Title: People Who Don't Know Despair
Contents
Bible Text: Mark 5:35-43
who knows no despair
The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard once said, “Despair is a disease that leads to death.” Losing hope, not being able to hold on to any glimmer of possibility, is literally despair. We are often frustrated and discouraged in the face of many hopeless events in life. The most desperate event that a human being can experience is death, no matter what anyone says.
Today's text introduces the story of a synagogue leader who came before Jesus to restore the life of his dying daughter and the great resurrection event in which Jesus, the Savior of life, raises the dead daughter of the synagogue leader. Then, how can the despair that humans experience be turned into hope?
First, come to Jesus.
The president of this text is a lay person who is not a priest, but has been in charge of administering the synagogue, including leading and managing the worship service. They were highly respected by the public at the time, and Jairus was one of them. He knew who Jesus was and must have trusted him deeply.
The ruler of the synagogue fell down at Jesus' feet. I fell down to heal my dying daughter. A synagogue leader is a respected person in charge of a synagogue. Also, he was a very humble person. He had the social position of a synagogue leader, but he humbly fell at the feet of Jesus, a man of human obscurity. In this way, Jairus, who pleaded with Jesus to heal his daughter, was a man of humble faith. The figure of the synagogue leader today is the figure of a praying man who came before Almighty God. Despair can be turned into hope when we humbly come to the Lord with our problems and pray for Him.
Although there is no mention of Jesus in this regard, it is possible to guess that Jesus was pleased with Jairus' faith, given that he immediately responded to his words. Today, we are often faced with things that are beyond our control. (Psalm 28:1 I cry to you, O LORD; do not close your ear to me, O my rock; if you keep silent to me, will I be like those who go down to the grave? Psalm 28:2 Hear my supplication when I cry to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your sanctuary. Psalm 28:3 Do not drag me away with the wicked and evildoers; for they speak peace to their neighbors, but their hearts there is evil in them).
What did the people who came to the synagogue leader's house say? On the way to the synagogue leader's house, there was a delay due to a blood clot, while the synagogue leader's daughter died. So they sent people from the house of the synagogue leader to send the message that it was too late to bring Jesus. They knew that Jesus was a man of great power, but they did not believe that he could raise even the dead. However, we too often make the same mistakes. We must repent of our failure to acknowledge the omnipotence of God in our lives, and our unbelief in not being sure of answers while praying (2 Timothy 1:12). I am sure that he is able to keep what I have entrusted to you until that day.)
Jairus came to Jesus for an answer to the serious problem of the death of his young daughter. The problem he encountered was beyond the limits of human ability, and he could not find an answer in this world. There is no problem that the Lord cannot solve, so it is fully possible for anyone to overcome despair and frustration as long as they come to Him. The bigger and more serious the problem, the more serious blows and damage are unavoidable unless we diligently seek solutions. There must be a way to solve it. All you have to do is pray, trust, and come before Jesus.
Second, we need to ask Jesus a lot.
Jesus' members must have made the synagogue leader very nervous and anxious. However, the leader of the synagogue did not give up halfway and waited patiently. The members of Jesus were in some way an opportunity to test the faith of the synagogue leader. If you are with Jesus now, do not be discouraged and wait even if the resolution of the problem may be delayed.
Verse 23 says, “I made many supplications”. He begged once or twice, and even if there was no answer, he prayed to the end. He came and fell down and prayed These are the three basic steps of faith. The Lord, who had not said anything, finally departed for the house of the synagogue leader. He answered his repeated pleas. So many supplications work miracles.
Not only did Jairus come to Jesus, he trusted Him completely. He had the belief that if the Lord came and laid his hands on him, his dead daughter could come back to life. He had already seen the faith of a woman with a blood clot. Those who trust in the Lord will surely prosper. Paul boldly said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). could say So Jairus prayed more.
The Lord was going to the house of the synagogue leader, and he heard that his daughter had already died. But the Lord said, “Do not be afraid, just keep believing.” These words mean to continue the faith you have believed until now, the faith you have prayed for on your face. The news of the child's death must have brought great disappointment and sorrow to Jairus. So Jairus must have been hesitant as to whether he should go with Jesus or not. At this time the Lord said: 'Don't be afraid, just believe. You say. Jairus believed the word to the end.
In the same way, when we are faced with the fear of not knowing what to do, there is only one way to solve it, and the only way to do it is to have a firm belief in God's presence, promise, mercy, and power in Christ. “Acts 14:22 strengthened the hearts of the disciples, exhorting them to remain in this faith, and saying that we must go through many tribulations to enter the kingdom of God.” Romans 4:20 “Be awake, stand firm in the faith, and be strong like men” (1 Corinthians 16:13).
There are disciples who accompanied Jesus when he went to the synagogue leader. Jesus took only three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, to the house of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue. This case also occurs when Jesus went to the Mount of Transfiguration (9:2; Mt 17:1; Lk 9:28) and to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray (14:33; Mt 26:37). Jesus must have specially trained his disciples to be his witnesses.
What did Jesus say to those who were gathering in the house of the synagogue leader? In the Jewish custom of that time, it was customary to hire a weeping person for a funeral when someone died. Moreover, since Jairus was a very influential figure in Jewish society, there must have been a very large number of professional weepers. Moreover, Jairus' relatives were also included, so there must have been a lot of commotion there. Jesus said to them, "Why are you so angry and weeping? This child is not dead, but is sleeping." A misunderstanding of the phrase “sleep, not dead” here could be interpreted as simply passing out or a coma. However, the expression of death as sleeping can be found throughout the Bible. "Deuteronomy 31:16 The LORD said to Moses, "You will sleep with your ancestors, but this people will rise from the land they will enter and dwell in, and they will commit harlotry after foreign gods and forsake me, breaking the covenant I made with them." Acts 7:60 Daniel He knelt down on his knees and called out aloud, saying, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." After saying these words, he fell asleep.
Jesus intended these words to awaken the hope of resurrection that those who are in Christ, even if they die, will rise again on the last day. Believers must firmly believe that this resurrection is central to Christian doctrine and is our eternal hope. We must go one step further and believe that the dead saints are “sleeping in Jesus.”
Third, Jairus believed in the Lord.
How did we who were gathered at the synagogue leader's house react to Jesus' words? (Verse 40) When they heard Jesus' words, they laughed at him. They obviously ridiculed the foolishness of saying that a dead child was not dead. But if they knew who Jesus was, they would not have dared to ridicule him like this. We should be interested in the fact that they mocked Jesus when they were spiritually ignorant and did not understand the meaning of Jesus' words. Here, we learn that God's will is mysterious and there are many parts that cannot be understood by human reason. However, we learn a lesson that we must not completely ignore or ridicule God's will.
What did Jesus mean by taking the child by the hand? (Verse 41) Jesus took the child by the hand and said, “Talidagum.” ‘Talidagum’ is an Aramaic language that was popular among the Jews at the time, and it means ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up’ as in Mark’s interpretation. This is a voice for a saint like Jonah, who is spiritually indolent and is in a deep sleep. “Jon 1:5 The sailors were afraid, and each called on his god, and threw the things in the boat into the sea to lighten it up. But Jonah went down to the bottom of the boat and lay down and fell into a deep sleep. Jon 1:6 The captain went out and told him And he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and ask your God, and perhaps God will think of us so that we will not perish."
We who live today must heed the Lord's command to 'get up'. Also, according to that command, we must rise from spiritual ignorance, indolence, and laziness. “Romans 12:11 Do not be lazy in diligence, be zealous and serve the Lord” 1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a secret, we will not all sleep, but at the last trumpet we will all be changed in an instant.”
After Jesus raised the girl, he warned him not to tell anyone about it. This warning is the attitude Jesus took whenever he performed a miracle (1:44; 3:12). The reason was that he did not want to provoke the Jewish leaders until the time of his death, and he did not want to hinder the basic purpose of the Lord's coming to earth, the preaching of the Gospel (cf.
On the other hand, in the words “Give the girl something to eat,” we find Jesus’ kind and compassionate side. This kind of Jesus is required of us who forget our neighbors in the busy and complicated world. It is a natural attitude that the saints of this earth should have to pay attention to with love and sympathy for their neighbors who are marginalized.
In any case, those who have faith can find hope. The desperate problem of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, turned into a miracle of hope. A Christian is a person who knows no despair. In an age of unbelief, Jairus had a great faith. Even if we think we are in despair, if we come to the Lord and ask Him, He hears and answers. May we all have this faith and courage.