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21 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. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He 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.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 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. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl), I say to you, get up!” 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. Mark 5:21-43 NIV)
Happy and Blessed Monday to you, ConCafe Family! And a blessing bigger than your wildest dreams visit you, dear Reader, and your ministry in service to Our Lord, Jesus Christ! Please continue to pray for the needs shared with you, and to which you said you would pray; pray for one another, and pray for yourselves.
Women in Jesus' day did not enjoy a high standing in society. As others have said, they were a little above property, and maybe on the same level as cattle and livestock in the view of men. We have heard that widows with no children had no support groups, other than friends, and the options to them were limited, if they had any at all. Medical attention for anyone was scarce and luxuries we enjoy were nonexistant. Any small illness could and did lead to death for many. So, in this climate comes Jesus, the Son of God, whose supernatural powers brought healing and wholeness to those who desperately needed it. And here come two such cases to Him now. Stop for a moment and imagine this scenario. Jesus' enemies came from the temple and the synagogues; their network allowed for them to share their distrust and dislike for a man who appeared ready to topple their enterprise of controling the church business in which they were well set. So, to have the chief officer or main leader, whose name is Jairus, come to Jesus with an urgent request makes for an interesting encounter with Him. Jairus falls at Jesus' feet. For a Jew to do that was to show his complete surrender to Jesus. No one in the group who hated Jesus would dare do such a humiliating thing, to fall at the feet of one's enemy. And Jairus pleads earnestly with Jesus for the healing and life of his daughter. And he also makes a demand no other leader would have dared ask, "Please come and put Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." I do suppose, as a father of daughters, that perhaps other Jewish leaders might have surrendered their pride and possibly their position, to request healing for their daughter. Regardless, Our Lord does go with him to see the condition of Jairus' daughter. And behind Him goes a large crowd, as was becoming the usual response of cities and towns to Jesus' presence. In that crowd was a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years. This had been a severe strain on her on multiple levels; financially, emotional, physically, and possibly spiiritually, but, it may have been her spirit that called for her to seek and find Jesus. Verse 26 says, "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." And something told her that perhaps, "If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed." This tells us that her need was so great that her belief was that Jesus was so holy, that all she had to do was to touch his garments and she would be healed. Thinking logically, if we approach someone who is sick with what is a contagious disease, we avoid every part of that person, including and maybe especially, their clothing. This pandemic may have taught us that in many ways. The anti-bacterial industry has made many fortunes in selling ther products. Remember when store shelves had NO anti-baterial products at all? Remember many who thought they could make their own anti-bacterial formulas? Fear of contracting Covid through touch made us be extra careful. Imagine leoprosy in Jesus' day? But imagine holiness! The woman believed Jesus was so holy and pure that a mere touch of His clothing would heal her! She was willing to risk anything at this point in her life, and so as He passed, she touched Him, and she was healed! Can you imagine the feeling of that woman at that moment? The blood flow stopped and new energy entered her body and she was indeed a new person! Yet, Jesus felt the touch and immediately asks, "Who touched my clothes?" The disciples ask, almost with shock, "Lord, you saw the people crowding against You, and you still ask, "Who touched me?" Jesus doesn't even hear them because He kept looking around to see who had touched Him. It was the woman who knew that she was healed, came to Jesus, and fell to His feet and trembling with fear, confessed it had been her who touched Him. Lovingly, Jesus tells her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." A miracle. A victory in the life of this woman.
Now comes a crowd from Jairus' home with the sad news; "Your daughter is dead, why bother the teacher anymore?" Jesus responds to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe." And from that point on, Jesus allows only Peter, James, and John to follow Him to the synagogue ruler's home. When they arrive, there is a commotion, people crying and showing their grief. Jesus tells them that the child was not dead but asleep. This made the crowd laugh. Jesus asks them all to leave and taking the father, mother and the three disciples with Him to the room where the little girl lay, Jesus takes her by the hand and says, "Talitha koum!, meaning, "little girl", then "I say to you, get up!" At once the little girl got up and began to walk around; and the crowd was "completely astonished." Jesus gave strict orders to tell no one about this and ordered the family to give him something to eat.
Jesus is the healer of the desperate even today. God's Kingdom has always been about wholeness and healing, but we need to understand that healing comes in all forms, even through death, the ultimate healer. We cannot begin to explain how some people receive a miracle, and others do not; but we celebrate the known, that God is always with us, to hold us here, and to welcome us there. Whatever it is that needs healing, turn it over to the Lord and await His plan for you. If you need prayer or someone to listen to you, please call or email me. I don't have all the answers but together we can see what the solution God may be sharing with us truly is. Jairus did not give up, even when mourners from his home came to tell him not to bother the Teacher any longer. The woman with the need for healing had not given up even after 12 years of having her savings depleted and prolonged suffering at the hands of doctors. We should not give up either!
PRAYER: Loving Father, bless this dear reader with the answer to his/her prayers. Grant us all peace and the assurance that we are not now, nor ever, alone. Be glorified in us, dear Lord, for we pray in Thy name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a listener to someone in need today.
Receive my blessings for peace and wholeness,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
