Mark 5:21-43
21When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” 24So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” 29Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32He looked all around to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” 36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Reflection
When
you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
I want you to say that with me so that it can soak into your very soul. “When you are with Jesus, it is never too late”
I know that this is a hard idea to wrap your head around, because in this world there is ample opportunity to be too late. I once officiated a wedding anniversary celebration and the couple had arranged a young woman to sing during the vow renewal ceremony. The young woman had a great voice and was a beloved niece.
Well, as it turned out, the young woman accidentally slept through her alarm clock that morning, ran into heavy traffic along the way, and had to take a shower quickly at the hotel so that she would be presentable before the crowd. As the crowd was mingling and eating after the ceremony, she burst through the door and asked if she would still be able to sing. Some people were already packing up and leaving the event. Unfortunately, it was too late. I felt bad for her, but she was too late.
However, when you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
We still worry that it is too late though. Certainly, Jairus feared that it might be too late. At first, all seemed hopeful when the synagogue leader first came to Jesus and fell at his feet. Jairus begged Jesus: “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live” (Mark 5:23). Immediately, Jesus went with Jairus, presumably to heal his beloved, young daughter.
Unfortunately, Jairus’ hope soon fell apart when the streets, like the traffic along the way to the anniversary celebration, were congested with many, many people, making the journey to save the little girl painfully slow. The little girl’s chance of survival was going down with every wasted second.
And, it was right at that point when it happened: Jesus became distracted.
As the crowds pressed close to Jesus on all sides along the congested street, Jesus suddenly shouted, “Who touched my clothes?” Jairus did not need to say anything to Jesus concerning this distraction because the disciples were already on top of it. They were acutely aware that Jesus had been distracted from what was important.
“You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” the disciples retorted (Mark 5:31). Listening to their words, you feel their sense of urgency to get Jesus moving in the right direction so that the little girl might be saved.
Despite trying their hardest to get him back on task, the disciples failed as Jesus stopped and looked all around to see who had touched him. The little girl’s chances were looking grim.
Who had touched him was a grown woman who, over the past twelve years, had sought healing from various doctors. She had bled continuously for every one of those twelve years. I know the embarrassment of teens that accidentally bleed through their clothes in school during class. Talk about getting distracted from an expected task. I cannot imagine twelve years worth of that constant embarrassment, not to mention the pain associated with it. The pain is bad enough once a month. Can you imagine twelve years worth of that pain? Twelve years is a long, long time; almost too long. Some would say that it is too late to even worry about trying to do something about it. “You just need to learn to live with it,” they would advise.
But, when you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
Reaching out in faith, the woman said to herself, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” After-all, he was the healer that everyone had been talking about. He was the one whose power she sought. After years of medical failures and the needless draining of her money, she stretched her hand forward in desperation. Or, was it trust. Or was it both? Sometimes desperation and trust are exactly the same.
Stretching out her fingers through the mass of moving bodies ahead of her; through arms and legs, she touched his cloak for just the briefest of moments, trusting that she would find her healing.
Immediately, her pain was gone. She was well. After all of those years, the power that Jesus held within made her well.
When you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
As Jesus searched the crowd for the one who had stolen his power, the woman came to Jesus, dropped to the ground as Jairus had just done moments before, and confessed the whole truth. She confessed her years of pain. She confessed her theft of Jesus’ healing power. She confessed her hope that touching even his clothes might make her well. She “told him the whole truth” (Mark 5:33).
Looking at the woman, looking at that pitiful thief of divine power, Jesus responded to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (Mark 5:34). She was healed. More than that, she was considered a daughter. She was free to live her life. She was free to live in peace with Jesus, just as God had always intended for God’s children.
When you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
Or is it?
“Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” (Mark 5:35). The echo of a lost opportunity and a lost little girl bounced against the walls of the street for all to hear. It was too late. As wonderful as the healing of this older woman was, and it was wonderful, it was at the expense of a young, innocent life. Jairus’ daughter was dead. It was too late.
Or was it?
“Do not fear, only believe,” Jesus said to Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, the dead girl’s dear father (Mark 5:36).
Jesus deeply wants Jairus, and us, to hear the message: “Trust me, it is never too late.”
When you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
When they arrived at the house, people were already gathered there, weeping and wailing their loud laments. Jesus told them all that the child was not dead, but only sleeping. But, they knew the reality. They were present when it all went down, and he was not. The little girl was gone. She was dead. Jesus was too late. They laughed in his face. The man was obviously crazy. What they did not understand is that “when you are with Jesus, it is never too late.”
Jesus, exasperated by those who were convinced that it was too late, forced those who were laughing to go outside.
Those who constantly insist that it is too late are not permitted to be present when Jesus does his work. After-all, they are the ones who look at the wayward child and say, “It is too late.” They are the ones who look at the faltering relationship and say, “It is too far gone. It is too late.” They are the ones who see someone’s health declining and tragically declare, “Just consider them dead. It is too late.” They are the ones who look at the limp body of the unrepentant sinner while in the funeral receiving line and think to themselves, “They were a lost soul. It is too late.” They are the ones who would give up hope, give up on providing another chance, and just plain give up.
As convincing as these people can be, and as much influence as they often wield, when you are with Jesus, they are wrong. When you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
When you are with Jesus, pain does not win in the end. Sin does not win in the end. Death does not win in the end. When you are with the one who rose from the dead, the one who dragged our sin and pain into the grave with him, and then left it there as he climbed back out of that grave into new life on the third day; when you are with that one it is never too late.
“[Jesus] took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat” (Mark 5:40-43).
When Jesus was with the woman who suffered pain for twelve years, it was not too late.
When Jesus was with the young girl who had died, it was not too late.
When Jesus walks with you, even when the struggle seems too great, it is not too late.
When you are with Jesus, it is never too late.
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