Be Not Afraid, Only Believe!

Don’t you just love reading through the Gospels and watching how Jesus dealt with people who came to Him? There is so much to learn from watching His interactions with people.

He was compassionate, but He called out sin when He saw it. He ministered to the obvious needs in healing the sick, but He also worked to reach the hearts of people even when they didn’t reveal their thoughts to Him.

It is a fascinating study for me.

In thinking about these interactions, I am drawn to one of my favorites, when Jesus met with a ruler in the synagogue named Jairus. Take a moment and read the account in Mark 5:21-43.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter

"And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about Him, and He was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing Him, he fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, 'My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.'  And He went with him.

And a great crowd followed Him and thronged about Him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, 'If I touch even His garments, I will be made well.' And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power had gone out from Him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, 'Who touched my garments?; And His disciples said to Him, 'You see the crowd pressing around You, and yet you say, 'Who touched Me?' And He looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling 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 healed of your disease.'

While He was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, 'Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?' But overhearing[a] what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, 'Do not fear, only believe' And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when He had entered, He said to them, 'Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.' And they laughed at Him. But He put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with Him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand He said to her, 'Talitha cumi,' which means, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise.' And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And He strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat." Mark 5:21-43

The context here is just after the encounter of Jesus with the maniac of Gadara. What a wonderful testimony of how an interaction with Jesus changes a man from literally running wild to sitting, clothed in his right mind at the feet of Jesus! I hope you have had an interaction with Jesus that has brought you to a saving faith in Christ and allows you to sit in His presence to learn from Him.

​As we begin reading in Mark 5:21, Jesus moves to the other side of the Sea of Galilee where people are gathered waiting to be near Him. There are several situations that Christ encounters here that illustrate faith. From the crowd, Jairus emerges and pleads with Jesus to come to heal his daughter who is at the point of death. Jairus could have gone to the synagogue where he was a ruler and appealed to those with whom he worshipped to do something for his daughter, but instead, he came to Jesus and made his request known.

Jesus shows compassion and follows Jairus toward His house, but He is still keenly aware of the needs around Him. Mark 5:25-34 describes another interaction amid Jairus’ need where Christ healed the woman with an issue of blood. I love the sweet way that Jesus speaks to this woman who reached out in faith to touch His garment. The action of reaching was not what healed her. Her faith in the One who could help is what heals her. The disciples are almost incredulous at Jesus’ perception of this woman’s touch, but Jesus knew who she was and what she needed.

I can imagine that as Jairus stood there watching Jesus deal with this woman he may have been impatient. His need for his daughter was so pressing. She was close to death when he chose to leave his home to find Jesus. And then his worst fear comes true when a servant from his house comes and delivers the news that Jairus’ daughter is dead.

The lack of compassion that this messenger has when he shares this horrible message is shocking. His only words beyond the devastating message are just to stop bothering Jesus since she is dead! Maybe for a moment, Jairus agreed with him. But when Jesus heard the news, He responded to Jairus with a powerful statement – “Be not afraid, only believe.”

Many times in our lives we face circumstances that naturally elicit fear – a serious illness, loss of a job, financial difficulties, death of a loved one. Obviously, the Lord knew that He would raise this little girl up, but her father did not know that.

Christ ministered to Jairus’s natural response of fear with an admonishment to believe. The chapter finishes with Jesus doing just that – He miraculously brings the young girl back from the dead in the presence of her parents. His actions silence the people outside who literally laughed at Him when He told them what He was going to do. But that powerful statement to Jairus in the worst moment of his life is what ministers to my heart – Be not afraid, only believe!

It seems as if the Lord knew in our human nature that we would need to be reminded to have faith during difficulty because most often fear clouds the eye of faith. Do find yourself today in a cloud of fear due to your circumstances? Maybe it is the worst news that you can imagine and your breath has literally been taken away leaving you with not a clue how to proceed.

Friend, Jesus is right there in your worst moment with these wonderful words – Be not afraid, only believe! I don’t know how God will remedy the situation you are dealing with, but I know that God will walk right alongside His children through the cloud of fear and help bring you to faith if you will let Him.

Jairus could have left the Lord and wallowed in his despair, but he listened to Jesus and was an eyewitness to the miraculous work of Jesus in his family that day. What is it that is obstructing your vision of faith today? Take the Lord’s same admonition given to a grieving father to encourage your heart today – “Be not afraid, only believe!”

I love that quote right there "It seems as if the Lord knew in our human nature that we would need to be reminded to have faith during difficulty because most often fear clouds the eye of faith." Fear Clouds the eye of faith. It's so true isn't it, friend!