We live in a hectic and fast paced world. I’m sure that many of you have noticed just how busy life can be. I read an article entitled, “Goal Oriented or People Oriented,” and I want to share with you something it says. This article states, “Many times we get caught up in our ‘to do’ lists and focus on goals and tasks, [and] we often forget about our ‘relationships’ with people . . . We are so driven that we have to schedule our kids, husbands and wives, moms and dads, into the ‘time slots’ that are left; [and] this doesn’t take into consideration time for friends, acquaintances or people we bump into on a daily basis.”(1)
This article goes on to ask, “So, how do we change? How do we quit letting opportunities pass [us] by to genuinely show interest in other people?”(2) These are some good questions to consider, especially for those of us seeking to share the love of Jesus Christ and make an eternal impact in the lives of others. There is actually an answer to these questions in observing the way that Jesus responded to people’s needs, as we will see demonstrated in our passage.
Jesus Had in Mind a Goal to Accomplish (vv. 18-19)
18 While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” 19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.
We read here that a ruler approached Jesus, worshipped Him, and petitioned Him to heal his daughter. “This man, as both Mark and Luke say (Mk 5:22; Lk 8:41), was named Jairus; and was a ruler, not of the Sanhedrim, or some lesser [council], but of the synagogue that was at Capernaum; and whom the Jews call ‘the head of the synagogue’.”(3) His request was for Jesus to come to his house, lay hands on his daughter and bring her back to life, for she had just died. In Mark’s version, Jairus stated, “My little daughter lies at the point of death” (Mark 5:23); in other words, not entirely dead, but close.
Jesus and His disciples, as soon as they heard his petition, got up and went. They had a destination in sight (the ruler’s house), and a task in mind (healing his daughter). In other words, they had a goal. This observation provides an opportunity to share about goal orientation. It is good to have a goal in sight, for “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV); however, some people are so goal oriented that they miss many other opportunities for ministry that lie around them.
“Evangelical Missions Quarterly quotes a former Yugoslavian youth pastor as saying that American missionaries ‘are more or less goal oriented than people oriented’.”(4) Allow me to expand on this observation. In her book Grandma’s Letters from Africa, missionary Linda Thomas speaks about the differences between American and Kenyan culture; and she provides a really good example of the cultural barrier that exists because America’s focus on goal orientation. Thomas says,
Many Americans struggle with a people-oriented culture because we are goal-oriented – we have work to do. Most of us believe that time is money and, in more ways than we realize, money is one of our gods. When we greet a person, we might say, “How are you?” but sometimes we don’t really want to know his answer and we don’t wait for it. If he tries to answer, we don’t pay attention. Instead, we get right to business – “Would you please make fifty copies of this,” we ask with thin smiles, “and have them on my desk by ten o’clock? Thanks.” And then we hurry off to our next duty.(5)
If we are not careful, we can become so focused on a specific task that we will miss other opportunities for ministry. Also, we can become so focused on trying to appear productive, and doing for the sake of doing, that we might forget the real purpose behind our efforts. It is all too common for individuals in ministry to become overly focused on small and often menial tasks, and then forget to take time for the people around them; and ministry is supposed to be about people!
Jesus Was Flexible Along the Way (vv. 20-22)
20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
Jesus and His disciples had a goal in mind of tending to the ruler’s daughter - “and suddenly” (v. 20). Have you ever noticed how life has an unpredictable way of springing the “and-suddenlies” right when you’re in the middle of something big? At least you thought your initial task or problem was huge until the “and-suddenly” came along! Right? Jesus and His disciples were immediately confronted with someone who had another difficult physical ailment – “a flow of blood for twelve years” (v. 20).
This woman was at the end of her rope, which called for desperate measures; therefore, she “came from behind and touched the hem of His garment” (v. 20). She came from behind because she was ashamed to come before Him, and tell her case face-to-face, especially in front of so many people.(6) Commentator John Gill says she was afraid that “if her case was known, she should be thrust away . . . being according to the law of an unclean person, and unfit for society.”(7)
Touching the hem of the garment would have been seen as an offensive action to anyone other than Jesus. The hem was the band of fringes the Jews were obligated to wear on the borders of their garments.(8) “The Pharisees, who pretended to [have] more holiness than others, enlarged them beyond their common size”(9) and “the Jews placed much sanctity in the wear and use of these fringes.”(10) Jesus, however, did not become offended; but instead, He stopped what He was doing, turned around, and encouraged this woman in her faith.
If Jesus had not stopped, who knows what would have been her fate. Over in Mark 5:26, we read that she “had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.” She had visited many doctors and was not getting any better. She would have likely never been healed had Jesus not taken the time to stop for her. Jesus had a previous engagement and pressing destination in mind; however, He was flexible along the way.
Let me to remind you of a sermon from a few weeks ago. In Acts 8:26-38 is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. We read how the Lord asked Philip to leave a fruitful ministry in Jerusalem to go to Gaza, a city that lay about fifty miles southwest of Jerusalem at the edge of the Sinai desert, and which was sparsely populated.(11) Philip was obedient to God and he went on his way to Gaza, and while he journeyed there he met a Eunuch from Ethiopia.
Philip had heard the Lord tell him to go to Gaza, and he thought that God was going to use him in ministry somewhere “in” Gaza; but on the contrary, God did not mean the ministry was in Gaza, but rather, it was “along the way” to Gaza. This account provides us with an important spiritual truth in ministry: “Sometimes we become so focused on our destination [or our perception of God’s plan] that we may miss opportunities to share the love of Christ along the way.”(12)
When I was in high school and had just obtained my learner’s permit, my dad let me drive to school one day while he sat in the passenger seat. Within a few hundred yards of approaching a stoplight, another car whipped around us, cut in front of me and immediately stopped at the light, causing me to slam on my brakes. Being a new driver, I was quite shaken. I recall thinking how pointless it was for the other car to cut in front of me with no apparent gain. I will always remember what my dad said at that very moment: “He’s in a hurry to go nowhere!”
How many believers are in a hurry to go nowhere? The Lord calls us to serve Him in order to impact the lives of other people; but all too often we find ourselves in such a frenzy trying to serve the Lord, or perhaps attempting to decipher His will, that we fail to recognize that the answer is staring us right in face. The Lord often calls us to minister to the people who are immediately in our life, rather than someone in another place or moment in time. We must remember that life is about the journey, and the people we meet along the way; not the destination.
Also, we must not become so focused on our own needs and difficulties that we fail to recognize the needs of others. Think about Jesus hanging on the cross. When Jesus had been crucified, He was in tremendous pain and agony, and He could have easily become consumed by His own ordeal; however, the Bible tells us in John 19:26-27, “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’”
Amidst the suffering and travail of His “passion,” Jesus’ only concern was for the welfare and safety of His mother. Jack Hayford states, “He was directing her attention to John. He was saying, ‘Woman . . . this man will become the one who oversees you’.”(13) The Bible then testifies, “And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:27b). Be observant of the needs of others, and be flexible enough to take time from your busy schedule to lend a helping hand, a listening ear, or a word of faith and encouragement.
Jesus Refocused on His Initial Task (vv. 23-26)
23 When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went out into all that land.
Jesus took time out for someone else, but He still made it to His intended destination and crucial task. When He arrived, however, He “saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing” (v. 23). A. T. Robertson says that the flute players and mourners were probably hired to be there. They were professional mourners, and their duty was to wail and scream, and even sing songs in praise of the dead.(14) There was also a crowd gathered around which, according to Robertson, were “brought together by various motives, sympathy, money, [and] desire to share in the meat and drink.”(15)
It is interesting to note how the people gathered outside the house were goal oriented instead of people oriented. Their goal was either to mourn for payment, or to party all night long. Because they were so focused on their personal motives, they could not see the need of the young girl inside the house; and perhaps they didn’t really care. They were only there for personal gain.
When Jesus arrived, He told everyone, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping” (v. 24). Perhaps Jesus was referring to death as a state of sleep (cf. 1 Cor 15:51); or maybe He meant that she was not really dead at all, but extremely sick. Mark did testify how she was “at the point of death” (Mark 5:23). Whatever the case might have been, “they ridiculed Him” (v. 24). Therefore, Jesus identified all those with wrong motives and those who lacked faith, and He kicked them out of the house.
Jesus wanted only the people who were sensitive to the needs of others to be with Him for the healing miracle. In Luke 8:51, we learn that the only ones allowed inside the house were Peter, James, John and the girl’s father and mother. Jesus then took the girl by the hand and told her to rise, and at that moment she was healed, and then she arose (v. 25). If you wish to be present to witness the Lord’s miracles, then you had better become aware or sensitive to the needs of other people. You must become people focused instead of goal oriented.
Time of Reflection
The question was asked, “How do we quit letting opportunities pass [us] by to genuinely show interest in other people?”(16) Genuinely showing interest in other people begins by sincerely loving others with the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul once declared, “For Christ’s love compels us . . . So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view” (1 Corinthians 5:14, 16 NIV). The love of Jesus Christ will compel us to view others with concern and compassion, rather than seeing them as distractions to our own plans.
I wish to ask you this morning, has anyone ever given you the time of day to lend a helping hand, a listening ear, or offer a word of faith and encouragement? Has anyone ever shared with you the healing power of Jesus Christ? He offers strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Jesus offers healing for your body and restoration for your heart and soul. He offers the forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and freedom to live boldly without fear of condemnation and death. In Jesus Christ is life; eternal life which He offers you today.
NOTES
(1) Vickie G. Paver, “Goal Oriented or People Oriented,” www.paversnest.com/inspirational19.htm (Accessed August 25, 2011).
(2) Ibid.
(3) John Gill, “Matthew,” John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible, Bible Study Tools: www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-9-18.html (Accessed August 25, 2011).
(4) Paul Keidel, Career-Defining Crises in Mission (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library Publishers, 2005), quoted in preface.
(5) Linda K. Thomas, Grandma’s Letters from Africa (Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2010), p. 9.
(6) John Gill, “Matthew,” John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible, Bible Study Tools: www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/matthew-9-20.html (Accessed August 25, 2011).
(7) Ibid.
(8) Ibid.
(9) Ibid.
(10) Ibid.
(11) Kenneth O. Gangel, “Acts,” Holman New Testament Commentary, ed. Max Anders (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 1998), p. 125.
(12) “Be Prepared,” Life Trak Bible Studies for Younger Youth, vol. 1, Issue 3 (Nashville, TN: Lifeway, 2001), pp. 31-32.
(13) Jack Hayford, How to Live through a Bad Day (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2001), p. 28.
(14) A. T. Robertson, Robertson N. T. Word Pictures, Power Bible CD.
(15) Ibid.
(16) Vickie G. Paver, “Goal Oriented or People Oriented.”
