A young man asked a girl to go with him to a dance. She agreed and so he decided to rent a suit. There was a long line at the rental store and so he waited and waited and waited until he finally completed his rental. He then decided to purchase her some flowers. The flower shop had a long line and so the young man waited and waited and waited until he finally walked out with a bouquet. He picked his date up and they drove to the dance. There was a long line to get into the venue and so they waited and waited and waited. Once inside, the young man offered to get the girl something to drink. She asked for punch and so the fellow went to the drink table and…there was no punchline.
You might need to let that sink in for a moment.
The only thing worse than waiting is waiting with no results. Pastor Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The ability to calm your soul and wait before God is one of the most difficult things in the Christian life.” Everyone is forced to wait at some point and waiting is made worse by the fear that we won’t get the “punchline” we prefer. However, Jesus showed that God is always at work while we wait.
As a crowd gathered around Jesus, a panicked synagogue official pushed his way through and fell at Jesus’ feet (Mark 5:21). Jairus could hardly get the words out of his mouth: “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live” (5:23). Matthew records that the girl had already died (Matthew 5:18), likely taking liberty to stress the hopelessness of the situation. Luke adds that the girl was the father’s only child and was 12 years old.
As Jesus made His way to the dying girl’s home, He encountered another desperate soul—a woman “who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under many doctors and had spent all she had” (5:25-26). Sadly, she only grew worse. So, hearing that Jesus was coming through town, she slipped through the crowd, hoping that a little of His power might rub off on her for her healing.
The Gospel writer puts both of these stories running parallel to each other. A father waits hours for Jesus to get to his daughter and a woman waits years for God to come to her aid. Together, the accounts teach us about how God relates to our needs as we wait.
WHILE THE CLOCK IS TICKING
First, we learn that God cares deeply about us. This narrative is a study in contrasts: a person of fame vs. a person in shame, a man respected vs. a woman rejected, the official is notable vs. the woman is nameless, powerful vs. poor, boldly in public vs. bashfully in secret, a crisis of death vs. a quality of life. Which person does Jesus listen to?
Both of them.
Every day, medical professionals must triage patients to determine who gets priority treatment. But God makes no distinctions. He doesn’t turn His attention to only certain kinds of people. He cares deeply about everyone. Which means, He cares deeply about you!
It’s not an incidental detail that the father comes begging for the life of his daughter and, after the bleeding woman touches Jesus’ robe and is found out, He calls her “daughter.” The episode is designed to teach us that God cares for us as a father cares for his own child. The whole ministry of Jesus was to come to and turn the hearts of people so that many could become “children of God” (John 1:12-13). In Christ, God shows that He is the Father of all compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3) who cares for the brokenness and desperation of people. Early church father, Irenaeus said that the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the children of men could become children of God.
The obvious question is, “Then why make us wait?” If Jesus were a medical professional He’d be sued for malpractice.
The second lesson of this text is that the waiting game is God’s way of working good in you. God’s delay is not His denial, and along the way, He is “working good” for those who love Him (see Romans 8:28). We must remember three advantages to waiting. Waiting DEVELOPS DEPENDENCY. Remember the previous story of a whole town rejecting Jesus because His exorcism inconvenienced their economy. Israel was not yet trusting the Messiah who had come to save them. Religious leaders like Jairus were suspicious of Jesus, and the woman had been running her own course of doctors, medicines, and the like. They both needed to come to the end of all they thought and could do to finally turn to Jesus in faith and cry out “Help! Help!” We each need to stop trying and start trusting.
Truth is, while we’re waiting on God, He may be waiting on us.
In addition, waiting CULTIVATES CHARACTER. In The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi pushed young Daniel through seemingly ridiculous exercises—wax on, wax off—that would only make sense in hindsight. God uses the difficulties of life to “finish the work” of sanctification (James 1:2-4). Peter, himself waiting for God’s rescue of his people from persecution, wrote, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Peter 5:10). We want God to do a removing job, but He is determined to do an improving job, cultivating character in us as we wait.
Lastly, waiting produces HOMESICKNESS. It’s the only ailment parents hope their children have. Imagine if all our questions were answered immediately, if all our sicknesses were healed in a second, if all our longings were met instantly. This life would be “the best!” But God didn’t make us for this life. He made us for life with Him. And our waiting is stirring a deep desire for heaven where everything will finally be as it should be.
Until then, continue to trust God. The woman was eventually healed by faith (5:34) and Jairus’ daughter was raised to life by faith (5:36). Faith is not a token you give to God to get something in return. Faith is your abiding trust in a God who has already given so much of Himself to you. Because He has sent His Son, you know that He cares deeply for you. And so, you can trust Him to do good while you wait. As you wait, God is drawing you closer to Himself and preparing you for the best that is worth waiting for.
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See also the sermon “The Waiting Game” from the “King Jesus” sermon series about the Gospel of Mark.