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Jairus pleads, "Jesus, heal my daughter. Don't let her die"
This Week’s Story relives American history and the Bible through brief inspiring stories presented on mp3 audio recordings and text for reading.
What happened?
“Sir, could I ask you some questions about what happened here this morning?”
“I just was walking along the Sea of Galilee.”
“Sir, I saw you watching the people.”
“You can call me Jesse. As I was walking, I saw a boat come to shore. People were waiting for it and began shouting, “Jesus is here!” Soon I was being shoved by people rushing forwards. I became curious and moved closer to the boat as men got out of it. I didn’t see anything special about them or the boat. The crowd was fixated on one of the men, whom they called Jesus. Have you heard about him?”
“I have. Jesse, what did he look like?”
“I can’t tell you much about his physical appearance. What I noticed was his manner, how he moved his body, and what he did. He did not hesitate, even when he paused. I sensed he had authority, but not conceit.”
“Were people talking to him?”
“Oh yes! You should have seen Jairus, the leader of the local synagogue speak to him.” Jairus fell on his knees and begged, “Please come to my home now. My daughter is dying. Place your hands on her. Heal her. Don’t let her die.”
“Jesse, that’s hard to believe. I’ve heard that the religious leaders, both Pharisees and Sadducees, distrust Jesus. Many hate him. Why would Jairus trust him? Some of the religious leaders from Jerusalem accuse Jesus of being possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. Some have met with King Herod to make plans to kill Jesus.
“They try to trap him into saying something against the law, but he’s not intimidated by them. You know how they’re obsessed with making and keeping laws. They go into a tizzy when Jesus breaks one of their rules. A few days ago he said that the Sabbath, our weekly day of worship, was made for man. Man was not made for the Sabbath. To me that is a simple and profound truth, but they rejected it. Instead they were furious, because on the Sabbath he healed a man. That violated their regulations. I would have liked to have seen one of them plead for help from Jesus. Jairus must have been desperate.”
“True, but maybe we have some religious leaders, who are wondering if what Jesus says and does is of God.”
“Jesse, did Jesus go with Jairus?”
“He did and I followed as closely as I could. As he was walking, some messengers came from Jairus’ home.” They told Jairus, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no reason to trouble The Teacher.”
“The Teacher?”
“Yes, that’s what they called Jesus and you should have heard the respect in their voices.
“Jesus paid no attention to them. He told Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid. Trust me.’
“I heard that when he reached the home of Jairus, people were inside crying loudly. He asked them, ‘Why are you crying? The girl is sleeping; she isn’t dead.’ The people laughed at him and he told them, ‘Go outside. I wish for my three followers, Peter, James, and John, to stay with me.’
“Then he, the three men, and the little girl’s parents went to her room. He took her hand and said, ‘Get up, little girl.’
“I wish I could have seen what happened next. That twelve year old girl stood up and walked around her room. Jesus told her parents, ‘Don’t tell anyone what happened in this room. Get some food; your daughter needs to eat.’
“The parents could not grasp what was happening. They were in shock, but they did get food for their daughter. I’d like to talk to her. Most of all I’d like to talk to Jesus.”
This is Barbara Steiner with a story based on accounts in Mark of the Bible. Please check out thisweeksstory.com.
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