Seeking for the truth
© 2004 -
Difficult and impossible situations:
Jairus was one of the synagogue rulers.
Many of these religious leaders would have been PROUD of their titles, their POSITION in society, and proud of their religious knowledge.
And because of this, they may have felt superior to Jesus, but also JEALOUS of His popularity.
But Jairus was willing to HUMBLE himself in front of this huge crowd by kneeling before Jesus.
Would he have done such a thing, UNLESS he was desperate?
His daughter was dying!
He suddenly didn’t care about having a SELF SUFFICIENT air about him.
Jairus was DESPERATE, he just didn’t mind what people would think of him.
He saw Jesus as having the POWER, and COMPASSION to help him.
He must have seen Jesus as being ABLE, and worthy of HONOUR and respect.
I expect he saw HIMSELF as being weak, and inferior in this situation.
What about us? How do we view Jesus?
Do we see Him as being powerful and able, and worthy of HONOUR and respect?
How little a thing, or how big a thing, does it take to get US on our knees, in such a humble posture, before our God and Saviour?
Jairus’ posture of KNEELING at Jesus’ feet, is an excellent HEART attitude for us to constantly be in.
In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said:
“Blessed are the POOR in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The word ‘poor’ in this verse doesn’t mean, JUST short of money. It’s a beggar crouching
on a filthy pavement.
So another translation could be; “Happy are those who are like a BEGGAR in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Being inwardly, a spiritual beggar, is realizing that we RELY on God’s generosity to give us things.
We’ve got empty hands, and an empty heart, UNLESS God provides for us.
In this place we realize, that we are totally vulnerable, and powerless, without the Lord in our lives.
Jesus was saying that to have a beggars heart, is the STARTING place for God to move in our lives.
Jairus begged. He was not ashamed to approach Jesus.
He gave Jesus honour and respect, and he, HE an IMPORTANT ruler, lowered himself. He even put his face to Jesus’ feet, and pleaded for his daughters life.
Jesus accepted his plea, and they set off for Jairus’ home, with the crowd pressing hard round them.
Then a woman stretched out her hand, she thought:
‘If I just touch His outer garment, THEN I will be healed!
Jairus had come in FULL view of everyone, but this woman came secretly, because of her modesty, due to her bleeding.
She would have been classed as 'ceremonially unclean' because of her illness, which would have meant, that she was barred from going to the Temple, and also barred from touching anything sacred.
But here she was TOUCHING Jesus, the SON of GOD, the HOLY ONE!
Why did she feel she could do that?
It is because, Jesus is full of GRACE, and that makes Him APPROACHABLE.
And grace is the love and mercy of God in action.
Grace is the SMILE on God’s face and not an angry look.
John the disciple wrote about Jesus, saying that He is “full of grace & truth”, and that, “from the FULLNESS of His grace we have all RECEIVED, one blessing after another.”
Grace GIVES from an ENDLESS supply, and He will give many blessings to us, if we approach Him with humility. This woman would not have gone to the Temple, but she felt FAITH rising up inside of her, to TOUCH Jesus, because she knew that she could rely upon His mercy and love.
In Jesus she was able to see the smiling face of God.
When she touched His outer garment she was healed: Verse 29 “and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At ONCE Jesus realised that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched My clothes?’”
Jesus was not ANNOYED at her, He was tender, and He spoke as one concerned about her. He wanted to COMMEND and encourage her faith, and also to confirm her healing.
We need to see here, that, it is not only the SECRET acts of sin, that are seen by the Lord, but also the SECRET acts of FAITH.
By our secret acts of faith WE can derive POWER and virtue from Christ, and He SEES these acts of faith, and He is PLEASED.
Jesus puts HONOUR upon faith, because faith gives honour TO Christ.
Mark records that she was IMMEDIATELY healed.
When we read of THESE spontaneous healing's, we tend to think that God always moves instantaneously.
It fits our modern life styles, but it is really contrary to how God works for most of the time.
Let’s look at this woman’s troubled life.
She had suffered this constant bleeding for 12 YEARS!
And because Jesus calls her ‘Daughter’ it is probable that she was a BELIEVER in the living God, and possibly HAD been so, even BEFORE her illness.
For 12 long years, she had spent all of her money, on doctors and medicines.
Now she was not only very ill, and weak, but also out of money, in a society where there was no Social Security.
There must have been many times, when when she would have prayed for her circumstances to get better.
But the Lord did NOT work an instantaneous miracle, and she had to struggle on.
If YOU are in a difficult situation, the Lord is often NOT interested in a quick fix, patch up answer.
We often want to take the SHORTEST route out of our problems.
Or we see the only answer to our problem is for our situation to change.
But God is more interested in training us, refining us, disciplining us, and gaining HIMSELF GLORY from our lives, than getting us out of a tough circumstance.
And HE could very well say, for the time being “My grace is SUFFICIENT for you.”
My love, My mercy, My blessings are sufficient for you at this time, while you REMAIN in this tough situation, I am WITH you.
Jairus had been waiting ALL this time, when some men came from his house and said:
“Your daughter is dead, why bother the teacher any more.”
Have you ever felt in an IMPOSSIBLE predicament, and you have been waiting for God to provide the solution?
You’ve been asking for Him to help you. Then SUDDENLY there is an extra twist to the affliction screws, and the whole situation moves into being UTTERLY impossible!
Jairus’ situation had been desperate, NOW it was impossible.
Jesus ignores what the men said, and He encourages Jairus, the afflicted, grieving father. And says: “Don’t be afraid; just BELIEVE.”
FAITH in the all powerful, merciful God, is the only TRUE remedy against grief and fear.
Is there anybody struggling?
If so, have confidence in the all powerful, merciful God, and cling to the only One who can deliver you.
He knows what is best for you, AND what is best for His Kingdom.
At Jairus’ house the crowd laughed at Jesus, even though they lived in Capernaum, where they would have SEEN so much of Jesus’ other miracles, they would have seen His PURE and SPOTLESS character, they would have heard His WISE teaching.
But they were SCORNFUL of Him, and they ridiculed Him.
Surely, when they didn’t UNDERSTAND, they ought to have kept quiet, and have WAITED for an explanation.
But they DESPISED His words, and so Jesus drove them out of the house.
They were unworthy to be witnesses of this miracle.
Here perhaps is a warning for us.
If we don’t understand some parts of the Bible do we reject it, do we despise it?
Or do we still HOLD it as God’s Word, and TREASURE it as being precious, even when we don’t understand it, or it seems EXTREME, or contrary to what we think?
So what was it that caused the crowd to laugh at Him?
Jesus had said that the dead child was asleep.
Hasn’t He, as Son of God, the One Who SUSTAINS everything by the Word of His power, got the RIGHT to give life to the dead?
Hasn’t He got the right to CALL death ‘sleep’?
Anyway, hadn’t they read the many Old Testament Scriptures that speak of death as being ‘sleep’?
For example Daniel talking about the end of the world in chapter 12:2 wrote:
“Multitudes who SLEEP in the dust of the earth will AWAKE,
some to everlasting life, others to shame & everlasting contempt.”
By Jesus emphasizing that death was really like sleep, this should send a clear warning to all those who say: “I’m living my life to the full NOW, because when you’re dead, you’re DEAD, you can’t take money with you, so SPEND it while you can, you’ve only one life, GET what you can from it now!”
Jesus is warning us that death is NOT the end, it is either everlasting LIFE, or shame and everlasting CONTEMPT.
From the parable of the rich fool, in Luke chapter 12, we can see, that there are thousands of people who, when they are about to leave THIS life, God has to say to them:
“You FOOL! This very night your life will be demanded from you.
Then who will get what you have prepared for YOURSELF?”
No one can ESCAPE from God, because death is NOT the end, the body sleeps, but it will be RAISED up at the last day.
In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica (4:13) he describes the Christians who had died as being ASLEEP. Paul wrote:
“We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall ASLEEP,
or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
We believe Jesus died and rose again
and so we believe that God will bring WITH Jesus,
those who have fallen ASLEEP IN Him.”
Believers will be given glorious resurrection bodies, and we will be WITH the Lord FOREVER.
Jairus’ daughter was raised back to life.
See how easily this was carried out by Jesus who “took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Little girl, I say to you, GET UP.’ IMMEDIATELY the girl stood up and walked around!”
Jesus, gives life, He sustains us, and He has power over death.
I'll just close now with the words of Jesus, which He spoke to Martha, in John chapter 11:
“I am the resurrection & the LIFE,
he who believes in Me will LIVE, even though He dies;
and whoever lives and believes in Me will NEVER die.”
Jairus' daughter, Rich man, & Corpse image: thanks to ‘The Pictorial Dictionary’
published by The Educational Book Company, London.
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"When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake,
a large crowd gathered round Him.
While he was by the lake, one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus,
came there.
Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet, and pleaded earnestly with Him,
"My daughter is dying. Please come and put Your hands on her so that she
will be healed and live."
So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around Him.
And a woman was there who 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.
When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought,
"If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped
and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realised that power had gone out from Him.
He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
"You see the people crowding against You," His disciples answered, "and yet You can ask, 'Who touched Me?'"
But Jesus kept looking around
to see who had done it.
Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and trembling with fear,
told Him the whole truth.
He said to her,
"Daughter, your faith has healed you.
Go in peace and be freed
from your suffering."
While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus,
the synagogue ruler.
"Your daughter is dead," they said.
"Why bother the teacher any more?"
Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler,
"Don't be afraid; just believe."
He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.
When they came to the home
of the synagogue ruler,
Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.
He went in and said to them,
"Why all this commotion and wailing?
The child is not dead but asleep."
But they laughed at Him.
After He put them all out,
He took the child's father and mother and disciples who were with Him,
and went in where the child was.
He took her by the hand and said to her,
"Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").
Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old).
At this they were completely astonished.
He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to
give her something to eat."
(Mark 5:21-