Luke 8:49-56 (ESV)

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” ⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. ⁵² And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” ⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

It appeared that Jesus’ conversation with the woman he just healed (Luke 8:47) was a bad decision. While Jesus was chit-chatting with her, someone from Jairus’s house let Jairus know it was too late. His daughter was dead. Jairus must have been crushed. Because Jesus “stopped everything” to wait for this woman to confess, the twelve-year-old girl died. If only Jesus had taken the crisis seriously and moved quickly, maybe he would have saved her young life. There was no point in Jesus coming now. Jesus overheard all this, and said, “Do not fear; only believe.” So they made their way to Jairus’s home. Despite the crowd, Jesus only asked Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents to come with him. The neighbors knew the girl had died, and they had gathered to mourn with her family. Jesus told them to stop weeping, because she was asleep. They mourners laughed at this. They had seen death many times. There was no hope for this girl. But Jesus took the girl’s hand and told her to get up, as if he were waking her up from sleep. Immediately, she rose up and ate. Her parents were in awe, obviously.

Have you ever felt like Jairus must have felt that day, like Jesus either doesn’t care or doesn’t have the ability or desire to do anything about your crisis? At times, we can feel like God “dropped the ball” with respect to a tragedy that he allowed or didn’t fix. What about those in the crowd who didn’t go back to Jairus’s house? They probably assumed that Jesus’ choice to hang out with the woman who had been healed from bleeding was unwise. Sometimes Jesus allows us to see his power, and sometimes we don’t get to see the big picture. Either way, we are called by Jesus to trust him. If he has removed the blinders from your eyes and allowed you to place your faith in him, turning from your sin, then you have been saved from real death. May we be encouraged by Jesus’ ability to raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead, but may we also be awed by Jesus’ ability to keep us from the second death, the only death that really matters. Nothing in this created universe can thwart God’s plan for his children. Rejoice in that truth, no matter what you face today.