Mark 5:37-40 “He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40 But they laughed at him.”
“But they laughed at Him!” Wait a minute… aren’t we talking about Jesus. This is the man who walked on water. This is the man who fed the five thousand. This is the man who raised the dead and gave sight to the blind. And yet in this moment of intense emotion the people laugh in reaction to his words. This passage is a powerful image of the conflict between faith and reason.
Jesus was with Jairus when the men from his household came with the news that his daughter was dead. He was aware fully of the setting that He was walking into. This was not a case of Jesus misunderstanding the situation. This was not a case of miscommunication. This was Jesus living above the level of the natural mind! In John 11 Jesus also refers to the death of Lazarus by initially stating that Lazarus had fallen asleep. So it seems apparent that when He spoke to those gathered He knew exactly what He was talking about. The message seems to be one of living on a different level than the world around you. In the preceding passage Jesus has spoken to Jairus, encouraging him to reject his fear and to “just believe!” In essence He is working to change Jairus’ point of view, as if to say, “do not look at the circumstances, look at God!”
This situation is rare in its setting because of the fact that even though He is going to a setting where many people are grieving and there will be much emotion He only allows a three of His main disciples to go with Him. They walk into this setting of grief and immediately confront the atmosphere that is swirling around. He is not afraid to contradict their emotion, nor oppose their interpretation of what is happening. Jesus is not hesitant to reinterpret their view of the situation.
It is interesting to note that even though their reaction is negative and they laugh at Him, Jesus is not deterred from His perspective of things. He does not waver as if to yield to the general crowd opinion. He is willing to stand alone in His conviction that the girl will soon be fine. There is such a powerful message in these verses about confidence in God. How many people could walk into a place of mourning and challenge everyone’s perception of the victim’s condition? How many people do you know who could stand in the face of the people’s laughter and not lose their strength of heart? There is a great miracle that takes place before the miracle even takes place!
The miracle I am referring to is the miracle of faith! Faith is does not submit to the doctor’s decree! Faith does not surrender to peer pressure. Faith is not bound to the acceptance of others. At times faith must walk alone! At times faith must go against the grain of popular culture. Can you take control of the atmosphere around you and bend it to God’s will!? Jesus did. He turned a setting that was being governed by emotion and a negative report into a setting that was prepared for God’s power! He recognized that the atmosphere needed to be changed and immediately began the process of confrontation as soon as He arrived. He did not let it perpetuate for any length of time once He was on the scene.
God desires to teach us discernment so that we can recognize the hindrances in the atmosphere that will resist the miraculous. It is God’s desire to teach us wisdom so that we can partner with Him in creating an atmosphere of faith. God’s people must seek wisdom and courage to rightly interpret every setting from the perspective of God’s kingdom instead of the natural man. Look at the God potential in every moment and believe. Stand for God and let Him work with you to do His will.
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