Mark 5:21-24a 21And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him, and he was by the lake. 22And one of the rulers of the synagogue with the name Jairus came, and when he saw him, he fell at his feet 23and begged him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the end, coming that you might lay your hands on her, so that she may be saved and live.” 24And he went with him.
Verse 21 begins with a significant statement that reveals something special about Jesus. Why did he and his disciples cross the Sea of Galilee? It appears that they were in the area of the Garasenes for only a short time, perhaps just hours, before crossing back to the other side. Jesus went to the other side, braving a raging sea, for one demon-possessed man. This man would do what Jesus did not do: he preached the good news to his own people. Jesus went out of his way to save one man who would go on and make a big difference in his home area.
The implied theme of Jesus as the merciful and compassionate Lord continues in the next two stories as Mark continues to recount the healing powers of Jesus. Each story is unique but joins with the others by revealing something special about Jesus. The power of Jesus as the Son of God is vividly illustrated in each story. He can calm a storm and cast out a legion of demons, yet he is concerned about the small child and hemorrhaging woman. These two stories are always told together in the Synoptic Gospels. They contain a number of similar elements: both involve females, touching, faith, and the number 12. The exact location of these events is not stated, but Jesus was along the lake shore again close enough to a town that had a synagogue.
Jairus had a position of significance in the community as the leader of the local synagogue. This position suggests that he was a pious, sincere, and devoted man. He had either heard about or seen the healing power of Jesus. Perhaps like a lot of people, he ignored this or even was hostile, like other Jewish leaders. But desperation set in when his daughter was at the end of her life, an idiom that meant she was so seriously ill that she was about to die. He came to Jesus at his deepest moment of desperation and fell before him, begging for help. This is the third story in a row where people beg Jesus.
The word saved (sōthē) can mean to save in a spiritual way, as in salvation from sins or physical sense in the way of healing. Jairus is asking Jesus to heal his daughter, but Jesus’ healing always brought about spiritual healing as well. The physical healing of the girl would impact the faith of her family and all who heard about it, resulting in spiritual salvation. When God heals a person, it is an opportunity, call, and invitation to grow in faith. The healing accounts in the Bible are often accompanied with faith or lead to faith. To go on in life when a miracle is evident ignores the God who heals and will add a layer of callousness to one’s heart.
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