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The word had spread like a prairie fire about the storm stilling. No doubt, some of the boats that had gotten caught in the squall with Jesus and His disciples had returned to port in Capernaum and told the tale about the taming of the tempest. Interestingly, their report wasn’t just dismissed as another fish story conjured up in the minds of men accustomed to spinning yarns about life on the sea. No doubt, a good share of the folks left on land the night before had wondered at the eerie sudden silence, which came unexpectedly at the peak of the storm.
Come daybreak the crowds began massing along the seashore to await the return of that now familiar vessel bearing the Master and His men. Some among the throng came out of sheer curiosity. What would He do next? Was there no match for Him? First, He had demonstrated His power over disease and sickness, then the mighty forces of nature bowed before Him, and just last night He had driven out demons. What was the next chapter in this unfolding saga of divine power? Little did they know that an even more profound event was in store for this day: He would unveil His dominion over even death itself. This morning, we see that Jesus is…
1. Our Hope for Help
In that crowd, at least one pair of eyes was riveted on the sea, straining and searching frantically for a glimpse of the battered boat. Time was of the essence for this fellow because it was fast running out for his little girl. Once that boat sailed into sight and docked, we can be sure that he wasted no time in pushing to the fore, where he laid his urgent petition at Jesus’ feet. The words fairly flew from his mouth as he looked to Jesus as his Hope for Help: “While he was by the lake, one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet and 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.” He had either heard about or seen for himself the power of Christ and His sympathy for sorrow and suffering. At any rate, he had no doubt that with Christ’s help, his daughter could be healed. So he prostrated himself in the Oriental position of humility and implored Jesus’ help.
Jairus was an important man, being a synagogue ruler and all, but rank places no man beyond the reach of sorrow. Sin sees to that. Sorrow is no respecter of persons. It comes to palaces and poorhouses, temples and tenements, rich and poor, young and old alike. It comes to each one of us in one form or another at one time or another. There is no evading or escaping it. It is a fact of life. Sin causes sorrow and untold misery, and all have sinned. But that is where the similarity in sorrow ends. The difference depends on where our hope lies and where we turn in times of trouble for help. True Hope for Help can only be found in one place. Only in Christ is there true hope. Hope placed elsewhere is no hope at all but an illusion, offering only temporary help at best. Hope in Christ is a Hope that brings Help that lasts.
2. The Help For Our Hope
Jairus made the right decision in turning to Jesus as his Hope for Help. Jesus didn’t let him down as He provides Help for his Hope. Jesus immediately reacts to Jairus’ prayer of faith. Our text simply says: “So Jesus went with him.” He didn’t hesitate a moment but immediately set out to help this troubled soul. The man’s faith needed a tune-up, so Jesus Helped his Hope with two tests of faith:
The first test came when Jesus stopped to help out another desperate soul, who reached out in faith and put her hope in Jesus for help. While the clock ticked off precious minutes, and Jairus was losing the race with death, we detect no impatience with Jesus but rather an implicit trust that the Lord had things well in hand.
How would our faith stand up under that trial? If that had been us waiting there, we probably would have been tapping our toes, fiddling with our fingers, and checking our watches, anxious over the time that was slipping away, robbing the life of our loved one. The Lord operates on a different timetable than we do. His ways are not our ways. He knows best how to Help our Hope.
The second test is the toughest test, one which would either make or break his faith. This one would either Help his Hope immensely or wither the blossoms of hope completely. “While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother the teacher anymore?’” Before this news floored Jairus and hampered his hope, Jesus forestalls unbelief and Helped his Hope with a word of encouragement: “Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’”
Again, Jairus passed the test with flying colors and joined generations of OT believers who put their trust in God when the chips were down and they were facing death. Abraham showed unwavering faith when God told him to sacrifice Isaac. With the Egyptian army in hot pursuit, pressing Israel against the Red Sea, Moses trusted in the Lord and encouraged his people to do the same: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.” The unassuming shepherd boy David took on the giant man-of-war Goliath against all odds. When the need was highest, God was nighest. God provided Help for their Hope.
He is near us, too, when danger and death come knocking at our door, whispering those same words of encouragement to Help our Hope: “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” But how can we not fear the King of Terrors -- Death -- who has mowed down generation after generation and swept them into the dust? Patriarchs and prophets, princes and paupers, all have been obliged to yield to the Great Equalizer, Death. All people have an appointment with the Grim Reaper, a relentless reminder of the price of sin.
But we can stand fearless in the face of death. Jesus gives us the prescription: “Don’t be afraid, just believe.” Believe that we have nothing to fear from death. What had once been a menacing monster breathing fire and foreboding has become a meek messenger breathing peace and rest from Jesus. Hebrews 2 says: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -- that is, the devil -- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
As Jairus and Jesus, along with the inner circle of Peter, James, and John, approached Jairus’ home, the fuss of funeral formalities was already underway. The place was in an uproar. Heart-wrenching weeping and heart-rending wailing joined the melancholy sound of mournful flutes. For the most part, they were paid professionals performing this ancient custom for this prominent family. Jesus figured this scene might undercut Jairus’ faith, so He gave him new Help for his Hope with another word of encouragement: When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.’ But they laughed at Him.” That’s just what Jairus needed to hear to put his fears to rest. The word ‘sleep’ connotes a temporary condition and contains the pledge of re-awakening. Jesus was impressing upon Jairus that death would not have the final say; life would triumph in the end.
Even as it will for the Christian. The death of the faithful is just a sweet sleep after the burden and heat of the day. The body's death is the beginning of that peaceful slumber in the chamber of grace until the beautiful morning of the glorious resurrection. A sleep in Jesus is a blessed sleep. Meanwhile, our souls will go immediately to the side of our Savior in heaven. More Help for our Hope.
Jesus then put the finishing touches on Jairus’ newly-fortified faith by providing the ultimate Help for Jairus’ Hope: his hope was fulfilled after being tried and purified by Jesus: “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. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”) Immediately the girl stood up and walked around.”
Imagine the palpable anxiety Satan must have felt when He saw the events of our text unfold, as he saw Jesus steamroll over every obstacle that he threw into His path. Satan was acutely aware that Jesus was coming for him, so he gave it his best shot to stop Jesus short of a final confrontation. In a desperate gambit, he even dispatched his champion, Death, to halt Jesus in His tracks. But to no avail. Jesus defeated Death in skirmish after skirmish and just kept coming, closing in on the devil and his dominion in the world. The devil still had a few tricks up his sleeve, even bringing Jesus to death on the cross. He brought Jesus onto his own turf to do battle with Him there, but once again, to no avail. Jesus smashed the devil and defeated Death forever.
One day, our hopes will be fulfilled as well by the Hope of the Helpless. He will say to each of us, ‘Get up,’ and we will see our Savior triumphant in the skies, with the seal of victory in His nail-pierced hands and the shout of assurance on His lips: “Because I live, you shall live also.” We will be forever in the presence of the One who has conquered the most formidable foe of all, Death. We will rest our weary battle-scarred bodies in His loving arms, and we will dwell forever under the protection of the King of Kings.
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