In reading Mark 5, I was struck by the contrast between the healing of the women with the issue of blood and Jairus’s daughter. Jesus showed up for them in very different ways and in a way that was very personal to what they each needed to be shown. In Jairus’s conversation with Jesus, he states, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live” (Mark 5:23 NASB). He had great faith in Jesus and His ability to heal his daughter, however, he believed that in order to be healed, Jesus had to lay his hands on her. This put Jesus in a box and Jairus had this preconceived notion of how he thought Jesus needed to operate (Guzik, 2023). I saw myself in Jairus and how he came to the Lord. I had my thoughts of how my life should be and where the Lord needs to take me. I held on so tightly to these ideas and this sense of control of my life that I gave very little room for God to actually move and to bring the breakthrough. In doing this, it gave me a sense of fear, panic, and internal dread that was always with me. When I gave up control of my life and my plans and put my trust in Him and what He wants me to do, it brought so much peace in my life and it gave Him room to speak to me and to give me direction. This can be seen in Jairus’s life as well when he had to give up the fear he held concerning his daughter’s life and put complete faith in the Lord, even though the route He took was not what Jairus had asked for or expected.
Before healing Jairus’s daughter, Jesus came into contact with a women who had a hemorrhage for twelve years. The Enduring Word Commentary describes the women’s circumstances by saying, “By the very law of her people, she was divorced from her husband, and could not live in her home; she was ostracized from all society, and must not come into contact with her old friends; she was excommunicated from the services of the synagogue, and thus shut out from the women’s courts in the temple” (Morgan, Guzik, 2023). She had been to many doctors to heal her sickness and only grew worse, causing her to be shunned from society. Jesus was her last hope. She went through the crowd and reached out to touch his garment in desperation with the faith that she would finally be healed. This reaching out in faith is incredibly important to this story in how it pertains to how we must reach out for the healing touch of Jesus in our own lives. When reading this, I think about those moments I’ve felt like her; feeling like I’m at rock bottom and desperate for relief. I have also, however, been on the other side where Jesus showed me that I was never forgotten by Him and He has brought me to the other side of the battle I was facing. This can be seen in her life as well by how Jesus reacts to the women’s touch by asking “who touched me”. He called her out before the crowd, even though she tried to come to Him in secret. Stephen D Morrison stated, “It seemed cruel, but it was really kind. It sent her home with loftier thoughts of Him. She would never talk of the wonder of the tassel; she would always talk of the wonder of the Lord. Permitted to walk away without confession, she would have said exultantly, ‘I’ve found a cure.’ Now the woman cried, ‘I’ve found a friend.’” (Morrison, Guzik, 2023).
On the way to Jairus’s house, the women with the issue of blood reached out to Jesus in desperation to be healed. While this miracle took place, Jairus was still in the waiting. His daughter was dying. Jesus then states, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” He says this to Jairus because faith and fear cannot coexist. When they got back and saw that Jairus’s daughter had died, Jesus stated, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” Jesus then continues to say, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” and immediately she got up and walked and everybody was amazed by what Jesus had done. Although Jairus would have preferred for Jesus to heal his daughter much sooner, he was strengthened in his faith in the waiting, as well as encouraged by seeing the healing of the women on the way to see his daughter. This part of the story spoke to me and where I am at even today. While I am in the waiting for many areas of my life, I often find myself operating in a place of fear and panic in thinking that God is too late. Even when the situation seems hopeless and like we are past the point of no return, He is always on time and intentional in everything He does. This story was a beautiful reminder of that for me and I hope it offers some encouragement to you as well.
References
Guzik, D. (2023, March 15). Enduring word bible commentary Mark Chapter 5. Enduring Word. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-5/
NASB: New American Standard Bible. Foundation Publications, Publisher for the Lockman Foundation, 2020
