Keep the Faith

Mark 5:21-43, “Keep the Faith”

Faith can be a funny thing.  Some people treat faith as a tool to try to get whatever it is that they want.  Other people treat faith as a crutch – something that only those who are weak would use.  For others, faith is nebulous & they’re not really sure what it means or what it looks like.

The Bible is full of stories of faith…both for the good and for the bad.  There are some who have immense faith in God, and some who have none.  There are even some who experience both sides of the spectrum!  When Moses was first called by God, Moses had zero faith that he could be used at all.  After all, he was a man with a debilitating stutter who had run from Egypt with barely his life after committing murder.  Yet before he knew it, he had the faith to act upon the command of God & see the massive Red Sea part ways.  Elijah was a man who could call fire down from heaven one moment, and then run for his life the next.  Ultimately, both of those men finished in faith (though not without their struggles), but not everyone did.  Some seemed to start in faith, but finish without it, such as King Saul.  But God calls us to have faith, and to keep the faith.  Our walk with God starts by believing in Jesus, and we are to continue believing in Jesus.  Keep the faith!

Mark gives us an example of this as two seemingly unrelated people have their journeys of faith intertwine with each other.  One is a man desperately seeking help for his daughter.  Another is a woman desperately seeking help for herself.  Each need the salvation and healing of the Lord Jesus, and both have to have faith in order to receive it.  Would their faith be strong enough to face the public?  Would it be strong enough to stay firm in hopelessness?  That’s the kind of faith Jesus calls us to…and that is the faith in which He delights!

Mark 5:21–43
21 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.

1. Sets up the context for us – according to Mark’s chronology, there has been a lot of traveling by boat!  First Jesus set out from teaching alongside the sea of Galilee (likely Capernaum), and calmed a storm…  Got to the region of the Gadarenes & cast a demon legion out of a Gentile man…  Now sailed back to the area from whence He came, and got back to doing what He had always done.
2. It seems that Jesus had started teaching again (Mt 9:18), and that’s what the “great multitude” gathered around Jesus for.  He often taught & healed people, and the crowds could not stay away from this Teacher obviously come from God.

22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”

1. Among the crowd was one particular man of influence: one of the rulers of the local synagogue.  He wasn’t necessarily a rabbi, but no doubt someone of importance, with the responsibility of getting the administrative duties of the synagogue done.  Probably can be thought of a kind of administrative pastor.  Keep in mind that the Jewish authorities had already placed themselves in opposition to Jesus.  For Jairus to come publicly as a synagogue leader and seek out the help of Jesus is a BIG deal.  He would be endangering his own position & even his ability to participate in any activity at the synagogue.
2. Yet Jairus had no other choice.  He was in a desperate situation.  He loved his little girl far more than anything he might have at the synagogue.  She was worth putting his reputation on the line.  For her, this was a life-and-death situation.  The Greek wording actually implies that she was at the “finality – the extreme end.”  Jairus knew that his daughter could take her last breath at any moment, and there was no time to wait.  There was no time to negotiate, or try to convince the local Pharisees & scribes that this was the right thing to do.  None of that mattered.  His dearest daughter was about to die, and she needed the help of Jesus.
3. When Jairus comes, he comes in humility.  Jairus “fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly…”  Jairus may have been one of the leaders of the synagogue, but he didn’t come pushing his weight around.  He didn’t come with any expectation that he deserved the mercy of Jesus.  He didn’t attempt to bribe Jesus with any favors or money (no doubt he was financially well-off).  He came in utter humility, willingly debasing himself in the eyes of the people for the sole reason of coming to Jesus.
1. Without approaching Jesus in humility, we will never understand His mercy and grace.  Many people understand their need for eternal life, but they are unwilling to humble themselves to ask for the forgiveness of God that is needed to receive it.
4. More importantly, when Jairus comes, he comes in faith.  There is no question in his mind that if Jesus acts, that his daughter will be healed.  There are 4 basic parts to Jairus’ statement: (1) He describes his daughter’s desperate situation, (2) he requests that Jesus come & lay hands on her, (3) he believed the laying on of hands was necessary for her to be healed, (4) if Jesus did all of that, his daughter would live.  Notice the certainty of that last part.  There was a question of whether or not Jesus would come & lay His hands on her – and thus whether or not she would be healed.  But there was no question whatsoever that if Jesus DID heal her, she WOULD live.  Jairus had certain faith in the results of Jesus’ actions, if Jesus decided to act.
1. Faith is sometimes made out to be a “maybe” or a “hopefully” or “possibly.”  That’s not the Biblical idea of faith.  Faith is “certainty” – it’s “assurance.”  Faith is knowing the result before the result is ever experienced.  As the author of Hebrews wrote, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)  When someone has faith, it’s not a guess – it’s not a blind reaching out in the dark wishing that something might be true.  Faith is knowing that it is true, so much so that you’re willing to base your life upon it.
2. Faith is important to the Christian…it’s essential.  If we do not come God in faith, we cannot come at all.  Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." []

24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

1. Don’t miss that word “thronged.” (Great word! J)  NASB “pressing in on Him” – the whole idea is that people had so crowded themselves around Jesus that it was difficult for Him and the disciples to even move.  It’s one thing to read about; it would be quite different to have actually experienced it.  We can almost imagine the people pressing into Jesus, trying to reach past the disciples simply to touch the Master.  All of them had needs – there was hardly a time listed in the Scripture where people didn’t crowd around Jesus looking for healings or other miracles.  This time was no different.  Jesus may have been on His way with Jairus, but that wouldn’t have stopped the crowds from surging forward trying to get to Jesus.  This was chaotic, probably not yet a riot, but it wouldn’t have taken much to get one started.

25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

1. In the midst of the crowd was this one woman.  She remains anonymous in the gospel accounts, and had apparently desired to remain anonymous even with Jesus.  No one would have taken notice of this woman, though all would have desired to stay out of her reach.  What her illness was is unknown exactly, but what we do know is that she had been hemorrhaging blood for 12 years.  Today, a woman with an abnormal flow of blood would see her OB/GYN, and hopefully have her issue resolved in days.  2000 years ago, this woman had no such recourse.  She had suffered immensely – and her suffering wasn’t only physical.  Any person who emitted some sort of bodily fluid was considered unclean, including ladies on their monthly cycles.  The problem with this one particular woman is that her flow of blood never ended.  She remained in a state of perpetual uncleanness for years…TWELVE years.  She was effectively cut off from her husband (if she had one), and from all of her family and friends.  She could not offer sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem, nor could she even touch another person without polluting them with her uncleanness. 
2. And nothing she did worked.  She had gone to “many physicians” and “spent all that she had,” and no matter how much money she threw at the problem, it was all to no avail.  The doctors had been useless, and now she was penniless and alone.  Her life would have been utterly miserable, with no hope of change.
3. In that respect, she shared some things in common with the demoniac in the Gadarenes.  He was also a man alone & hopeless – entrapped to his affliction, with no possibility of change.  Human efforts had been useless in dealing with his demons, just as human efforts were useless in dealing with her disease.  Both had been hopeless, and each faced a lifetime of misery.  The one advantage held by the woman is that she retained her sanity – but faced with this kind of hopelessness, who knew for how long?
1. Have you ever felt hopeless?  Does it feel like whatever your problem is, nothing you try ever seems to work?  People with chronic illnesses and pain often deal with that kind of heartache, and there is a very real possibility that healing might never come.  Other people suffer with emotional weights or sicknesses that never seem to get better.  The phrase “time heals all wounds” is true for some, but not for all.  For some people, there are wounds that remain just as emotionally painful years later as they did the moment they were first received.  And they wonder, “why don’t I ever get better?”  That can leave someone pretty hopeless.
2. What can hopeless people do?  The same thing as the demoniac & this particular woman: remember that there is a loving God who lives and has walked among us.  Where human efforts fail, Jesus never does.  His healing may be different than we expect, but His power to save is not in vain!

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

1. Like Jairus, this woman also had faith!  As soon as she heard that Jesus was around, she knew that He could heal her.  Where the doctors had failed, Jesus could succeed – and she wouldn’t even have to bother Jesus or get His attention to be able to do it.  Just being near Jesus was enough.  She didn’t have to take His time to have Him lay hands on her – if she simply touched His clothes, surely that would be sufficient to save her.
2. Question: was there anything special about Jesus’ clothes?  Did His tunic absorb some of His healing power, kind of like a sponge?  Of course not.  The soldiers who gambled for Jesus’ clothes did not receive any healing – there was nothing special about His garments at all.  It would be a waste of time to look for Jesus’ clothes (or any supposed “relics”) in order to try to experience some miracle through some object.  OK – so why would she want to touch His clothes?  Perhaps she was operating under some mistaken notion or superstition – we’re not told of any reason she would reach for His clothes.  Some have conjectured that perhaps the woman was trying to symbolically put herself under Jesus’ protection (as Ruth did with Boaz) when she touched the border of His garment (Lk 8:44) – but it’s unlikely the woman had that kind of theological gymnastics in mind.  She was in a desperate situation, and all she knew is that Jesus could help her.  What she didn’t know is if Jesus would help her.  Remember that she was ceremonially unclean.  To ask Jesus to touch her would have been asking Him to defile Himself, and although Jesus could never be defiled, it’s unlikely she knew that.  She neither wanted to call attention to herself nor give Jesus a reason to say “no” to her situation.  She knew Jesus could heal, so she just reached for the one point of contact she thought she could have with Jesus: His clothes.
1. Praise God that we do not need Ph.D.’s in theology in order to be saved!  This woman’s theology was not great, but it didn’t matter.  She had faith that Jesus could save, so she reached out to Jesus…and that was enough.  When she said “I shall be made well,” she (like Jairus) used a word that refers just as much to spiritual salvation as it does physical healing.  If she experienced Jesus’ power, that was enough to save her.
2. There was one condition: she had to reach out to Jesus.  She had faith that Jesus would save her, but she knew she needed to utilize her faith.  It’s one thing to know the truth about Jesus; it’s another to act upon it.  In fact, we could argue that it’s not really faith until one acts upon it.  Otherwise, it’s just fact.  CAN Jesus save anyone?  Yes.  DOES Jesus save everyone?  No…He only saves those who respond to His invitation and call.  People can sit in church week after week and know the facts about Jesus without ever moving forward in faith.  This woman moved forward in faith.

29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

1. The result of touching Jesus’ clothes?  She was healed!  For 12 years, the blood had hemorrhaged out of her, but in an instant, her body was normal again.  Amazing!  Complete instantaneous healing.  She knew it…and so did Jesus.

30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

1. Jesus did not initially see the woman touch Him, but He was not blind to the situation.  What He experienced is not completely described to us, but somehow He knew that “power had gone out of Him.” (“Power” is a better translation than the KJV “virtue”.  Dunamis = ability – enabling – power.)  Something had happened at the moment that was miraculous, and Jesus knew it.
2. Take note of Jesus’ question.  As seen with the demoniac, it’s always worth noticing the times that Jesus asks questions.  After all, as God the Son, Jesus doesn’t need information.  Jesus at all times is omniscient, by virtue of the fact that He is God.  In His humanity, Jesus willingly restrained Himself from using His power – and although it’s possible He did that here, it’s unlikely.  The Scripture shows Jesus using His omniscience often, and if we need to assume anything, it’s better to assume that Jesus DOES know something rather than not.  Of course all of that begs the question: if Jesus knew who touched Him & why she did it, why would Jesus ask the question at all?  After all, He would have known her shame at her disease, and her desire to keep quiet about it all.  Why would Jesus want the woman to expose herself in her healing?  Simple: she needed the opportunity to express her faith. 
3. Faith in Jesus is always going to be public.  That’s not to say that we need to walk around town with a sign over our head declaring us to be a born-again believer – but someone who has true faith in Christ cannot hide it.  After all, we’ve been fundamentally changed.  We’ve one from death to life – we serve the Living Lord God – we have become the aroma of life leading unto life & death unto death (2 Cor 2:16).  We are the light of the world & the salt of the earth.  What Jesus does in us cannot be hidden.  To attempt to hide it goes directly against His very purpose for us as His people: to help other people know the glory of God through Jesus Christ.  When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He told the disciples to go disciple the nations, teaching them to observe all the things Jesus had said, and to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19-20).  THAT is our purpose as disciples, and that (by definition) is public!  Just the act of baptism itself is public…it is a declaration to the rest of the Church (and all the world) that you have been saved by the Lord Jesus.  Our faith in Christ cannot remain willfully hidden – it goes against everything that Jesus has in store for us.
1. Christians who try to hide their faith end up miserable.  [Personal experience!]  Don’t do it!  Let your light shine before all men that they may see your good works & glorify your Father in heaven (Mt 5:16).  Do not be ashamed of Jesus in this life, and we know He won’t be ashamed of us in eternity (Lk 9:26).

31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

1. From the disciples’ point of view, it was an honest question.  Remember that all the people in the crowd are pushing in on Jesus, with everyone trying to get Him.  Surely there were hands reaching in to touch Jesus at that very moment.  If the disciples hadn’t been there to help control the multitude, Jesus may not have been able to walk with Jairus at all.  With all those hands touching Him, why would Jesus ask “Who touched Me?”  Everybody was touching Jesus – probably even the disciples! 
2. Yet a touch is not always a touch.  There was a difference between the people pressing in upon Jesus, and the woman who reached out in faith.  Many people can be around Jesus without being impacted in the slightest.  There aren’t any other accounts of anyone else healed at that time by Jesus, despite the massive amounts of people touching Him.  There are men and women in churches every Sunday who get around Jesus, even press in upon Him as they are around the people of God & the gospel of grace.  But they never personally reach out in faith.  They might touch the things of God, but they never touch the Son of God Himself. 
1. Reach for Jesus!

32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

1. Jesus is looking around at the crowd, and although the text doesn’t say, it’s easy to imagine Jesus eventually resting His gaze upon the woman – looking at her intensely until she confesses what she had done.  He knew & she knew, and finally she breaks down with “the whole truth.”
2. Why did she fear?  Perhaps she was embarrassed by her condition in the midst of the crowd.  Perhaps she thought that Jesus would be angry that she reached out to Him without permission.  Perhaps she even thought that Jesus might take back the healing.  Perhaps she simply feared speaking one-on-one to Someone so holy.  We don’t know why she feared, but she did.  What she needed was assurance, and Jesus gave it to her.

34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

1. Such loving words from our Savior!  He calls her “Daughter,” not because of any blood kinship, but out of compassion.  In earthly terms, Jesus was in His early 30’s, and she may have been much older.  After all, she had been hemorrhaging for 12 years – not usually a disease we’d associate with someone who is young.  But daughters aren’t turned away from good gifts, and neither was she.  God the Son had every right to call her Daughter, for so she had been made a daughter of God
2. Remember that she thought that she could be saved if she touched Jesus – that is exactly what Jesus assures her of.  Jesus’ statement could be translated, “Daughter, the faith of yours has saved you.  Go into peace, and be sound/healthy from your suffering.”  She had been freed/delivered from her disease, and she experienced the salvation that can only be given by Jesus.  Question: was it salvation in a spiritual sense, or healing in a physical sense?  Yes. J  The immediate context is for a healing, but there are other words Mark may have used to describe a healing.  What this woman experienced from Jesus was far more than physical – she had encountered the Living God through faith & she was eternally changed.
3. Jesus makes everything public at this point.  There’s no hiding the fact that she had been sick, or that she had reached out in faith to Jesus to be healed.  What she had sought to remain private was brought out into public by Jesus.  Was this cruel of Jesus?  Did He seek to embarrass her?  No.  (1) True faith in Jesus is public, by necessity. (As we’ve seen.) (2) The assurance she needed required a public statement.  She need not fear that the healing would be taken from her – Jesus assured her of that.  She need not fear that her faith was not enough – Jesus assured her of that.  She need not fear that she imagined the feelings in her body that she had indeed be healed – Jesus confirmed it.  All the assurance of the salvation that she required was found in Christ.
1. What was true with the woman is true with us.  Our assurance of salvation is found in our Lord Jesus!  It cannot be found anywhere else.  Some people question whether or not they are saved, and they pray “the prayer” at every single outreach and event, just to be sure…only their assurance never comes.  But salvation isn’t found in the specific wording of a prayer; it’s found in Jesus.  Some people look to rituals and other religious-looking activity to confirm their faith.  If they only go to church enough, or have the “right” radio stations programmed in on their car, or have other external Christian stuff like beads or jewelry, then they could know that they’re saved.  And again, there is never assurance there because it can’t ever bring it.  How does someone know that they are saved?  By knowing that Jesus knows them as His own.  Paul wrote to the Corinthians to test themselves to see if they were in the faith (2 Cor 13:5).  John wrote of the transformation that takes place in a person’s life after becoming a believer, concluding his letter that we could absolutely know that we have eternal life as we continue to believe in the name of the Son of God (1 Jn 5:13).  Our assurance isn’t found in stuff or anything that mankind can do or provide; it can only be found in the Person of the Lord Jesus. 
2. And He graciously gives it!  When He proclaims someone to be saved, they are saved indeed!  At that point, as with the woman, we can “go into peace,” confidently yet humbly walking with the God who loves us and has saved us.
4. What was it that saved her?  Her “faith.”  Not Jesus’ clothes, but her faith that Jesus had the ability (power/dunamis) to save/heal.  If she did not believe that Jesus had the power to save her, she would not be saved.  Her lack of faith wouldn’t take away from Jesus’ power (that remains constant because He is God whether or not we believe it), but if she had no faith she would not have received of Jesus’ power.  That’s the way it is with everyone.  Jesus has the power/ability to save every single man & woman on the planet.  Yet not everyone puts their faith in Jesus, thus not everyone in saved.  Without faith it is impossible to please God, thus without faith someone cannot be saved at all.
1. Some might argue: “Doesn’t that make faith a work?  If a person has to express faith, doesn’t that mean they are doing something to save themselves?” Not at all!  Does the drowning man work to save himself when he grabs the hand of the lifeguard who has reached out to him?  No…he simply responds to the one who has done all of the work already.  Faith is the response to the work and person of Jesus.
5. Question: if the faith of the woman was good enough to save her, was the power in herself to heal?  No.  There are many people who think (and teach) that if we just want something bad enough, all we need to do is have faith that we will receive it, and we will.  They think that we can just “wish” something into existence through the power of our faith.  That’s not at all what Jesus describes here.  No doubt this woman wanted to be healed for 12 years.  At no time during those 12 years could she wish herself into actually being healed.  Faith (by definition) needs an object.  Faith isn’t just good feelings, and faith in ourselves doesn’t do anything.  We need faith in something that is effective.  Jesus is effective.  The woman’s faith saved her because the woman’s faith was in Jesus.  That made all the difference.

35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

1. If you’ve ever waited for an ambulance to arrive in an emergency, you can probably relate to the emotions of Jairus as he watched the whole event with the woman play out.  He had come to Jesus on the verge of panic, knowing that his precious daughter could take her last breath at any moment.  As much as Jairus was appealing to Jesus’ compassion, Jairus didn’t have time for Jesus to show compassion to anyone else.  Jairus would probably not denied anyone the opportunity to have Jesus minister to him/her, but surely others could wait while Jesus saved the life of his little girl.  All Jairus wanted to do was to keep moving…just get to his daughter.  Every minute lost was a minute wasted, and time kept ticking.  And then he saw the messengers.  It was over, and all was lost.  There was no hope for a last minute healing, and he may as well go home.  No doubt Jairus was crushed – emotionally in shock, unable to think or react.
2. But that’s when Jesus spoke hope to him.  Jesus had overheard the message, and He let Jairus know that He wasn’t done working yet. “Do not be afraid; only believe.”  Believe?!  Believe what?  His daughter was dead – what was he supposed to believe in?  The same Person he had been believing in all along.  Another way to translate Jesus’ statement would be, “Do not be afraid, only keep believing.”  The tense Jesus used indicates continual action.  He’s telling Jairus, “Don’t give up believing – keep on believing with the same faith in which you initially came.”  Although he was surely distracted, Jairus had just witnessed with his own eyes the importance of faith in Jesus, and what it could do.  Of all times, this was not the time to give up that faith!  Now was more important than ever to have continual, abiding faith in Jesus.  What would be the result, Jairus dared not hope – but if God the Son says to keep believing, then he would keep believing.
1. Our walk with Jesus starts in faith, continues in faith, and will always continue in faith.

37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”

1. Prior to this point, there had been a huge crowd following Jesus, pressing in around Him – but at this point, He puts them out.  The miracle with the woman had been proclaimed publicly, though she sought it out in private.  This miracle was sought out in public, but would be performed privately.  In any case, restraining the crowd allowed Jesus to move quickly, and He just took the three disciples who formed His inner circle of friends with Him.
2. BTW – if Jesus could have restrained the crowd at any time, why didn’t He do it earlier when Jairus first came to Him?  Without the crowd, the woman would never have come.  She needed the anonymity of the crowd to reach out to Jesus in faith.  Once she was saved, the crowd was no longer necessary.  Jesus knows exactly what we need as He reaches out to us in His love!
3. When Jesus arrived at the house, another crowd was waiting.  This time, it was the mourners.  Culturally, it was expected that families hire mourners to play flutes and cry loudly when a loved one died.  As one of the rulers of the synagogue, surely Jairus had the means to hire many mourners, and they were already going about their duties.  Apparently, they were almost as rowdy as the initial crowd back at the dock because there was a “tumult” as Jesus and the 3 disciples approached.  This was not sincere grieving; this was ostentatious behavior, and Jesus calls them out on it by calling it “commotion.”
4. Question: was Jesus lying when He said “The child is not dead, but sleeping”?  After all, the people were not ignorant – they knew when someone had died.  Matthew’s account of this whole event is much more brief, and shortens it to the point that Jairus approached Jesus saying that his daughter was already dead (Mt 9:18), and Luke writes that the people knew she was dead, and that it was when Jesus called her that her spirit returned to her (Lk 8:53, 55).  There’s no question that the Bible shows the girl to have died.  So was Jesus being dishonest by saying otherwise?  No – Jesus simply had a different perspective.  The Bible often refers to death as “sleep,” and this girl would experience death for so short a time that it would be no different for her than taking a brief nap.  As with Lazarus, her sickness would not end with death (Jn 11:4), though both of them surely did die.  Death was not the final outcome…it never is when Jesus is involved.  John 11:25–26, "(25) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. (26) And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”" []

40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.

1. To write that the mourners “ridiculed” Jesus is an understatement of the Greek.  They laughed at Him.  (Which underscored the insincerity of their mourning – they go from mourning to mockery in a New York minute.)  The crowd obviously had no faith.  If they knew who Jesus was at all, they believed Him to be ignorant or foolish.  They certainly were not looking in hope to any power that Jesus might have to bring hope into a hopeless situation.  They were useless, so Jesus “put them all outside.”  They would not be witnesses to the miracle about to take place.
1. People still mock the work and power of Jesus.  What the gospel offers seems so impossible.  “Freedom from sin?  Eternal life?  Too good to be true!  How could anyone truly offer such a thing, asking nothing in return?  To believe a Man is risen from the dead is ridiculous!  To believe a Man to be God is ludicrous!”  People mock the gospel of Jesus every single day…and like the mourners, they miss out on the miracle.  They do not approach Jesus in faith, and they completely miss out on what He offers.
2. They were put out, but the mother & father (and the 3 disciples) all proceed with Jesus.  Can you imagine the tension in the air?  The fear contrasted with a seed of hope?  Not knowing exactly what to believe or expect, but just knowing that you were with Jesus & Jesus had the power to do something.  Surely Jairus & his wife barely breathed as Jesus went to the girl’s bedside.

41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

1. Just as Jairus had initially asked, Jesus did lay hands on the child – but in a far different way than Jairus could have ever expected!  Jesus hadn’t laid hands on her head & prayed for healing – Jesus simply reached out, took her by the hand, and gently called to her to get up…and she did!  Not only did she open her eyes out of death, but she had the strength to get up and walk around!  This was a miracle beyond their wildest imagination!  The parents simply wanted their daughter to get well – but Jesus had gone far and beyond that.  Jesus gave her abundant healing & life.
2. As an aside – notice the recorded Aramaic words of Jesus.  Aramaic was the usual language spoken by Jesus, and His words were translated into Greek by the gospel writers.  Here, it’s recorded.  Remember that Mark’s gospel is a compilation of the remembrances of Peter.  Peter was one of the three disciples included in that room with Jesus, and he had heard the words of his Lord as Jesus raised this girl from the dead.  When Peter encountered a similar situation years later in Joppa, no doubt these words came flooding back to mind.  A woman by the name of Tabitha (translated “Dorcas) had died, and Peter was asked to help.  Peter put all the people out of the room, prayed, and said “Tabitha, arise,” (Tabitha, cumi) – and she was healed just as Jairus’ daughter. (Acts 9:36-42)

43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

1. Not only was the girl no longer sick, she had an appetite. (Typical 12-year old! J)  Her hunger was a confirmation of her healing, and Jesus attended to her more mundane needs just as He attended to her miraculous ones.
2. Jesus’ command is strikingly different than that of the demoniac back at the other shore.  There, Jesus told the man to go home and spread the news of what God had done for him; here, Jesus commands them to remain quiet.  Why?  Better yet, HOW?  After all, the miracle of the girl’s healing could not remain quiet.  She was known publicly to have died, and now was walking around.  The moment she went outside her house, the miracle would be known.  The whole town knew that Jesus had been approached by Jairus – the mourners had seen Jesus enter the house – people could put 2+2 together & easily come up with 4.  There was no possible way of keeping this a secret forever.  Jesus’ request is likely much simpler than all of that.  It’s not that He wants the girl to remain homebound & secret – He just needs a bit of time to leave the area.  No doubt the people would mob Jesus even more than before once the news got out.  Jesus just needed a head-start.
3. When Jesus saves, there’s no way of keeping quiet!  Especially today.  At the time, Jesus was guarding the timing of His ministry…after all, He still had to complete all that the Father had Him to do prior to going to the cross.  For us, the work is done & Jesus is at the right-hand of Almighty God.  We have been told to tell the world, and to let all peoples everywhere know the good news of Jesus & His power to save.  Our command is different than that of the parents – let us be about the work of fulfilling the Great Commission today!

Conclusion:
The question for us today: do you believe?  Do you have faith?  Not a one-time fleeting faith in Jesus, but a current, abiding, believing faith in Jesus?  That’s what both the woman and Jairus were called to, and that’s what they expressed.  The woman had suffered for 12 years, and had likely given up all hope when she heard of Jesus.  She reached out in faith, knowing that He could heal – and He did!  But her faith needed to be confessed in order to be assured, and Jesus wanted her to know that He knew she was his.

Jairus had a 12 year old daughter, and we’re not told how long she suffered.  Perhaps this was a sudden illness; perhaps it had been chronic & progressively worse.  Whatever the case, he reached out to Jesus in desperation, and the hope he had was dashed to the ground upon hearing the news of his daughter’s death.  But Jesus called him to faith – to keep believing – to not lose grip of the knowledge that Jesus has the power to save.  Jairus did believe, and he witnessed a miracle in the salvation of his daughter.

What is it that you hold out in hope towards Jesus?  Mark gave us two examples of physical healing, and so often people do hold out in hope, only to be disappointed.  I’ve sat with families in hospital waiting rooms & at ICU bedsides as they prayed for a miracle, never to see one come.  They believed that Jesus could heal, but they never saw one.  Did Jesus fail them?  Absolutely not.  Jesus strengthened them and gave them hope for eternity as they continued abiding in faith, knowing what Jesus has promised is true.  He is indeed the resurrection & the life, and those who believe in Him will never die, and those who die will live.

Faith doesn’t give up easily.  Believe, and keep believing!  Continue confidently in your faith in Christ, knowing that whatever Jesus declares to happen WILL happen.  He has declared never to leave us nor forsake us, and He won’t.  He has declared He is preparing a place for us, and will come back again for us, and He is/will.  He has declared that those who believe in Him have eternal life, and we do.  Believe – hold fast in faith!  Without faith in Christ, we have nothing – but with faith in Christ, we have everything!