Written by Dawn Rutan
Something I read recently pointed out some details I hadn’t noticed before in Mark 5:21-43. That’s one of those passages that becomes so familiar that you don’t read it closely. One of the synagogue rulers, Jairus, comes to Jesus desperate for his daughter to be healed. While Jesus is on the way, He is waylaid by a woman touching His robe to be healed of her disease. There are some interesting parallels and contrasts between the two.
- The girl is 12 years old; the woman has been suffering for 12 years.
- Jairus comes boldly on behalf of his daughter; the woman slips up, hoping to be unnoticed.
- Both are desperate cases that only Jesus can cure.
- Both are beloved daughters of the Heavenly Father.
In both cases, Jesus responds immediately out of compassion. The only thing He could have done more quickly was to have healed Jairus’s daughter from afar (as He did for the centurion in Matthew 8). In the version recorded in Matthew 9, the daughter had already died before Jairus came to Jesus.
We can tend to forget sometimes that God is a God of compassion. Jesus reflected that as He had compassion on individuals as well as crowds and provided for their needs. None of them were an interruption to His ministry, they were His ministry. When He began His ministry, He read from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 ESV).
Of course, those who encountered Jesus noticed primarily His immediate provision of their felt needs for healing or food. Fewer realized the eternal significance of what He was doing to set them free. We tend to have the same short-sightedness. Our temporal needs usually take more of our attention than our eternal needs, but that’s no surprise to God. He expects us to come to Him with whatever concerns us.
It’s noteworthy that every time Jesus calls someone son or daughter it’s when He has healed them in some way. And it some cases, such as Mark 2:5, Jesus also points out that their sins are forgiven. The New Testament writers repeatedly remind us that in Christ we are children of God (Romans 8:14-15, 2 Corinthians 6:18, Galatians 3:26-4:6, Ephesians 5:1, 1 John 3:1-2, etc.). And isn’t that really the point of evangelism and discipleship—that we would know that we have been adopted and learn to live in the love of God? It’s not just about being saved from the consequences of sin and granted eternal life, but that we will be able to live in relationship with our true Father now and forever.
I’ll admit I often get distracted and frustrated with trying to find meaning and purpose in various situations and activities. Lately God seems to be telling me, “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got that covered. Just remember that you’re my daughter and I love you. Be still and know that I am God.” Sometimes that’s all we need to know.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” –Ephesians 5:1-2
