Mark 5:21-24 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. 22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, 23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. 24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.

(The healing of the woman with an issue of blood)

Mark 5:35-43 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. 41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. 43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

This is the only miracle that Jesus performed in which the text is split and another miracle is performed in between the text of this miracle. And I prefer the text of Mark over Luke. If you read Luke’s account without reading the others, you’d think that Peter, James, and John laughed Jesus to scorn. But it wasn’t. It was the tumult that was there. Anyhow, this is what I got out of this today:

Brother Johnny Pope said at the camp the other day, “Jesus arrives seldom early, but never late.” Jairus no doubt had reason to be impatient, to be discouraged, and to just give up. Jairus came to Jesus and asked him to come and lay his hands on his sick daughter; for she was at the point of death. And Jesus agreed to go. But they were interrupted. There was a woman with an issue of blood that had touched the hem of Jesus garment. So he had to stop and deal with that first.

Now, he may have gotten upset because this woman was keeping Jesus from healing his daughter. His daughter was at the point of death and this woman had been sick for twelve years. Surely she could wait just a few hours while Jesus helps someone that was about to die. Surely his daughter’s case was more urgent and important than this woman’s. He could have grown angry and impatient.

They’re on their way to save a life, but Jesus stops. And as the minutes went by, Jairus feared that this little delay was enough to allow death to take his daughter. And sure enough, here comes someone from his house with the bad news. Thy daughter is dead. I can see him look over at this woman that got healed and then close his eyes and hang his head in disappointment and discouragement. I’m guess I’m too late. You got your issue dealt with, but now my daughter is dead. And that certain person from Jairus’s house advised Why troublest thou the Master any further? That’s the discouraging devil that lives in your house that is talking. Just give up. He didn’t answer your prayer. It must not be God’s will. Quit troubling God over the matter.

But the bible says that As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he said to Jairus Be not afraid, only believe. There’s a little voice that will speak to us after the devil says his peace, if we would just listen. Be not afraid, only believe. So I wonder at this point what questions were going through Jairus’ head. Did he think that Jesus was going to raise the dead? Or did he think the messenger was wrong? Or did he think that Jesus was just giving him advise to handle the death of his daughter. In Luke’s account, Jesus says (Luke 8:50) Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. I don’t think we can say for sure that Jairus knew that Jesus would raise the dead. But what we can say is that he did go on with Jesus. Through discouragement and confusion, he went on.

And then they come to the house and everybody is weeping and wailing greatly. Okay, the messenger is right. She is surely dead. It’s for certain now. I know for sure. My daughter is dead. And as reality begins to set in, Jesus says Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. Now I see Jairus shaking his head as everybody begins to laugh Jesus to scorn. This is not going the way I thought. What is this man talking about? My daughter’s death is turned into a joke. Just go away. Just leave me alone. 

But nope, look what he does. (Mark 5:40) He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. (Luke 8:51) And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. I’ll tell you what I see there. I see the church. Mom and dad, this is where you will find help from God for your child: Jesus disciples and Jesus in the midst of them. That’s the church. The bible says (Ephesians 3:20-21) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. He is able to do it. But he is in the church. You say Where’s the church? It’s that group of people that everybody is laughing to scorn. (1 Timothy 4:10) For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. 

He goes on. He gets through disappointment. He gets through confusion. Now he has to walk through ridicule and reproach. By going in there, he was (Hebrews 11:25) Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God… There is really no indication that Jairus understand or knew what was about to happen. When Jesus calls that damsel to arise and she arises, the bible says (Mark 5:42) And they were astonished with a great astonishment. It pays to wait on Jesus. It pays to not give up. It pays to give him the benefit of the doubt and just go with him. Amen?

But then there’s a lesson there also for the church. The church was there in Jairus’ house, not their own house. (Acts 5:42) And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. The house of God is not a building. The house of God is the assembly of God’s people.

(Ephesians 2:19-22) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

And where God’s people assemble, God is in the midst of them. The tabernacle in the Old Testament went with God’s people. It’s better said the other way around: Wherever the tabernacle went, God’s people were sure to go. We hear alot of messages about walking with God. (Genesis 5:24) And Enoch walked with God. (Genesis 6:9) Noah walked with God. There’s going to be disappointment, confusion, and ridicule. But we musn’t forget (Matthew 11:5) The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Jesus is going to be about the Father’s business, no doubt. The timing, and our understanding, and the circumstances make things difficult for us sometimes, but we stay with him. We’re not troubling God. We’re trusting God. We go with God and we stay with him.