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Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet. He pleaded earnestly with Him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put Your hands on her so that she will be healed.” (Mark 5:22-23)
The fact that we know Jairus’ name leads me to believe that he became both a follower of Jesus as Messiah and a part of the Church after Christ’s ascension.
Some might say, “Of course he was a ‘believer’—Jesus raised his little girl from the dead!”
True. But let’s not overlook some the events leading up to this miracle, including the role of an unnamed woman whose apparent interruption may have led to Jairus’ little girl’s death in the first place.
This woman “had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse” (vv. 25-26). Luke, a trained physician himself, adds that she had tried many remedies in her desperation “but no one could heal her” (Luke 8:43).
This desperate woman’s goal was just to touch the fringe of Jesus’ robe. She had no hopes of talking directly to Jesus because in her unclean status, her touch could make Jesus unclean too (Leviticus 15:25-27). This almost assuredly made people treat her as an untouchable leper.
Her touch did indeed provide a miracle for her! The words “immediately” and “at once” (Mark 5:29, 30) are the same Greek word. Jesus and the woman felt it simultaneously—she was healed!
Jesus—who was on His way to heal a dying little girl—stopped in His tracks.
The woman probably tried to melt into the crowd. “But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it” (v. 32). Fearfully, probably still kneeling on the ground, this healed woman told Jesus her full story. Jesus spoke lovingly to her, calling her “daughter” to assure her that it was her faith, and not His clothing, that had healed her.
Meanwhile, as Jairus waited (im)patiently, the news arrives: “There is no need to bother Jesus any longer. Your daughter has died. It’s hopeless. Please come back home.”
Jesus, knowing what the messengers had just shared with Jairus, looked at him and said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Maybe the words of Jesus were even something like, “Don’t be afraid, but just like this healed woman did, believe. Your faith can bring about the same kind of miracle for your daughter.”
As a synagogue leader, perhaps Jairus knew this woman. She would have come to a priest after every treatment and every doctor’s visit to see if she could be pronounced clean. Time after time the verdict was, “Unclean.” It seemed hopeless. And yet just a single faith-filled touch—right before the eyes of Jairus—had brought about a miracle that no one else could accomplish.
I think Jairus could turn his fear into faith because of what he had just witnessed. Without that miracle happening right before his eyes, perhaps his fear would have overwhelmed his faith, just like those who were mourning at Jairus’ house would later laugh at Jesus when He said, “The little girl is not dead but only sleeping” (vv. 39-40).
The faith and boldness of this woman unleashed faith in Jairus!
We can see Jarius’ fear turn to faith in the simple act of allowing Jesus to continue walking with him back to his home. As they approached his home, perhaps Jairus’ wife was angry and distraught that Jairus and Jesus had been so delayed in arriving. But as Jairus took his wife by the hand and said, “I believe Jesus can do something miraculous for our daughter,” his faith also unleashed her faith.
They walked into that bedroom with Jesus and saw their faith rewarded as they received their daughter back from the dead!
Are you facing a situation that seems impossible? Perhaps you have been to doctors and experts but no one can find an answer for you. Maybe you started to approach Jesus, only to be confronted by the cruel facts that what you had hoped for was dead. Or maybe it seems that the arrival of Jesus has been delayed for so long that there is no longer any need to seek His help.
If your fear is greater than your faith at this time, you can look to these examples recorded for us in the Scripture. Perhaps you can even look back in your own history, or the history of your family, to see a miraculous example.
Jesus is the same today as He was then. His power hasn’t been diminished one iota. Let that realization cause your faith to overwhelm your fear!
There’s another great reason for you to continue to trust in Jesus. Just as the unclean woman sought an answer for years, the moment of her miracle was the moment faith was renewed in those who saw her healing. As you continue to seek your miracle, know that God’s timing is perfect. Your answer will come at the perfect moment to unleash faith in another wavering heart.
Keep believing in faith. Keep trusting in Jesus. Keep expecting your miracle.
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Craig T. Owens 