Reflective Bible Study

One fear that many people may have had in the first century was the fear of arriving too late to get help. In the gospels, this could be described as worry over whether one could make it to Jesus in time. If someone was very sick, then finding Jesus in time, with enough time for Him to come to help would be incredibly important.

However, with this fear, we have the temptation to get irritated or upset if Jesus gets delayed. The event we are focusing on in Mark’s gospel comes immediately following an interruption and delay. Jesus had been hurrying to Jairus’ home to help his daughter, but then they were interrupted with a woman trying to be healed secretly.

The woman wanted no recognition, but Jesus stopped everything to give it to her. Both the woman who was healed and Jairus wanted Jesus to continue without stopping in order to arrive at Jarius’ home in time to save his daughter. However, Jesus stopped and interrupted this mission to give recognition to the woman and her faith.

It is then that Jairus’ fear happened. Mark tells us, “While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, ‘Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.’” (v. 35)

Perhaps Jairus’ home was just around the corner of where they were, or maybe it was several blocks away. We cannot tell, but while this interruption likely didn’t take much time, it came at the exact point when Jairus’ fear came true: They were too late. The girl was dead. A healing would not be possible.

But Jesus overheard them, and in the next verse He says to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” (v. 36)

In the moment when Jairus had lost hope, Jesus tells him to hold onto his faith. Both Jairus and the messengers believed Jesus to have the power to heal, but they did not believe He could resurrect and return life. In the details of this event, we can see how Jesus sets the stage to stretch this synagogue leader’s mind surrounding Him – including foreshadowing His own resurrection.

I wonder if resurrecting Jairus’ daughter changed the heart of this synagogue leader towards Jesus. Most synagogue leaders were opposed to Jesus. While they probably thought He had some good things to say, Jesus would often go too far, and He would ignore rules they had put in place to protect their day of worship. I wonder if all these disagreements were pushed aside in Jairus’ mind when Jesus returned his daughter to him.

All this happened after Jesus was too late to heal the girl.

This prompts me to believe and trust in God’s timing. While it may appear to be too late from my perspective, perhaps God is setting the stage to do something even greater than I could imagine. Perhaps He is setting the stage to stretch my mind about who He is!

Tucked away in Jesus’ birth story, specifically in the angel’s visit to Mary, we find an interesting deviation from what normally happens when angel’s visit. While the message the angel brought to Mary was very unique, what I find fascinating is how the angel opens the conversation with Mary – because it is different from most of the other angel visits.

Usually what happens when an angel visits is that the person is probably shocked and the first words from the angel’s mouth are something like “Fear not” or “Don’t be afraid”. While the angel does say this to Mary, this part of the message is left for after the initial greeting. In Mary’s case, the angel begins by saying, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (v. 28)

What the angel says is among the highest compliments you can give someone. Receiving the message directly from an angel that says you are “highly favored” and that “the Lord is with you” is both incredibly encouraging, while also being a little overwhelming. Mary’s response is likely the response we would have to these words. Luke tells us how she responded: “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” (v. 29)

Mary is a little worried because she knows this sort of greeting only comes before a big challenge. Perhaps because the angel sees concern and hesitation in Mary, he decides to then follow up by saying, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.” (v. 30)

What really stands out in how Luke includes this order of events is that unlike most people, it would seem like Mary was only afraid after hearing the angel’s greeting. Perhaps the angel appeared a split second before beginning to talk, but when we look at how Luke describes this (and he likely interviewed Mary personally to get this event in detail), we don’t see any fear from Mary about the angel’s presence – only concern over what the angel’s message was.

Mary stands out as a role model for us because in this passage, while she was a little concerned with how the angel opened the conversation, she was willing to hear the message God had for her.

God has a message for each one of us. While we likely won’t get a personal visit from an angel to share the message in detail, God does offer to share it through the Holy Spirit. All we must do is be open and willing to listen for it when it comes.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, the leaders of a number of different segments of society try to trick and trap Jesus. Most notable among these groups were the Pharisees. Perhaps this is because the Pharisees were the strongest or the largest of these groups, but whatever the reason, the Pharisees seemed to be the most opposed to Jesus and His ministry.

One of the tricks the Pharisees brought stands out in my mind as being truly exceptional. Of all the tricks and traps that were ever brought to Jesus, this one stands out as extra significant, and incredibly insightful. Matthew tells us this was carefully thought out. “Then the Pharisees left that place and made plans to trap Jesus in saying something wrong.” (v. 15)

For this trap, they team up with a group of people that they really dislike, but instead of focusing in on the actual question they ask, I find how they set the question up as being very fascinating.

Before asking the question, they set the stage by giving Jesus a compliment. In the last part of verse 16, the Pharisees start by saying, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man and that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are.” This setup almost certainly tips Jesus off to the Pharisees insincerity. While Jesus probably already could tell this even before they begin talking, how these people set the stage for their question reveals their insincerity.

The insincerity comes from their first three descriptive phrases. First they address Jesus as “Teacher”, which is correct, but they have not really aligned themselves with what He taught. Next, they call Jesus “an Honest Man”, and while they knew this to be true from what they had seen, they were seeking out a way to make Jesus appear dishonest. Their ultimate question was designed to make Jesus appear dishonest to either God or to the government.

Lastly, these leaders describe Jesus as One who teaches “the truth about God’s way”. While this is also technically correct, nothing in the lives of these Pharisees says they believed this about Him. If they really believed Jesus spoke the truth about God’s way, they would obey and act upon what He taught. If they believed Jesus, they wouldn’t be bringing Him a trap.

This brings us to the idea that we should be cautious when anyone tries to compliment us in a way that is insincere or counter to their beliefs. We can learn from how these Pharisees open their challenge to Jesus that a trap is coming, and understanding how these leaders set up their question helps us be aware of traps that may come our way.

During Jesus’ resurrection, one thing that stands out as interesting in my mind is that women decided to visit the tomb early on Sunday morning. We have no idea what prompted them to do this, but perhaps it was the Holy Spirit telling them to go. It might also have been that they didn’t think the men had prepared Jesus’ corpse properly as they were in a rush to get Him buried before the Sabbath began.

Whatever prompted the women to make the trip to the tomb, they did not go expecting to find the tomb empty. They may have even been wondering along the way how to convince the guards to let them in, or how to even get the stone rolled away. (Mark 16:3)

Luke and Mark include in their gospels that the women brought the spices and perfumes they had prepared to put on Jesus’ body. These women did not believe Jesus had risen from the dead. They simply wanted to give His body the respect and attention it deserved in death.

But they are surprised by an earthquake on the way, and I wonder if this made them question what was happening at the tomb ahead. Matthew tells us that on hearing the angel’s news about Jesus, “The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened.” (v. 8)

However, the reaction the followers give is mixed. Both Mark and Luke tell us that on hearing the report from the women, the disciples didn’t believe them. Luke even describes the disciples’ response, “They did not believe the women, because it sounded like nonsense.” (Luke 24:11)

But Peter and another disciple (traditionally believed to be John) believed enough to go investigate the situation personally. While they didn’t know what was happening, they wanted to find answers. John describes what happened when these followers arrive at the empty tomb. “So Peter and the other follower [John] started for the tomb. They were both running, but the other follower ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and looked in and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. Then following him, Simon Peter arrived and went into the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying there. He also saw the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head, which was folded up and laid in a different place from the strips of linen. Then the other follower, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. He saw and believed. (They did not yet understand from the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead.)” (John 20:3-9)

Seeing the empty tomb prompts John, “the other follower”, to believe.

These followers are a lot like us. They want to see it with their own eyes in order to believe it. We can believe their testimony is valid because they are honest about their unbelief, and what actually changes their minds. John didn’t believe until he personally saw the empty tomb and the strips of linen folded up neatly. This picture would be cemented in his mind for the rest of his life as the foundation for his faith in Jesus!