Fear Not: Jesus and Jairus
Fear Not: Jesus and Jairus.
“Messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, ‘Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.’ But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.'” (Mark 5:35-36).
The ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum, Jairus, knew of Jesus’ healing powers and trusted Him. Jairus ran to Jesus, bowed to his knees, and repeatedly begged Jesus to come and heal his sick twelve year old daughter, who is close to death. Jesus agreed to come with him to see the young girl. While walking, a messenger came from the house of Jairus and gave him the bad news… Your daughter has died. Don’t bother the Teacher any more. It’s too late to help her now. But Jesus refused to listen to this tragic news. He told Jairus, Don’t yield to fear. That won’t help. Just trust me and keep on believing. (Passion Translation). Another way of putting this is in the New American Bible, “Fear is useless. What is needed is trust.”
Jesus and Jairus, and the jostling crowd following them, continued walking to Jairus’ house. They were greeted by the unsettling uproar of weeping and wailing. Jesus went into the house, and said, “Why all this grief? Don’t you know the girl is not dead but merely asleep?” In other words, this is only temporary. She will be restored… Just watch. Everyone in the house began to ridicule and make fun of Jesus for making such an outrageous claim. But Jesus didn’t care about that, and He took the parents and His three chums Peter, James and John, and they entered the dead girl’s room. Jesus tenderly took hold of the girl’s lifeless hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you arise! Wake up from the sleep of death!” A dead person’s body was considered unclean according to Jewish Law, but Jesus’ compassion was more important than the Law at this point. Immediately the girl sat up, stood to her feet, and started walking around the room. Even the dead obey Jesus! Everyone was overwhelmed with amazement, while Jesus simply asked the parents to bring their daughter something to eat.
Another Thought: Fear of Death. If there is one fear all human beings have in common, it is the fear of death. Faith in God is the only answer to that fear. Faith that our life was not in vain. Faith that we will see our loved ones again. Faith that there is an afterlife. Faith that our destiny is to live an eternal life with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Faith that everlasting life after death is the ultimate purpose of a loving God. Resurrection scenes in the gospels like this one reveal the destiny of all believers. We will all be raised from the dead. We will all be resurrected, just like this little girl. That is our hope, and only that aspect of faith will remove any fear of death. “The truth is, Christ is risen from the dead, as the firstfruit of a great resurrection harvest of those who have died. For since death came through a man, Adam, it is fitting the resurrection of the dead has also come through a man, Christ. Even as all who are in Adam die, so also all who are in Christ will be made alive, but each one in His proper order: Christ, the firstfruits, then those who belong to Christ in His presence.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Passion Translation). “And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I’d do this if I wasn’t convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there’s no resurrection, ‘We eat, we drink, the next day we die,’ and that’s all there is to it. But don’t fool yourselves. Don’t let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk.” (1 Corinthians 15:30-33, the Message).