Mark 5:21-24a (NIV): 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. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him
Jairus was a good man. He was conscientious, devout, observant, and God-fearing. As the ruler of the synagogue at Capernaum, he was trusted with guarding and overseeing the use of the holy things. And he took that job very seriously.
Like many of the seriously devout people in Capernaum, Jairus wasn’t exactly sure what to do with Jesus. How in the world did you categorize someone like Him? He was a God-gifted teacher, that was obvious. But He also healed the sick and diseased, and cast out demons. Some even said that He could raise the dead! He was an amazing man. But was He a marvel-working prophet like Elijah? Was He THE prophet, the precursor of the Messiah? Or could He even be the Messiah Himself? Those questions had kept Jairus’ mind humming during many sleepless nights. Jairus had seen Jesus heal all kinds of diseases and cast out demons with a simple word or a touch. It had happened several times right in the synagogue! It was amazing, awe-inspiring!
On this day, Jairus still hadn’t decided how to categorize Jesus, but that really didn’t matter. For days his daughter’s health had been failing. She had continued to grow weaker with every hour that the fever had gripped her, and nothing had helped. This morning she was barely breathing, completely unresponsive. Jairus had quit praying for wisdom for the doctors. He had given up praying that THIS medicine would do the trick. The only thing he could pray for now was a miracle.
Then he heard that Jesus had just arrived back in town. Jesus! He could help! This was the answer to his prayers for a miracle!
He ran as fast as his legs could carry him down to the waterfront. The huge crowd showed him in an instant where Jesus was. As he got closer, he could hear that Jesus was in the middle of teaching, but he had to interrupt. His daughter was dying, had maybe died since he left the house. He shoved and elbowed his way through the crowd until he finally reached Jesus.
He fell at Jesus feet, not in worship, but to plead with Him on his daughter’s behalf. Gasping from the run, he cried out, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.”
Jesus looked deeply into his pleading eyes for a single beat, and then, with a nod of His head, He helped Jairus to his feet and started moving through the crowd with him. At that moment it no longer mattered to Jairus how Jesus should be categorized or classified. It no longer mattered how Jesus’ miracles fit into his theology. All that mattered was that He really was able to heal broken and sick bodies. He really was able, and willing, to heal His daughter It wasn’t in a title that Jairus was now placing his faith, but in what he knew that Jesus could do.
Father, sometimes many things become crystal clear, usually in times of great crisis. All of our arguing about Jesus, exactly what His nature was, exactly what mechanism He used to work salvation, the exact timing and nature of His return, really accomplish nothing to save and heal the lost and broken in our world. It is when we become absolutely consumed with the cold fact that someone we love is lost, doomed, without hope, that all of our “theologizing” falls by the wayside, and we are left with the most important thing: Jesus is the only one who can help. Jesus is the only one who can save. I have seen Jesus on many occasions turn a completely lost soul into a saint; turn a destroyed life around so that it becomes productive, rich, joyful. Father, when push comes to shove, when it is the very souls of our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers that are at stake, help us to not get caught up in our analysis of theological principles. Help us instead, like Jairus, to throw all of that aside, and merely fall at the feet of Jesus, plead with Him to act, to go with us as we go to them, to put His hand on the dying ones that we love, so that they might be saved. Amen.