RESURRECTION POWER by Gary Wilkerson
“There came from the ruler’s house some who said, ‘Your daughter is dead’” (Mark 5:35, ESV).
This news must have struck Jairus’ heart like a knife. He had just heard Jesus tell the woman with the issue of blood that her suffering was over and now he was being told that his suffering had only begun. I picture this godly man thinking, “My lack of faith allowed my daughter to die.”
There is an important message in this passage for everyone whose situation has fallen apart completely. Maybe your healing didn’t come to pass or your marriage has ended. Maybe that lost loved one never came to Jesus. We simply don’t understand why God allows some tragedies to happen.
The kind of faith Jesus calls for in this scene is the most difficult kind to have. Every circumstance tells us it’s too late for God to intervene. Yet Jesus is looking for a very particular faith in such times, a faith that says, “Yes, my situation is past all hope, but Jesus can still do this.” This kind of faith was required of Abraham. His son Isaac was already considered dead when Abraham raised a knife to slay him in obedience to the Lord. Yet just when the promises of God seemed to be untrue, the Almighty intervened (see Genesis 22).
That is exactly the way Jesus intervened for Jairus. He told him, “Do not fear, only believe” (5:36). I don’t believe Christ was requiring faith of Jairus here as much as He was speaking faith into him. Just as the Lord said at the creation, “Let there be light,” so He said to Jairus, “Let there be faith.”
Friend, if Jesus were to speak audibly to you today, I believe He would say the same about your situation: “Just have faith!” He knows you are beyond all your own strength and abilities and He is creating faith in you. He is prophesying over you, saying, “Just have faith for your marriage, for your children, for your physical affliction, for your finances, for your work in ministry—for every area of life that has gotten worse, not better, and that even now lies on its deathbed.”
We know the rest of Jairus’ story. Jesus told the entire household, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping” (5:39). Your situation may look to be hopeless, too—but it isn’t to Jesus. He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, and He is ready to step into your situation with the same resurrection power!
This news must have struck Jairus’ heart like a knife. He had just heard Jesus tell the woman with the issue of blood that her suffering was over and now he was being told that his suffering had only begun. I picture this godly man thinking, “My lack of faith allowed my daughter to die.”
There is an important message in this passage for everyone whose situation has fallen apart completely. Maybe your healing didn’t come to pass or your marriage has ended. Maybe that lost loved one never came to Jesus. We simply don’t understand why God allows some tragedies to happen.
The kind of faith Jesus calls for in this scene is the most difficult kind to have. Every circumstance tells us it’s too late for God to intervene. Yet Jesus is looking for a very particular faith in such times, a faith that says, “Yes, my situation is past all hope, but Jesus can still do this.” This kind of faith was required of Abraham. His son Isaac was already considered dead when Abraham raised a knife to slay him in obedience to the Lord. Yet just when the promises of God seemed to be untrue, the Almighty intervened (see Genesis 22).
That is exactly the way Jesus intervened for Jairus. He told him, “Do not fear, only believe” (5:36). I don’t believe Christ was requiring faith of Jairus here as much as He was speaking faith into him. Just as the Lord said at the creation, “Let there be light,” so He said to Jairus, “Let there be faith.”
Friend, if Jesus were to speak audibly to you today, I believe He would say the same about your situation: “Just have faith!” He knows you are beyond all your own strength and abilities and He is creating faith in you. He is prophesying over you, saying, “Just have faith for your marriage, for your children, for your physical affliction, for your finances, for your work in ministry—for every area of life that has gotten worse, not better, and that even now lies on its deathbed.”
We know the rest of Jairus’ story. Jesus told the entire household, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping” (5:39). Your situation may look to be hopeless, too—but it isn’t to Jesus. He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, and He is ready to step into your situation with the same resurrection power!