Mark 5:21-24a;35-42
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the lake.22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when He saw Jesus, He fell at His feet.23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”24 So Jesus went with him…
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”40 But they laughed at Him.
After He put them all out, He took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with Him, and went in where the child was.41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.
Mark 5:21-24a;35-42 A LOVING FATHER
Springford Baptist Church: June 19, 2022.
The love of a father for his children is a beautiful thing.
We see this beauty that touches our hearts in the love of human fathers for their children and we see it so strongly expressed in the love of God our Father for us His children.
Children who know they are loved, learn to look to their parents for protection, to depend on them, to trust them.
Children who are loved have confidence when life is uncertain because of this ability to trust. Even when they aren’t sure what to do, they trust a loving parent, a loving father.
I think of a dad carrying a new baby in his arms, holding this tiny little person so carefully and so proudly, wanting to ensure that this child is safe.
The synagogue ruler Jairus that we read about here in Mark 5 comes to Jesus out of deep concern for his young girl.
Jairus has obviously heard about Jesus and his ability to heal so when his daughter is very sick, he is willing to do anything to see her get better.
There would have been those in the synagogue, like the Pharisees and others who would have discouraged Jairus from taking this action.
They would have told him to have nothing to do with Jesus. They discounted Jesus at every opportunity and certainly did not accept the truth that Jesus had been sent from God.
Here we can consider the strong love relationship between Jesus and His Father God who sent Him into our world with purpose.
Jesus, God’s Son knew what it was to trust His Father. Jesus had a clear and personal understanding of the love of a Father for His child.
When this father Jairus comes to Jesus, how would you describe him?
-Determined, Desperate, (“pleading earnestly” vs. 23), Focused on what he wants to happen.
Determined-not concerned about what anyone else thinks or how they might judge him
Desperate-willing to do anything that might result in his daughter getting well
Focused-very clear that he wants Jesus to come to his house and place his hands on his little daughter so that she will be healed and live
Jesus does not resist in any way. Jesus goes with Jairus and because we already know that Jesus is God’s Son and has miraculous power to heal, we think we know what is going to happen…
Life does not always turn out as planned does it? Just after this other woman in the crowd is healed (affirming Jesus’ remarkable power to heal) some men arrive from the house of Jairus with bad news, the worst news possible for Jairus, his young daughter is dead. (vs. 35)
They may have held out some hope along with Jairus that Jesus would heal this little girl, restore her health, but now that hope is gone…
Notice that even death is not the end of hope when Jesus is on the scene!
(vs. 36) Jesus has a different point of view.
Jesus is trusting His Father God for a different outcome and He urges this father Jairus to do the same.
The words of Jesus are significant aren’t they?
(vs. 36) “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”
Fear is the opposite of trust.
Fear causes us the think the worst and to expect the worst.
There is another choice and Jesus invites this loving father to make this other choice, this choice of trusting, believing.
How can we do that? How can we trust when hope seems to have gone?
We can trust when our whole world seems to have fallen apart because no matter what happens, we know that God our Father loves us.
We have a loving Father who knows everything that happens in our lives and more than knowing, He cares because He loves us so much.
When you know how much you love your children and grandchildren, it is hard to imagine that God loves us even more. He does and as we trust in Him, we really are placing everything in His hands.
That song He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands ,” keeps getting closer to home.
-the whole world ;the wind and the rain; the tiny little baby; and then you and me
We can trust God because He does love us and we are in His hands!
Now in this case, this loving father Jairus trusted and believed God. Jesus came to his house and raised his little daughter back to life. This is what Jairus wanted. He wanted his young girl to live.
When we trust God, things will not always turn out the way we wanted, but when we trust God, we can know for certain that He will always come to our house.
That is what we need to know!
God will always come to our homes to show us how much He loves us, to remind us that He is holding us in His hands.
Remember, I talked earlier about how beautiful it is to see a father lovingly and with a great sense of protection holding His child.
This is how our God holds us-lovingly and with a great sense of protection.
We can pray every day for ourselves and for our children, for our families that we will have this awareness of knowing with absolute certainty that we are loved by God and can trust Him no matter what.
Hear these words of Jesus , “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” (vs. 36) This is what it is for a father to trust God. This is what it is for any one of us to trust our loving God, our Father in heaven!