Following the trip back
across the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is mobbed by an enthusiastic crowd eager to
get close to him. In that crowd are two
people who both have a desperate need for the healing power of the Son of God. Jairus is a father whose twelve year old
daughter is dying, while he garners Jesus’ attention, a woman who had suffered
for twelve years from feminine bleeding (thus making her “unclean” in the eyes
of the Law) does something to demonstrate her faith in Jesus; she reaches out
and touches the tassel of his cloak.
At this point, with Jairus anxious that Jesus will not
arrive in time, and the crowd already slowing him down, Jesus stops to confront
the woman who has just been healed by touching him. Instead of condemning her for her presumption
of touching him, Jesus turns to this woman who has held on to her faith in
spite of twelve years of suffering and says, “Daughter, your faith has healed
you. Go in peace.” What an amazing testament to God’s
willingness to forgive anyone who approaches him in faith.
Meanwhile, Jairus receives word that his daughter has
died while waiting for Jesus to arrive.
What was just a heart-warming scene of prayer being answered has turned
into a crushing scene of irony. Jesus
may be the Son of God, but he is still only one man, the crowd and the woman
who touched him slowed Jesus down; he’s too late. Rather than allow human limitations to thwart
Jairus’ faith, Jesus continues on to his house and then tells him, “Don’t be
afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
At this point, his own experience would have told Jairus that the
situation is hopeless, but Jesus is asking him to trust in the promises of the
same God who gives life to all. Jesus
then proceeds to return life to Jairus’ daughter as a further demonstration of
who he is, and just as importantly, of the power of faith to overcome our own
limitations.
What insurmountable obstacles, what desperate situations,
are you facing? The answer is always to
do our part, remember that both those helped by Jesus were willing to come to
him, and then trust God to do his part.
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