Good Advice: Mark 5:35-36
Just because advice is logical doesn’t mean we want to follow it. Most situations are complex and multi-layered. The process of making a decision is not usually as straight-forward of a process as we’d like to imagine. It’s possible that in making a decision there might be multiple good ideas and only one good idea can be followed. In all things, we need to examine the situation, look at many options for proceeding in the process, and then go in faith with what we believe to be the best option.
Today we move back to Jairus’ story. While Jesus is dealing with the unnamed woman, some people from Jairus’ home come with bad news. They tell Jairus that his daughter is dead. They make a point to ask if Jairus should bother Jesus anymore with his daughter.
This isn’t a bad question to ask. Jairus’ people aren’t doing anything significantly wrong. The people are simply thinking of Jesus and His time. Jesus is already managing His place in a huge crowd. The requests for Jesus’ time, His teaching, and His healing abilities were likely enormous. Letting Jesus know that He didn’t need to make a special trip to Jairus’ house might have been a gracious gesture.
At the same time, Jesus doesn’t listen to the people from Jairus’ house. As well-intentioned as their thoughts may have been, they don’t know what Jesus knows. They don’t have the perspective of God. They don’t know what it is like to wield power capable of raising the dead. How could they know what God planned for Jairus’ daughter? Their advice may have been logical, but it wasn’t advice given out of the wisdom of God.
Jesus turns to Jairus and gives Him a small lesson. Jesus tells Jairus to choose belief over fear. Naturally, Jairus can’t know what Jesus has planned. The last thing Jairus heard is that his daughter had died. Jairus can’t help but let his mind start the grieving process whether it begins with denial, anger, or sorrow. Jesus interrupts the start of this process by giving him another option. Instead of grief, Jesus encourages Jairus to consider faith.
It was hopefully at this point that the people around Jesus remembered the lesson from the unnamed woman. Here was a woman with great faith who found what she desperately needed in Jesus. As she crawled towards Jesus to touch the hem of his clothing, that woman could not have possibly known how significant her timing was for Jairus’ sake. After all, Jesus is God. The impossible is not impossible for Him.
When Jesus looked to the future, He saw an opportunity to put faith, hope, and love on display. When the well-meaning people from Jairus’ house looked to the future, they saw a time for grief, sorrow, and mourning. Through their lack of divine perspective, they suggest that the time for Jesus’ involvement has passed.
Just because advice is logical doesn’t mean we want to follow it.
