INTRODUCTION

1. Nothing is worse than hopelessness, for to be hopeless is to have no expectation of good for the future.

2. Thankfully, no one has to be hopeless concerning eternity, for Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.

3. Presently, let us consider three examples from Mark chapter 5 and the vital truth that they demonstrate, which is that Jesus brings hope for the hopeless.

    

THREE HOPELESS CASES

1. A demon-possessed man of the Gerasenes was hopeless until Jesus came to him (Mark 5:1-20).

   1. This man was hopeless because no one was able to help him or even restrain him.

      1. Matthew mentions two men (Matt. 8:28-34), but Mark and Luke focus on one.

      2. This man lived in tombs rather than a house, and he wore no clothes (Luke 8:27).

      3. He cried out night and day and gashed himself with stones.

      4. He could not be subdued, for he broke the shackles that had been used to bind him.  He was so violent that no one was able to pass by the road where he was (Matt. 8:28).

   2. Jesus rescued this man from the oppression of the demons.

      1. The Lord cast all of the demons (called "Legion") from this man into a herd of about 2,000 swine, which then rushed into the sea and drowned.

      2. Following this miracle, the people of the city found the man "sitting down, clothed and in his right mind" (Mark 5:15).  Jesus had done for him what no one else could do.

      3. The man wanted to follow Jesus, but the Lord said, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you" (Mark 5:19).

      4. Notice that Jesus made an arduous journey across the Sea of Galilee just to heal this man.  Following this event, He immediately crossed the sea again.  These Gerasenes were Gentiles, which proves that Jesus came to bring hope to the whole world and not to Jews only.

2. A woman with a hemorrhage had no hope until she encountered Jesus (Mark 5:25-34).

   1. In twelve years of suffering, no one had been able to help this woman.

      1. She "had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse" (Mark 5:26).

      2. Many people can relate to this woman, for their physical conditions are beyond the help of medicine and healthcare professionals.

   2. In an instant, the woman was healed by merely touching the garments of Jesus.

      1. Jesus was surrounded by a multitude of people, so she made her way through the crowd, thinking, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well" (Mark 5:28).

      2. When she touched His garments, "immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction" (Mark 5:29).

      3. When Jesus had identified who had touched Him, He said, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction" (Mark 5:34).

      4. Jesus had done for her what no one else could do.

3. A synagogue official had no hope of saving his daughter except for Jesus (Mark 5:21-24, 35-43).

   1. This man, whose name was Jairus, saw that his daughter was dying and desperately sought Jesus.

      1. He pleaded with Jesus, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live" (Mark 5:23).

      2. Jesus agreed to go, but someone came and said to Jairus, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?" (Mark 5:35).

   2. The situation seemed hopeless when the girl died, but Jesus restored her life.

      1. The Lord was not deterred by the news of the girl's death, but He said to Jairus, "Do not be afraid any longer, only believe" (Mark 5:36).

      2. When Jesus entered the man's house and declared that the girl was only asleep, the people laughed at Him (Matt. 9:24).  This response was because they had no hope for the girl or her parents.  As far as they were concerned, death was the end of all hope.

      3. Jesus brought the girl back to life by taking her hand and speaking to her.  The witnesses were completely astounded, for Jesus had done what no one else could do.

          

JESUS IS HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS

1. The examples of Mark 5 demonstrate the joyful truth that Jesus brings hope to the hopeless.

   1. In each example, the individuals involved were in seemingly hopeless situations.  No one was able to help them.  The only exception to their hopelessness was Jesus Christ.

   2. Although Jesus is no longer on earth performing such miracles, He still brings hope to the hopeless in an even more important way, for He saves sinners from condemnation for their sins.

2. Sinners experience the worst kind of hopelessness, for they are separated from God.

   1. Even more hopeless than those who are miserably sick or dying, sinners face the hopeless specter of being separated from God forever in eternity.

      1. God is the source of every good thing and every perfect gift (Jas. 1:17), but sin separates a sinner from God and cuts him off from the source of all blessings (Isa. 59:2),

      2. Left in this hopeless condition, sinners "will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2Thess. 1:9).  This will happen when the Lord comes in the Judgment.

   2. Paul described the former hopeless condition of the Gentiles in Ephesians 2:11-12:

      ¹¹Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called "Uncircumcision" by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands -- ¹²remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

      1. From Moses until Jesus, the Gentiles had no standing among the people of God.  The Law, the covenant, and the promises belonged to the Jews only.

      2. Now that Christ has come, both Jews and Gentiles can have the same hope.

      3. However, those who reject Him still have no hope and are without God in the world.  Their hopeless condition is the worst that man can know.

3. Jesus came to bring hope to sinners by reconciling them with God.

   1. The division between sinners and God is removed when sinners obtain faith in Christ.  Paul explained how Jesus affected reconciliation among Gentiles, Jews, and God in Ephesians 2:13-18:

      ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  ¹⁴For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, ¹⁵by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.  ¹⁷And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; ¹⁸for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

   2. The peace preached by Jesus gives sinners the hope of salvation.  Whereas sinners "were dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1), believers in Jesus are now "alive together with Christ" (Eph. 2:5).  Notice Ephesians 2:8-9:

      ⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

4. Because of Christ, we are no longer hopeless, but rather we are now in fellowship with God.

   1. This profound change is described in Ephesians 2:19-22:

      ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, ²⁰having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, ²¹in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, ²³in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

   2. Rather than being hopeless, now we "are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26).  Jesus did for us what no one else could do, which brought hope to the hopeless.

       

CONCLUSION

1. Without hope, it is impossible to cope with the hardships of this world.  Only hope gives us motivation to press on through the difficulties of life as we anticipate something better in the future.

2. The only source of genuine hope for eternity in Jesus Christ.  He gives hope even to those who can only expect misery in this life. Jesus can do for you what no one else can do.