! Mark 5:21-43 Theme: Christ died so that we might live
Text: 2 Sam. 1:1, 17-27; 2 Cor. 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43
God has a divine plan for our lives. This plan is in the Word of God and this life is only possible when one lives a life of obedience to the Word of God. Such a life is a life of purity, prayer and power. Jesus Christ led a perfect life and His life was an expression or a manifestation of His words. There was no contradiction between His Words and His life. As Christians we claim to be like Christ. We know His Words but it appears either we do not believe them or we interpret them the way it suits us and so live lives that are not according to His Words. As Christians we are always affirming our belief in Christ as Saviour and Lord but our lives seem to be saying something otherwise. We are saved or become Christians when we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead. We do this by faith as the Christian experience, from start to finish, is a journey of faith. Through faith we come into possession of a new life and through it we walk in this new life. But today many Christians would rather believe the advertisements they see or hear about than believe what the Word of God declares. It really appears that we are prepared to believe anything but the Word of God. If, for example, your boss were to promise you a raise in salary, you would believe him and not question it and go home rejoicing. So why do we question what God says? It is only when we believe the Word of God and act on it that it becomes a reality in our lives. The woman with the issue of blood believed the Word of God and touched the hem of His garment and was restored to good health. Jairus believed the Word of God and acted on it and his daughter was raised from the dead. We also have every reason to believe the Word of God for to live we have to believe that Christ died so that we might live.
God’s divine will for man is “that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” John 10:10. Life is a journey and God’s plan is for us to glorify His name by enjoying this journey and good health is part of His plan. Just as God’s healing power was available to the woman with an incurable condition for 12 years, and to the little 12 year old girl near death, so His healing power is also available to us. Just as both of them came to the Lord with their needs, so also should we come to Him with ours. We can only enjoy life’s journey with someone who is able to overcome life’s problems and the only person who can do that is Jesus Christ. The abundant life is to live the life of Christ and enjoy His peace. Christ does not only heal our infirmities He saves us, reconciles us with the Father and gives us His peace, that peace that passes understanding. After healing the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus delayed His journey to the house of Jairus. He wanted the woman to admit what she had done. Of course Jesus knew who had touched Him but He wanted her to publicly acknowledge Him to complete the miracle.
It would seem a waste of time to us especially when any lost time would seem to endanger the daughter of Jairus. But this time was not wasted at all. This woman had heard about Jesus and believed that He was the Messiah and capable of healing her infirmity and she acted on her belief. Although she was prevented by law to touch another person because she was unclean and although she was weak from the long illness and it was a struggle to get through the crowd, she persevered till she could touch the hem of Jesus’ garment. The hem of His garments refers to the tassels placed at the corners of the prayer shawl worn by the Jews. These tassels are to remind the Jews of God’s commandments. They also pointed to the authority of the one wearing them. This was the reason why the Pharisees choose to have very long tassels to show their importance and authority. These tassels on the hem are also referred to as wings and by touching the hem of His garments the woman was declaring the Word of God in Mal. 4:2 that “The Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings”. Jesus delayed His journey to acknowledge her faith and get a public confession from her to meet her other needs as well. After she had come forward out of the crowd and told her whole story Jesus said to her ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.’ When God delays it is always for a purpose and divine delays usually test our faith and often results in God blessing us in a greater way. The delay gave the woman Christ’s assurance of peace. But the delay was also a blessing for Jairus. Sometimes God delays so that we can focus our attention on what He wants to do. God’s resources, His power and His peace are available to us all. We all have equal access to the Saviour but we have to approach Him in faith. There was a great crowd around Jesus with many coming into contact with Him yet only one of them received a miracle. Only the one who touched Him in faith? Let us touch Him in faith as we sing, pray and worship in His presence today.
The life of faith is the only way to the abundant life Christ has provided for us. But is it not incredible how we can be in God’s awesome Presence and yet not be affected by His mighty power? This is only possible because we are too pre-occupied with fear, doubts and unbelief. Instead of believing the Word of God we believe what is contrary to His Word. Faith is the only thing that really impresses God because it believes God. Many people, however, are only willing to believe if they would have the evidence. “Seeing is believing,” declares the world and even many members of the Church today would rather see to believe than have faith in what God says.
Jairus believed God and came to Jesus in broad daylight and in the middle of a huge crowd. He fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him about his sick daughter saying, “Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live”. Jairus didn’t care about who saw him or what they thought about him. His daughter was dying and he would risk anything to save her life. He did what was expected of every father. He had heard about Christ or may have even witnessed some of His miracles and believing in Him took responsibility for his child. In the world today, and Ghana is no exception, many homes are suffering from what is called ‘the father problem’ - the absent father or the busy father. In some homes the father is simply not there, the absent father, and in some homes he is hardly there and has no time for his family, the busy father. The result of the father problem can be seen on our streets – the street children and in our prisons. Many thousands of men have fathered children, and simply walked away from the family. Fathering a child does not make a man a father as fatherhood involves responsibility. It involves spending quality time with the family. The result of fathers failing to spend time with their children is a breakdown of the family and the society. Jairus was not only a religious man and a ruler of the local synagogue, but was also a father. He was deeply concerned about his little girl who was dying. He was responsible for his daughter and sought out Jesus who he knew could heal her. His love for his daughter compelled him to do what he did. Jairus did not waver in faith even when Christ delayed and experienced God’s blessings in a greater way. We have all experienced God’s delays. We have prayed but God has delayed in answering our petition. In such circumstances did we behave like Jairus did? Whatever it is that we have asked God to do according to His will, whatever it is that has been delayed in our lives, if God has promised to do it, it will be done. The greater the delay, the greater will be the blessing and the greater our delight. We should not miss out on the blessing because of impatience or unbelief.
Just as the Lord’s delay in going to Lazarus resulted in raising the dead rather than a mere healing, so our Lord’s delay in arriving at the home of Jairus resulted in a greater miracle. It also resulted in the raising from the dead rather than a healing. This greater miracle required greater faith from Jairus and it brought greater glory to our Lord. Jesus could easily have prevented the girl from dying, whether He was present or absent, but He chose to raise her from death instead. The divine delay was therefore for the good of all those involved. After restoring the child to life Jesus told them to give the girl something to eat. One would have thought that if Jesus could raise the girl from the dead He could also have done so with a full stomach. And He could have done so. But here we are thought a very important principle that God does not do for people what they can do for themselves. Jairus could not heal his sick daughter, nor raise her when she died. Jesus could and did so. But Jairus and his wife could feed the child and so Jesus did not do so miraculously. Miracles are not needed where normal human effort is sufficient.
The Lord Jesus Christ promised Jairus, a righteous, devout, and influential Jewish leader a visit to heal his daughter. On the way a woman declared to be unclean by the Law and therefore had no right to approach or touch Jesus receives a blessing from Christ. It appears that the woman is blessed at the expense of the ruler of the Synagogue. For at least a short time it seemed that the woman’s blessing cost the daughter of Jairus her life. Some see in this God’s dealings with the Jews and the Gentiles. God made a covenant to bless Abraham and his descendants, the Jews. The prophets spoke of the ‘healing’ of the nation by the coming Messiah. The Old Testament prophets even described the ‘healing’ of Israel as a resurrection. When Jesus came the Jews naturally thought He had come only for their blessing. Although Jesus made it clear that the Gentiles were included in the blessings as well, the Jews were not ready to accept it. Now we can see that God’s programme for the Jews has been delayed and in the interim the Gentiles are receiving God’s blessings. It may seem that the delay in the fulfilment of God’s promises to Israel is the fault of the Gentiles. But the blessing of one does not prevent the blessing of the other for both blessings are inter-related. Such was the case of the woman and Jairus’ daughter. Paul tells us that the salvation of the Gentiles does not hinder or prevent the salvation of the Jews. But it is a part of God’s programme for blessing both Jews and Gentiles. When the process of God’s dealings with the unclean woman and Jairus was complete, both were blessed, and neither at the expense of the other. For the Christian this means that we do not need to be afraid that God’s blessing of others will in any way limit our blessings. Indeed, if our hearts are in tune with God’s, the blessing of others are a blessing to us. What problem are you facing in your life today? Do you need a special touch from the Lord? Are you ill, troubled, hurting, lonely or without hope? Today you can reach out and touch Jesus in faith and He will meet your needs. Amen!
