Text: Mark 5:21-24, 35-43
Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, He performed various miracles to demonstrate His divine power. The miracle we are discussing here was Jesus raising a young girl from the dead. As we study this miracle, as with every Bible passage, it is important to understand the context. This miracle teaches us certain things about Jesus and provides an important lesson for us.
Context
- In the last miracle we discussed, Jesus healed a demon-possessed man and cast the demons into the swine – in response, the people of that town begged Him to leave (Mark 5:17); this is where Jesus came next; He had a much better reception here (Mark 5:21)
- There was also another miracle that occurred in the middle of this account (Mark 5:25-34) – Jesus was on His way to help this man’s daughter when He healed another woman; interestingly Jesus did not “know” what happened, at least not obviously; He did not need the perfect conditions, intense focus, or a grand production, only the power of God
- This man was one of the “synagogue officials” (Mark 5:22) – synagogues were official assemblies of the Jews for prayer, Scripture reading, and teaching; many leading Jews rejected Jesus; synagogues would later be places of persecution against the church (Acts 26:11)
- The mourners were gathered at this man’s house (Mark 5:38) – this referred to a cultural custom; they would hire “professional mourners to lamentation” (Amos 5:16); family and others were here
The Miracle
- Jairus invited Jesus to heal his daughter (Mark 5:23) – before he could return with Jesus, she died (Mark 5:35); it seemed like he was too late; Jesus told him not to be afraid, but to believe (Mark 5:36); the implication is that if Jesus can restore someone’s physical health, He can restore their physical life
- Jesus only allowed a few people to accompany Him (Mark 5:37, 40) – Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents; the apostles were there because they would serve as witnesses (cf. Acts 1:8; 1 John 1:3); the girl’s parents were there because this was their daughter; Jesus did not make a big show of this
- When Jesus entered the house, He was met with laughter (Mark 5:38-40) – this word means to deride or laugh to scorn (Strong’s); they were mocking Jesus; they may have been reacting defensively, but they reacted with arrogance and not with hope
- When they came to the child’s room, Jesus spoke to her and told her to get up (Mark 5:41) – she had died, so her spirit was no longer there (James 2:26); she was in Hades, the unseen realm of the dead (cf. Luke 16:22-23), yet Jesus was able to speak with her; this shows His power/authority over the spiritual realm even while in the flesh (cf. Colossians 2:9); she immediately got up and began to walk (Mark 5:42); her spirit was called back to her body and there was no delay
The Lesson
- Throughout this account, Jesus did the unexpected – He healed a woman without “knowing” that He was healing her (Mark 5:27-31); He continued on to see Jairus’ daughter even after it was “too late” (Mark 5:35-36); His assessment of her condition (and, by implication, His ability to help) was ridiculed (Mark 5:39-40); He did not “do” anything but speak the word and her spirit was restored to her body (Mark 5:41-42)
- The lesson is that the Lord is not bound by human expectations (Ephesians 3:20-21) – one may recover from sickness without any medical or scientific explanation; the Lord can heal anyone spiritually even if we consider someone (or even ourselves) beyond hope (1 Timothy 1:15); we must not reject His assessment that one is “asleep” (able to be saved) and not “dead” (beyond hope); but one must respond to His words to have life (John 6:68; Hebrews 5:9)
Conclusion
- Jesus proved that He could do what others would never have expected – we cannot impose limits on Him; instead, we simply need to believe and obey Him
- He can save anyone – but we must answer His call and the invitation offered in His word
