Jesus concludes his triple header of amazing miracles in Mark 5 with a "two-fer" - the healing of Jairus' daughter and the healing of the bleeding woman.
While the miracles themselves are amazing, I am very impressed by the tenacity and the desperation of Jairus and this woman. Jairus, who was an important guy as a synagogue leader, sought Jesus out among the crowd and fell at Jesus' feet, asking for help for his sick and dying little girl. This touches me as a father. There is perhaps nothing more scary than having your own little child be deathly ill. I can only remember feeling that way once with our kids - when Jordan was a baby - she was breathing so weird and pained that we took her to the hospital.
Having 8 kids, you would think we have made many trips to the ER, but we really haven't. I can only remember three times.
I can only imagine that Jairus was (as an experienced leader of people) was essentially bulldozing through the crowd. What a crowd it must have been! Jesus - the ultimate people magnet -was making his way through the area and Jairus must have been pushing people out of the way - desperate to make a path. Jairus certainly had a level of faith. His level of faith was for the here and now - the desperation of a focused goal - an important, but temporary gain. His desperation was similar to the reason why a football team does better on it's goal line defense than on the other 99 yards of the field. It was crunch time. It's do or die. It's all about blazing a highway through the crush of humanity so that my daughter will live.
Get Jesus to the girl. Get Jesus to the girl. Stay focused on the goal. Everyone else in this crowd is unimportant - surely people must see that.
I can relate to this guy - I can be so task oriented that I forget that reality is not so cut and dry. I have at times been so focused on getting the family to church on time (so we can worship God) that I have missed the true needs of my wife and children. But yet it seems so right and holy and isn't drive and determination supposed to be a good thing?
The trouble is for Jairus, and for the rest of us, is that Jesus is more concerned for His glory than our goals. It's like the scene in Evan Almighty where the congressman guy is confronted by God - God wants Evan to build an ark, just like Noah. Evan whines to God and complains, "but building an ark is not in my plans!" I love God's response - he just laughs - and that is Biblical, too (Psalm 2:1-6). God wants our obedient hearts, not our self-focused plans.
Jesus has other things in mind. While poor Jairus, as desperate as he is, is only focused on one thing - "get Jesus to the girl, get Jesus to the girl," he does not realize who Jesus is and how incredibly adept He is at multi-tasking. Could it be that Mark is writing this sequence in such a way as to say, "calming the storm was impressive, and casting out demons is incredible, but Jesus can also heal the sick and raise the dead at the same time."
We don't know much about this woman who touched Jesus in the crowd (5:27), but there are a few things we do know about her:
Jairus was busy dragging Jesus to his house, but this woman was busy dragging herself to Jesus. Both had faith, but the actions born out of their faith showed the depth of that faith.
When she touched Jesus and she was healed, I can only imagine her joy - yet her fear at the same time - Jesus knew what happened of course, but he asks the question "Who touched my clothes?" Perhaps he was giving her an opportunity to come - opening the door, so to speak. When she comes, he blesses her. While this incredible drama is unfolding, and near conclusion, the word comes that Jairus' daughter has died.
Then Jesus has the opportunity to grow Jairus' faith. Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Jesus wouldn't let a little thing like death stop him from magnifying his glory and growing faith in the heart of a father.
Jairus had failed in his mission. He had not been able to get Jesus to the girl - he was a failure as a father. He couldn't protect her and provide for her enough. As a dad, I say, "been there, done that." I love my children and I want the best for them, but I can only do so much. I can't protect them in every situation. Sooner or later, they will walk out the door. I will have to give away my daughters to be married to some guy who won't be as good as me! Instead of trying to bring Jesus to my house, I need to be bringing my house to Jesus!
I can't imagine what they must have thought when Jesus brought them into the death chamber, took the girl's hand, and told her to get up. If it would have been me, I would have even been more desperate for Jesus.
While the miracles themselves are amazing, I am very impressed by the tenacity and the desperation of Jairus and this woman. Jairus, who was an important guy as a synagogue leader, sought Jesus out among the crowd and fell at Jesus' feet, asking for help for his sick and dying little girl. This touches me as a father. There is perhaps nothing more scary than having your own little child be deathly ill. I can only remember feeling that way once with our kids - when Jordan was a baby - she was breathing so weird and pained that we took her to the hospital.
Having 8 kids, you would think we have made many trips to the ER, but we really haven't. I can only remember three times.
I can only imagine that Jairus was (as an experienced leader of people) was essentially bulldozing through the crowd. What a crowd it must have been! Jesus - the ultimate people magnet -was making his way through the area and Jairus must have been pushing people out of the way - desperate to make a path. Jairus certainly had a level of faith. His level of faith was for the here and now - the desperation of a focused goal - an important, but temporary gain. His desperation was similar to the reason why a football team does better on it's goal line defense than on the other 99 yards of the field. It was crunch time. It's do or die. It's all about blazing a highway through the crush of humanity so that my daughter will live.
Get Jesus to the girl. Get Jesus to the girl. Stay focused on the goal. Everyone else in this crowd is unimportant - surely people must see that.
I can relate to this guy - I can be so task oriented that I forget that reality is not so cut and dry. I have at times been so focused on getting the family to church on time (so we can worship God) that I have missed the true needs of my wife and children. But yet it seems so right and holy and isn't drive and determination supposed to be a good thing?
The trouble is for Jairus, and for the rest of us, is that Jesus is more concerned for His glory than our goals. It's like the scene in Evan Almighty where the congressman guy is confronted by God - God wants Evan to build an ark, just like Noah. Evan whines to God and complains, "but building an ark is not in my plans!" I love God's response - he just laughs - and that is Biblical, too (Psalm 2:1-6). God wants our obedient hearts, not our self-focused plans.
Jesus has other things in mind. While poor Jairus, as desperate as he is, is only focused on one thing - "get Jesus to the girl, get Jesus to the girl," he does not realize who Jesus is and how incredibly adept He is at multi-tasking. Could it be that Mark is writing this sequence in such a way as to say, "calming the storm was impressive, and casting out demons is incredible, but Jesus can also heal the sick and raise the dead at the same time."
We don't know much about this woman who touched Jesus in the crowd (5:27), but there are a few things we do know about her:
- Her problem was bleeding - for 12 years
- She had suffered greatly
- Doctors could not heal her
- She spent all she had for her health care
- Her illness had become much worse
- Her "bleeding" most likely meant vaginal bleeding
- Her condition would make her smelly and unclean (literally and ceremonially)
- Most likely, she was alone and uncared for by a husband or family
- She could not enter the temple, or have children
- She might have had to yell "unclean" to everyone as she approached
- Anyone she touched would have been unclean as well - perhaps that is why she only wanted to touch Jesus' clothes - so his clothes could be changed and he would still be clean.
- As an unclean, childless, sick woman, she would have been a rejected and worthless person to society
- She was most likely very weak and was near death.
Jairus was busy dragging Jesus to his house, but this woman was busy dragging herself to Jesus. Both had faith, but the actions born out of their faith showed the depth of that faith.
When she touched Jesus and she was healed, I can only imagine her joy - yet her fear at the same time - Jesus knew what happened of course, but he asks the question "Who touched my clothes?" Perhaps he was giving her an opportunity to come - opening the door, so to speak. When she comes, he blesses her. While this incredible drama is unfolding, and near conclusion, the word comes that Jairus' daughter has died.
Then Jesus has the opportunity to grow Jairus' faith. Jesus said, "Don't be afraid; just believe." Jesus wouldn't let a little thing like death stop him from magnifying his glory and growing faith in the heart of a father.
Jairus had failed in his mission. He had not been able to get Jesus to the girl - he was a failure as a father. He couldn't protect her and provide for her enough. As a dad, I say, "been there, done that." I love my children and I want the best for them, but I can only do so much. I can't protect them in every situation. Sooner or later, they will walk out the door. I will have to give away my daughters to be married to some guy who won't be as good as me! Instead of trying to bring Jesus to my house, I need to be bringing my house to Jesus!
I can't imagine what they must have thought when Jesus brought them into the death chamber, took the girl's hand, and told her to get up. If it would have been me, I would have even been more desperate for Jesus.
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