Mark 5:35–36

The ruler was impatient and distressed. To him, Jesus' visit to his house, where his sick daughter lay, had met many annoying delays… The crowd that gathered in the narrow streets made progress slow and difficult. The healing of the woman appeared to be a further obstacle in the way of the Master's mercy for him. And now, while Jesus was speaking His final blessing over the woman, some arrived from the ruler's house. They brought the sad news he had expected but dreaded: death had come. "Your daughter is dead" was the message, closing, as he supposed, the last door of his hopes.

In this case the messengers were quick to bring bad news. Whenever there is bad news to tell, there are always people at hand ready to tell it. Few, by comparison, tell good news; may the Lord raise up more such.

This person little knew either the power of His hand or the tender love of His heart. However deep our sorrows, however great our trials, we need not fear to "trouble" the Lord with our burdens. He was here to share our griefs and bear our trials.

As an old writer puts it: "Here were more manners than faith: 'Do not trouble the Teacher.' Unbelief is all for caution, and thinks every good work tiresome. What nature counts troublesome is pleasing and delightful to grace. O Saviour, it was Your food and drink to do Your Father's will. His will was that You should bear our griefs and take away our sorrows. Our happiness cannot be Your trouble, so we must keep coming to You."

At the very moment of the woman's deliverance the case of Jairus' daughter took on a darker look. News of her death arrived. Those who sent the message assumed that disease might disappear before the power of Jesus, but that death lay outside His reach… Death is the most hopeless thing of all. Can He triumph over that? He can, and He did.

Death, for man, is the end of hope; and, as far as he is concerned, it is meant to be so. For this very reason, it is here that God can show Himself where man is powerless. "Do not fear," says the Lord in answer to such a message; "only believe." Unbelief may claim its right to mourn and weep, though much even of this is unreal. But faith alone can see the glory of God.

Bad news met the ruler's ear while Jesus was crowning His mercy to the woman who touched Him. How swift His goodness is to shield a weak heart from despair! "Do not fear, only believe." This was not troubling the Teacher; it was His proper work.

In the story of the dying child, do we not see a picture of the nation's moral condition when the Lord was present? At the end of the story the Lord raised the child from death. In the same way, when He returns to earth, He will revive the nation. Meanwhile the story of the woman teaches us that wherever people have faith in Christ, they will receive the blessing.

The general sense of the word seems to be this. Jesus heard what the speaker did not intend Him to hear. But He ignored the literal remark. He said what expressed His own purpose and calmed the anxiety of Jairus.

If a gracious Lord had not seen the danger and stopped his rising unbelief, perhaps the father's hope would have died too. Then no room would have been left for this miracle, since faith, the necessary condition, would have been missing. "As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He says to the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe." There is something very gracious in that "as soon as." The Lord spoke at once. He left no time for a thought of unbelief to slip into the father's mind, still less for the father to speak it aloud. Such a thought might have stood in the way of a cure. Instead He filled his mind at once with words of encouragement and hope.

Death, for man, is the end of hope; and, as far as he is concerned, it is designed to be so. For this very reason it is here that God can show Himself, where man is powerless. "Be not afraid," says the Lord in answer to such a message; "only believe." Unbelief may claim its right to mourn and weep, though much even of this is not real. But faith alone can see the glory of God.

Jairus had been quite confident about His ability to heal; but now, what about death? — that was the great test of his faith, and of the power of Jesus. "Be not afraid, only believe," was the word. Faith in Christ will remove the fear of death for us as well as for him.

This person little knew either the power of His hand or the tender love of His heart. However deep our sorrows, however great our trials, we need not fear to "trouble" the Lord with our burdens. He was here to share our griefs and bear our trials. Entering into the feelings of the poor father, the Lord drops a word of comfort into his heart — "Be not afraid, only believe."

It is these small touches that make us acquainted with the Saviour. Thank God, we can speak of His power; but how good it is to see His heart, before He put out His power.

Now, as for the child He was travelling to, no remedy was available. Jesus finds her dead, but does not fail in the purpose of His journey. He raises her again, for He can give life. So it is with Israel too. On the way, those who had faith in Jesus were healed, incurable as they were in themselves; but as to Israel, the nation was dead in trespasses and sins. Outwardly this seemed to stop the work of Jesus. But grace will restore life to Israel in the end.

Many crowns are His, and we delight to crown Him Lord of all; but no crown that will ever adorn His head will ever change His heart. The love that could weep with Martha and Mary has not altered in the slightest. The heart that had compassion on the widow of Nain still beats in sympathy with sorrowing saints. The same tender love sustained the broken-hearted Jairus. It can still say with infinite compassion to a broken-hearted believer, "Be not afraid, only believe."