Shalom, and welcome to Ve’ahavta Yisrael, a Hebrew phrase which means, “You shall love Israel.” We hope you’ll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch, shares his expository teaching from the Bible. Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zera Avraham Institute based in Israel. Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English. To find out more about our work in Israel, please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org. That’s one word, loveisrael.org. Now, here’s Baruch with today’s lesson.

Dr. Baruch: It’s very sad today that people are turning away from the truth of scripture, and what I’m talking about is the importance of the land of Israel and the Jewish people. Now, many people say, “Well, that was true during the days of the Old Testament, but today there’s a New Testament, and that means change. There’s new things.” Well, there’s new things, but the same basic truth remains, and what is that? That God wants to use Israel, the land and the people, in order to accomplish his purpose. Messiah came from Israel, but that’s not the end of how Israel is connected to the purposes and the plans of God.

Now, we are in a midst of a study of Mark chapter five. We saw that in the second half of that chapter there were two females mentioned, and we talked about the significance that they were females, because Israel is oftentimes personified as a woman. We see that both of these young females, one was older than the other, but the first one was very young, and the second one, well, she had a specific problem. The first, as we learn, she was a young girl and we don’t know what her problem was, but she was at the point of death. That is to say, there was a great urgency for a healing, a miracle to happen for her, or the end would be death.

Secondly, this woman, she was in a terrible situation. She had a flow of blood which affected not only her physically, but spiritually and socially, and she was in that situation for 12 long years. We learned that she spent everything she had, did everything possible to do, but nothing helped. Her situation only grew worse. Why? Because all these solutions were wrapped up in the work of man, man’s wisdom, man’s ability, man’s action. In a state of desperation, she heard about Yeshua, that he was in the area, and we recall she came up to him quietly and she touched his garment, but not any place on his garment. We learn from this parallel passage in Matthew that she touched the hem of his garment, or the tsiytsiyt.

We talked about last week how this tsiytsiyt, these tassel or fringes were constructed in a way according to numbers chapter 15, verses 37 through 41, to remind the children of Israel of the commandments of God. A very important truth that we learned was this: if we want God to work in our life, if we want his blessings, his help, his power, his anointing, then we should want to take a hold of his will. Where do we learn that? In his word.

So this woman was saying that she wanted to be healed, not so that she could just do her will, but taking hold of those tassels that represents the commandments of God, signified she wanted to be healed so that she could serve him, and that teaches us a lot about salvation. Salvation is not just so that we can leave this planet and enter into the kingdom of God. That’s a future reality, but the hope is now as well that we would become his faithful servant.

So in the midst of this chapter with this woman who had the issue of blood for 12 years, and her healing, there was discussion between Yeshua, his disciples, and this woman. It was at the end of that time of speaking to her that we pick up today in that same account, from Mark chapter five, and verse 35. We read here, “And he was still speaking, still discussing this with this woman, when there was an interruption.” It says in the texts, “That there came from that which is of the chief ruler of the synagogue.”

Now, the word here is in the genitive, which means the possessive. It simply says, “They came from that which is of that synagogue ruler,” literally, we would assume his home, and they came with a message, a proclamation. What was that message? “Your daughter,” they said, “Your daughter is dead.”

Now, for many people that would end it. In fact, if you keep reading that same texts, what does the individual say? “Why still bother the teacher?” I mean, this hope, this expectation that maybe he could do something, it only existed as long as this little girl was alive. But now that she had passed from this age into the place of death, she was beyond hope. So there was no reason to any longer deal with Yeshua, the Messiah, as he’s called here, the teacher.

But I want you to see what is written in verse 36. A very important word, we’ve talked about that before, the Greek word [foreign language 00:06:31], which means “but”. Now, oftentimes it’s translated in English with the word “and”, but as we learn it is to show something in contrast. The general thought of the people were this, “It’s over. She’s dead. He can’t do anything,” but he responds. He says something in total contradiction to that, in contrast to their thoughts, their impressions.

Verse 36, “But Yeshua,” and the next word is literally two words put together. The word [foreign language 00:07:06], which means we get the English word “acoustics” for hearing. The second word [foreign language 00:07:12] means basically to not pay attention, to not be listening to it, to be listening or paying attention to something else.

So it’s interesting that as everyone heard this, this proclamation, “Your daughter is dead. There’s nothing else that can be done. Don’t bother the teacher.” Messiah turned and he said to this ruler of the synagogue while they were still there speaking, he said to them, said to him, “Do not fear, only believe.”

Now that word “fear” we’ve come across a couple of times before in this fifth chapter we sought in regard to the response of the disciples when they were on the sea of Galilee and that storm came up. The word fear here is basically to encounter that which you do not want, that which is not good in your mind, that which is against your best interests. We see it again in the same chapter with those of the village that came out to witness the miracle that Yeshua did with that one called Legion. When they saw this one who was possessed by 2,000 demons that they couldn’t control who was sitting in his right mind along Yeshua, what did they do? They didn’t praise God. They feared and they said to Messiah, “Leave from our region.

So this word “fear” means to encounter that which is dreadful to you. So Messiah said, “What?” He says, “Do not fear. Don’t give heed to that proclamation that your daughter is dead, but only believe.” Now faith, we were talking in another location this week about faith in regard to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and how the covenant of Abraham that God made with him, which in the end has to do with the establishment, the kingdom, a kingdom of blessing, the basic truth concerning that covenant is the requirement of faith.

So here again, Messiah, there’s nothing new. He’s giving the same truth that’s saying covenant truth that was given to Abraham almost 4,000 years ago. “Don’t fear. Don’t give heed to that which is dreadful, the threats and the proclamation of the enemy, but rather believe in the promises of God.”

Let’s move on next verse, verse 37, “And he did not allow anyone who was with him, who was escorting with him to go, except for Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, and they came into the house of the synagogue ruler.” Now, do you remember his name? It’s the word [foreign language 00:10:15]. Now, [foreign language 00:10:16] has to do with manifestation, illuminating, and this passage of scripture is written in the way that we receive it in order to illuminate a great truth for us.

We’re going to see in these two miracles the healing of this woman who had that issue of blood. What did that render her? Spiritually impure. In that condition, she was banished from society and she also could not worship God. She could not go in to a synagogue. She could not enter in to the temple area. She was banished and without hope, unless there was a change, and she sought change everywhere she could, grew no better, but even worse. So these two miracles are going to reveal a very important bit of illumination.

Look again, “And they came into the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and he saw the uproar and the weeping and the great lamenting.” Now, what were they doing? Well, these were all things that symbolize morning. That is they were responding to the death. Now, what we need to see is this. We don’t need to respond to death in defeat, in mourning. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 30. It’s a Psalm that was written by David for the end times, and there it talks about how he is going to turn my mourning into rejoicing. That’s what faith does when our faith is rooted in the promises of God, which are fulfilled ultimately by the person and the work of Messiah Yeshua.

So there they are, this great uproar of mourning, of weeping, lamenting, and what happens if you would to verse 39, and entering into them, that is Messiah, entering into them he says, “What is the all this uproar?” That is, “What is all this commotion? Why are you weeping for the child?” Now, let’s stop for a moment. We’re going to see in the next several verses how he relates to this girl, is with the word. Well, we get the English word “pediatric” from it.

So we’re talking about a very young child, at least that’s the word that is given here. We’re going to find out her age in a few minutes. So he responds and he says, “What is all this uproar? Why are you weeping? This little girl is not dead, she only sleeps.” Now, she’s dead. The term “sleep”, in fact, one of the most famous prayers in Judaism is called [foreign language 00:13:19], which is the prayer of 18 blessings. Today, there’s an additional one, makes it 19, but it still retains that name. In that prayer there are numerous references to the resurrection of the dead, and when we speak of the dead, they don’t use that word “dead”, but they oftentimes uses the word, “Those who sleep in the dust of the earth.”

Now, let me say something. None of this has to do with with soul sleep or that doctrine. That is an error. We know scripturally that the Bible says to be absent from this body, if you’re a believer, to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. So we’re not talking about soul sleep.

What this is talking about is the view of the Jewish sages that death is not an end. Death is simply a preparation in the same way that sleep prepares you for the next day. The kingdom is related to the day where the work of the enemy is seen in the terms of night. So sleeping was just simply a transition from this age to the age to come, and that was his intent. He knew, everyone knew, it was undeniable that this young girl was dead, but he used the term “sleep” to elicit that, that thought of the resurrection, the promise of Messiah.

Move on to the next verse, verse 40. Now, how did they respond? Well, they heard this, and there’s a very intense word. They just didn’t laugh, but they scorn him, they mocked him repeatedly. But he, what did he do? Well, he cast them out and he took the father of this little girl and the mother and those who are within, that is those three disciples, Peter, James, and John.

Now, why those three individuals? Well, I don’t know if it had to do with them specifically, although earlier on when we talk about the disciples, those three were given names where the others were not. There could be another reason, and that is the number three is important. We know that by two or three witnesses, a thing is confirmed. So these three were witnesses to what was going to happen at that place.

So look again at verse 40, “And they mocked him, but he cast them out.” Why? A lack of faith, and those who have a lack of faith, they’re going to be cast away from the fulfillment of the work of Messiah, which is the resurrection, and as we’ve learned, there’s an inherent relationship between resurrection and the kingdom. “He cast them out, but he took with him the father of the daughter and the mother and those who were with him, and they entered into where the child was,” verse 41.

Now, what did he do? Well, he seized her hand. He grabbed it. Now, that is to show the connection between what is going to happen and him, there was a connection between her and Yeshua that brought about this change. Verse 40, “And he seized her hand and said to her, ‘Talitha, kumi.'” Now, up in this time every word here in this section is Greek, but there’s a change to Hebrew. You say, “Well, he was speaking Hebrew, so they just simply quoted him as in Hebrew.” Well, throughout this passage, he’s speaking, other people are speaking, and they just quoted in Greek. So why, and there’s great significance in this, why here do we have a Hebrew rendering?

Well, the word, the first word is Talitha. Now remember, this woman who had the issue of blood, she came and touched the hem of his garment. Now, this word “garment”, when you speak in Greek about the garment you’re referring to one garment in particular, and that’s the prayer shawl. It is a four corner garment, so the hem would have been the corners and we know because it’s written in another place, that she touched the corner at, that hem where the tassels were.

So we see there’s a relationship between what she did and this word “Talitha”, because the word tallit in Hebrew refers to this garment. So, there’s a connection. Now, what I want you to see, there are several indicators from the text, not things that we have to interpret, words that are there, given to us, that show a clear connection between the healing of this woman who had an issue of blood 12 years and this little girl who was healed, who was at the age of 12 years old.

We’ll come to that in a moment, but listen to what we’re seeing here. Tallit, a prayer shawl, it relates to the commandments, but it says here Talitha. Now, tallit is a masculine noun, but here it’s in the feminine because it relates to this little girl. Why does he use that that term “Talitha”, which is translated in the text, which means, “A little girl”? But listen, there’s a change.

Throughout this passage of scripture, remember that word for little girl, where we get the word pediatrics from? There’s a change to a girl who is of the meriting age. In Hebrew, the word is [foreign language 00:19:17]. [foreign language 00:19:18] is a girl that’s 12 at the earliest, 13, 14, but one who is ready to marry. Why is that important? Well, we’ve already seen that there is a reference to the resurrection because he says, “Little girl, rise,” rise, resurrection.

We know in the scripture, Messiah gave many parables in regard to this, but probably the best place is in the book of Revelation, chapter 19. There we see the establishment of the kingdom of God as what? As a great marriage banquet. There’s an inherent relationship between marriage and the establishment of the kingdom of God. Why? Intimacy between God, the husband and his bride, those who are what? Of the nation of Israel and those who are grafted in.

So why is that important? Well, let me ask you a question. When a marriage takes place in Israel, in the ancient days they used the prayer shawl, the tallit for something. There is what’s known in Hebrew as the [foreign language 00:20:31]. We translated into English, “The marriage canopy,” because the couple stand underneath the [foreign language 00:20:38], which was a tallit.

So in the ancient days, when it was time to begin the wedding, now, the wedding took part within the marriage banquet. People would assemble. Even today, you get to a wedding banquet and what happens? There’s refreshments, there’s drinks, there are d’oeuvres. You mingle, you celebrate, you congratulate the family, and then what happens? Well, the wedding service is announced. Once time it was announced by raising, it’s time to raise up the tallit. So they would say, “Tallit, [foreign language 00:21:17],” because it’s masculine.

So why is there this phrase, “Talitha, kumi”? Because Talitha relates to a little girl. Now, how was this so? Well, let me ask you a question. When does a boy get his name? A Jewish baby boy gets his name at the time of his brit milah circumcision, which takes place on the eighth day. So he circumcise the father, he gets an Aliyah to read from the Torah, and what happens? Well, at that time he prays for his wife. Now, what happens if there’s a girl born? Well, there’s no brit milah circumcision, but on the first time the Torah is read, that father, he comes, he reads from the Torah or gives the blessing, at the end there’s the prayers for the sick, and he makes a prayer for his wife who had delivered a daughter.

After that, according to Jewish law, they ask him, “What is the name of your little girl?” And he says, “Up until that time, she’s known as, in Jewish circles, Talitha.” Why? Well, there’s a wonderful tradition. When a girl is born, she gets a present and what does that present? A tallit. It’s not for her, but she keeps it, and at the wedding she gives it to her husband. But when at the wedding? Not until after they’re married.

Remember, once, the tallit was used for the wedding canopy, the [foreign language 00:22:54]. So when he says to her, “Talitha, kumi,” he’s saying there’s going to be a wedding. This little girl is not only going to be healed, but she’s going to get married and there’s going to be that wedding celebration.

Now, right after telling us that what is said. Look again, verse 41, “He seized her hand,” of this little girl. He says to her, “Talitha, kumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you rise like a resurrection,” which she did. “And immediately she rose up.” This little girl rose up, and what did she do? Walk.

Now, “walk” is synonymous with “lifestyle”, and what is that father supposed to do? Well, the reason why someone gives the father for this newborn girl a prayer shawl is to remind him she’s going to get married, and therefore, you need to raise her in light of that. Because one day she’s going to not just be a helpless little baby, but she’s going to get up and walk out of your home and begin a new life.

And all of these pictures, what’s going to be done with Israel? That Israel is going to have what? Well, let’s put it all together. We’re told in this passage, and it’s in phatic, it tells us in verse 42 immediately this little girl, she got up, she walked, “For she was,” and here’s the emphatic part, “For she was 12 years old,” and what happens? “And they were amazed,” and they began to do something.

Two Greek words, one word, mega. Mega means great or large, and the second word, well, it’s the word ecstasy, where we get the English word ecstasy. So there was a great joy. Why? Well, the reason was because this little girl, who’s 12, was healed. This little girl began to walk and it all signifies the marriage banquet, and that marriage banquet will not happen until what? There’s a change.

This transformation with Israel, Israel without Messiah is spiritually sick, just like this woman who had the flow of blood was spiritually unclean. She was distant, she was separated from her people and from God. But by the work of Messiah, she was healed, and this is seen ultimately in the resurrection, this spiritual transformation which is going to happen to Israel, that will be climax in a marriage. What marriage? The marriage banquet of the lamb when the kingdom of Israel is established, and as we know, that kingdom is going to be full of Jew and Gentile alike.

So what I want to conclude with is this, I want to emphasize that God has a program, and that program relates to Israel. The need, remember what Paul says, “One of the calling of the body of Messiah,” what we call the church, “is to provoke Israel to jealousy.” We want to see Israel get it right, be spiritually healed, and begin to walk in obedience to the purposes of God. Why? So the kingdom of God can be establish and his blessings can begin, but Israel is key to that.

It’s so sad, it is so unfortunate today that there’s a growing number of Christians and Christian institutions that are pulling away from this truth that we learned today in Mark, chapter five. We see places like Wheaton College becoming a center of replacement theology, saying that God has annulled that covenant and has chosen a new people. God doesn’t do that. His ways are true for all of time. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. So Israel, important for the purposes of God. We see that in this chapter and we’ll continue to see it throughout our study of the book of Mark.

Speaker 1: Well, we hope you will benefit from today’s message and share it with someone else. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this station for the radio edition of loveisrael.org. Again, to find out more about us, please visit us at our website, loveisrael.org. There you will find articles and several other lectures from our teacher, Dr. Baruch. These teachings are in video form. You may download them or watch them in streaming video until next week. May the Lord bless you in our Messiah, Yeshua. That is Jesus. As you walk with him, Shalom from Israel.