Jairus

Over the last eight years at Champion, our family has seen so many lives changed, and it never gets old. Every Sunday, I am so captivated by the endless testimonies that pour through the church doors. I can’t get enough of these testimonies. There have been addicts set free, health restored, prodigals returned, and so many more. I could write for days about the specific stories, like my friend who struggled with mental difficulties, which led him into a deep darkness. His purpose and his life were floundering, and he was headed for a tragic demise. Then Jesus transformed his life. It is remarkable. That destruction was destroyed in the name of Jesus. There is great power in seeing him set free, and now he lives a vibrant life. Only God!

There’s a deep hunger in my spirit to know the depths of these testimonies in our church. When I assimilate the details of the deep valleys that once held down God’s children and compare them to the perfect wholeness in transformation, then I fully grasp the wonders of Jesus’ matchless love. That revelation is life to my soul. It is contagious to my spirit. These testimonies are exactly what happened in Mark 5. Let me explain. And if you’re anxiously waiting for a miracle in your life, let this scripture take hold of your faith.

It starts with Jairus. He is a synagogue leader, which means he was within the religious elite class. The scripture picks up with Jairus rejecting his elite status to shamelessly fall at the feet of Jesus. Obviously, there is never shame in falling at Jesus’ feet, but in that moment, for those who had not accepted Jesus as the Messiah, it likely seemed shameful. Consider that Jairus’ occupation put him in the middle of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. It is probable that Jairus daily listened to the Pharisees speak with rebuke and animosity against Jesus. It is possible that Jairus would lose his job as synagogue leader, his status, and his wealth. He would likely lose everything by falling at the feet of Jesus. And Jairus was considered a prominent leader within the society. It would seem undignified for him to surrender himself like this in front of a large crowd. But Jesus demands humility. I am reminded of my good friend who left a great job because Jesus called him out in faith to start a new thing. The road was extremely bumpy and immediately dire. The entire well dried up. In perseverance with Jesus, the sacrifice of leaving that job led to endless opportunities to share the Gospel and see lives changed. My friend set aside every comfort to pursue what God called him to, and because of that, lives are being changed.

Imagine being a normal bystander in the crowd. You showed up at the shore to listen to Jesus speak, and then suddenly, this religious leader awkwardly cries out at the feet of Jesus. As the commotion settles, the crowd learns that Jairus’ daughter is dying and he needs Jesus to heal her. He screams out in complete abandon, “I ask You (Jesus), come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may be healed.” He pauses for a second as he fights back tears and fear. And in the loudest cry, he continues, “and she will live.” His face buried in the ground. His eyes full of tears. He’s struggling to even get the words out to plead for Jesus’ grace to save his daughter. His heart tangibly aches. He is overwhelmed with anxiety. His mind is trying to grab onto any sense of control, but it cannot because he is overwhelmed with fear and darkness at the prognosis of his daughter’s imminent death.

The story continues, “Jesus went with him and many people followed.” There is this great awe and holy hope that filled the atmosphere. A miracle is forthcoming. Many of the bystanders anxiously await to see another sign and revelation of the power of Jesus, but no one is more passionately full of hope than Jairus. We must pause to consider how Jairus’ holy hope in Jesus is tethered to Jairus’ crippling fear. The two go hand in hand. His mind replays the recent memories of his daughter coughing or moaning out in great agony. His heart wrestles with faith in the thing not yet seen and the tense reality of her dwindling health. She is about to die. That is impossible for any parent to have to reconcile. Just like Jacob wrestled with God, I believe that Jairus wrestled with faith over fear. As Christians, we love that saying, don’t we? “Faith over fear!” But there is a very intense battle when we stand firm in faith. Jairus wasn’t immune to the very impactful reality of his daughter’s ailment. But his faith resolves that Jesus would be the author and perfector of this story. This reminds me of my friend who miraculously survived an abusive relationship, but the effect of that conflict led her towards substances to mitigate the pain. Then God showed up in her life and healed her and restored her from addiction. Unfortunately, there was still this heavy cloud of the abusiveness returning to destroy what God was restoring. There was a very tense battle, and as she stood in faith, the cloud finally burst and Jesus’ redemption broke loose!

But what about when things do not go exactly as we expect? Jairus finds himself in a sudden twist when, out of nowhere, the journey towards his sick daughter stops. Jesus stops and seeks to find who touched him in this great crowd of people. In my imagination, I picture that Jairus is twenty paces ahead before he even realizes that he is all by himself. Can you imagine the agony of Jairus? The progression to his miracle has stopped. There, Jairus’ heart is tested. Jairus watches a woman break all cultural, societal, and religious rules. She should be stoned. Jairus and this woman could not be more polar opposites. Jairus is the leader of the temple. He knew the law. He lived the law. He was held in high esteem in society. She didn’t care about anything other than the fact that she needed a savior. She needed to be made new.

This is such a pivotal moment in Jairus’ life, and my imagination can’t help but fill in all the details. I envision Jairus’ head is ready to explode in anger. I suspect that the crowd found this disruption annoying as well. There were likely misplaced accusations against the woman. For Jairus, he probably felt robbed. He was on his way to a miracle, and it was disrupted. I suspect he was ready to voice his anger and rebuke the woman, but Jesus’ words broke the tension. “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” Jesus’ words change everything. She poured out her heart and her life in the hope of being saved, and instantly, power was restored in every area of her life. I can only imagine the awe, wonder, and compassion of the crowd, including Jairus. How could you not be so deeply moved by a woman’s life being so drastically changed? I am reminded of my friend who, as she walked through the challenges of young adulthood, found herself struggling with insecurity. She found Jesus, and all of her shame and insecurities were nailed to the cross. It was met with some resistance by those close to her and annoyance with her new religious life. But my friend had been made well and was walking in peace, and nothing can stop her from walking in that life.

And just as everyone is on this huge, faith-filled high, the precious holy bubble bursts. News arrives that Jairus’ daughter is dead. It is over. Darkness fell over the entire scene. But then the light speaks. The Bible says that Jesus responds and tells Jairus, “Do not be afraid, just believe.” Can I be honest with you? If that were me in that moment, I think I would have struggled. I can’t even imagine the emotional rollercoaster that Jairus was on. Each time his faith was built up, then came a challenge to his faith. First, the disruption of the journey towards his daughter, and then once he sees Jesus’ miraculous power with his own eyes, it is followed by his daughter’s death. I can’t help but wonder if Jairus considered for a moment, “I will never see this miracle.” Jairus’ expectations of how Jesus would proceed to heal his daughter were constantly being disrupted. But Jairus obeyed Jesus’ command and did not allow fear to override his faith. Jairus stayed with Jesus, and he walked side by side with his savior.

If you miss everything I say in this text, please don’t miss this. When the moments get the most difficult, that is when we need to be the closest to Jesus. Like my friends who struggled to start their family. And finally, there was breakthrough and a miracle. Shortly after the great news, they were met with a terrible diagnosis that the baby might not survive, and a medical directive to strongly consider the choice to end this miracle. That family stood firm in faith, and God was faithful. The attack of the enemy was aborted in the name of Jesus.

As Mark 5 comes near an end, it is impossible to fully grasp the heavy and dark atmosphere in the upper room of Jairus’ house. Try to imagine Jairus walking into the room. His daughter lies dead on the bed, and his wife is there in the room, just depleted from despair. Everything about the room is lifeless. There is so much darkness and silence, signifying the hopelessness. But then there is Jesus! Jesus approaches the bed and sits next to the girl. “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” He declares with authority. What a moment! Such power and life spoken in the darkness. Not only did life pulsate through his daughter’s body, but can you imagine the life that explodes in Jairus’ mind, body, and soul? The heavy chains that bound him and his family for quite some time thunderously crash to the ground in victory! I am not sure the most imaginative minds could fully capture the breathtaking jubilation that went forth in that room. I imagine for the rest of Jairus’ life, he would introduce his daughter as the one that Jesus brought back to life. I can’t help but see the parallel in this moment to my friends who emerged from the dark world of addiction. Their lives were dead, and that death permeated to things around them like an infectious disease. But Jesus saved them, and now these four are linked arm in arm as warriors for Jesus, saving a region from this disease. It is a contagious fire that is destroying darkness with the light of Jesus.

Jairus and the woman in Mark 5 show us that there is an abundant necessity to boldly proclaim God’s truth, setting aside everything else. How your bold faith comes alive doesn’t matter. Jairus responded with a loud public declaration of faith, but the woman’s boldness was in secret and intended to be quiet. All of the potential consequences for both Jairus and the woman faithfully believing in Jesus, were ignored for the sake of Jesus Christ. And that was no small task. Don’t underestimate with a quick gloss over of all that both sacrificed. And that is it! That is at the heart of being a fully engaged Christ follower. Denying ourselves and picking up our cross is uncomfortable. It demands uninhibited sacrificial boldness. We all long for that miracle and breakthrough, but things of comfort must be forsaken to receive the promised grace and mercy before the throne of God. I think of my close friend who walked through a difficult season in his career. It was a time when doors kept closing, which statistically has proven to lead many toward destructive decisions. He did not cater to the comfort that would have led to destruction; he constantly renewed his mind and picked up his cross to walk in faith with Jesus. My friend’s testimony affirms that Jesus’ promise of an abundant life is true.

Boldness is what transformed and exploded the early church in Acts. It was boldness that transformed Jairus’ life. And it will be Jesus-centered boldness that will continue to fill our church with powerful testimonies. Boldness is contagious. The enemy uses comparison to steal, kill, and destroy. But faith in Jesus is contagious. Jairus would have been stuck without a miracle if he had compared why the woman received her miracle and he hadn’t. Jesus wants to pour out grace and mercy over our lives to reveal God’s glory. That’s how the early church went from only a few believers constantly being met with oppression to growing thousands by thousands daily. Faith in Jesus brings us all into the same power. And God’s words and promises over our lives trump all of the differences. There is no benefit in comparing the kingdom of God. The reward is being a part of the contagious flame that unites us all under Jesus.

Four years ago, a nurse went into Children’s Hospital ready to tackle the same daily challenges of caring for sick children. But she would never be the same. A two-year-old boy’s health was given a dreadful prognosis. His life would never be the same. The nurse anxiously watched his parents passionately petition heaven for the boy’s health. She witnessed a hospital room be filled with worship and prayer. To her surprise, one moment the prayer switched from the boy’s life to her life. The parents prayed that she would know how much God loves her. There are so many people walking around needing a savior. The precious boy needed a miracle, and the nurse needed the love of the Father. Thankfully, God is in the business of showing up and showing off. The boy was healed. The nurse was saved, accepted Jesus, and was baptized a few months later. That is the contagious wildfire that is bursting forth from our church!