Gospel of Mark Study #15

“A Dad’s Worst Nightmare”

Mark 5:21-24, 35-43

Study #15 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

Being a father is not an easy job. It never has been, at least not if you are doing it correctly. Bringing children into the world and then doing your best to see that they turn out to be good, honest, loving, godly people is a big challenge! And being a dad to daughters is especially challenging. Raising boys is somewhat easier for us because from the get-go we speak the same language, being from the same planet and all. But with little girls it is a different story. They are a mystery to us, just like their mothers.

That is because little girls are filled with cuteness and craftiness, sweetness and trickery, coyness, and orneriness, all at the same time. Poor old dad is pretty much at sea from day one. This beautiful little girl suddenly pops into his life, and he has no idea what to do with her. But in no time at all she has her daddy wrapped around her cute little pinky finger. She has herself all entwined in his heart in such a way that he will never get loose.

TRANSITION:

In our passage for today we see a man experiencing what would be a “worst nightmare” situation for any loving father. His little daughter has become ill, and she is nearing death. The doctors have been unable to help her. It is obvious to everyone that she has little time left unless a miracle occurs.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 21: When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the lake.

·         It seems that after the casting out of the demons from the Gadarene demoniac, Jesus and His disciples made their way back up north 13 miles across the Sea of Galilee to the region of Capernaum and Bethsaida. The text does not tell us exactly where this next event occurred, but it must have been close to Capernaum.

·         Once again Jesus is surrounded by a large crowd of people, pushing in, wanting to see Him, and touch Him.

Verses 22-24: Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet ²³ and pleaded earnestly with Him, “My little daughter is dying [lit. at the point of death]. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” ²⁴ So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around Him.

·         “...one of the synagogue rulers...” Jairus was one of the Jewish leaders from that region. He may have been the leader of the synagogue in Capernaum, or he may have been from one of the nearby towns where Jesus had preached (cf. 1:39). His name was derived from the Hebrew word, “ya’ir,” meaning “Yahweh enlightens.” His name is given by Mark and Luke but not by Matthew. In the original Greek text, he is called an ἀρχισυνάγωγος (archisunágogos), meaning synagogue ruler. His duties included the conducting of the synagogue service and the selection of those who were to lead the prayer, read the Scriptures, and comment on them. There was generally only one archisunágogos to each synagogue. If he was the ruler of the Capernaum synagogue, then he likely was one of the people mentioned way back in 1:21-27 and 3:1-6.

·         Mark does not give us any details about the little girl here, but down in verse 42 he tells us that she was 12 years old. In our world that means she would have been a 6^th grader, on the line between being a little girl and becoming a young woman. Can you imagine the pain and grief in this father's heart? He is desperate to find help for his little girl. When speaking of her Jairus used the diminutive form as a term of endearment— “my little daughter.” And when he describes her condition to Jesus he says, literally, “She is at the point of death.” He knew that her condition was critical and that every minute counted. If this story had occurred in 2023, she would already have been on the LifeFlight helicopter headed to the nearest pediatric hospital.

·         “...he fell at [Jesus’] feet and pleaded earnestly with Him.” Imagine what it cost Jairus to come to Jesus and publicly ask for His help. He had to lay down his prejudice, his dignity, his pride, his friends, and his future. This was professional suicide for him, but he did not care now. Saving his little girl’s life was his highest priority, far above his own personal interests.

·         Something else important... in verse 23 the form of the verb here translated “pleaded earnestly” means he kept on begging, repeatedly and desperately. He lost all semblance of propriety or formality. This was a desperate father, on his knees before the Lord, pleading for the life of his daughter. Notice that Jairus knew exactly what he was asking of Jesus, although the Greek reveals that he was having a hard time expressing himself. His plea was coming out in short phrases, emotional bursts from a breaking heart. Look in verse 23 at the specific elements of what he wanted from Jesus:

Ø  “Please come.”

Ø  “Put Your hands on her.”

Ø  “So that she will be healed.”

Ø  “So that she will live.”

·         What was the result of his plea? The text says, “So Jesus went with him.” The Lord responded immediately. What relief Jairus must have felt, knowing that Jesus was on his way to save his little daughter. But then the Lord got stopped by the crowd and specifically by a little old lady who was sick and needed help. What frustration Jairus must have felt as the minutes ticked by as he stood there watching Jesus dealing with someone else’s problem, someone who in a sense had jumped the queue and had now put the life of his little girl in even more jeopardy.

·         This is where we make a big jump. In our next study we will look at the story within this story about the sick lady, but for now we are going to skip over it and continue with Jairus’s story. Jesus was still talking with the lady that he had just healed on His way to Jairus’ place when some friends arrived from Jairus’ house with terrible news. 

Verse 35: While Jesus was still speaking (i.e., to the woman), some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

·         No one wants to be the bearer of bad news. It is a horrible job. And believe me, I know what it is like because I have had to do it many times. As a police chaplain I had to do many death notifications and to deliver other bad news. I have also had to be the one to deliver bad news about what the surgeon found when he performed a person’s surgery. Believe me, it is no fun to be the bearer of bad news! But it is even worse to be on the receiving end! Imagine Jairus’ pain as he heard those words— “Your little girl is dead. Come home and don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Obviously, they had no faith that Jesus could do anything about the situation.

·         And imagine the thoughts that might have started racing around inside his head— “If Jesus had just been in a little bit more of a hurry, maybe He could have saved her. Or if I had left home a little sooner maybe I could have gotten to Jesus in time.”

Verse 36: Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

·         Jairus heard their words and for a moment thought that all hope was gone. Jesus heard their words and ignored them, knowing full well that He had the power to bring her back to life. In that moment, Jairus had to make a choice about who to listen to—the voices of those who said, “Hope is lost” or the One who said, “Do not be afraid, just trust Me.” The English text leaves out the emphasis that we find in the Greek text. Literally, Jesus said to Jairus: “Stop fearing! Keep on believing!” Both verbs are in the present tense in a strong negative construction. Jesus knew that hearing their report had struck fear into Jairus’ heart, but the Lord urged him not to forsake the faith that had brought him to Jesus in the first place. Fear is the opposite of faith. The one condition of God’s working for us is that we trust Him.

·         This story reminds me a lot of the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11. Lazarus was Jesus’ dear friend. He knew that Lazarus was deathly sick, yet Jesus deliberately waited until after Lazarus had died to begin the journey from Galilee to Bethany. And He took His sweet time about getting there—4 days! Why? Because He knew exactly what He was going to do. He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead right in front of a multitude of mourners. And before He did it, He told Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” 

Verse 37: He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

·         Jesus dismissed the crowd and then picked only three of His 12 disciples to accompany Him to the home of Jairus. Why? I have wondered about that for a long time. Perhaps these three were the ones who were closest to Jesus. They were the same three who were at the Transfiguration. Perhaps Jesus knew that Jairus’ house would not accommodate the crowd. Perhaps He knew that there would already be a lot of people gathered there and did not want to add to the confusion. I do not know, and the Bible does not tell us.

Verses 38-40a: When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” ⁴⁰ But they laughed at Him.

·         As they approached Jairus’ house they came upon a group of people crying and wailing, mourning for this little girl who had just died. Matthew reports in 9:23 that the professional mourners had already arrived (“flute players”) and they were making a lot of noise. Jairus was a leader in the Jewish community and was apparently well-loved. The little group of five made their way into the house. There Jesus addressed the crowd that had gathered outside the bedroom where the body was resting.

·         “Why all this commotion and wailing?” Jesus said. “The child has not died but is asleep.” Their mouths must have all dropped to their chests! How could He say such a thing? Did He not know a dead body when He saw one? Remember, these people lived with death. They were used to seeing it. They knew a dead person when they saw one, and this girl was as dead as a proverbial doornail!

·         “But they laughed at Him.” This was not light-hearted humorous laughter, but rather the laughter of derision, scorn, and unbelief. They thought they knew better than Jesus. It was this false “knowledge” that blinded their eyes to the truth of what was taking place.

·         Some have taken Jesus’ words about the child not being dead but asleep to mean that she was not truly dead but was only in a coma of some sort. However, Luke 8:55 says, “...And her spirit returned...” making it clear that she had been dead. Christ’s reference to death as sleep was intended to suggest that the little girl’s condition was temporary, not permanent, and that she would awaken again. It is interesting that Jesus said the same thing about Lazarus in John 11:11, 14 and he had been dead for 4 days by the time Jesus showed up! He had even started to decompose and stink. Still, Jesus said, “He is asleep.”

·         Something I find interesting... the Early Church always described the believing dead as “asleep in Jesus” (cf. 1 Thess. 4:14). Because of that, for a long time the Greek-speaking Christians called their burial places, κοιμητήριον, “koimetérion” (sleeping place, dormitory, resting place) from the verb meaning “to sleep, to be laid to rest.” From Greek, this word was transliterated into Latin as “coemetérium” with the same meaning, a sleeping place. It is from this Latin word by way of Old French that we get our English word, “cemetery,” originally meaning a sleeping place for those who have died in Christ. On the other hand, the English word, “graveyard” merely indicates a place where holes were dug (i.e., graven in the ground). For unbelievers that is all they can look forward to—a hole in the ground.

·         We must remember that from the viewpoint of the Lord of the Universe, physical death is not that big of a deal. For us, death is the great enemy, the thing that eventually defeats every one of us, but for Jesus it posed no threat or difficulty.

Verses 40b-41: After He put them all out, He took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with Him and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say unto you, arise!”

·         “After He put them all out...” meaning the other relatives, friends, and professional mourners. The only ones He allowed to go in to witness this miracle were the girl’s parents and His three disciples. Everyone else was sent outside the house to wait.

·         Why did He do it this way? Maybe it was to cut down on the noise. Maybe it was to calm the situation. I think that it was also because He wanted to emphasize the result, not the means to the end. This was not about His technique of raising dead people. This was about the fact that He is Lord of life and is Sovereign God in the flesh. He could have performed this miracle in any number of different ways. He chose to do it merely by speaking to her and calling her spirit to return to her body. In the process, He healed whatever illness had caused her death in the first place. In an instant she was totally healed and restored.

·         By the way, Mark is the only one of the Gospel writers to give us Jesus’ exact words. The Lord took her by the hand and spoke to her in Aramaic, “Talitha, koum!” Those two gentle words simply mean, “Little girl, arise!” Mark inserts the words, “I say unto you,” giving us a sense of the force of Jesus’ command. This was not a prayer, but rather, a command from the Sovereign Lord of Heaven. Death had no choice but to give her up. 

Verse 42: Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

·         Notice the word, “Immediately...” It did not take any time at all. It happened so fast that I am sure the disciples and her parents were totally taken aback. Mark tells us, “...they were completely astonished.” Can you imagine the joy that those parents felt? Can you hear their voices lifted in praise to God? I can.

·         This is the second time that Jesus raised someone from the dead. The first one was the widow’s son in the village of Nain (cf. Luke 7:11-17). On that occasion all of Jesus’ disciples were there to witness what took place. 

Verse 43: He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this and told them to give her something to eat.

·         “He told them to give her something to eat.” Why did Jesus command that she be given food? Perhaps for two reasons:

1.       First, because He knew that she had been ill for a while and had probably been unable to eat. Now that she was healed, she would be ravenously hungry.

2.      Second, as further proof that she was indeed alive, back from the dead. Jesus used this same proof with His disciples after His own resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41-43).

·         “He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this.” Do you also find this to be a curious thing? How were they going to keep this wonderful miracle a secret? For one thing, Jairus’ house was surrounded by people waiting to hear the news, good or bad, one way or another. And certainly, when his little girl appeared, alive and happy and in perfect health, all the people were going to want to know exactly what had happened. How could Jesus possibly expect these grateful parents to obey this command to not tell anyone about this?

·         Some have said that He did not want the parents to go out talking about what had happened because He wanted to forestall a widespread furor that might precipitate a crisis situation before it was time for Him to go to the cross. Others have theorized that Jesus was using reverse psychology. By saying, “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this,” they say He was secretly prompting them to tell everyone. I do not think so because that would mean His commands are not to be followed but to be interpreted, looking for hidden meaning. I am sure He meant what He said, but they were weak and unable to keep their mouths shut.

·         Matthew reports what happened in 9:26, “And this news went out into all that land.” Apparently, these happy parents were unable to keep a secret! Good news always has a way of getting out! For example:

o   Matthew 9:31 after healing two blind men.

o   Mark 1:45 after healing a leper.

CONCLUSION:

I love this story because I can relate to it on so many levels. It cost Jairus to come to Jesus to ask for His help. We do not know the end of the story, but I imagine it cost him his position in the synagogue. We do not know what ever happened to the little girl either, but I imagine that for the rest of her life she told everyone she met the story of what Jesus had done for her.

After Lazarus was raised from the dead (cf. John 11) we know that he became a fearless witness for Christ, so much so that the Jewish leaders decided to kill him too, just to get him out of the way. John 12:9-11 says, “Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there [i.e., in Bethany at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus] and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹ for on account of him [i.e., Lazarus] many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him.” 

You may think that you do not have a dramatic story to tell. Jesus did not save you from a life of crime, or drugs, or prostitution, or violence. Maybe you came to faith in Jesus as a child at VBS, or in Sunday School, or kneeling at your mother’s bedside. What you need to understand is that you too were dead, and Jesus brought you to life. You were “dead in trespasses and sins” and Jesus raised you to newness of life and made you a new person. You were a lost lamb and Jesus came and found you. You were a child of the devil and Jesus saved you and made you a child of God and a joint heir with Christ. Do not ever sell your conversion short! It cost God just as much to save you as it did to raise and save Jairus’ daughter!