◄ Mark 5:36 ►
But Jesus overheard their conversation and said to Jairus, "Do not be afraid; just believe."
Study Bible
But Jesus overheard their conversation

In this passage, Jesus is depicted as being fully aware of the situation around Him, demonstrating His omniscience. The context here is that Jairus, a synagogue leader, has just been informed that his daughter has died. The term "overheard" suggests that Jesus is attentive to the needs and concerns of those around Him, even when they are not directly addressed to Him. This reflects His divine nature and His role as a compassionate Savior who is always present and aware of our struggles.

Psa 139:2-4 You know when I sit and when I rise; …
Mat 9:4 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said,…
Luk 5:22 Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus replied,…

and said to Jairus,

Jairus, as a synagogue leader, held a position of religious authority and respect within the Jewish community. His approach to Jesus indicates a significant level of faith and desperation, as he seeks help from Jesus despite potential criticism from his peers. This interaction highlights the breaking down of social and religious barriers, as Jesus ministers to individuals regardless of their status or background. It also underscores the personal nature of Jesus' ministry, as He addresses Jairus directly, offering comfort and guidance.

Mat 9:24 Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.…
Luk 7:13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her…
Jhn 11:23-25 “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.…

“Do not be afraid;

Fear is a common human response to situations of uncertainty and loss. In the biblical context, fear often represents a lack of faith or trust in God's power and provision. Jesus' command to "not be afraid" is a recurring theme throughout Scripture, emphasizing the importance of faith over fear. This phrase reassures Jairus and, by extension, all believers, that faith in Jesus can overcome even the most daunting circumstances. It echoes the promises found in passages like Isaiah 41:10, where God assures His people of His presence and support.

Mat 14:27 But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage!”…
Jhn 6:20 But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.”
Isa 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid…

just believe.”

The call to "just believe" is central to the Christian faith, emphasizing trust and reliance on Jesus' power and authority. This statement is not merely about intellectual assent but involves a deep, personal trust in Jesus' ability to bring life and hope. In the context of Jairus' situation, belief is presented as the antidote to fear and despair. This phrase connects to other scriptural teachings on faith, such as Hebrews 11:6, which states that without faith, it is impossible to please God. It also foreshadows the miraculous raising of Jairus' daughter, illustrating that faith in Jesus can lead to miraculous outcomes.

Luk 8:50 But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus,…
Jhn 11:40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed……
Act 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus”…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
Central figure in the Gospel of Mark, the Son of God, who performs miracles and teaches with authority.

2. Jairus
A synagogue leader who seeks Jesus' help for his dying daughter.

3. Jairus' Daughter
The young girl who is gravely ill and later raised from the dead by Jesus.

4. The Crowd
The people who follow Jesus and witness His miracles, often skeptical or doubtful.

5. The Messengers
Individuals who come from Jairus' house to inform him of his daughter's death.
Teaching Points
Faith Over Fear
Jesus' words, "Do not be afraid; only believe," highlight the importance of faith over fear. In times of crisis, believers are called to trust in Jesus' power and authority.

The Power of Jesus' Word
The command to believe is not just a suggestion but a powerful directive. Jesus' words have the authority to change circumstances and bring life where there is death.

The Role of Faith in Miracles
Faith is a recurring theme in Jesus' miracles. It is not the amount of faith but the object of faith—Jesus—that is crucial.

Trusting in God's Timing
Jairus had to wait and trust Jesus despite the delay and the seemingly hopeless situation. Believers are encouraged to trust God's timing and purposes.

Community of Believers
The presence of the crowd and the messengers reminds us of the community's role in our faith journey. Encouragement and support from fellow believers can strengthen our faith.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' command to "only believe" challenge your current approach to fear and uncertainty in your life?

2. In what ways can you cultivate a deeper faith in Jesus' power and authority, especially when facing seemingly impossible situations?

3. How do the parallel accounts in Matthew and Luke enhance your understanding of this event and its significance?

4. Reflect on a time when you had to wait on God's timing. How did that experience shape your faith?

5. How can you be a source of encouragement and support to others in your faith community, especially those facing difficult circumstances?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 9:18-26 and Luke 8:40-56
These passages parallel the account in Mark, providing additional details about Jairus' faith and Jesus' response.

Hebrews 11:1
This verse defines faith as confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see, which relates to Jesus' call for faith in Mark 5:36.

John 11:25-26
Jesus speaks of being the resurrection and the life, emphasizing belief in Him even in the face of death, similar to His assurance to Jairus.
Sermons
Be not Afraid, Only BelieveW. D. Horwood.Mark 5:36
BelievingW. Dawson.Mark 5:36
FaithW. M. Bunting.Mark 5:36
Only BelieveWilliam Arthur, M. A.Mark 5:36
Only BelieveH. Bonar, D. D.Mark 5:36
Only BelieveS. Martin.Mark 5:36
Only BelieveAnon.Mark 5:36
The Charge of Christ Under AfflictionT. Wallace.Mark 5:36
A Proper PrayerR. Glover.Mark 5:21-43
A Revived FlowerJ. Cumming, D. D.Mark 5:21-43
Avowed and Hidden FaithR. Green Mark 5:21-43
Death a SleepEdwin Davies.Mark 5:21-43
Death a SleepB. Keach.Mark 5:21-43
Death of ChildrenWadsworth.Mark 5:21-43
Goeth in Where the Child WasR. Glover.Mark 5:21-43
Jairus' DaughterJ. H. Evans, M. A.Mark 5:21-43
Jairus's Daughter; Or, the Uses of BereavementA.F. Muir Mark 5:21-43
Jarius's Daughter; Or, the Course of a True FaithA.F. Muir Mark 5:21-43
Jesus Stronger than DeathAnon.Mark 5:21-43
Not Dead, But SleepingA. Mursell.Mark 5:21-43
Talitha CumiR. Glover.Mark 5:21-43
The Death of the Young Encourages a Spirit of Dependence on God in the Home Life of This WorldJ. B. Brown, B. A.Mark 5:21-43
The Death of the Young Imparts a Consecrating Influence to the Home LifeJ. B. Brown, B. A.Mark 5:21-43
The Death of the Young Lends a TenderJ. B. Brown, B. A.Mark 5:21-43
The Healing of Jairus' DaughterExpository Discourses., David Thomas, D. D.Mark 5:21-43
The Humane SocietyF. W. Robertson.Mark 5:21-43
The Raising of Jairus' DaughterExpository OutlinesMark 5:21-43
Touching in the ThrongJ.J. Given Mark 5:21-43
Why Death of the Godly is Called SleepG. Petter.Mark 5:21-43
Life VictoriousE. Johnson Mark 5:35-43
People
Jair, Jairus, James, Jesus, John, Luke, Peter
Places
Decapolis, Galilee, Gerasa, Sea of Galilee
Topics
Afraid, Attention, Believe, Chief, Faith, Fear, Giving, Heeding, Ignoring, Immediately, Longer, Message, Official, Overhearing, Ruler, Says, Spoken, Synagogue, Warden
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 5:36

     2015   Christ, compassion
     8754   fear

Mark 5:22-42

     2012   Christ, authority
     5194   touch

Mark 5:25-43

     5285   cures

Mark 5:35-36

     5509   rulers
     8027   faith, testing of

Mark 5:35-43

     4438   eating
     5695   girls

Library
September 12 Morning
I have seen his ways, and will heal him.--ISA. 57:18. I am the Lord that healeth thee. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.--Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.--All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Come now, and let us reason together, …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Looks of Jesus
'And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing.'--Mark v. 32. This Gospel of Mark is full of little touches that speak an eye-witness who had the gift of noting and reproducing vividly small details which make a scene live before us. Sometimes it is a word of description: 'There was much grass in the place.' Sometimes it is a note of Christ's demeanour: 'Looking up to heaven, He sighed.' Sometimes it is the very Aramaic words He spoke: 'Ephphatha.' Very often the Evangelist tells …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Lord of Demons
'And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2. And when He was come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3. Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4. Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5. And always, night and day, he …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Refused Bequest
'He that had been possessed with the devil prayed Jesus that he might be with Him. 19. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.'--Mark v. 18,19. There are three requests, singularly contrasted with each other, made to Christ in the course of this miracle of healing the Gadarene demoniac. The evil spirits ask to be permitted to go into the swine; the men of the country, caring more for their swine than their …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Talitha Cumi
And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, 23. And besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. 24. And Jesus went with him; and much people followed Him, and thronged Him.... 35. While He yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Power of Feeble Faith
'And a certain woman ... 27. When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. 28. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole.'--Mark v. 25, 27, 28. In all the narratives of this miracle, it is embedded in the story of Jairus's daughter, which it cuts in twain. I suppose that the Evangelists felt, and would have us feel, the impression of calm consciousness of power and of leisurely dignity produced by Christ's having time to pause even on such an …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Touch or Faith?
If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole.... Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.'--Mark v. 28,34. I. The erroneous faith.--In general terms there is here an illustration of how intellectual error may coexist with sincere faith. The precise form of error is clearly that she looked on the physical contact with the material garment as the vehicle of healing--the very same thing which we find ever since running through the whole history of the Church, e.g. the exaltation of externals, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Going Home --A Christmas Sermon
Now, this teaches us a very important fact, namely, this, that true religion does not break in sunder the bonds of family relationship. True religion seldom encroaches upon that sacred, I had almost said divine institution called home; it does not separate men from their families, and make them aliens to their flesh and blood. Superstition has done that; an awful superstition, which calls itself Christianity, has sundered men from their kind; but true religion has never done so. Why, if I might be …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Christ's Curate in Decapolis
"And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, God home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."--Mark v. 17-19. That is a striking name for a man, "he that had been possessed with the devil." It would stick to him as long as he lived, and it would be …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 38: 1892

The General Observations are These.
There are in these relations proper circumstances of time and place, and the names and characters of persons. Of the miracle on Jairus's daughter, the time and place are sufficiently specified by St. Mark and St. Luke. It was soon after his crossing the sea of Galilee, after Jesus had cured the men possessed with devils in the country of the Gergesenes, Mark v. 21. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea. And behold …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

R. W. Begins his Fifth Discourse, P. 1, 2. With Saying, that He is Now
to take into examination the three miracles of Jesus's raising the dead, viz. of Jairus's daughter, Matth. ix. Mark. v. Luke viii. of the widow of Naim's son, Luke vii. and of Lazarus, John xi: the literal stories of which, he says, he shall shew to consist of absurdities, improbabilities, and incredibilities, in order to the mystical interpretation of them. I have read over his examination of these miracles, and am still of opinion, that the histories of them are credible. I. I will therefore first …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

Conversion, Its Nature and Necessity.
Closely related to the doctrine of the power, or efficacy, of the divine Word--as considered in the last chapter--is the doctrine of conversion. It is the subject of conversion, therefore, that we now purpose to examine. It is an important subject. It deserves a prominent place in treating of the Way of Salvation. It is also an intensely personal subject. Each one who desires to be in the Way of Salvation is personally interested in it. The eternal destiny of every one who reads these pages is closely …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Third Continental Journey.
1833-4. PART II.--GREECE On the 21st of the Eleventh Month John and Martha Yeardley left Ancona, and had a safe but suffering voyage of two days to Corfu, the capital of the island of that name. The atmosphere in this place, writes J.Y., soon after they landed, is different from Ancona in every respect. It has to us a feeling of home, and our minds are clothed with peace and, I trust, gratitude to the Father of mercies. What we may find to do is yet a secret to us, but He who has brought us here …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

The Legion Dispossessed. Mk 5:18,19
 …
John Newton—Olney Hymns

Christian Cemeteries.
Sanctity of tombs guaranteed to all creeds alike.--The Christians' preference for underground cemeteries not due to fear at first.--Origin and cause of the first persecutions.--The attitude of Trajan towards the Christians, and its results.--The persecution of Diocletian.--The history of the early Christians illustrated by their graves.--The tombs of the first century.--The catacombs.--How they were named.--The security they offered against attack.--Their enormous extent.--Their gradual abandonment …
Rodolfo Lanciani—Pagan and Christian Rome

The Service Common to Two and Many Female Martyrs.
At the Vespers, for O Lord, I have cried, the Stichera, Tone 4. Similar to: Thou hast given a sign... The virgin-maidens, united by the law of nature and manifestly sustained by the love unto their Maker, were by faith freed from the ties of the body; the impotent enemy they have valiantly destroyed under their feet, became resplendently adorned with the honours of victors and are rejoicing having found their abode in the intellectual bridal chambers. The all-honoured have endured fire and multiformous …
Anonymous—The General Menaion

The Demoniac of Gadara
"And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. And when he was come out of the boat, straightway there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling in the tombs: and no man could any more bind him, no, not with a chain; because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been rent asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: and no man had strength to tame him. And always, night and day, in the tombs …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Men of Gadara
"And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they came to see what it was that had come to pass. And they come to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with devils sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even him that had the legion: and they were afraid. And they that saw it declared unto them how it befell him that was possessed with devils, and concerning the swine. And they began to beseech Him to depart from their borders. And as He was entering into the …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

With Jairus
"And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat unto the other side, a great multitude was gathered unto Him: and He was by the sea. And there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing Him, he falleth at His feet, and beseecheth Him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death: I pray Thee that Thou come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be made whole, and live. And He went with him; and a great multitude followed Him, and they thronged Him. And a …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

In the Creation of the World, and all Things in It, the True God Distinguished by Certain Marks from Fictitious Gods.
1. The mere fact of creation should lead us to acknowledge God, but to prevent our falling away to Gentile fictions, God has been pleased to furnish a history of the creation. An impious objection, Why the world was not created sooner? Answer to it. Shrewd saying of an old man. 2. For the same reason, the world was created, not in an instant, but in six days. The order of creation described, showing that Adam was not created until God had, with infinite goodness made ample provision for him. 3. The …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

How I Know God Answers Prayer
How I Know God Answers Prayer The Personal Testimony of One Life-Time By ROSALIND GOFORTH (Mrs. Jonathan Goforth) Missionary in China since 1888 "They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness."--Psalm 145:7. "Go . . . and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee."--Mark 5:19. HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS NEW YORK AND LONDON Copyright, 1921, by Harper & Brothers PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA …
Rosalind Goforth—How I Know God Answers Prayer

Synopsis. --Arbitrary Criticism of the Biblical Narratives of the Raising of the "Dead. " --Facts which it Ignores. --The Subject Related to the Phenomena of Trance
III SYNOPSIS.--Arbitrary criticism of the Biblical narratives of the raising of the "dead."--Facts which it ignores.--The subject related to the phenomena of trance, and records of premature burial.--The resuscitation in Elisha's tomb probably historical.--Jesus' raising of the ruler's daughter plainly a case of this kind.--His raising of the widow's son probably such.--The hypothesis that his raising of Lazarus may also have been such critically examined.--The record allows this supposition.--Further …
James Morris Whiton—Miracles and Supernatural Religion

Jesus Heals Two Gergesene Demoniacs.
(Gergesa, Now Called Khersa.) ^A Matt. VIII. 28-34; IX. 1; ^B Mark V. 1-21; ^C Luke VIII. 26-40. ^b 1 And they came to the other side of the sea [They left in the "even," an elastic expression. If they left in the middle of the afternoon and were driven forward by the storm, they would have reached the far shore several hours before dark], ^c 26 And they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is over against Galilee. ^a 28 And when he was come into the country of the Gadarenes. ^c 27 And …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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