today. So let's back up and take a look at those first couple verses again, and then we'll move on into our passage for this morning. So verse 40 here in Luke chapter 8 says this,

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So it was when Jesus returned that the multitude welcomed him for they were all waiting for him.

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So as we begin to set the stage here of this miracle that's about to take place, we find that Jesus has just come back across the Sea of Galilee and he's landed now on the opposite shore. He was there originally. He went across to the other side and now he's come back. He's returned and it says that then the multitude welcomed him. So as Jesus returns,

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Gets to the shore. He gets out of the boat. And there to welcome him is a great multitude. A crowd of people are there on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And it says they were all waiting for him.

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And so as this crowd is waiting for Jesus, that's why they were there. They wanted to see Jesus. They wanted to be with Jesus. They wanted to hear his teaching. They wanted to watch him work. They're awaiting Jesus. And so there's this excitement in the air. There's this anticipation because now the one that they've been waiting for has returned. Jesus is back and they're looking forward to what is going to happen next. Verse 41.

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And so what we find in the midst of this multitude is a particular man that is going to be the subject of this account.

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This man is named Jairus and we're told that he was a ruler of the synagogue. So he had a position of authority, a place of authority within the religious community. He was in charge of the synagogue or the local worship center for the Jewish people in that area.

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And so here is Jairus in the midst of this crowd, and we find him doing something that you would not expect for a religious leader of the day. It says that he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house. What we find Jairus doing is actually somewhat astonishing because he's there in front of everybody, and

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bowing down to jesus begging him jesus please come to my house please come to my house it says that he begs him now this is astonishing because well if you've studied the scriptures for a little bit you understand that the religious leaders did not really get along with jesus

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There was not a good relationship between them. Not on Jesus' part, but the religious leaders hated Jesus. We've already seen in the Gospel of Luke some difficulties that the religious leaders have or have brought to Jesus.

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We'll see even more as we continue on in our study of Luke. But Luke chapter 6 verse 11, talking about these religious leaders, said that they were filled with rage against Jesus. And they discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. They're plotting and planning for how can we get rid of this guy? How can we put him to death or get him to be quiet?

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And they were always sending people to try to trap Jesus and trick questions or trap him in his words. They were always trying to turn the people against him. They really hated Jesus and his ministry. But here's one of these guys, one of the religious leaders, doing something we would not expect. He's not there to try to trap Jesus in his words. He's not there to try to trick Jesus into doing something wrong. He's there to

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Begging Jesus to come to his house. What could cause this man to humble himself in this way? I mean, this was a serious humbling of this man. As he would be on his knees, it says he fell down at Jesus' feet, begging him. What could cause this religious leader, this person of high standing, to come to Jesus in this manner? Well, we find the answer in verse 42.

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It says, for he had an only daughter about 12 years of age and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes thronged him. So this man is begging Jesus. He's coming with great humility. And now it all makes sense. Now we understand why. Because he has a little girl at home. She's 12 years old. His only daughter. And she's dying. She's...

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On her deathbed. On the verge of breathing her last. And he's desperate. You know it's one thing for us to read this account. And it's not that difficult for us. Because we can read just a couple more verses. And see what happens. But in the midst of the situation. The desperation that must have been in his heart. Is probably. Well it's probably more than what words could really describe.

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But maybe you can relate. Maybe you can understand and kind of get a glimpse of what he must have been feeling. As he's in this desperate condition, he goes to Jesus begging, please come to my house. It didn't matter anymore. Whatever he thought about Jesus before, that's beside the point. Whatever anger, whatever rage, whatever issues he had with Jesus doesn't matter anymore because my little girl is dying now.

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And Jesus can help her. And so he comes to Jesus begging for him to come to his house. Now, it tells us immediately Jesus begins to go and the multitudes go with him. But I love the picture here because, well, think about how you and I might respond in a similar circumstance. Have you ever said this phrase? Hey, don't come crawling back to me. Right? Right?

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As you give warning to someone, you kind of caution them, hey, that's not a good thing to do, and I'm going to do it anyways. Okay, well, don't come crawling back to me when you fall on your face. But you know, Jesus was not like that at all. He's still not like that at all. He still does not have that attitude. He invites you, come crawling back to me. I mean, if you're going to have to go do your own way and do your own thing and find out that life is miserable without Christ, he says, okay, well,

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I don't want you to go that way. You're going to hurt yourself. But once you've learned that that's going to hurt you and I have what's best for you, then come back. Come crawling back to me. And so this man is doing the right thing. Jairus here is, well, he's doing what is best. We might say, don't come crawling back to me, but Jesus doesn't say that. And when you and I, when we find ourselves in these kinds of desperate conditions, we

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It's appropriate. It's right. It's what's best. We need to go to Jesus. No matter what your prior experience was, no matter what your prior conditions were, your prior rages against him or whatever the case may be, cast those things aside and come in humility and Jesus will work in your life. When you're desperate in your condition for eternity, which is ultimately the most important condition of your life,

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I mean, you might be in a difficult job situation or home situation or family situation. And those are real and they're painful, just like this man. He had a daughter who is dying. But the most critical condition of all is the eternal condition. And so when you're desperate, you need to go to Jesus. Even if you've fought with Him in the past. Even if you've not believed in Him. Go to Jesus. He says, "...Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

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And so he does the right thing. He comes to Jesus. He begs Jesus, my little girl is dying. Please come to my house. And Jesus begins to go. Now, as Jesus is on the way to Jairus' house, we studied last week, there's another encounter that takes place within the multitude is a woman who had a issue of blood or an illness, a condition medically.

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And she'd had that condition for 12 years and she comes in contact with the Lord and she is healed through that. And so that takes place on the way to Jairus' house. But now that woman has been healed and now the journey is going to begin again to Jairus' house. And here's where we begin to see our points for this morning. Again, we're looking at resurrection, temporary and eternal resurrection.

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And the first point today is that resurrection requires faith. Look at verse 49 with me. It says, while Jesus is speaking, I'm sorry, yeah, while he was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house saying to him, your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the teacher. And so while Jesus is speaking to this woman who he just healed,

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A messenger comes from the ruler of the synagogue's house. And the messenger says, Your daughter is dead. Your daughter is dead. Don't trouble the teacher anymore. Here in the midst of this multitude, as Jesus is heading towards his house, this other woman is healed. But now this messenger comes and this horrific news for Jairus. Your daughter is dead.

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What must have been going on in Jairus' heart? Again, it's probably more than we could describe with words. If you were to ask him, he probably wouldn't be able to come up with the words to describe what was happening in his heart. Because it was too difficult. It was too hard. It was too hurtful and too painful. As he hears the news, your daughter is dead. There couldn't be worse news for him.

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There couldn't be a worse condition for him. Well, we don't know what was happening in his heart. I mean, I would have began to wonder, well, Jesus, if you wouldn't have stopped to heal this woman, you might have gotten there in time. I might have thought that. I don't know if Jairus thought that. But he gets this horrible news. Your daughter is dead. And his heart must have sank. He must have really just been destroyed at this point.

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Because he was there desperate, begging Jesus, please come to my house. But now the message is, your daughter is dead. Notice what the end of the message says. Do not trouble the teacher. This gives us some insight into what they were thinking. Into the mindset, to what they understood. What were they thinking? They were thinking, Jesus can only help with sickness. That's what they thought.

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Jesus can only, she's sick, so go get Jesus. Jesus can help. But now the message, your daughter is dead, never mind. He can't help. This is the end of what he can accomplish. It's the limit of his power was their thought. Jesus can't help with this. They were thinking it's too late. There's nothing that can be done. She's dead. So one of the other gospel writers says, don't trouble the teacher anymore or any longer.

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There's nothing more that can be done. They were hopeless at this point. It was over. It was done. Jairus, your daughter is dead. But Jesus overhears this conversation, this message that is being brought. In verse 50 it says, But when Jesus heard it, he answered him saying, Do not be afraid. Only believe and she will be made well.

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And so Jesus hears what's going on. He hears this announced to Jairus. Probably saw the expression of hope change to hopeless in Jairus' face. And Jesus says, don't be afraid. Jairus, don't be afraid. It's not over. He says, only believe. Notice that. Only believe. What's the one requirement, Jairus? Just to believe.

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Jesus says, look, believe in me, trust in me, and she will be made well. Believe in me, only believe. He doesn't say, Jairus, pull out your checkbook, how much money you got, and then she'll be made well. He doesn't say, hey, go and do this, or run around and accomplish that. He doesn't say, here's a list of things to do. Here's some promises that you can make.

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Jesus says, only believe. That's all you got to do, Jairus. Just trust me. Take me at my word. I'm telling you, she will be made well. Will you trust me? Will you believe me? That's all you got to do. Amazing the way that God relates to us, isn't it? Resurrection requires faith, and that's all that it requires. It's not that resurrection requires faith and a lot of good works.

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Resurrection requires faith, period. That's it. Only believe and she will be made well. Now some people will try to take this and use this to say, you know, Christians should never be sick. They should never have problems. But that's not what the Bible teaches. Jesus's promise to Jairus was, she will be made well. Believe what I'm saying. Trust in me and believe.

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I will make her well. He doesn't say that to everybody. Trust in me, believe in me, and you will have no problems. Now, if he did say that, well, then that would be a different story. But he doesn't say that. In fact, he says the opposite. He says, look, if you follow me, you're going to have much tribulation, much trouble. There is going to be difficulty in your life. So his promise is not that we'll never have issues.

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But his promise for you and I as believers, as we'll talk about in a few moments, is that we will have eternal life where there will be no more issues and no more sorrows and no more tears, no more pain. So that promise is coming, but that promise is not for right now. But the promise to Jairus was, your daughter will be made well, only believe. Have faith, Jairus. Trust in me. That was the one requirement. Jesus says to him, it's not hopeless.

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Just believe. This is so important because everything that God has for you, whether it be a little, what we might consider a little blessing or a little miracle from God to forgiveness and eternal life, everything that God has for us, we receive by faith in Jesus Christ. Everything centers around faith in Jesus. All that God has for you and wants to do in your life,

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He does as you place your faith in Jesus Christ. And so resurrection requires faith. He tells Jairus, only believe. That's what you got to do, Jairus. It's the one requirement. He says, I'm able to still work. It's not hopeless. And we definitely know that's the truth. Jesus is able to raise the dead. We've already seen it as we've studied Luke together. We'll see it again in a

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Jesus is able to raise the dead because he is Lord of all. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the creator of heavens and the earth. Jesus is God and he became man to die upon the cross for us. He's able to raise the dead. We saw here in chapter 8, he was able to calm storms. He could speak to creation and the wind and the waves would cease.

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We saw he was able to cast out demons as he met with the man we call the demoniac. And the demons were cast out and the herd of swine went down and drowned in the water. He lords over creation. He lords over demonic forces. He's able to heal miraculously. We just saw that last week with this woman who was healed. Jesus is Lord of all. He has all power and all authority.

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And so he is able to raise the dead. Now, as I mentioned, we're talking about temporary and eternal resurrection. And so this account here that we're reading is this temporary resurrection where she will be brought back to life.

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And this temporary resurrection, he says, requires faith. Jairus, you must believe and she will be made well. And yet at the same time as we look at this, we're considering the resurrection of Christ and therefore the resurrection that he has promised to those who believe in him. And that is the eternal resurrection. The resurrection which includes a glorified body which is made to last that will last for eternity.

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And so this eternal resurrection also requires faith. Faith means to trust completely, so much so that you build your life upon the thing you're putting your faith in or the one that you believe in. Faith in Jesus Christ is not, it's not just a switch that we, you know, flip in our heads and we say, okay, I didn't believe and, okay, now I believe. And then you continue to live the way that you've always lived. That's not faith.

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You and I were really good at adapting and we learned to say the right things so that we sound like we have faith. But faith is not about saying the right things or intellectually acknowledging, okay, fine, I believe you, you're right. Jesus died, he rose from the dead, he's Lord, he is King of Kings, he's the creator. Okay, I believe you. Well, that's great. That's a good statement. That's the truth. But faith then is to live your life in obedience to that truth.

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To rest yourself completely upon that truth. That if he is Lord, then you, well, then you'll be obedient to him. Then you'll walk in his ways. Then you'll walk in relationship with him just like he's commanded you to. It's why Jesus was able to say, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. And so we can learn to say the right things and say that we love Jesus. But then when we don't keep his commandments, we prove we don't really love him. We don't really have faith. We're not really trusting completely.

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And so resurrection requires faith. It requires a genuine commitment, a genuine transformation where we turn away from sin to follow him. And if you live your life based on the reality that Jesus is alive, that he alone offers salvation, and as you walk with obedience to him, listen, you have eternal life. That's what faith is, to believe in Jesus and base your life upon it.

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Jesus said to Martha in John chapter 11. There in John chapter 11, Martha's brother has died. And Jesus is about to raise him from the dead. But before he does, he tells Martha in John 11, 25, he says, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. Jesus says, Martha, your brother is dead.

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but I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus is declaring, I have the power to resurrect. I have the power to give life. So whoever believes in me, again, this faith that is required to believe in Jesus, though he may die, although physically the body may cease to breathe, the heart may stop pumping, but though he may die,

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Yet shall he live. Because of the resurrection. Because he is the resurrection and the life. And so this resurrection, Jesus says, requires faith. You must believe in him. You must base your life upon the reality of who he is.

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Whether it's a temporary resurrection, like we'll see with this girl, or the eternal resurrection, it requires faith. That's the first point. The second point, as we continue on in our passage today, is that resurrection sounds ridiculous. Resurrection sounds ridiculous. Now listen, it's okay if you think that this sounds ridiculous. You're not the first one to think so. It's common. It's somewhat normal to hear about resurrection and think, well, that's just silly.

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We find this here in Luke chapter 8. Look at verse 51. It says, So now Jesus gets to the house. The multitude is there. They're all excited about what's going to happen. They just saw this miracle take place. But as he gets to the house, it's quite a different scene.

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And so what Jesus ends up doing is he puts everybody outside except for Peter, James, and John, his close disciples, and the mother and the father of the girl. I love this because we see very clearly here Jesus is not putting on a show. He's not trying to entertain the people or the crowds. He's not trying to get, well, let's see how big of a crowd we can get. Okay, is everybody here? Okay, everybody watch. I'm going to do something amazing.

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He's not putting on a show. What is he doing? He's ministering to these people, to this mom, to this dad. Their daughter has just died. They're heartbroken. Their lives are shattered. And Jesus says, I need to spend some time alone with you guys. When you are hurting, please know Jesus is able to minister to you personally, individually. When you're hurting, when

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When you have been shattered, when your life is broken, Jesus is able to heal in ways that other people, they cannot and they cannot understand. He puts everybody else outside and he spends a few moments with just these two. Amazing. The personal touch of our Lord. We don't get lost in a sea of faces as far as the Lord is concerned. He knows each one of us. Knows our hurts, knows our sorrows, knows where we're at and he's able to

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to minister to us individually, to heal us and restore us. And so he puts everybody out except for Peter, James, and John and the mother and the father. Verse 52, now all wept and mourned for her, but he said, do not weep. She is not dead, but sleeping. So as Jesus gets to the house, he finds this great commotion going on. There's this weeping and mourning that is happening.

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Now when it says that they wept, they all wept and mourned for her, that word wept, it means to wail aloud. So they weren't, you know, quietly sobbing a little bit, but it was a loud wailing, a very loud and demonstrative act of sorrow and mourning. Along with that, as it says they all wept and mourned, that word mourned, it means to beat one's body or to beat your chest.

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And so there was this great emotion being expressed here, this wailing, this mourning, this beating the chest. Now what you need to understand about this though, we're kind of disconnected to it because it's not our practice in this culture, but in their culture in that time, what they would do is they would hire professional mourners.

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And we even see that in the other gospel accounts, by the way. If you want to check out slightly different perspectives on this same account, you can look in Mark chapter 5 and Matthew chapter 9. But in Matthew chapter 9 verse 23, it says that when Jesus came into the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing. There was flute players there. Why was there flute players there? Because it was the practice of the day. When someone died...

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You would hire musicians and mourners. And they would come and they would sing these funeral songs, these sorrowful songs, and they would mourn and weep and wail loudly for you if you paid them well. It was a profession. They were professional mourners.

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And so there was flute players there that were playing these songs. There was wailers there. There was this great commotion going on. The people wept and mourned for her. But Jesus says, hey guys, job's over. You can pack up and go home. Don't weep anymore. No need to mourn any longer. She is not dead, but sleeping. She's not dead, Jesus says. She's sleeping. I'm going to go wake her up right now so you can pack up and go home.

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When Jesus says she's sleeping, he's not saying that literally she's sleeping and, you know, you guys are so dumb, you know. Don't you recognize the difference between when someone's sleeping or dead? That's not what's going on here. The Bible, throughout the scriptures, we see that sleep is used to describe the death of believers. Because although the body has ceased to live, well, the individual has not. We'll talk about that in just a moment.

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And so basically what Jesus is saying is, this isn't over yet. I'm going to go wake her up right now. Her life on this earth is not done. It's not finished. Although she's died, she has died. She's not done yet. I'm going to go wake her up. Verse 53, and they ridiculed him knowing that she was dead. What did they do? Jesus says, fear not. I'm here. She's sleeping. I'm going to go wake her up.

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They didn't say, all right, yes, he's going to do a great work and resurrect her from the dead. No, no, no. Again, we saw the mentality of the people in the messenger that went to Jairus. It's over. It's hopeless. Your daughter is dead. Don't trouble him anymore. There's nothing he can do. That's what they thought. That's what they believed. And so they ridiculed him.

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Jesus said, she's not dead. I'm going to go wake her up. And they said, that's ridiculous. They began to mock and to laugh, to scorn him for what he said. Because it sounds ridiculous when you don't believe. When you don't believe that Jesus is who he says he is, resurrection sounds ridiculous. It sounds silly. It sounds insane. It doesn't make any sense. It says that they ridiculed him knowing that she was dead.

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They knew that she was dead. They weren't guessing. They weren't like, well, we think she's dead. We don't want to go in and check though. We're kind of afraid. They weren't guessing. They weren't fearing the worst. They were not exaggerating. They knew it. Again, these are professional mourners. They know the difference between someone who is dead and someone who is not. It's what they do for a living. The Jewish culture as well were very familiar with death because they would bury someone alive

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The day that they died, that was their custom and practice. They wouldn't let them remain overnight. They had to bury them that same day. And so they were very accustomed to making sure, finding out for certain, yes, this person is dead. They didn't just think, well, let's just wait till tomorrow and see if they wake up. No, they knew. And Jairus, being the ruler of a synagogue, he would have been able to afford the appropriate medical care for her to...

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Have the doctors as well testify she's dead. They called it time of death. This time it's done. So they ridiculed Jesus knowing that she was dead. They thought this is ridiculous. Now this is a temporary resurrection that we're talking about. And that Jesus is about to do a work and bring her back to life. He's going to wake her up just as he said. And it sounds ridiculous to those who do not believe.

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In the same way that eternal resurrection sounds ridiculous to those who do not believe. You might remember Paul in Acts chapter 17. He was speaking to those who were scholars of the day. They were intelligent. They loved to discuss ideas and

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Push the edge of the envelope. In Acts chapter 17 verse 32, as Paul is speaking, it says, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked while others said, we will hear you again on this matter. It's always going to be the case. When the subject of resurrection comes up, there's going to be those who mock. Those who say, I just can't believe that. That's ridiculous. That doesn't make sense.

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Because they do not believe. It sounds ridiculous. But it is real. Even if you can't figure it out. Even if you can't understand it. There is a reality to it. Again, Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. That's the reality. That there's life in Christ. And those who believe in Christ, although they might die physically,

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Yet, yet they shall live. There's life in Christ. Whether you believe it or not, there's life in Christ. Well, finally, we get the third point from verse 54 through 56. And the third point is that resurrection is possible because we are eternal. Resurrection is possible because you and I are eternal beings. Sometimes we get it a little bit mixed up. You need to understand that

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It's not that people live forever because they are resurrected. People are resurrected because they live forever. There's a difference. People live forever. That's the truth. That's the reality. You will live forever. And that's what makes resurrection possible. Whether you're talking about temporary or eternal, resurrection is possible because people exist forever.

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beyond this life. People exist beyond this body. This body is not the end. People live forever. Verse 54 says, but he put them all outside, took the girl or took her by her hand and called saying, little girl arise. So again, we see Jesus putting everybody outside. The crowd, the multitude, the

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the mourners, the weepers. He puts them all outside except for the parents and Peter, James, and John. I think it's interesting that Jesus puts out all the mockers and the unbelievers. He puts them all outside. They're not going to get to see what is about to take place. They're not going to take part in this miracle as he raises this little girl from the dead. Over and over we see this pattern in the life of Christ where people will say,

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show me and then I'll believe. Jesus would say, believe and I will show you. Those who are mocking, those who are laughing and saying, that's ridiculous. He puts them outside and then he does the miracle. But those who are believing, he tells Jairus, believe and your daughter will be made well. And so he's there. He's getting to see this miraculous work of God.

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Because he believed when Jesus said, only believe and she will be made well. He trusted in Jesus. He rested in Jesus. And his daughter is about to be made well. And so Jesus takes her by the hand and he speaks to her. You see that? He takes her by the hand and he speaks to her. He doesn't pull out the crash cart, you know, and charge the things. That's not how he's resurrecting her.

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He doesn't pull out of his bag, alright, I've got some herbs here. We've got to make an ointment really quick here. He doesn't try to do something scientifically or even medically. He holds her hand and he speaks to her. Because remember who he is. He's the one who spoke creation into existence. So he holds her hand and he speaks to her. Why? Why does he speak to her? Because she's eternal.

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Although her body is dead, she's not ceased to exist. And so Jesus is able to speak to her. She's not just disappeared, no more existence. No, she's eternal. She's still alive. Physically, her body is dead, but she's still alive because people live forever. And so he holds her hand and he speaks to her. And in verse 55, it says, then her spirit returned.

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And she arose immediately and he commanded that she be given something to eat. So he speaks to her and then see what happens there in verse 55. Then her spirit returned. She's eternal. Her spirit still exists. It had left her body and that's why her body is there lifeless. That's why they said, your daughter is dead, Jairus. Don't trouble the teacher anymore. The spirit had left her body dead.

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But she still exists. And so Jesus says, little girl, arise. And her spirit returns to her body. Life is brought back into her body. She sits up and he says, give her some macaroni and cheese. She's hungry. Her spirit returned. Her body may be dead, but she had not ceased to exist. Now, of course, it raises the question, well, where did her spirit go?

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for her spirit to return. That's a subject for another discussion another time. But if you want to check it out, look in Luke chapter 16 and see what God will show you from that chapter. But her spirit returned because she had not ceased to exist. It had just departed from her body. And so now the spirit has returned. She's brought back to life. She's resurrected from the dead, verse 56. And her parents were astonished.

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I love how the scripture, it kind of understates things so many times. Her parents were astonished. I think words would not be able to express what her parents were experiencing at that point. Having lost hope, having lost their 12-year-old precious daughter, and here she is back in their arms. Oh, such great joy, such excitement. Astonished, yes, and much more.

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It says in verse 56, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened. And so here we have this account where Jesus comes in contact with this man Jairus. He's begging Jesus, please help me come to my house. My only daughter is dying. And Jesus comes and he says, little girl arise.

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And we see this temporary resurrection take place. Now, this temporary resurrection took place. It was possible because that little girl is eternal. And even today as we study this, she's alive. She's alive right now. Now, I don't mean physically. Physically, she was resurrected. She grew old, probably buried her parents, and then died once again.

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But she's eternal. She's still alive because people live forever. She's not ceased to exist just like you and I will not cease to exist. And so this temporary resurrection was possible because she is eternal in the same way as we consider the eternal resurrection. Jesus, when he resurrected, resurrected to never die again.

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With a glorified body, a permanent, eternal body, it's the same resurrection that he promises to those who believe in him. And so he says, I am the resurrection and the life. Believe in me. And even though you die, yet you're going to live because you'll experience this resurrection in the same way that I did. This resurrection that's eternal is possible because we are eternal.

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Again, it's not that people live forever because they're resurrected. You weren't going to live forever, then you died, and now you're resurrected. Okay, so now you're going to live forever? No, that's not how it works. Resurrection happens. It takes place. It's possible because already you are an eternal being. You will live forever. When we consider God, we understand the scriptures declare clearly he had no beginning and he has no ending.

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He has always been. He always will be. It boggles our mind. We can't quite figure it out. But that's the reality that is declared to us in the scriptures. You and I, on the other hand, are very different from God. In that we have a beginning. God does not. He's always existed. But you haven't always existed. You have a beginning. Now, there's some discussion and you could consider, you know, when was that beginning? But I would suggest it's at conception. You began.

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Wherever you place that beginning though, the point is you have a beginning and you have no ending. There was a point where you didn't exist and then you existed. And now that you exist, you will always exist for the rest of eternity. People live forever. This is a truth, this is a reality that we need to allow to sink in because we get so limited by this life and so caught up in this life and how many ever years we have on this earth.

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But that's not the end of our existence. It's a tiny portion of the rest of eternity. Jesus is explaining to the religious leaders in John chapter 5 that God has given him, the Father has given him life to give to those who believe in him. And he tells them in John chapter 5 verse 28, he says, Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth.

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Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. Jesus explains that there's two resurrections. Now we've already been looking at two, the temporary resurrection and the eternal resurrection. But Jesus is breaking it down a little bit farther for us and saying the internal resurrection is in two parts. There's the resurrection to condemnation and

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and the resurrection to life. Every person lives forever whether they believe in Jesus or not. Jesus says those who don't believe, they're resurrected to condemnation, to judgment. But those who do believe are resurrected to life. And so what we see demonstrated here in this account of Luke chapter 8 is that Jesus is who he claimed to be. He is Lord of all creation.

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He is the one who spoke creation into existence. His resurrection from the dead proves that claim as well. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 1 verse 4 that he was declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. When Jesus rose from the dead, it proved that he truly is the Son of God. That he truly is the King of kings and Lord of lords. That he is God.

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The Savior, our only hope of salvation. And so this morning I want to conclude with that thought. Jesus is the Savior, our only hope of salvation. As we think about the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection that is promised to those who believe in Him, it's that resurrection of life. But we need to understand that whether you believe in Jesus or not, you will live forever. You are eternal.

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And you will spend eternity somewhere. There's only two options. You'll spend eternity in heaven or you'll spend eternity in hell. You'll take part in the resurrection of life or the resurrection of condemnation. And what determines which resurrection you're part of? What determines your eternal destination? Jesus said, only believe. This is what's required.

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To experience that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, you must believe in him. And again, it's more than just saying, okay, sign me up. I don't want to go to hell. I believe. But then you continue to live your life the way you've always lived. That's not believing in Jesus. Believing in Jesus is building your life upon him. Resting yourself completely upon who he is. And that includes turning away from sin to follow him.

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It includes walking in relationship with God through him. It includes obedience. That's why James was able to say, faith without works is dead. It's not because that there's this requirement that now you have to do works, but it's because a genuine faith, a real faith, is involved in walking in obedience to Jesus. And so that faith is all that's required. Believe in Jesus genuinely. Let it be for real.

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And he says, for you, I'm the resurrection and the life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you this day as we get to celebrate and remember that you resurrected from the grave. Thank you that, Lord, you loved us so much that you humbled yourself and became man. And you humbled yourself to the point of death, even the death of the cross, that you might take our place today

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Lord, that you might receive the penalty that I deserve for my sin. Thank you, Jesus, for your great love towards us and offering yourself as a sacrifice on our behalf. And yet the grave couldn't hold you because you're God. You're the creator. And so you resurrected to demonstrate once and for all that you are the one and only savior. You're the one that we need.

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So God, I pray for all those who do believe in you this morning. I pray, God, that you would stir up within our hearts that fresh excitement about who you are and what you've done for us. That fresh excitement about what you have in store for us. The promise that we have. Even though times may get difficult in this life. Lord, how exciting it is to have that promise that you are the resurrection and the life. And if I believe in you, I will never perish. Even though I might die.

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yet I will live because of who you are. Thank you, God, for that incredible promise, the eternity that you have in store that is exceedingly abundantly beyond what we could ask or think. Oh, you're so good to us, Lord. Help us, God, stir up that fresh excitement and joy and rejoicing over who you are and what you've done for us who believe in you. God, I also pray for those who do not believe.

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I pray for those who perhaps have walked away and this morning you're calling out. You're extending your arms. And you don't say, hey, don't come crawling back to me. But you say, come. You're weary. You're heavy laden. You have hurts. You have troubles. Come. You invite us to you. Lord, I pray as you speak to the hearts of those that you're ministering to right now. Lord, I pray that you would break down the barriers of pride.

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Lord, whatever obstacles might be in there, whatever thoughts might be contrary to Your will, I pray, God, that You would cast those things down. And I pray as You speak to hearts that they would respond to You, that they would turn to You and believe in You. God, I pray that it would be genuine faith as they see You for who You are and realize You're the only one who can bring salvation. You're the only one who can bring rest.

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And Lord, your word says as they turn to you, you'll not cast them out, but as many as believe, become children of God. And so God, I pray that you would transform lives as they turn their hearts to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.