One of my favorite songs at the moment is David Crowder Band’s “Come Awake.” Beginning with the beeping of a heart monitor, the music softly begins when the heart flatlines. The song is an admonishment to those who are near death, an admonishment to “be quiet and wait for a voice that will say ‘Come awake, from sleep arise.'”:”Rhapsody.com(Listen to “Come Awake” free.)”:http://www.rhapsody.com/davidcrowderband/acollision As Scripture attests, that voice belongs to Christ.
Jairus’ daughter was in a bad way.:”(Mark 5:23.)”: She was nigh unto death when Jairus, a synagogue ruler, caught up with Jesus, falling at His feet in desperation. Jesus was not a doctor; He didn’t have a decade long education concerning the human body. No degrees and certifications lined His walls. But He had lovingly crafted the human body from a lump of clay. He knew its insides and outsides intimately, for they conform to His design.
And it was His breath which caused the clay to transform, to become a living soul. The very life of man is owed to the one who breathed it. This is Jesus, for as He testified, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”:”(John 14:6.)”:
Medical science will always be incomplete, but while medical professionals are always learning, we would do well to come to the truth that the Creator never fails. What He has created He is able to sustain. What has been wounded, He is able to repair. And Jairus simply asks, “Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”:”(Mark 5:23.)”:
Look at that faith. This was not a, “Well, nothing else has worked, let’s see how this does,” request. This wasn’t a “We’ve been to two doctors and a specialist, but the situation hasn’t improved; could you put him on your church prayer list for us?” act.
This was faith, a living, active faith which manifested itself in this man’s seeking out the Lord of the Universe and acknowledging that with a single act, his daughter would be healed and will live. He knew the Lord’s power. It was not a last resort. It was not a maybe. It was the only option faith allows: to trust in Jesus to deliver us from our troubles.:”(Psalm 34:17.)”:
And Jesus responded. He left with Jairus, with a great multitude gathering behind. But something else would happen before He arrived at Jairus’ home.
A woman who had suffered from an issue of blood for as long as Jairus’ daughter had been alive:”(Compare Mark 5:25 with 5:42.) was to hear of Jesus. She had already undergone numerous treatments from numerous physicians, but nothing was able to cure her. Medicine back then wasn’t too different than it is today, as “She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.”:”(Mark 5:26.)”: It is at this point we would expect her to be depressed, hopeless, and lost within her sickness and grief.
But she heard about Jesus! How wonderful, how sweet is that name! Like Jairus, this woman sought the Lord, and with rock solid faith said to herself, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
This world’s knowledge had failed her, and yet with certainty she came to Christ. Her faith led her to just the simplest touch of Jesus’ garment, but it was enough, for her issue of blood was immediately remedied. Jesus knew that a miracle had occurred (how could He not!), and when He asked the multitude who had touched Him, she confessed the whole thing to Him.
“Daughter…” Daughter! What loving adoration the Lord has for those who have faith, for those who trust Him!
“Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed.” Only the Lord could make such a declaration, and only the Creator could so masterfully mend the body.
But tragedy had struck. While Jesus, Jairus, and the multitude were traveling — even while Jesus was ending a twelve-year affliction for a woman — Jairus’ twelve year old daughter had died. Messengers from Jairus’ home had came to Jairus, giving him the news that his daughter had died, letting him know he needn’t bother Jesus anymore.
Without missing a beat, Jesus cut in, comforting Jairus to not be afraid. “Only believe,” the Lord said.
At this point, the crowd was thinned. Jesus permitted only Jairus, Peter, James, and John the brother of James to accompany Him to Jairus’ house. At the house there was yet another crowd, this one weeping and bewailing the death of Jairus’ daughter.
Death? That isn’t how Jesus sees it. That isn’t how He who is Life sees death. “The child is not dead, but sleeping,” says Jesus!:”(Mark 5:39.)”: And as unbelievers typically do, they ridiculed the Lord. But He put all of them outside of the home,:”(That’ll teach ’em to keep their mouths shut!)”: permitting only the disciples and Jairus and his wife to go with Him into where the child was laying.
And with two little words, the permanence of death is shown to be as fleeting as sleep when confronted with the power and authority of Jesus. “Talitha cumi,” Jesus beckons, gently holding the girl by the hand. I can hear the gentleness in His voice, as a father would awaken his daughter.
“Immediately the girl arose and walked…”:”(Mark 5:42)”: Jairus’ daughter was freed from death. Jesus proved in a remarkable way that He is the Life and that death’s grip is easily loosed by Him.
One day, the cold hand of death will take hold of us. And as your eyes close in death, dear Christian friend, be quiet, and wait. One day, Jesus will beckon you to awake, and awaken you shall, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, given a new and glorious body like unto Jesus.:”(1 Corinthians 15:51,52.)”: One day. What a glorious day.
“Do not be afraid; only believe.”:”(Mark 5:36.)”:
[ Photo Credit | License ]
All Scripture quotations from the New King James Version.