Daily Devotion

Here is where the sadness of life suddenly turned to gladness.  Very keenly, Luke felt the tragedy of this girl's death.  There were three things which made it so poignant.  (1^st) She was an only child.  Only Luke tells us that.  The light of her parents' life had gone out.  (2^nd) She was about 12 years of age.  She was just at the dawn of womanhood; children in the East developed much more quickly than in the West.  She could even have been contemplating marriage at that age.  What should be the morning of her life had become the night.   (3^RD) Jairus was the president of the synagogue.  He had reached the highest post that life could give him in the respect of his fellow men.  No doubt he was well to do; no doubt he had climbed the ladder of earthly ambition and prestige.  It seemed as if life -as it sometimes does-had given lavishly of many things, but was about to take the most precious thing away.  All the seriousness of life is in the background of this story.

 

The wailing women had already come.  To us, it sounds almost repulsively artificial.  However, to hire them was a token of respect to the dead that was never omitted.  They were sure she was dead, but Jesus said she was asleep.  Jesus gave her back her life.  We must note one very practical touch.  Jesus ordered that the girl should be given something to eat.  Is it possible that Jesus was thinking just as much of the mother as He was of the girl?  The mother, with the pain of grief and the sudden shock of joy, must have been on the point of collapse.  At such a time to do some practical thing with one's hands is a lifesaver.   

 

The most interesting character in this story is Jairus.  He was a man who could pocket his pride.  By this time the synagogue doors were closing on Jesus if indeed they had not already closed.  He could have had no love for Jesus, but in his hour of need, he pocketed his pride and asked for help.  Jairus was clearly a man of stubborn faith.  Whatever he felt, he did not wholly accept the verdict of the wailing women; with his wife, he went into the room where the girl lay.  You never know what Jesus can do!

Life Application: In the darkest day we can still hope in the unsearchable riches, and the all-sufficient grace, and the unconquerable power of God!

Praise/Prayer:  Dear Father, I love reading about the mighty power that Jesus demonstrated during His life.  My faith gets so stimulated when I read the New Testament stories of Jesus.  Sometimes He spoke, sometimes He touched, but the results were the same.   Jesus, You are still the same today, and I expect the same supernatural miracles today.  Amen!