A Tale of Two Daughters - Mark 5:35-43

A Tale of Two Daughters: Healing and Life!

Mark 5:35-43

Introduction: As I considered the two stories that are interconnected in this section of Mark, I thought of the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That is what two lives in this context of Mark must have felt.  For one, a touch, and a woman who Jesus tenderly addresses as “daughter,” is healed—the best of times! And then a father gets the horrible news, his beloved daughter had died—Hope is shattered! The worst of times?  Remember the context in Mark, Jesus has been revealing His authority. Over nature, over sickness, over demons, He is Lord! Now He will reveal to the few He allows to see, that He is the resurrection and the life! That truth changes everything for those who will trust Him!

The Maine* Idea: If Jesus is who He claimed to be, then we can take Him at His word, we can trust Him even in the most hopeless situation.

The immediate context: The healing of the woman who had suffered for twelve years with a hemorrhage, and the accompanying exchange, delays Jesus from arriving sooner at the home of Jairus. Would it have been soon enough? It is notable that Jesus initiated the delay, the woman had only reached out and touched the fringe of his garment as he passed. It is also remarkable that there is no indication that Jairus become frustrated or angry about the delay.

I. Why bother the teacher anymore? The implication of the question is that there is nothing else anyone can do, it is over Jairus, your daughter has died. Why bother the teacher anymore?  Why indeed. It only makes sense if He is more than just a teacher (35)! Did the miracle Jairus just saw stir faith? Did He look at Jesus with hope even as he received the terrible news? We don’t know.

³⁵ While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" 

     The timing: While He was still speaking… Notice the timing… Mark draws attention to the timing of the arrival of the messengers from the house of Jairus, while He [Jesus] was still speaking they came. What was Jesus saying? He was speaking to the healed woman who had bowed before Him, and told Him the “whole truth.” And Jesus said to her,

"Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

He addressed her tenderly as “daughter,” and said “your faith has saved you…” It seems Mark wants us to understand that she had experienced more than mere physical healing. Somehow, what started as almost superstitious faith had been corrected and fleshed out, as Jesus turned, called her out of the crowd, and spoke to her. It seems she recognized more about who Jesus is. He was not only a healer and prophet, but He cared about her, He affirmed her faith and spoke “peace” over her. But was Jairus’ faith perhaps deepening too?

      The testing: Heartbreaking news… was all hope gone? It may be that Jairus had first come to Jesus seeking a prophet and miracle worker. Then He sees Jesus take a moment to call out this woman who had touched Him and been healed of her infirmity. And He called her out not for rebuke, but gently, with compassion, with love, commending her faith.  But how could he still believe, his daughter had died! Why bother the teacher anymore?  Jairus is stunned, he says nothing, but Jesus knows the fear that is welling in his heart. Who is this? More than a teacher, much more. He is the resurrection and the life! That truth changes everything for those who will trust Him! That is the Maine* Idea: If Jesus is who He claimed to be, then we can take Him at His word, we can trust Him even in the most hopeless situation.

II. Faith overcomes fear, including the fear of death (36-40a)!

³⁶ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."  ³⁷ And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.  ³⁸ They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  ³⁹ And when he had entered, he said to them, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping."  ⁴⁰ And they laughed at him.

     The admonition: “Do not be afraid…” We have seen quite a few people react in fear already in this context of Mark’s Gospel. The disciples were “afraid” of the storm on the lake (4:40) and then they “feared a great fear” when Jesus stilled the storm. The people across the lake were filled with fear when they saw the healed man sitting clothed and in his right mind, and ultimately asked Jesus to leave their region. The woman who had just been healed in this context fell before Jesus in “fear and trembling.” Then Jairus gets the news, and Jesus says “Do not be afraid…” This would have to have been the greatest fear of Jairus… that he would be too late, that his daughter would die before he could get back to her with Jesus. Death is an enemy as old as the Fall. Remember God had warned Adam and Eve that disobedience would bring death: “…in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die…” (Gen 2:17). Paul reflected on that consequence of human rebellion when he said,

¹² Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… (Rom 5:12).

Jesus came to provide an answer to the curse for all who would trust Him. In the great resurrection chapter, I Corinthians 15, Paul said in 15:54-57,

⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."  ⁵⁵ "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"  ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

        The alternative to fear: “…only believe!” Jesus says “Do not be afraid… only believe!” I heard a webinar this week on discipleship, and the speaker said discipleship is really the process of moving from unbelief to belief in more and more areas of our lives. Trusting Christ alone and His finished work for our salvation is only the beginning. Then we must increasingly submit areas of our lives to Him as we recognize how His person and work impacts our living. Jairus could trust (or at least hope!) that Jesus could heal his daughter in her sickness… but what could He possibly do in the face of death? Jesus says don’t be afraid, only believe, trust me. Some of the best examples of faith in the gospels are not Jews, but rather gentiles! In Luke’s Gospel, he is relating the stories of some the miracles Jesus did, and we read in Luke 7:2-7…  

² Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.  ³ When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.  ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him,  ⁵ for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue."  ⁶ And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.  ⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.

Lord, you don’t need to come, I’m not worthy of that. Just say the word and it is enough. That is faith! Jairus had a level of faith, but he wasn’t going to let Jesus out of his sight, he was bringing Him to his daughter! But now it was too late! Or was it?  Why bother the teacher? If He is Emmanuel, God with us, it makes all the difference in the world! Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, only believe!” Who is this man? At a friend’s tomb, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life!” That truth changes everything for those who will trust Him! That is the Maine* Idea: If Jesus is who He claimed to be, then we can take Him at His word, we can trust Him even in the most hopeless situation.

III. Jesus directly revealed this sign to only a few. Why? (40b-43).

But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.  ⁴¹ Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  ⁴² And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.  ⁴³ And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

         Only a few were allowed in. Jairus and his wife, the three disciples, and Jesus himself are the only ones that go into the room where the girl is. Why? Wouldn’t everyone know what had happened when she walked out alive?  Perhaps, at least those with eyes to see and ears to hear would see God at work. Those hardened in their unbelief might reason, “Well, what do you know, I guess Jesus was right, she was only sleeping!”

        They were not to make it known (contrast 5:19).

       The man across the lake who had been freed from the Legion of demons was told to go home, to his own people, and to tell them what great things the Lord had done for him. Here, Jesus first limits the number of those who directly saw the miracle (only three disciples, and the girl’s parents are in the room), but also tells those who did see not to make it known! Why again do we see this theme of Jesus seemingly controlling the spread of the reports and testimony of the miracles that He was doing?  He didn’t come to win a popularity contest. Jesus came to give His life a ransom for many, to be the sacrifice and substitute who would make it possible for humans to be reconciled to God. The story is moving toward a climax at Calvary (and the Garden tomb!) but that time had not yet come.

       The sermon today is called A Tale of Two daughters, and the answer to the question about “why” Jesus was limiting, for a time, the testimony of His works could be called The tale of two Lazaruses! As far as I can find, the name “Lazarus” only occurs in two contexts in the Bible. Once the name is used to describe a poor man in a story Jesus told (Luke 16:19-31). The other is the story of Jesus’ friend Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, from Bethany (John 11:1-50; 12:10). In the first story, Lazarus, a poor man, dies and is taken to “Abraham’s bosom.” The rich man dies and is in torment in Hades. There is a great gulf between them and the rich man pleads that someone be sent back to warn his brothers so that they not come to that place of torment. The final exchange gets to the point of the parable:

²⁹ But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.”  ³⁰ And he said, “No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.”  ³¹ He said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:29-31).

They have the Word of God. If they won’t hear and believe the Word, they won’t believe even if someone comes back from the dead to warn them. Jesus is pointing forward to the resurrection, and the refusal of many (most!) to recognize the truth and submit to His Lordship. Is that really true? Wouldn’t people be convinced by the testimony of someone who died and came back? Well, the other Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany, answers that question.

       Lazarus of Bethany is the man who dies in John chapter 11. There are a few parallels between John 11 and this miracle in Mark 5. For one thing, we see a “delay” in Jesus getting to the dying person. In the story of Jairus’ daughter it seems to have been only a few minutes delay. But when Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, he delayed two days before setting out for his home (Jn 11:6). In both cases someone in the story thinks it is too late, if Jesus had gotten there sooner maybe He could have healed the sick person, but now it was too late, the one they loved had died! In both cases Jesus uses the euphemism of “sleep” to describe death. In John 11, after raising Lazarus from the dead, what happens? The leaders plotted to kill Jesus (11:53), and not only Him, but Lazarus as well!

⁹ When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.  ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well,  ¹¹ because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus… (Jn 12:9-11).

Jesus was not late in Bethany nor was He late in our passage in Mark 5. His timing was in fact perfect. He is never in a hurry and He is never late! He had a plan to reveal His glory to those who had eyes to see. Others were determined in their unbelief, they wouldn’t believe even if someone came back from the dead! What about you?

What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus is the resurrection and the life! That truth changes everything for those who will trust Him! That is the Maine* Idea: If Jesus is who He claimed to be, then we can take Him at His word, we can trust Him even in the most hopeless situation.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Mark has been telling the story of Jesus in a way that reveals to the reader the answer to the question the disciples asked in the boat: “Who is this!?” Who is Jesus? Why did He come? What does it mean to follow Him? Has the answer to those questions moved you to trust Him as your personal Lord and Savior? The price has been paid, the gift has been offered, has your heart been opened to reach out your hand and receive the gift of the King?

       Is there an area of your life where you have found it difficult to trust Him, to surrender to Him? Maybe stewardship of your finances. How can I afford to give… and ten percent at that? He says, don’t be afraid, only trust me (In fact, He says “Test me in this…!). Maybe you have health issues that you, or someone you love, are dealing with. Jesus says, don’t be afraid, only trust me. Maybe you have a prodigal son or daughter, or another loved one, who is far from the Lord, seemingly in bondage to the enemy. You fear for their soul, their eternity. Jesus says, “Don’t fear, only believe.” Keep telling them the truth in love, keep praying. Jesus says “My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me…” It could be you have friends or family in Texas cleaning up after Harvey or in Florida staring down the barrel at Irma, He says, don’t be afraid, trust me, I’m in control, and I can bring good out of every situation. 

     Jesus is the Son of God, He is Lord of Creation. All authority is His in heaven and on earth. Do you believe it? Think about what that means. That truth changes everything! Trust Him!    AMEN.