The Ruler and the King

Opening Prayer (Exultation & Petition)

“Jairus was no doubt wealthy; but his wealth could not save his dying daughter. The woman was already bankrupt!”

Warren W. Wiersbe

Read Mark 5:21-24

Mark 5:21–24 LSB

21 And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. 22 And one of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet 23 and pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come, that by coming, You may lay Your hands on her, so that she will be saved and live.” 24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

In ancient Israel, crowds gathered eagerly to hear Jesus speak, desperate for hope. Among them was a father, Jairus, who had just received the news that his daughter was dying. His heart ached, filled with fear and urgency. As he pushed through the throng, he shouted for Jesus, embodying a parent’s desperation. This moment reminds us of the weight of our worries and the fierce hope we cling to in the face of crisis. In our desperate moments, like Jairus, we can turn to Jesus.

I. Everywhere Jesus Goes He is at Work for Redemption. (v. 21)

Jesus, is turned away from Gerasa/Gedara by the people whose fear is greater than their hope. Meanwhile, Jesus is eagerly received back in Capernaum.

In similar fashion, Jesus does not stop from being whom He is. Jesus apparently meets a crowd that receives him to teach them. In the ministry of Jesus we see that there is no stop to the need of the people, even if they are only coming to him in light of His miraculous power and novelty.

The call for the reader is to be attentive to how the scene displays the nature of our God and the desperate condition of our hearts. Jairus is by all definition of the words, an influential and well-off individual, whose influence in the community leads others to subjugate themselves to him and his needs, or wants. Now, the ruler of the Synagogue, an Elder, is coming before Jesus as a child in deep need.

“Jairus was like so many of us in our coming to Christ. It was not his love for Christ that brought him. It was not what he could do for Christ. It was his need. It was his desperation and a glimmer of hope. Despair is commonly the prelude to grace.”

R. Kent Hughes

II. God Remains Faithful and Unmoved. (v. 22-23)

Jairus comes before Jesus Christ, who is by the seashore, apparently surrounded by a crowd, and He falls on on his face before him. Here we see the picture of utmost helplessness, debased humility, and empty-handed faith.

Notice also the attitude of Jairus’ request. He is not dealing with persuasive arguments before Jesus; Jairus is not levying questions before Jesus Christ; He is pleading. Here the best two definitions of the original language could be rendered as “urging,” or “imploring.” Jairus, with nothing else to appeal to, to give in exchange, now finds that God is all he has.

Jesus is introduced to the personal need of the ruler of the synagogue. A young girl is at her end due to illness, and now only Jesus is the cure. The text also shows the belief that to be touched by someone empowered by God is to receive not only a remedy for infirmity, but to receive eternal life. John Mark writes in the original language to accomplish an eschatological truth evidenced in the here and now, even physically.

“The sea ebbs and flows, but the rock remains unmoved.”

Robert Murray McCheyne (Scottish Minister)

III. Regardless of the Crowds, Jesus Remains on Mission. (v. 24)

Hearing the heart-filled plea of a father, whose hope is extinguishing, Jesus does not debate argue, or consider the impact of the plea and any of his actions in response. Jesus goes with Jairus to see about this little one who is at death’s door.

Of course, we see that the crowd continues on to follow Jesus as he goes. Jesus is being followed by those whom are listening to his teaching and interested in his wonder-working works.

Here the crowd is so intent on following that they amass themselves around him, so that he is, as we might picture, in a sea of people being carried toward Jairus’ home. God’s work continues to cause people to discuss, debate, argue, and wonder at God’s great work of redemption.

Deuteronomy 7:14–15 LSB

14 “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. 15 “And Yahweh will take away from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will give them to all who hate you.

“Jesus Christ reveals, not an embarrassed God, not a confused God, not a God who stands apart from the problems, but one who stands in the thick of the whole thing.”

Oswald Chambers (Lecturer and Missionary)

IV. Bottom Line: Do I come to God in Pride or Humility?

“If pride and madness go together, so do humility and sanity.”

John Robert Walmsley Stott (English Preacher)

Humanity is called to surrender before God, which is the result of the Holy Spirit .

We may respond in apathy an pride, being separated from God.

We may come setting our pride aside, trusting and devoting all to God, our Master and Friend.