The Resurrection at Galilee - The Man who Touched Jesus

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered round him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.’ So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed round him. Mark 5:21‭-‬24 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/mrk.5.21-24.NIVUK We can read this passage any number of times, but miss the significant detail. Jairus was a man of standing. He was the leader of a synagogue. He was responsible for managing a worshipping community, of ensuring the Word of God was read and discussed every Sabbath. He would actually have a rabbinical role, being responsible for teaching the Word. He was an important man. He would have been highly respected in the local Jewish community. Yet here we see him on his knees, bowing at the feet of an itinerant preacher - a teacher without a synagogue, or even a place to stay! Why? The answer lies with his daughter. She is critically ill and is dying. He is begging for Jesus to come and save her. A number of years I was on a long flight and looking for a movie to watch. I came across a lesser-known thriller starring Denzel Washington by the name of 'John Q'. So I decided to watch it. It turned out to be a thoroughly captivating film. The plot revolves around a father (played by Washington) whose son needs a heart transplant. However, his medical insurance that he's been paying for years won't cover it. He tries to fundraise, but the operation is too expensive. In sheer desperation he takes the Emergency Room of his local hospital captive at gunpoint, even offering his own heart so his son can live. We get that, don't we? We understand it. We can see how a father could get that desperate. That's what made this film to utterly compelling for me. So we can understand why Jairus would throw aside his dignity and beg Jesus to help him. But there is more here. There is an wonderful truth at the heart of Jairus' story that should touch our heart and thrill our soul. Jairus is willing to do whatever it takes to save his daughter. In the same way, God is willing to do whatever it takes to save us. Why? Because He is our Father. As one of the most well known verses in the Bible states: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16‭-‬17 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.3.16-17.NIVUK And this is echoed in Romans: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6‭-‬8 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/rom.5.6-8.NIVUK The story of Jesus Christ is not a story of a desperate father. No, it's the story of a Father who deliberately and meticulously sets in place a rescue plan, including the sacrificial death of His Own Son, to save His disobedient and insolent children. He did whatever it took to save us. Jairus here demonstrates true, committed fatherhood. God does the same, and far greater. The question is: how do we react to a love like this? Do we push it away? Or do we receive it and commit ourselves to following such a Father? The choice is up to us. We will next look at THE WOMAN WHO TOUCHED JESUS.