Have you ever had to ignore what someone is saying, because you know the truth about the situation and they don’t? In those moments you have to weigh the credibility of the other person. You have to judge your own knowledge. Is it as sure a fact as you think it is? Are they telling you some information that brings to light a new angle that might change your own conclusions?
It can be very difficult to stay the course when there are many voices standing against you. We generally want people on our side rather than opposing us. And the more people there are on the other side, the more difficult it can be to keep on course with your decision.
Jairus is faced with just such a situation in our text. People Jairus has trusted with his household have come and told him the news that his daughter has died. This is some pretty powerful news. And it comes from a very trusted source. These men should know the facts. They were at his house. He put them in charge. They have just come from there. There is no reason for them to come and bring a false report. In fact, this would be the worst false news they could bring. You never joke about someone being dead. You never want to have to say, whoops, sorry, we made a mistake. It isn’t your relative after all.
Jesus overhears this transfer of information, this bad news delivery, and He has a choice. Does He let go of His knowledge and give in? He is outnumbered. These men have credible information. They have just come from Jairus’ house. If anybody should know the condition of his daughter, they should.
But Jesus doesn’t take their word as the final word on the subject. He has knowledge that they don’t, knowledge that will nullify their knowledge. Notice that Jesus doesn’t deny their report. He doesn’t say that they don’t know what they are talking about, or that the daughter isn’t dead. He just tells Jairus’ two things. Don’t fear and believe.
Fear really can take over in this type of situation. And once fear gets a grip it can be hard to let go of it. Fear activates some of the most fundamental parts of our brains. Fear is about survival, and the LORD wired us to pay attention to these signals over almost every other signal in the brain. And once the brain has fired the “Danger! Danger! Danger!” signal, it takes time for the hormones to work their way out of the system and our bodies to calm down. You can’t just stop the fear reaction.
I am sure you have had these moments when fear has taken over. Your mind runs all the negative options in an instant. Your body is revived up. Your heart races. You breathe in very shallow breaths. Your digestive system shuts down. Blood rushed to the parts of the body that will help you survive. All other thinking processes stop. You don’t worry about the menu for lunch, or the meeting that was scheduled for tomorrow, or picking the kids up after school. When fear takes over, survival is all you think about in those first moments.
So Jesus is asking Jairus to do something very difficult, it not impossible. Jesus is asking Jairus to take charge of his emotions and trust. Jairus knows death is final, and yet Jesus is asking Jairus to trust that He has authority over death.
Trusting can be very difficult. But Jesus asks us to trust Him rather than our emotions, the reports we get from trusted sources, and even what we see for ourselves. Jesus has knowledge that we don’t possess. He asks us to trust Him.
The Arnold Journey 