For some reason of all the miracles Christ performed, this one (well, technically two) sticks out to me the most this week.
All we know about Jairus (Greek, "whom God enlightens") is that he was "one of the rulers of the synagogue" (Mark 5:22). His faith in Christ's ability to heal his daughter seems genuine, and he implored Jesus to come with him to save her. He knew if Christ would come, his daughter would be spared from death.
As they went a large crowd followed, as it usually did. As they walked, a woman who had suffered for twelve years from a blood hemorrhage touched the Savior's clothes and was healed. He stopped to inquire who touched him, which the disciples thought was a bit odd, considering the large crowd which was no doubt constantly bumping up against him. He looked at the woman, who then confessed what she had done, and told her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague" (Mark 5:34). Not only did he know that she had been healed, he also knew what he had healed.
As he is talking with this woman, someone brought Jairus the news, "Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?" (Mark 5:35). Essentially, "There's nothing he can do now, there's no point in taking any more of his time."
Christ told Jairus, "Be not afraid, only believe" (vs. 36). Luke adds, "and she shall be made whole" (Luke 8:50). Jairus did believe and his daughter was restored to life.
I wish more details of this account had been preserved because I'd like to get to know Jairus a bit better. I'm left to assume because his reactions weren't recorded, he was quietly trusting in the Lord. I'm sure someone would've written something had Jairus snapped... "We need to walk faster." "Why are we stopping to see who touched you? We're on a tight schedule!" "If we hadn't stopped, maybe we would've made it in time and my daughter would still be alive!"
There was only quiet faith on the part of Jairus. How hard would it be to calm the natural sense of urgency a parent would feel on behalf of a dying child? Instead of letting the incident with the healing of the woman irritate him, he seems to have let it build his faith in Christ's ability to grant the desired blessing. Even when he received word of his daughter's death, he quietly followed the Master. When those around him were laughing to scorn, he still showed faith.
This whole experience seems to have been tailored to build Jairus' faith in Christ's power to heal. Jesus could easily have simply told him to go home and his daughter would be healed, as he had done with the centurion (see Matt 8:5-13) and the nobleman (see John 4:46-54). But Jairus would've been deprived of his walk with the Master. They could have walked a different route where they would not have been "interrupted" by the woman seeking healing for herself, Jesus could've simply found her on the way back and healed her later.
So, what can we learn from Jairus and his experience?
First, miracles are predicated on faith. The woman was told it was her faith which made her whole, not the touching of Christ's clothes. Often, we will experience ridicule or scorn for exercising our faith. There is no evidence from the scriptural account to show Jairus ever lost his faith in Christ.
Second, the Lord is keenly aware of us. He knew who, out of a large pressing crowd, had touched his garment. We can be assured he is also aware of our needs, many times even when we are not.
Third, we shouldn't get too caught up in our own needs that we can't stop to help someone else along the way. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught:
Finally, we need to exercise patience when asking for blessings from the Lord. God has a way of using what we feel are delays and turning them to our benefit. We can grumble about having to wait (and probably miss out), or we can let it strengthen our faith like Jairus did.
All we know about Jairus (Greek, "whom God enlightens") is that he was "one of the rulers of the synagogue" (Mark 5:22). His faith in Christ's ability to heal his daughter seems genuine, and he implored Jesus to come with him to save her. He knew if Christ would come, his daughter would be spared from death.
As they went a large crowd followed, as it usually did. As they walked, a woman who had suffered for twelve years from a blood hemorrhage touched the Savior's clothes and was healed. He stopped to inquire who touched him, which the disciples thought was a bit odd, considering the large crowd which was no doubt constantly bumping up against him. He looked at the woman, who then confessed what she had done, and told her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague" (Mark 5:34). Not only did he know that she had been healed, he also knew what he had healed.
As he is talking with this woman, someone brought Jairus the news, "Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?" (Mark 5:35). Essentially, "There's nothing he can do now, there's no point in taking any more of his time."
Christ told Jairus, "Be not afraid, only believe" (vs. 36). Luke adds, "and she shall be made whole" (Luke 8:50). Jairus did believe and his daughter was restored to life.
I wish more details of this account had been preserved because I'd like to get to know Jairus a bit better. I'm left to assume because his reactions weren't recorded, he was quietly trusting in the Lord. I'm sure someone would've written something had Jairus snapped... "We need to walk faster." "Why are we stopping to see who touched you? We're on a tight schedule!" "If we hadn't stopped, maybe we would've made it in time and my daughter would still be alive!"
There was only quiet faith on the part of Jairus. How hard would it be to calm the natural sense of urgency a parent would feel on behalf of a dying child? Instead of letting the incident with the healing of the woman irritate him, he seems to have let it build his faith in Christ's ability to grant the desired blessing. Even when he received word of his daughter's death, he quietly followed the Master. When those around him were laughing to scorn, he still showed faith.
This whole experience seems to have been tailored to build Jairus' faith in Christ's power to heal. Jesus could easily have simply told him to go home and his daughter would be healed, as he had done with the centurion (see Matt 8:5-13) and the nobleman (see John 4:46-54). But Jairus would've been deprived of his walk with the Master. They could have walked a different route where they would not have been "interrupted" by the woman seeking healing for herself, Jesus could've simply found her on the way back and healed her later.
So, what can we learn from Jairus and his experience?
First, miracles are predicated on faith. The woman was told it was her faith which made her whole, not the touching of Christ's clothes. Often, we will experience ridicule or scorn for exercising our faith. There is no evidence from the scriptural account to show Jairus ever lost his faith in Christ.
Second, the Lord is keenly aware of us. He knew who, out of a large pressing crowd, had touched his garment. We can be assured he is also aware of our needs, many times even when we are not.
Third, we shouldn't get too caught up in our own needs that we can't stop to help someone else along the way. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught:
"When, for the moment, we ourselves are not being stretched on a particular cross, we ought to be at the foot of someone else’s—full of empathy and proffering spiritual refreshment." (Neal A. Maxwell, "Endure It Well", April General Conference, 1990)Fourth, no one is beyond the healing reach of the Savior. How often do we consider ourselves as having gone too far astray? We have wandered off beyond Christ's ability to help us back. We give up on ourselves just as those in the house had given up on the daughter (turns out she was only mostly dead...).
Finally, we need to exercise patience when asking for blessings from the Lord. God has a way of using what we feel are delays and turning them to our benefit. We can grumble about having to wait (and probably miss out), or we can let it strengthen our faith like Jairus did.
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