Life Interrupted

“²² And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet ²³ and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” ²⁴ So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.²⁵ Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, ²⁶ and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. ²⁸ For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”²⁹ Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. ³⁰ And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”³¹ But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”³² And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. ³³ But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”³⁵ While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”³⁶ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” ³⁷ And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. ³⁸ Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. ³⁹ When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”⁴⁰ And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. ⁴¹ Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” ⁴² Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. ⁴³ But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.” Mark 5:22-43 NKJV

Jairus came to Jesus desperate for a healer. His daughter was dying. She needed a miracle. Jesus immediately left what he was doing to go with Jairus to his daughter’s side. What relief Jairus must’ve felt in that moment. Jesus was going to heal his daughter. Jesus was coming to his rescue . . . to her rescue. Everything was going to be okay.

But then, as they were going, the woman with the issue of blood reached through the throng of people pressing in around Jesus and touched the hem of His garment. Jesus immediately stopped. His journey to the dying little girl was interrupted by this woman, and rather than continuing on, He stopped. He stopped to find out who touched Him. He stopped to seek out the one who had sought Him for healing.

Can you imagine what Jairus must have thought as this is all playing out? As a parent, I can only think that he was most definitely inwardly, and maybe outwardly, screaming, “This can wait Jesus! My daughter is dying!” And the truth is, it could’ve waited. The woman had been dealing with her issues for 12 years. How much harm could a few more hours do? But Jesus stopped and talked to her as if she was His only care in the world at that moment. Because we all matter to Jesus. Your problems are no bigger or worse to Him than my problems, and my problems are no more terrible than yours. Jesus cares about all of us, equally, without favoring one of His children over the other. Jesus allowed the interruption by the woman with the issue of blood. It wasn’t an unintentional distraction, but an intentional choice He made to stop and spend a few moments focused on her. It probably wasn’t more than a few minutes lost, but in the time it took to stop and talk with this woman, Jairus’s daughter died.

Jesus wasn’t phased by the news of the little girl’s death. He continued on as if she was still alive and waiting for His healing touch. Jairus likely felt such despair. What was this man going to do about his dead little girl? When Jesus reached the house, He asked why they were wailing and weeping, “the little girl is only asleep” he told them. And the people laughed. How ridiculous Jesus was. He stopped to deal with an unclean woman, a woman who had been sick and probably, ostracized for years. He allowed Himself to be interrupted. He knew the risk, and the little girl died as a result. But God . . . there is always a “but God” . . . when you think you’ve reached the end of your story, and you see a period, God sees a comma. Jesus walked right up to the little girl, took her hand, and said “Talitha, cumi . . . little girl, I say to you, arise,” and that interruption, that seemed so huge only moments before, became a non issue as the little girl rose up off her bed. The interruption that seemed like the end was only a pause in the story of the little girl’s life.

How often do we have interruptions in our journey and think it’s all over? We despair because the interruption we see seems more like final answer rather than a momentary pause. I find it interesting that this passage shares a commonality between the little girl and the woman with the issue of blood, a detail that seems somewhat insignificant yet draws their timelines together . . . 12 years . . . 12 years prior this little girl had been born, and while her family was celebrating the birth of their daughter, the woman started down the road of what would be 12 years of relentless suffering, both physically and emotionally. God knew where both of there journeys would culminate. None of this came as a surprise to Him. Our interruptions never do. He knew that on this day in history, their stories would collide, and their lives would be forever changed at the hands and the hem of the Savior.

Never think for a moment that God doesn’t see you in the interruptions of life. He’s working even in those moments when you think all is lost. God is not moved by these interruptions, and His plan is not changed by them either.

Copyright 2019, Courtney G Davis, All Rights Reserved

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