:: In.a.Mirror.Dimly ::

Continuing my series of meditations on the Gospel of Mark…

After an incredible display of power on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus arrived in the region of the Gerasenes. He taught his disciples to trust in him: both in his power and his care for them. Jesus also taught them that he cared about spreading his message, even to unlikely places such as the Gentile region of the Gerasenes. The contrast to previous ministry is stark in the results since only one person received the message and the rest of the town asked Jesus to leave.

However, God’s Kingdom is not stopped even when the masses reject it. One man received God’s powerful touch and was willing to follow Jesus. Jesus denied himself another follower to his group and saw the importance of releasing that man to tell others in his area about what God had done for him. The man was willing to obey the command of Jesus, even if it wasn’t what he wanted.

By displaying his power to cast out demons, to restore broken people, and to send a herd of swine to its death, Jesus made his audience quite uncomfortable. He had cost the local economy quite a lot of income, and they had no idea what he could do next. The fear of the unknown and unpredictable nature of Jesus prevented them from receiving his message and recognizing who he is.

A different kind of fear waited on the other side of the lake with Jairus whose daughter lay dying. He begged Jesus to help him and specified that Jesus should come touch her so that she can be healed. It is possible that Jairus could have been part of the opposition to Jesus as one point, which may explain his public pleading. Jairus also assumed that Jesus could heal like any other prophet, but as the Son of God he could heal from anywhere—something the Centurion realized.

Despite Jairus’ fears, Jesus agreed to come with a huge crowd following. As Jairus wrestled with his fear of losing his daughter and his fear that Jesus would not or could not heal her, a woman in the crowd struggled with her own fear that Jesus would not touch her since she was unclean according to Jewish law with her condition. She figured out a clever compromise by touching Jesus’ robe in the crowd when he could have never known. How unclean could she make him by touching the end of his garment.

To her surprise, it worked, but Jesus knew what happened. He stopped to find out, and surely Jairus was losing it by now. Jesus healed in very relational ways. He wanted the people to know that he cared, and he met people right where they were. If Jairus needed him to touch his daughter, he could do that. If the woman needed to grasp his garment, then he could do that as well. There wasn’t a “correct” way to be healed by Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus wanted this woman to know that her faith made her well and that he cared for her. In addition, everyone in the crowd knew that the Messiah had power to make all things clean, rather than becoming defiled by anything.

By the time Jairus learned that his daughter was dead, Jesus assured him to have faith, much like this woman who had been healed. Jairus had to trust that since Jesus healed this woman his daughter could be raised from the dead. I’m certain that Jairus could have cooked up any number of reasons why Jesus couldn’t raise his daughter from the dead.

Jairus continued to believe as Jesus prevented the crowds from following, even limiting his disciples to three. In a sense Jesus seemed to be protecting Jairus and his family from a crowd in his moment of need. He didn’t want a crowd of gawkers looking on in his crisis of faith.

At the same time Jesus seemed to be protecting his own ministry from too much popularity or unrealistic expectations. A revolt against Rome, which certainly was brewing at the time, could make good use of a Messiah who could raise the dead. If they were willing to make him king after feeding them with bread, then who knows what would have happened if the word spread about Jairus’ daughter.

While anyone of us who performed such a miracle would want the credit and accolades that followed such an act, Jesus raised the girl, swore everyone to secrecy, and then left that part of the country. Both Jairus and the woman had defeated fear by trusting in both the compassion and power of Jesus. Though Jesus met them where they were and had mercy on them, Mark makes it clear that faith was absolutely necessary. When Jesus returned to Nazareth, where the story picks up in chapter six, the astounding lack of faith was the only thing preventing him from performing miracles.