Chapter # 5 Paragraph # 2 Study # 12
May 11, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(226)
1901 ASV
35 While he yet spake, they come from the ruler of the synagogue's [house] saying, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Teacher any further?
36 But Jesus, not heeding the word spoken, saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Fear not, only believe.
37 And he suffered no man to follow with him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
38 And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he beholdeth a tumult, and [many] weeping and wailing greatly.
39 And when he was entered in, he saith unto them, Why make ye a tumult, and weep? the child is not dead, but sleepeth.
40 And they laughed him to scorn. But he, having put them all forth, taketh the father of the child and her mother and them that were with him, and goeth in where the child was.
41 And taking the child by the hand, he saith unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise.
42 And straightway the damsel rose up, and walked; for she was twelve years old. And they were amazed straightway with a great amazement.
43 And he charged them much that no man should know this: and he commanded that [something] should be given her to eat.
- I. Mark's Return To The Record Of Jairus.
- A. While Jesus' words to the woman are being spoken, "...they are coming...".
- 1. These present tense verbs are deliberate in Mark's intention to keep the connection between the records.
- 2. It is a mistake of large measure to divorce the records because the issue is "God's nonnegotiable": Faith.
- 3. The woman's Word-rooted "faith" in the face of her trembling fear is a critical record of what God requires: a person's "faith" in Him. It is not the degree of emotional stability in the person of "faith" that is critical because it is not the actions of any man that resolve the problems that "faith" faces; "faith" assumes the activity of God for solutions. The crucial issue of the woman is that she "believed" and, thus, was "driven by faith" to seek to brush her hand against Jesus' garment. "Faith" moves its possessor to "commensurate behavior" with no regard for the condition of the "soul" in its great weaknesses and fears. To be sure, "great faith" is to be desired because of the beneficial impact "faith" does have upon the soul over time: "great faith" gives "great emotional stability", and that is a great "plus" for the believer even though it does not move God to "greater works". God responds to "faith". He is not swayed by the timidity of the "soul" to forsake His "promise". The "believer's" experience out of "faith" is "commensurate action" and a "comfort for a trembling soul" which, over time, becomes a "soul of confident expectation and peace of mind".
- 4. Jairus' "faith" was, initially, in Jesus as "Healing Savior", but his "faith" is now confronted by a new, and large, obstacle: at the very time he is hearing Jesus' words to the woman and wishing He would "hurry up", the "bad" news is arriving.
- a. According to 5:23, Jairus was "beseeching Him much". He could not have been "happy" that Jesus chose to stop along the way to deal with the "rejected woman". The situation, from his point of view, is dire: his daughter is "having her last"; she is on the very verge of death.
- b. His "worry" is made legitimate in his own eyes by the "coming" of the bearers of the news that his daughter has died, and their "perspective" (that it is too late for "The Teacher" to do anything) is shared by them with him.
- 1) "The Teacher" was a descriptive title applied to Jesus for the first time in 4:38.
- a) In that verse, the setting is that of the threat of a great storm with the potential of death having come very near.
- b) At the end of that event, the disciples are "afraid", "faithless", "very much afraid" and "ignorant" of Jesus' identity.
- c) But, the preceding setting was that of Jesus teaching the words of the parables: He was, by that, "The Teacher". But, of what use is it to call Jesus "Teacher" if His "teaching" is to be ignored (Luke 6:46)? Deuteronomy 32:47 raises this very issue: "It is not an idle word for you; indeed, it is your life".
- 2) This descriptive title is applied to Jesus by Mark in 12 places in his record. Only two of them are set in a "positive" setting; the other uses are self-contradictory. The people call Him "Teacher" but ignore His words (and actions) in respect to living day by day.
- 3) The major significance of the title in use by men is that "Teacher" means "impressive words without meaning", especially if the "problem" is significant. Look to Jesus for impressive words, but don't expect any really powerful help from Him. Paul's words in 2 Timothy 3:5 actually indicate that this "problem" is going to grow until, in the last days, it will be pervasive.
- 5. Mark does not use the name, "Jairus", at this point, but goes back to his "title": ruler of the synagogue. His "point" may well be the same as it was in the beginning of this record: the man had been a proud opponent of Jesus. Now his daughter is dead. But Jesus is not put off by either "obstacle", having overcome the first by overseeing the desperate physical condition of the "beloved little daughter", and overcoming the latter by speaking the words of encouragement, "keep on believing".
- B. Jesus tells "the ruler of the synagogue" to abstain from fear and to "keep on believing". The strong implication is that Jairus had, earlier, "believed" (the Message and its implications) and was now being "stretched" to push the boundaries of the issue in repentance that expects God to "meet the need". At issue is this: repentance is to bring healing to the relationship of a man to God through forgiveness, and to put the man into a "condition" of "faith" so that the "expected deliverance" in the face of the need is in harmony with the "covenant" that is in place at the time of the "faith". In this case, a physical life of health is an elemental aspect of the "covenant of God with the people".
- C. Then Jesus restricts the number of those to be allowed to accompany Him into the house and, according to 5:40, He allows Peter, James, and John to witness His restoration of the "daughter" to life.