Your faith has made you well. - I say to you get up!

Mark 5:21-43 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and He stayed by the seashore. ²² And one of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came, and upon seeing Him, *fell at His feet ²³ and pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.” ²⁴ And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

²⁵ A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse— ²⁷ after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. ²⁸ For she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” ²⁹ And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” ³¹ And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” ³² And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. ³³ But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be cured of your disease.”

³⁵ While He was still speaking, people came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher further?” ³⁶ But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” ³⁷ And He allowed no one to accompany Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house of the synagogue official, and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. ³⁹ And after entering, He said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child has not died, but is asleep.” ⁴⁰ And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all outside, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was in bed. ⁴¹ And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha, kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). ⁴² And immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astonished. ⁴³ And He gave them strict orders that no one was to know about this, and He told them to have something given her to eat.

Today’s text says: A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be cured of your disease.” 

How often have people said to you or you said to people, when you or they are sick, “I hope you feel better?”  Jesus says: “Your faith has made you well.”  We will see one of my favorite accounts of healing in a few more chapters. In Mark 8:22-25 it says: They came to Bethsaida. And some people brought a man who was blind to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. Taking the man who was blind by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting in his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see people, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.  Often, we would be satisfied with improvement, with things being better than they were. Jesus wants us to be well. He wants us to be restored, and that not just to how things may have been, but rather to how they are intended to be. We were created in the perfect image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and he wants nothing less than for us to be restored to that perfect state.

There are times when the restoration is immediate, as it was when the woman touched Jesus. Other times it takes persistence, it requires patience. Jesus is faithful. He will persist for us and be patient with us. Philippians 1:6 says: I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.  God is not bound by or limited to finite time as we are. He sees and knows all things from the perspective of eternity. Our restoration will be complete by the day of Christ Jesus. We will be fully restored to the image and likeness of God. In John 19:30, when Jesus was on the cross, He said: “It is finished!” There is nothing else that needs to be done in the eternal realm for our restoration to the perfect image of God. Romans 8:28-30 says:  We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Do you love God? You are called to a purpose, to His purpose. All the things that happened and are happening in your life are being used to conform you; to restore you to the perfect image of Christ. You have been justified by Him and are being glorified in Him. Hebrews 12:1-2 says: Let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Symptoms of sickness and disease are obstacles in our way. Sin entangles us and holds us back from the perfect will of God. The race that is set before us is to make it to the day of Christ Jesus; the day when finite time meets eternity, the day when the work that was begun in us will be complete. It is not about the size or greatness of our faith. It is about the object of our faith, Jesus. We need only to keep our eyes fixed on Him. He has already finished the work that needs to be done in us. In today’s text it says:  They came to the house of the synagogue official, and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. And after entering, He said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all outside, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was in bed. And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha, kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). And immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astonished. In John 14:15 Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Jesus commandment today is to get up and walk, to walk in the calling and purpose of God for your life, to rid yourself of every obstacle, to keep your eyes on Jesus. He has completed the work in you. He wants you well, restored to all that God intends for you.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit. May I walk in Your purpose for my life. May I keep my eyes fixed on You so that I might see as You see, through the eyes of eternity, that I might know the finished work of the cross in my life. Amen.