Mark 5:21-4321And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. 22And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, 23And 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. 24And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. 25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. 35While 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? 36As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. 37And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 38And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 39And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. 40And 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. 41And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 42And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. 43And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. (Mark 5:21‑43)
AT THE REQUEST of the people, Jesus leaves the coast of Decapolis and returns to Capernaum, where He is gladly received. It is nice to learn that there were many attracted to the Lord, but we learn from His own sayings and the report of the gospel writers that much of this was an outward attraction, because people loved to see the miracles and hear His words of wisdom. Belief in the heart was yet another thing, and it is not usually in the response of large crowds but in the story of individuals that we turn to find a genuine response to the Lord and His saving power.
Many years have gone by since this scripture was written, but the pattern is yet the same. It is quite common today to see large crowds turning out to hear the gospel preached — at least where the speaker is popular — but when a faithful word strikes the conscience it is only the individual here and there in the crowd who humbly accepts the words of truth, to the acknowledging of his sins and confession of Christ as his personal Saviour.
Perhaps it is timely to ask yourself: “What has attracted me to the company of those listening to the Word?” Or what has urged me to read a paper such as this—or to scan the Holy Bible?” May it be more than idle curiosity or enjoyment of the company of happy Christian people; or if it be this that has brought the truth before you, then weigh well God’s message to you, whatever your heart’s need may be!
“And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 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.” “And a certain woman, whit had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians... came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole.”
The individual faith of both these people is most refreshing. Happy we are to see the good results — the daughter, though dead, being restored to life; and the older woman being immediately healed. We think how extremely different these two people were: the man is bold—the woman timid. One comes openly—the other in secret. But faith motivated them both and to this the blessed Saviour fully responded. There is a delight too in thinking about Jairus — the loving parent—so concerned about his daughter. Well it would be if more parents were concerned about their daughters and sons being “dead in trespasses and sins,” and earnestly brought their needs to the Lord. Many loving parents spare no cost or effort to give their children every benefit in this world, but carelessly overlook or ignore the most serious of all needs — the child’s salvation. The story of Jairus who earnestly bought Jesus about his child and was rewarded for his faith, is a happy example that all parents would do well to follow.
The enemy saw to it that there was opposition to both these people. The crowd stood in the way of the woman and added to her timidity. The faith of Jairus might well have been shattered when he learned that his daughter had died before Jesus reached his home. There is no one who has ever sought the Lord that has not had something put in the way by Satan to discourage the act of faith, but the Lord knows our hearts and will ever answer the faith of every true seeker.
ML-07/21/1963