Prose

I was reviewing my Sunday school lesson for September 20, 2015 and the passage that I was meditating on was Mark 5:21-43. To be honest, I was tempted to settle with simply teaching my young pupils that Jesus is the Miracle Maker. But as I was meditating on the passage, I was reminded of these four wonderful things about Jesus:

1. Jesus the hearer of prayers (vv. 22-24)
Just try to imagine the sight of a revered religious leader falling on his knees while pleading to a poor Man for help. That is exactly what it looked like when Jairus desperately plead to Jesus for help. This scene reveals two of our basic emotional needs: to have a listening ear and a helping hand. We all need that kind of friend who can listen to us in our distress and help us in our problems.

But there are times when even those who are closest to us do not have time to give us a listening ear. It maybe because they are busy, preoccupied with something else, or dealing with their own problems. Whatever their reasons maybe, these are the times when we feel like we are alone. We tend to think that nobody cares and nobody loves us anymore. We are hurt and become bitter with people around us.

The good news is that even when it seems like nobody cares and nobody listens, Jesus does. All we need to do is to fall at His feet and cry to Him, just like what Jairus did. We can call to Him, because He can hear us and help us especially in times of need.

2. Jesus the hope for the hopeless (vv. 25-34)
I can just imagine what the woman must have felt like when she was suffering from ceaseless bleeding for twelve years. She had been through many physicians, yet not one of them was able to cure her. She already spent all her resources, yet her problem only grew worse. It may have been that she grew tired of hoping along the way. But she did found hope when she found Christ.

Many of us have come to a point in our lives, where we find ourselves in a situation similar to that of the woman. It may be because of a mistake of our own doing, a trouble caused to us by others, or a crisis that seems to have come from nowhere. We try our best to redeem ourselves from the problem, yet we find that even the best of our efforts isn't strong enough to redeem us. That would seem to be a hopeless situation, and we may feel like we are far from redemption.

The good news is that there is an undying hope in Christ even in the midst of hopelessness. Those who find hope in Him alone, find a hope that will never be taken away from them.

3. Jesus the comforter of hearts (vv. 35-36)
It must have been a very hard day for Jairus to bear. His heart was already troubled by his daughter's condition, then comes this news telling him that the girl is already gone. He must have felt so much devastation upon hearing the news. Fortunately enough, Jesus knew just what to say.

Many of us have been in that kind of situation. That situation where you already have so much problems to worry about, then turning on your TV or radio or browsing through the social media, all you get is bad news. This kind of situation causes so much trouble in our hearts. Painful truth is, trouble will always be a part of this present world's everyday reality until it is completely destroyed. Even Jesus told His disciples that they will have tribulation in this world (John 16:33). After all, this is a fallen world that we are living in.

The good news is that He Who has the power to calm down the storms (Mark 4:39) also has the power to give rest to the troubled hearts (Mark 5:36). Those who hear and believe His words find peace and comfort even in the midst of tribulation.

4. Jesus the worker of miracles (vv. 27-29, 41-44)
We can read in the passage how the woman was healed of her bleeding by just touching the garments of Jesus and how Jairus' daughter was raised from the dead when Jesus spoke to her. These instances show the miraculous power that Jesus have. The Hebrew word for "miraculous", by the way, is 'pele' which, according to Hebrew scholars, is something that can only come from God. And because Jesus is the Eternal Son of God, He still has the same power even in the age of skepticism. No amount of human doubt can change the truth that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8, ESV). If He can heal the sick and raise the dead yesterday, it is certain that He can still do the same today.

But there is one miracle that Jesus can do whose importance should be emphasize more than any other miracles - and that is the salvation of man. How is it a miracle and why is it so important?

The Bible says that since the fall of Adam (Genesis 2:17, ch. 3), everyone who is begotten of him is dead in sin (Romans 5:12, 19). And because all of us have sinned and are dead in our sins (Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1-3), we are unable to live a life that pleases God (Matthew 5:48). And being dead in our sins, we do not truly desire to please God - the only desire that we have is to please ourselves in our sinful passions. The Bible says, "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God" (Romans 3:10-11, MEV; read through verses 12-18).  The bad news is that those who are dead in their sins shall have their portion in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12-15, 21:8).

The good news is that God, in His love for us, gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins (1 John 4:9-10) so that those who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, 1 John 5:12). Just as Jesus had the power to raise Jairus' daughter from the dead, He also has the power to raise sinners from their spiritual death (John 5:25-29; Ephesians 2:4-7). And those who believe in Him are given the power to overcome the world (1 John 5:4-5) and shall dwell with Him in eternity (Revelation 21:6-7).

There is yet one question that everyone of us should answer: Have you already received this miracle?

- Shim'onai :D