We’re jumping back into the story of Jairus. He’s just learned that his daughter has died, and Jesus immediately reminded him to keep on believing and to not be afraid.
But before they continue their walk to Jairus’ house, Jesus does something unusual.
Earlier, the entire crowd following Jesus that day were going with him to Jairus’ house, hoping to watch him heal Jairus’ daughter. But now, as they start out again, Jesus doesn’t allow anyone to accompany him and Jairus except Peter, James, and John.
What has changed?
Jairus’ daughter has died. So this has gone from a mission of healing a very sick girl to now raising her from the dead.
Apparently that changed things in Jesus’ mind. I’m not sure exactly why, but I have a couple of ideas.
I don’t believe raising the dead was any more difficult for Jesus than healing the sick. Or casting out demons. Or feeding the hungry.
They all require faith. They all require belief that the power of God can do anything. And I don’t believe Jesus entertained one ounce of doubt.
But I’m not sure about the level of faith in the rest of the crowd – with the exception of the woman with the issue of blood. Her faith in God’s healing power is what Jesus said healed her.
But like I said in that post, she is the only one in the crowd that we know of who intentionally connected with Jesus’ healing power that day.
And we know that at another time in scripture Jesus could only do a few small miracles because of the unbelief in a particular town.
So, apparently, the level of faith of the people around Him could affect the type and number of miracles Jesus was able to perform.
That’s one possible reason he made the crowd stay behind.
The second possible reason is that he did it for Jairus’ sake.
Jairus had just been told his daughter was dead. And I’m sure when he heard the news he automatically started to break down. That’s why Jesus immediately told him to not give in to fear but to keep on believing.
And I think that may be the main reason Jesus cut the travelers down to five people: Jesus. His three closest disciples, men who had watched him perform a multitude of miracles. And Jairus, the little girl’s father, the one person who would want her alive more than anyone else in the crowd.
Five people. All focused on one goal. Five people who have no other agenda that day but to do whatever it takes to bring LIFE to this young girl.
I think we can learn something from this strategy.
Have you ever had a need in your life so huge that you knew there was no way you nor any other human being could meet that need? You knew God was going to have to come through for you in a miraculous way or you weren’t going to make it, it just wasn’t going to happen.
How many people did you tell about it? How many times did you share it with your small group, or with the church prayer team, or with anybody else you could think of who had any kind of prayer life? How many times did you post about it on social media and group text your friends to remind them of your need?
I think that’s our instinct. When we’re desperate, we somehow equate the number of people we can get praying for us with how quickly and how well God is going to answer our prayers.
While I’m a strong believer in sharing prayer requests with other people, I also believe we need to prayerfully consider which specific people we share those requests with.
We all know how difficult it is to ‘keep on believing’ when things ‘look’ the opposite of what we’re believing God for. Just like Jairus must have felt on this particular day.
And we know how much more difficult it gets when more and more people keep asking us for updates . . . and when those same people we’re trusting to agree with us in faith-filled prayers start reminding us of the facts, and mentioning that things possibly may not turn out like we’re hoping they will, so we shouldn’t get our hopes up too high.
The strategy Jesus used here, when Jairus was facing a tremendous need, was that he surrounded Jairus with a small number of people with faith.
He didn’t want Jairus overhearing the comments of just anybody in the crowd. People who were there only for the entertainment factor. People wondering aloud what Jesus was going to do when they arrived, what the final outcome was going to be, and how anything could possibly be done now that the girl was dead.
You know as well as I do that when you’re believing God for something HUGE, you have to be very careful who you listen to, what you read and watch, which thoughts you allow yourself to dwell on, and what words come out of your mouth. That’s the only way you can ‘keep on believing’.
How many people have you invited to accompany you on your journey to your miracle?
Who are you listening to?
What are they saying?
Are their words building your faith or tearing it down?
How is your thought life being affected?
As a result, what words are coming out of your mouth?
I encourage you to spend some time asking God if there’s anything you need to change about the way you share your prayer requests. And if there’s anything you need to change about the way you support those who have asked you to pray for them.
Prayer is a critical part of our journey and faith is the essential part of prayer.
“He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.”
Mark 5:37 TPT
