When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to him; and he was beside the sea. And, behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name, saying … My little daughter lies at the point of death.
Mark 5:21-23.
When the Lord Jesus was journeying through Israel, all kinds of people crossed His path: children, fathers and mothers, the hungry and sick, the rich and the poor, but also healthy and successful persons, strong tradesmen, robust fishermen, even learned theologians. For all of them He had a word.
Similarly, the Bible has a word for everyone today. God speaks to all, i.e. people of every level of education, whatever their social or professional standing. In today’s verse the Lord Jesus met Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue. We shall be considering this encounter over the next few days. In those days the local synagogue was the Jews’ meeting place, their school and the place for prayer. As the ruler Jairus was probably more a prayer leader and teacher than a kind of verger or caretaker. He was at any rate a personage of public life.
Jairus had, however, one great problem: his daughter lay at death’s door. In this he resembles one of us, for we all have a burden to bear or a problem in our life, e.g. when cancer is diagnosed, a loved one dies, or we are mobbled at work, have marital quarrels or worries about our children, or feel the loneliness of old age. Even if we are not affected now, we know such situations from our past, or fear that they may appear in the future. The way we deal with our problem is important; Jairus brought his to Jesus.
Image: By Paolo Veronese – Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3965880