A story. In story form. With some stories.
Mark 5:21-43; 2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Psalm 130; 2 Samuel 1:1,17-27
To most people, it’s just another day — but for you, this is one of the worst days of your life. Your little daughter, only twelve years old, is near death. You’ve dealt with the people who should have known — doctors, priests, whoever else — but the prognosis was the same every time. Your daughter is dying.
But, you think to yourself, I’m a ruler of the synagogue. I’ve always followed the laws of Moses. I haven’t sinned. Why is God punishing me like this! My daughter doesn’t deserve to die! In the midst of despair, you hear some of your servants talking: “Jesus is back! He’s teaching by the lake again!”
Jesus, you think, where have I heard that name? Oh yes, he’s the travelling Rabbi the Pharisees warned us about. The one teaching about repentance, who caused that ruckus in Capernaum when he healed… The light bulb turns on. Jesus heals people. Demon-possessed, lepers, paralytics — this man can heal my daughter! But, the Pharisees say he heals because he’s a devil. Is it worth the risk?
You wrestle with this idea for what seems like hours, and even as you argue with yourself, you quickly find yourself heading out to the lake anyways. As you arrive, you start looking for Jesus, already deciding that Jesus can heal your daughter. You spot him in the crowed and, filled with emotion, you fall down at his feet, begging, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and life.”
What seems like an eternity passes. You’ve thrown away all propriety and dignity — your daughter is all that matters now. And then Jesus says he’ll go with you, and so, with relief and impatience, you set out to your home.
Along the way, with the crowd still pressing around Jesus, all of a sudden he stops and says, “Who touched my clothes?” You, and his disciples, are astonished at his question. “Jesus,” they say, “look at all these people. Everyone is touching everyone else, and you’re going to try and figure out who touched you?” But Jesus kept looking around. You start to get more frustrated, and you go up to Jesus, “Jesus, my daughter. Please…”
Then a woman, trembling with fear, comes up to Jesus. You’re just far enough away not to hear the conversation, but you start to get frustrated with Jesus for the delay, and then you recognize the woman. She’s unclean! What is she doing talking to Jesus, let alone touching him. You can’t be seen around Jesus now, because he is unclean too! But, Jesus doesn’t seem to care about that. In fact, he just let her go, and given the chatter, he healed her completely. Is she still unclean?
Then some members of your household come up, “Jairus, it’s too late. Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the Teacher any longer.” You should be sad, but instead you are filled with rage. If Jesus hadn’t stopped to deal with that unclean woman, he would have had time to heal my daughter before it was too late. But Jesus, overhearing, said, “Don’t be afraid, Jairus; just believe.” Believe in what? That Jesus can heal the dead? Is he greater than Elijah?
When you arrived back at your house, the mourners were already there. Jesus went with you and only three of his disciples, and said “Why all this commotion and wailing? The girl isn’t dead; she’s just asleep.” And they started laughing at him! If you were less sad and angry, you may have laughed, too. What does he mean, asleep?
Then Jesus threw the whole lot out, except for his three disciples, you, and your spouse. Then he went to your daughter’s bed, took her hand, and said, “Little girl, get up!” Then, as soon as he said it, she stood up and started walking around. You weren’t quite sure what to do — but Jesus had healed your daughter, that’s what matters.
Now, story concluded, I hope we can get a better understanding of Jairus, the man whose daughter was healed. Usually, at least when I’ve heard this passage preached, the focus is on the faith of the woman — who snuck up to Jesus knowing that just a touch would heal her — but the healing of Jairus’ daughter is just kind of glossed over.
This passage reminds us that sometimes God’s timing is different from our own. Jairus wanted Jesus to rush straight to his house, but Jesus had other plans. He took the time to heal a woman no one wanted anything to do with; her condition would have left her as socially outcast as any leper.
Yet because of Jesus’ delay, the miracle he did to heal the little girl is that much greater. There’s a pretty significant difference between healing a living person, and bringing a dead person back to life. We don’t know what happened to Jairus after this encounter with Jesus, but I have to imagine his life wasn’t the same.
This episode in Jesus’ life also helps us. We all have situations in our lives where we want God to act right now, and then we get impatient when He doesn’t. But sometimes a greater miracle comes later. We have to trust God that He truly does want the best for us, even though sometimes we and He aren’t on the same page. Sometimes, like for Jairus, the discrepancy is huge, but God will always work a miracle — be it today, tomorrow, or in eternity.