May the mumbling commence!
Mark is a great gospel for those of us who are always on the go. Many of us have our varied errands and agendas. We think we know where we are going, what we are up to, and why we are doing what we are doing. Mark teaches us a valuable lesson through his depiction of Jesus.
Much of Jesus’ ministry recorded in Mark happens on the way to somewhere else. We see Jesus’ ministry on the move clearly in a passage from Mark chapter five. Before the passage below Jesus had healed the demon-possessed man (Legion) and been urged to leave the area. Jesus does not impose himself on anyone, so Jesus left them. The healed man stayed behind to carry the message and healing power of Jesus to people who would not accept Jesus in person. Then comes this passage:
When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"
"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'"
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"
Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."
He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Verses 21-43)
Jesus was leaving the region of the Gerasenes when he finds a large crowd about him. A pillar of the synagogue, Jairus, comes to Jesus pleading with him to heal his dying daughter. Jesus chooses to go with him to his home and heal his daughter. I wonder what the disciples thought. “Was Jesus finally establishing a connection with the officials of their Jewish faith?” They may have been pleased with the turn of events.
Then something happened on the way to Jairus’ home. A desperate woman, who had great faith in the power of Jesus to heal, reached out to touch his garment. She was healed because of her faith, and she was hidden in the anonymity of a crowd.
But Jesus knew that someone had been healed through his touch. So he stopped and questioned who touched him. The disciples were incredulous. They probably wanted to say, “Master, we are already on a mission of mercy. Why take the time to find one person how had been healed? In the crush of the crowd, how could the person be brought forth?”
Jesus knew that this woman needed ministering to – to be given the chance to speak the truth rather than hide from it. And Jesus’ primary trip was not foiled by this interruption. He raised the girl from the dead.
Let us answer the call to ministries of grace through Jesus no matter what errand we are on or what our agenda might be. God will be blessed in the process as truth is no longer hidden.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
No comments:
Post a Comment