Is anyone else shocked by the fact that it’s already the end of March? The day that we celebrate Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection is right around the corner! Spring breaks across the country have sprung, early enrollment for the next school year has started to open up, and I hope you’ve at least started your taxes.
You’ve probably heard the saying that the only certainty in life is death and taxes (from a play written by Christopher Bullock in 1716). But as a believer in Jesus Christ, we have a few more certainties, don’t we? At least we’re supposed to – but why do so many Christians act as though we don’t? Do we think we’re not good enough? Are our certainties based on merit? If they are, just how certain are they? What if our answer to prayer takes too long? Can we still be certain?
I was reading about a man who seemed to be certain that Jesus could help him. His name was Jairus, and you can read his story in Mark 5:21-43 (please take a moment to read it). I noticed a few things that had me digging a little more. Some things I had noticed before but just shrugged off, some things I had always taken at face value, and some things popped up to attention for the first time. Let’s take a look.
Jairus was considered a religious leader in the synagogue. He knew scriptures inside and out. He knew prophesies. He knew the Law. He had a title that demanded respect. He probably had little concern when it came to money. He had a family, he had his faith, and he had the approval of others. Jairus had all of this, but death was still coming to collect his 12-year-old daughter.
There was no title, no status, and no money that could save his young daughter. And he knew it. He didn’t come to Jesus and present a case for why He should help his daughter – look at how wonderful I am… look at all the good things I have done for God… look at how I keep the Law… look at how I know scripture… He recognized that he couldn’t help his daughter… but, more importantly, he recognized that Jesus could.
He was certain of it more than he was certain of anything else – Jesus could heal his daughter. Not because of anything special about him or his daughter, but because that’s who he knew Jesus to be.
But then they were delayed. Isn’t that typical of how life seems to work? Something bad has happened or is happening, but you see a light at the end of the tunnel… you have a flicker of hope stir up that not all is lost. And then something else happens. Something happens to stall you out. You’re delayed and it feels like a denial. And the wind is knocked out of your sails.
Now we come to the part of Jairus’ story where we learn that someone else was needing Jesus, too (Mark 5:25-34).
This woman did not have a father like Jairus who would seek out Jesus on her behalf. She had no one. She had been plagued with bleeding for 12 years, and that made her unclean. She was ostracized and shunned for something she couldn’t help… for 12 years! She had no status to speak of, no wealth to offer, and no family in her corner. She had nothing but past rejection and a certainty that if she simply touched the edge of Jesus’ clothes, she would receive her healing.
Her certainty, acted out in a bold way, paid off. She received her physical healing as soon as she touched Jesus’ clothing! But was she fully healed? Even though Jesus was on a mission to heal Jairus’ daughter, and He was already being slowed down by the crowd of people wanting His attention, He chose to spend some extra time with the woman who had stretched out her hand in faith.
When Jesus asked who had touched Him, she admitted to Him and everyone there that it was her. Jesus didn’t condemn her for touching Him or the others in the crowd that she surely bumped into (she was considered unclean after all). Instead, He acknowledged her healing and then restored her relationally by calling her daughter.
She had been living among others, yet isolated from them. Why would anyone invite her in when anything she touched would become unclean? She was there, but she was not permitted to partake. Can you imagine not being hugged for 12 years? She was only allowed to watch from the sidelines as life happened to others. At least that was the case until Jesus healed her and called her daughter. That one word – daughter – changed her identity and invited her into relationship.
By calling her daughter, Jesus was restoring her to society and publicly claiming her as His.
But as the woman received her healing and was fully restored, Jairus received devastating news. His 12-year-old daughter had died. Jesus had been delayed too long. It was too late… what could be done now? Death is so… final.
We’re not told that Jairus said anything upon hearing that his daughter had died, but Jesus responded to the news by telling him, don’t be afraid, only believe. Believe? Believe what? That she’s not dead? To have faith? If we look at this in the Greek (Strong’s G4100), Jesus is actually telling Jairus to trust Him. Jesus is telling Jairus that he can be certain that He has the final word. Don’t be afraid, only trust Me.
Hmm… to trust Jesus. The more I chew on this, the more I believe that trusting Jesus is also trusting His ability, His goodness, His faithfulness, His love, and His sovereignty. If we trust the person – the whole person – we can also trust the promises that they make for anything – even when we’re experiencing a delay.
Jairus already knew his resumé had nothing to offer him when it came to his daughter’s healing, but he sought Jesus. And when he got the news, he didn’t give up. We’re not told what Jairus might have said or how he responded to the news of his daughter’s death, but we can deduce that he was still clinging to hope even if he was afraid.
Professional mourners were already on scene, they laughed at the ludicrous notion that the girl wasn’t dead (they were at a paying gig after all), but we know from scripture that Jesus has the final word. When Jesus called Jairus’ daughter to life, the results were instantaneous – she got up at once and started walking around! Just like how Jesus didn’t barely crawl out of the tomb on Resurrection Day, but rose victoriously, death did not have the final word: Jesus did.
This passage is about the power of Jesus, not the faith of Jairus. It’s about the multifaceted restorative power of Jesus to not just heal the physical needs, but the emotional and relational as well. He heals it all because He cares about it all. And we’re called to trust Him in that.
I find it interesting that Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old and the woman who reached out to touch Jesus’ clothing had been suffering her condition for 12 years. In scripture, the number 12 symbolically points to God’s authority, His divine order, and His sovereign plan. Jairus’ daughter had her father to plead her case, and when Jesus restored the woman by calling her daughter, He was stepping in as her Father.
Jesus communicated in several ways that death does not have the final word – He does. He was touched by a bleeding woman and she became clean. He touched a corpse and the corpse became a living, breathing little girl.
I want to encourage you with a few points from this passage:
- Jairus and Jesus were delayed, but the little girl was not denied her healing. You might feel as though nothing meaningful is happening in the waiting, but there is always beauty to be found in the journey.
- Jairus was afraid. The woman who had the issue of blood was afraid (this is deduced from her desperation to be shoving through a crowd, making them all unclean). They chose to focus on Jesus in the midst of their fear. It’s okay to be afraid.
- Death does not have the final say. This isn’t just in the physical sense. Perhaps you’re struggling in a relationship that is dead or dying, maybe a hope, a dream, a career or a wayward child. There is hope when you have Jesus.
Jesus encountered death and life was the end result. He encountered the unclean, and they were changed forever. This is just a small picture of what we’re about to celebrate on Resurrection Sunday. Oh death, where is your sting – Oh grave, where is your victory? No, I’m certain that Jesus has the final word.