The same physical gestures can be very different things to different people. We don’t realize this until we are dropped in the middle of another culture and try to communicate. I remember several years ago when the US took the battle against Islam’s militant ideology to their soil. One of the strange things for us was their understanding of the bottoms of our feet. For us here in the West, seeing the souls of someone’s shoes has no significance. We sit with our feet crossed and point the bottom of our feet at each other all the time. It means nothing.
But this same gesture in the world of Islam is an insult. Enemies are put under your feet. You wipe the souls of your feet in the statue of a disgraced leader’s statue. Even when flying over in a helicopter, you don’t want your feet dangling over the edge because you are then insulting everyone below you. You throw your shoes at the President to show the ultimate contempt. Physical gestures have very different meanings.
We find in our text today another example of someone falling on their knees before Jesus. If you remember from a previous incident that the demon possessed man came running and begged that they not be tortured. They were filled with fear that judgment had come.
So if the sound were turned off and you watched Jairus’ actions, you might conclude that he too thought judgment had come, that he was filled with fear. But this is not the case. You can’t judge internal attitude and motive from the externals.
Jairus is desperate. His daughter is in grave condition. If something is not done immediately, she will die. And Jairus knows this. He is so desperate that he puts aside his pride, his position, his reputation and comes and begs this itinerate preacher. This man has a position from which he projects his authority, day after day, week after week. He is a synagogue leader. He leads a gathering of leaders in his community. He walks in different circles than some other people. His word carries weight.
Jesus has no earthly position, no earthly title or qualifications. He is a nobody. And yet Jairus comes running and falls before Jesus. He hadn’t planned to meet Jesus there, as far as we can tell. It could be Jairus was part of the intelligence gathering attempt by the Jewish leadership. They wanted to catch Jesus in something He said in order to have a reason to kill Him.
But Jairus had other more important things on his heart and mind. Whatever reason for his presence on the beach, when Jairus sees Jesus the condition of his daughter takes center stage. All his previous plans went out the window. He realizes this might be his one chance to ge help for his daughter. So in that moment, he jumps on the opportunity.
I don’t know if you have ever been this desperate, but I have. There have been several moments in my life when all else fell to the side. The need was so great that every other priority didn’t matter. My schedule was cleared and the issue became the only thing of importance.
And in that moment, I prayed. What do you do when those moments of desperation arise? Is your prayer one of desperation, knowing that Jesus is able? Jairus knew Jesus was able, so he asked. Do you know that Jesus is able?
The Arnold Journey 