"Absurdities" of Christ

The sixth sunday after pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Mark 5:21-24a, 35-43

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 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.” 24 So Jesus went with him.

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. (NIV)

You don’t have to know much about the background of the synagogue ruler named Jairus to recognize that he loved his only daughter with a father’s heart.  It is quite clear that he treasured his sweet little girl and dreaded the possibility of losing her.  Death was near for her.  We don’t know how long it had been looming.  We don’t know if there had been other trips to numerous physicians or if the family was up to its ears in doctor bills.  We just know that a father loved his daughter, and he shuttered to think about life without his little girl, so he did what we wish all would do when faced with hardship… 

… he went to Jesus.  Really, it was an uncommon course of action for a man of his position, as most associated with the synagogue – especially on overseer – did not look favorably on Jesus.  Nevertheless, Mark tells us, “Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and 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” (v.22,23).  Word traveled quickly when Jesus was near, and his ability to make well was no secret.  Jairus, knowing this, humbly dropped before Jesus and begged him to heal his little girl, knowing that even just his touch would be sufficient to make her well.  This was not a man who had run out of options or was resorting to his last hope with nowhere else to turn; rather, this was a man who fully trusted that Jesus had the ability to completely restore his daughter’s health and extend his time on earth with her father.  Jesus’ reaction to his request filled him with hope, for Jesus didn’t refuse him.  Mark tells us, “Jesus went with him (v.24).

But then things went from bad to worse.  Jairus’ worst fear was realized when some from his house came to meet him prior to his return “Your daughter is dead” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” (v.35).  The implication was that it was too late.  They hadn’t made it in time.  Healing the sick is one thing, but now Jairus’ daughter was beyond help.  Now she was dead, and there was quite obviously nothing that could be done.

How does Jesus respond?  Was Jairus’ daughter now a lost cause?  Were they too late?  Does Jesus suddenly now have more pressing matters to deal with at the moment?  Or, does he wave his hand or put on an elaborate, attention-getting display for all to see, or prescribe for the synagogue ruler some ritual or set of steps on which to follow through to make her well?  How does Jesus respond?

“Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe’” (v.36).  Really?  That’s it?  “Just believe?”  Believe what?  That they weren’t really too late?  That Jesus could still help her?  No disrespect to Jesus, but didn’t Jairus already believe?  Isn’t that why he came to Jesus in the first place?  He did believe, but now it appeared as if that belief was wasted and they were too late.  One could almost imagine the messengers’ skeptical reactions in their minds: “Just believe?  Umm, didn’t he just hear us say that she was dead?”

As if that wasn’t bad enough, then they arrive at the home, amidst all the weeping and wailing, which was the custom for days in that culture, and Jesus gives the skeptics more ammunition.  “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep” (v.39).  Some must have been insulted, being quite confident in themselves that they knew a dead person when they saw one.  One hardly confuses sleep with death.  The reaction of those gathered there was disbelief at Jesus’ words, shown clearly by the fact that “they laughed at him” (v.40) after he had made what was considered his second absurd statement that she was merely sleeping.

If that was the reaction of those present then, we should not be surprised to find the same reaction today, to an even greater degree.  “Just believe.” “The child is not dead but asleep.”  How would the world today welcome such an outlook?  As utter absurdity. 

Today’s experts – and it’s so obvious that our world is full of them if you just ask them – would be quick to point out that there’s no evidence (the Bible doesn’t count!) that the simple act of believing has ever changed a single thing over the course of history.  Empirical evidence reigns supreme.  Proven facts are what matter.  Hard data paves the path to discovery and solving the world’s problems.  These things are what matter – not pie-in-the-sky or head-in-the-sand “believing.”  Of course the irony is that when science and every other avenue fail, then and only then is it acceptable to fall back on the old “just believe.”  But for the most part, believing is something reserved for those simple-minded, uninformed and uneducated Christians.  Believing is a waste of time.

Sad part is, that viewpoint has had a tendency to influence and undermine our own, leading us to sinfully second-guess the real and tangible benefits of believing or trusting in God and his promises.  After all, I believed God could make my sick friend or relative better.  He didn’t.  I believed God was clearly directing me to make the right decisions and follow the right paths in life, but having to pick up all the pieces of one train wreck after another would sure seem to indicate it was a mistake to believe that he was actually directing anything.  I believed God would provide me with a job.  He hasn’t.  I believed God had led me to “Mr. Right.”  He couldn’t have been more wrong.  Lately it would appear that God’s track record of validating my belief in him is not so great. “Just believe?”  Seems kind of absurd after all.

Of course, if “just believe” is absurd, then we don’t really need to bother spending all that much time on Jesus’ other absurdity, “the child is not dead, but asleep.”  A world that already scoffs at belief will do the same at silly talk of “sleep” instead of death.  No breathing, no pulse, no measurable brain activity – these are not signs of sleep, but unmistakable indicators of death.  To confuse the two, sleep and death, well, that’s just absurd.

But the instant that little girl shot up out of bed, absurdity simply went out the window.  Others had been so sure that she was dead.  They had been convinced.  Then, when she was up walking around, when she was eating real food, then they must have second-guessed themselves.  They must have wondered if they had been mistaken after all, and maybe the little girl hadn’t really been dead.  Maybe she was just asleep.  Or maybe Jesus’ second statement wasn’t so absurd.  For that matter, maybe his first statement wasn’t all that absurd: “just believe.”  See how the miraculous changes things!  See how what once was impossible has suddenly become quite plausible?  See how seeds of belief were being sown so that the unbeliever started to wonder if Jesus’ words are true, if “just believe” and “not dead but asleep” actually had some teeth to them?

We all start that way, as doubters and skeptics, that is.  But then the seeds of belief are planted.  The Holy Spirit does what only the Holy Spirit can do, and we’re led to start wondering, “what if?”  What if the vast array that is the universe truly was created in 6 twenty-four hour days?  What if a scheming serpent spoke and deceived the first man and the first woman, and the unfathomable, the incomprehensible, inexcusable travesties that occur on a daily basis in our world really are the result of sin?  What if the virgin Mary was actually a virgin?  What if the Christmas story isn’t actually a story at all, but factual history?  What if the miracles of Jesus are all legit – every last one of them, including this one?  What if all if it turned out to be, well, not so absurd after all?

Then, dear friend, it is but a small step to believe the biggest wonder of all – what if I really am forgiven because the blood of Jesus truly covers my every last sin, including, but by no means limited to, the sins of questioning whether my own belief in him was a waste of time!?  Suddenly there is a shift.  It is no more, “what if,” but “most certainly!”  “It is finished!” means my work of redemption has been carried out.  Jesus’ Resurrection means there is life for me after death.  God’s blessed declaration of “not guilty” means I am not guilty.  His promise of reconciliation means our perfect relationship with God has been restored in Christ.  His own hand has signed my name in his Book of Life, in the permanent ink of Christ’s blood.  All of it is no longer, “what if,” but “most certainly,” just as the skeptics at the house of Jairus could not deny that their eyes were seeing his daughter alive and well.

We too are alive and well, spiritually speaking, because of Jesus Christ.  It is not absurd at all.  He made every promise and he was the one to carry out every promise.  Just believe… that a splash of water accompanied by the almighty Word of God should save a person from damnation… that a sip of wine and a meager wafer should be bound in, with, and under Christ’s blood and his body for forgiveness – these things are not absurd; they are grace.  And it is grace that has opened our eyes of faith to see it and believe.

Jesus Christ came into the picture and made a statement like, “The child is not dead but asleep” not at all absurd.  He came into our lives and salvaged us from sin, extending to us the invitation: just believe.  At first it was too easy, too simple, too far-fetched.  But then the Holy Spirit worked in me and now it is the greatest comfort to me in all the world.  I am his and he is mine, for no other reason than that his grace has led me to believe it.  It is enough, dear Christian, to just believe. Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)