Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The account of the daughter of Jairus concludes in Mark 5:40b-43: “But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them [Peter, James, and John] that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And He took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, ‘Talitha cumi’; which is, being interpreted, ‘Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.’ And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And He charged them that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.” The divine solicitude of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is apparent throughout this historical vignette. First, He removed the gawking, squawking scorners so that they would not be staring at this girl. Second, He “took the damsel by the hand”; this tender touch was not necessary for her deliverance from death, but Jesus was not performing this miracle in a perfunctory manner. Third, He spoke gently to her – when He did not have to speak at all to restore her to life. Fourth, He commanded that her story not be trumpeted abroad, for otherwise her young life would quickly become a spectacle, something like a traveling sideshow. Fifth, He reminded her elated parents that she needed nourishment. Sixth, of course, is the miracle itself, restoring her to her family and turning lamentation into lightness, grief into great gratitude. Truly, our Savior God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20a).