How would you feel if the person you so desperately sought out to receive help from in a very pressing situation got sidetracked, and then, because of that delay, the worst possible news came, and what you were worried about was ruined, lost, or destroyed? Would you not be heartbroken, upset, perhaps angry? Feeling that all hope was now lost? In our Gospel passage for today, we will read about a man in just such a circumstance. Let’s see how he handled that situation.
As our Scripture passage from Mark’s Gospel opens, we are introduced to a man named Jairus. He was a ruler of the synagogue in the village where Jesus currently was in (vs. 22). The ruler of a synagogue arranged the religious services and oversaw other synagogue affairs. Many synagogue rulers had close ties with the Pharisees. For Jairus to have turned to Jesus showed a daring act of faith since a significant number of the Pharisees strongly opposed Him. For him to do that could possibly have caused a loss of his position.
However, Jairus’s daughter was very sick, and he believed that Jesus could heal her. So he came to Him, imploring Him to come and lay His hands upon her so she would get better. Jairus didn’t just ask Jesus, he begged Him to come, falling down upon his knees, pleading (vs. 23). Jairus prostrated and humbled himself before the Lord. Unlike most of the Pharisees, he was not scornful and derisive of Jesus. He believed that Jesus was the best, the only hope for his seriously sick daughter.
Jesus readily went with Jairus to bring healing to his daughter. It was on their way to his house that someone else’s dilemma interrupted Jesus. In verses 25-34 of this chapter we read of the woman with an issue of blood, another very desperate case, who came to Jesus, touching the hem of His garment for healing. As Jesus quietly spoke with her following her healing, several critical minutes passed, and then a message came to Jairus, telling him that his daughter had died. Now, seemingly, there was no need for Jesus to continue on to his house (vs. 35). However, as we read further, Jesus urged Jairus to not give up hope.
Jesus did not comfort Jairus at the news of his daughter’s death (vs. 36). He knew what He was going to do, that He was going to raise her from the dead. Jesus urged Jairus to keep having faith. Regardless of our circumstances, God always urges us on to faith and away from fear. Jairus wasn’t called to have faith in himself, nor to have faith in faith. He was to have faith in Jesus, and His ability to both heal and even raise someone from the dead. It wasn’t too late for him or for his daughter. God is never too late! It looked that way to Jairus right then. The delay caused by the bleeding woman and Jesus pausing to talk to her was enough for his daughter to die. However, Jesus knew it wasn’t too late. Jairus needed to continue in his faith. He initially had the faith to come to Jesus to begin with, when his daughter became seriously sick. Jesus told Jairus to hold on to that faith. When faced with a hopeless situation, hold on to the faith you initially had, which brought you to God.
When Jairus, Jesus, and three of His chosen disciples came to the house, He did not want to hear the mourning and wailing (vs. 39). The mourners in the house, though, ridiculed Jesus because they saw that she was certainly dead and they were convinced that death was irreversible (vs. 40). This shows what a great miracle this was when Jesus did, indeed, raise the little girl from the dead (vs. 41-42). It was because the others in the household had no faith they were not allowed to be present at her resurrection. Don’t show such a lack of faith that you cannot be present to witness a miracle!
Jesus told the family to give the girl something to eat (vs. 43). This way they could watch her enjoy every bite. Then there would be no doubt that He truly was all-powerful and great in mercy. He also did not want the parents spreading the news around. He did not want to be known just as a miracle worker. The message of the Gospel was equally, if not more important.
When we come to the end of ourselves, when we know the doctor and the lawyer can’t help, and the family has turned their back on us, we can only reach for a hand bigger than ours. We need to reach for Jesus’s nail-scarred hand. We need to take our eyes off of our circumstances. Stop fearing and start believing!
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