Just Believe

August 28th, 2008

Thursday

My Daily Scripture Reading: Leviticus 11-12; Mark 5:21-43; Psalms 26; Proverbs 6:16-19

KEY SCRIPTURE: Mark 5:36

"Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe"

OBSERVATION: It is interesting to me that with all the verses I read this morning, the one that catches my eye is probably one of the simplest verses in the Bible, next to "Jesus wept." It is a simple verse with a fundamental truth - "Just Believe." Christian fashion has made a market with the "Fear Not" slogan that plays off of the secular "No Fear" brand of clothes. I wonder if they should not do the same with "Just Believe It!" to play off of Nike's "Just Do It!"

Whatever the case may be, I was attracted to this verse by the two stories that immediately preceded it and immediately followed it. In the first story, a woman touches the hem of Jesus' robe, believing that all she needed to do to be healed was to touch Him. It was this strong belief of hers that caused her to act in such a way, and, it was this strong belief that healed her. In fact, Jesus even tells her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you."

The second story, which immediately follows Mark 5:36, is the story of Jarius, the synagogue ruler and his sick daughter. The significant aspect of this story is that unless he obeyed Jesus' command from verse 36 to "just believe," this story never takes place. I always assumed that Jarius really did not have a difficult time believing-after all, he was with Jesus, and if Jesus, Himself, says to believe, than you believe-end of story. Yet, a couple of verses before that paints a little different scene for me this morning that I have overlooked before.

First, there is this synagogue ruler, who is a rather important figure in that society-he might even be a proud figure most of the time. However, his love for his daughter and the distress that has come from watching his daughter get sick, has caused him to seek desperate measures. Because of his position and the pride that usually goes along with such a person, I seriously doubt that his first option was to seek out Jesus. In fact, as a synagogue ruler, he was probably risking his reputation, his career, and, perhaps, his very life to make a publc appeal to Jesus. So, it is in this mode of desperation that he brings his concern to Jesus.

I imagine that he wanted to gain Jesus' attention, to take Him by the arm, and to lead him, dragging Him if he had to, back to his daughter's bed. Being father to a little girl myself, I know I would have done the same. "No interruptions, Jesus, stay focused, let's go! In fact, why don't we run to my house?" And, being a synagogue ruler, I bet he really wasn't made to wait around very often. Yet, here was Jesus, slowly pressing through the crowd, making His way to Jarius' house, when he stops because someone touched him.

I can picture a chaotic scene. One in which the attention of the group is turned toward this woman, who touched the hem of Jesus' robe, and Jesus' ensuing conversation with this woman. I can almost see the anguish in Jarius' face as he looks in frustration at the scene that is delaying the trip to his house to help save this little girl. I have seen that anguish many times, on many mothers' faces, when their son or daughter are hurt and in pain, and they nervously await the arrival of an ambulance or other emergency medical vehicle-their present form of salvation and relief. Then, while Jarius is in this present mind-set, some men from his household, whom he, no doubt, trusts, approaches Jarius with the news that his worst fears have been realized-his daughter has died, and the news is delivered while Jesus is STILL speaking to the woman.

Much like the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus seems to have been too late to help. His timing was not good enough to save Jarius' daughter. Because Jesus dawdled, He took too long, showing His lack of concern with his aloofness towards Jarius' desperate need for action NOW. I can imagine that Jarius was crushed with the news of his daughter's demise and now is ready to turn his despair into a blind rage against Jesus-after all, if He would have been quicker to the scene, Jesus could have saved her. Translation: Jesus is the reason his daughter is dead!

It is in that exact moment, a moment that found Jarius flooded with anxiety, despair, anguish, anger, an overall emotional wreck, who is being distracted by his men as they are telling him to "give up, it's too late," that Jesus tells Jarius, "Don't be afraid, just believe." I have been in much less dire circumstances, when money has been tight and I am filling up with anxiety and despair when my wife, meaning well, has told me to not be afraid and to "just believe," and I know my reaction to her statement is less than pleasant. With that in mind, I can only imagine what Jarius wanted to tell Jesus.

Instead, Jarius was able to block out all distractions, all emotions, and focus in on Jesus. I believe it was in that moment when his desperation vanished and an attitude of complete faith in the Man standing before him, took over. I believe that Jarius, in his moment of hopelessness, looked into the eyes of Jesus and saw hope-not only for his daughter, but for himself, as well. In fact, it could also be that Jesus was calling him to go beyond simply believing that Jesus could save his daughter, but that Jesus could save his very soul as well. AND, it was in that moment, that Jarius believed.

APPLICATION: I believe that this story is calling me to a deeper belief than I sometimes am willing to display. I believe that Jesus intentionally delayed His arrival to Jarius' home. If He had gone straight there, Jarius may never have been affected as greatly as he was, by being made to wait. Before today, I always thought this was a story about Jesus raising a girl from the dead, and so, having an impact on that girl's life. Any delay there may have been was in order that enough time would elapse to allow for the girl to die so that Jesus could perform this miracle. Yet, today, I feel I clearly see that the story is about the change that took place in Jarius, this synagogue ruler.

Events transpired which affected his ability to focus, to think straight, to, ultimately, become distracted. And, it was in the midst of this distraction, that God tested this man's faith. In other words, it wasn't made easy for him. Jesus did not present Himself to Jarius as a simple servant, ready to do to the bidding of anyone who asks. I can bet that Jarius was used to people doing things for him in just such a fashion. I do not believe that Jesus waited and took His time so that He could perform an even greater "trick" of raising someone from death to life. In fact, that seems to go against his very nature. Sure, if He would have arrived sooner, He would simply have touched the girl and healed her without the dramatic effect of raising her to life. The story might have had a smaller affect on us, BUT it still would have been consistent with Jesus' nature.

HOWEVER, if He would have rushed to Jarius' aid, Jarius would have viewed Jesus as nothing more than a physician with unique healing powers. Not to mention, Jesus would have been nothing more that one more person who rushed to Jarius' aid whenever he asked. The fact that someone would have had an encounter with Jesus, had Jesus arrived to the scene earlier, and NOT been affected, goes AGAINST Jesus' nature!

With that being said, what does this mean for me? Well, the one thing that screams out at me this morning is that question of why am I surprised when I am made to wait for answers during times of stress and anxiety? How often, during those moments when nothing seems to be going my way, either financially or from a physical health standpoint, do I cry out, "Why me?!" All the while, ignoring ALL the times things worked out for the good.

Our lives are very much like Jarius' journey with Him. We live away from His presence for awhile, doing our own things, handling our own problems, and going about our own business. We always "believe" in Him; we know He is there IF we need that "quick fix" or "super power" to fly in and save the day, but, most of the time, we simply leave Him in peace. And then, when that moment arrives, when we are desperate for a solution, for deliverance from a bad situation, we call out to Him-expecting that He will proceed directly to our side to help us. Our belief takes us THAT far, just like it did for Jarius. Yet, He is not our personal genie in the lamp, if you will. He delays sometimes, or, at least, in our eyes, He delays. However, in His eyes, He has perfect timing. He causes us to wait, forcing us to take a step back, and then He tells us, in the midst of our storm, to not be afraid, but to JUST BELIEVE.

I believe that more could be learned from studying the actions of the woman who touched the garment of Jesus. With her, there was no hesitation to her belief-she knew that all she had to do was reach out and touch Him. She didn't care who saw. She didn't look away when Jesus asked who touched Him. She simply believed in the healing power of her Lord and Savior. Many people touched Him that day, but I think that she was the only one who had the type of faith that Jesus was calling Jarius to that day-the type of faith that I feel He is calling me to today.

THE END