The Agonizing Wait

Raley In the Pulpit

Three Miracles of Jesus
Mark 5:21-43
Matthew Raley (7-21-13)

Jairus, the synagogue ruler, is sitting with his twelve-year-old daughter who is dying. After she falls asleep, he goes to his roof and begins to pray. As he calls on the promises of God, he notices people running through the streets shouting, “Jesus!” He cannot reach Jesus easily. A massive crowd has gathered. Jairus pushes through the people for what seems like hours. When he finally reaches the front of the crowd, he falls at Jesus’s feet and implores him to come heal his daughter.

Jesus agrees and they start off for Jairus’s home. The crowd slows their progress. People just as desperate as Jairus are crying out to Jesus, grabbing at him. The disciples are struggling to form a barrier around Jesus. Suddenly Jesus stops and turns around. He stares at various people. “Who touched my garments?” No one answers. His disciples ask, “What do you mean? The crowd is pressing around you.” But Jesus keeps looking from person to person.

Jairus tenses. He doesn’t have time for this. His daughter is dying. In fact, during this delay, Jairus’s servants have been struggling to reach him to tell him his daughter is dead. Jesus seems unfazed by this news. He looks at Jairus and says, “Do not fear, only believe.”

We learn a great deal about the nature of faith from this story. In today’s message we will be asking the question: What about Jesus are you trusting?