Mark 5:21-24a, 35-43 Only Believe
Mark 5:21-24a, 35-43 (Evangelical Heritage Version)
21When Jesus had again crossed over in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him near the sea. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and repeatedly pleaded with him, “My little daughter is near death. Please come and place your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.”
24Jesus went with him.
35While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue ruler’s house arrived, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”
36But when Jesus heard this report, he told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” 37He did not allow anyone to follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38They went into the house of the synagogue ruler, and Jesus saw a commotion with people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”
40They laughed at him. But after he put everyone out, he took the father of the child, her mother, and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41Grasping the hand of the child, he said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (When translated, that means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”) 42Immediately the little girl stood up and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) They were completely and utterly amazed. 43Then he gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and he told them to give her something to eat.
Only Believe
I.
It wasn’t the first time the man had seen something like this. In his capacity as a religious leader, he had frequently sat at the bedside of those who were seriously ill to console them or their families. This time, however, it was different. This time it was his own daughter.
Not without resources, he had maximized his contact list. The girl’s name had been put on the prayer chain. Every member of the synagogue undoubtedly had been praying for her.
In his capacity as a respected leader of the synagogue he also knew many skilled professionals. These, too, had been contacted and brought in for consultation. Perhaps they had even made referrals to other physicians who might be able to give more specialized help for her particular condition.
Nothing was turning out as he had hoped. His daughter’s health continued to decline.
After a time, he could sit at the bedside no longer. His mind raced as he tried to think of some help he had yet to try.
Rumors were going around about something that had just happened. Jesus had been going across the big lake when a storm came out of nowhere. Apparently, this One people called a great Teacher had calmed the storm completely with only a few words. Now, his disciples had ferried him back across.
News about Jesus as a great Teacher were nothing new. Crowds had gathered just days before to hear him teach. It was well-known that Jesus had laid his hands on people and healed them.
Jairus was determined that his daughter would be one of those healed. Determined to see Jesus and speak to him, Jairus pushed through the crowd that had gathered. “When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet 23and repeatedly pleaded with him, ‘My little daughter is near death. Please come and place your hands on her so that she may be healed and live’” (Mark 5:22-23, EHV).
Things had gotten desperate. There was no time to waste. I can almost hear the impatience in Jairus’ urgent pleas, in words that make me think of a Psalm: “But you, O LORD, do not be distant. O my Strength, come quickly to help me” (Psalm 22:19, EHV).
Jesus went.
Between the parts of our text Jairus’ patience was tested. The crowds pressed against them. It was difficult to get anywhere. Among the crowd was a woman who had been battling her own sickness for years. She thought: “If I just touch his robe, I will be healed” (Mark 5:28, EHV).
People were constantly jostling each other in that crowd. Yet when that one particular woman touched Jesus’ clothing, he stopped and mentioned the touch. “He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your suffering’” (Mark 5:34, EHV).
Faith. Jesus called attention to her faith. To be sure, her physical health was important to the woman. Jesus wanted her to know that something else was equally important—more important, really—that was her spiritual health. It was the woman’s faith, not her health, that would give her the real peace she had craved for years.
Jairus might have been sympathetic to the woman’s plight. After all, he had come to see Jesus about matters of health, too. However, time was of the essence. Jesus had to hurry. This was taking time—precious time.
While Jesus was still speaking to the woman, “People from the synagogue ruler’s house arrived, saying, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?’” (Mark 5:35, EHV). How insensitive these people seem! It must have rocked Jairus’ world. It was too late. Time had been wasted—time that might have saved his daughter’s life.
“But when Jesus heard this report, he told the synagogue ruler, ‘Don’t be afraid. Only believe’” (Mark 5:36, EHV). Jesus overheard what was said. It didn’t rock his world in the slightest, and not because he didn’t care. Just like he cared about the woman who touched his clothing, he also cared about Jairus and his daughter. But rather than letting it rock Jesus’ world, he ignored death.
II.
“Only believe.” I can picture an elderly lady in Bible class who used those words over and over again. Bible class topics and discussion frequently push the envelope of credulity. The Triune God. Jesus being 100% human and also 100% God. Six normal, 24 hour days for creation. There are so many Bible concepts that simply don’t fit together logically. Whenever one such concept would come up, Gert would ask a question, and often give her own answer: “Only believe!” Don’t try to understand fully; only believe.
It’s one thing to “Only believe” when you are sitting in a Bible class considering illogical Bible truths. The Apostle Paul was the one who said: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, EHV).
“Only believe” and “all things work together for the good” are fine when they are academic exercises in a Bible class, or when you hear those words as part of a sermon when everything is going well for you in life.
But what about the times when life is intense? What about the times when you’ve lost a job? What about the times when you are in the middle of dealing with disrespectful children—again!? What about the times when you are like Jairus, sitting next to the bed of a loved one who is dying, or having just received the news that loved one has passed from this life? It’s not so easy then, is it?
“Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” What is this “only believe”?
III.
Unperturbed by the news of death, Jesus walked on. Jewish law insisted on witnesses. Moses had written: “A case is to have standing only on the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15, EHV). Jesus wanted there to be no doubt. “He did not allow anyone to follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James” (Mark 5:37, EHV). He gathered his three witnesses close behind him and carried on with Jairus in tow.
“They went into the house of the synagogue ruler, and Jesus saw a commotion with people weeping and wailing loudly” (Mark 5:38, EHV). The professional mourners had already been called in. You heard that right—professional mourners. Even the poorest person wanted to have at least a few people there to mourn the loss of his loved one, so they would be hired to weep and wail. With Jairus’ status, there were plenty of mourners present.
“When he entered, he said to them, ‘Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ 40They laughed at him” (Mark 5:39-40, EHV). Jesus knew what he was about to do, but the fact remains, death for a believer is just a temporary thing. One day—on the Last Day—Jesus will raise you and all the dead. He will bring you to the eternal joys of heaven.
It wasn’t just when Jesus told Jairus earlier to “Only believe” that he ignored death. He ignores death as he walks in the house filled with professional mourners, too.
Jesus knew that he would one day scorn death and the power of death. He knew that he would take death to the cross—death, and it’s underlying cause, the curse of sin. In perfect obedience to every one of God’s commands, Jesus innocently took the sins of everyone else to the cross to pay for them in full. That’s why he could ignore death that day.
IV.
Jesus was great at crowd control. He put everyone out. Then he took his three witnesses, along with Jairus and his wife into the child’s room. “Grasping the hand of the child, he said to her, ‘Talitha, koum!’ (When translated, that means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise!’) 42Immediately the little girl stood up and began to walk around. (She was twelve years old.) They were completely and utterly amazed” (Mark 5:41-42, EHV).
It is amazing. It pushes the envelope of credulity, like so many things in Bible class. Some Bible critics claim the little girl might not have been dead, but in a coma. People waking from comas don’t immediately get up and walk around. The girl was truly raised back from the dead by the miraculous power of Jesus.
“Then he gave them strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and he told them to give her something to eat” (Mark 5:43, EHV). The tender, caring hand of the Savior has to remind them of some physical necessities—the girl would be hungry; give her something to eat. But he didn’t want the details of how this had happened to be spread just yet. Most people—even his closest disciples who were brought along as witnesses—still didn’t understand what Jesus as Messiah would mean.
“Only believe.” The day will come—if it hasn’t already—when you have to deal with heartbreak. There will be broken relationships and sickness. There will even be the death of a loved one—or the moment you realize you have to consider your own mortality.
Knowing that Jesus has already ignored death for you and has defeated it, you can face anything. Only believe. Even when he determines it is your time to pass from this life into eternity, on the Last Day he will say to you and me: “get up,” and we will rise to life eternal. Only believe. Amen.