Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24So Jesus went with him. [Mark 5: 22-24a NIV]
Our Scots language is dying out but it is a language which is rich and descriptive. For some weird reason I decided to choose Scots for the title of this blog. I find it much warmer and more affectionate than "my little daughter. "
Jairus clearly loved this wee girl. His heart is breaking as he tells Jesus of his predicament.
“My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” [Mark 5:23]
He is confident that Jesus can perform a healing miracle. He has no doubt that Jesus will be able to heal his daughter merely by laying his hands on her. Jesus goes to visit the home of Jairus but there is a delay which results in the death of this twelve year old daughter of the synagogue leader. Jesus healed another woman while he was travelling towards the home of Jairus. It is worth noting that Jesus did not prioritise the need according to social class or status. The woman with the discharge of blood was probably further down the social ladder than Jairus and his daughter but Jesus did not dismiss the poor woman by saying that he had much more important business to attend to.
Nothing happens by chance and the delay resulted in a deterioration of the young girl's condition.
While he was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" [Mark 5: 35 NIV]
There is not much compassion in this statement. It is blunt and even callous. These servants (which they probably were) had not attended the course on how to communicate bad news. They are also lacking in faith and a true appreciation of the power of the Son of God. They think that Jesus will be unable to help now that the girl is dead.
There are all sorts of competing emotions mentioned in this short account of this miracle. Following on from the cynicism and indifference of the messengers, we have the public display of emotion. The Jews often hired mourners to demonstrate how much the dead person was valued. The louder and more ostentatious the mourning, the more that person was valued and respected. There is no mention of the feelings of the mother and father. Obviously, they would be heartbroken. My eldest daughter took ill on a tour bus travelling overnight and for a short time we imagined that we had lost her. So I can imagine the deep anguish of these parents. When Jesus challenges the loud mourners by saying that the girl is only sleeping, this was met with another reaction - laughter. It is shocking how quickly their emotions change. This was not genuine laughter any more than their mourning was genuine. This was sarcastic and cynical laughter. This can be a very cruel weapon - which teenagers often employ to demean an individual. It is very hurtful when someone laughs at you in such a cruel fashion.
By contrast, Jesus is calm and in complete control of the situation. He had made a clear statement to the ruler of the synagogue which underlined all his actions, "Don't be afraid; just believe." This is still good advice to us today in whatever situation we are facing. Jesus removes the loud mourners from the house but he takes three disciples and the mother and father into the room where the young child was lying. It is the simplicity of this miracle which is striking. Jesus simply takes her by the hand and said to her, "Little girl, I say to you, get up." Mark records the actual Aramaic words - 'Talitha koumi.' This is an interesting piece of detail which most likely came from Mark's source, Peter who was an eyewitness of this event. Immediately, the girl got on to her feet and began walking. This produced amazement in those who were present. Mark is fond of the word 'immediately' as we have observed before and he also likes to record the effect of Jesus miracles on those who were present. There is a homely touch to this account - Jesus tells them to give her something to eat. She would be hungry after her illness and she would not have eaten for a while. This reinforces the complete healing. Not only is she able to walk again but she is also wanting to eat. Her life is back to normal.
That must have been a really happy home that day. There would be tears of joy as Jairus and 'Mrs Jairus' hugged their wee lassie whom they thought they had lost. Apart from the intervention of the Saviour, there would have been misery and despair in that household. Jesus turns a sad situation into a joyful event. It is interesting that the age of the girl is recorded. She is 12 years old - now is that not significant. The woman with the chronic bleeding had that condition for 12 years. So when Jairus' daughter was born, that lady took ill. And both of the women experienced the intervention of the Son of God on the same day.
There is a lesson we can learn from this incident as we quote Jesus words to the people in that home, especially Jairus and his wife - "Don't be afraid; just believe." Good advice for today and the remainder of the week.
[Photo by Si Janko Ferlic on Unsplash]
https://youtu.be/vTtBNVCwiCc
Listen to Don Francisco telling this story in song.
That video of the Ukrainian girl in the underground shelter was very powerful and moving. I have added the Don Francisco song to the blog,
Makes me think of the wee Ukrainian girl last week singing song from Frozen. Worth reading this passage in Jamie Stuart's 'A Scots Gospel' and listening to Don Francisco song on this incident from Jairus' perspective 'Gotta Tell Somebody'.