Don’t be Afraid; Just Believe

Luke 8:49-56

Key Verse 50

“Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.””

Introduction

Today’s passage teaches that Jesus helped Jairus to overcome his inner fear with faith. Jairus was at a critical crossroad that he might have turned away from Jesus or put trust in Jesus to the end. Through this passage Jesus helps us also to have “just believing faith” in serving others, in particular our Bible students as well as our children. May the Lord help us to have Jesus’ word in our hearts so that we may be a part of great salvation work for God’s glory.

1. Read verses 49 and 50. While Jesus was still speaking to the woman, what message was delivered to Jairus? What might he have thought about the news? What did Jesus say to him? Why? (50)

1-1, Read verses 49 and 50.

49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

1-2, While Jesus was still speaking to the woman, what message was delivered to Jairus?

“Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

The messenger not only conveyed the terrible news, but also advised him to not bother the teacher anymore.

1-3, What might he have thought about the news?

Jairus was first asking Jesus to heal his daughter. (40-42) However the woman interrupted and Jesus was not able to come to his house right away. Maybe Jesus could have said, “Just go, your daughter is healed.” Jairus must have frustrated about the news that his daughter died. While the woman was a kind of chronic patient, his daughter could be a life threatening emergent patient.

Also in his heart, he might entertain negative thoughts. He was prone to give up on his deceased daughter. He must be an educated man as a synagogue leader. He could have said to Jesus nicely, “Thank you for your consideration, but now it is over. Don’t bother yourself for she passed away.”

1-4, What did Jesus say to him? Why? (50)

“Don’t be afraid; Just believe. And she will be healed.”

First of all Jesus understood what’s going on in his heart. All negative feelings may flood into his mind. Jesus also heard the same news. However Jesus encouraged him to not be afraid. Jesus says, “Just believe”

All Jairus had to do is to believe in Jesus’ words. Jesus never say the words that are of no use. There are three components in Jesus’ remark. Let us think about each.

1. “Don’t be afraid”

Jesus must have said this first with the awareness of spiritual battle in his heart. Our heart is a kind of a container to hold either positive thoughts or negative thoughts.

Fear is a stumbling block. When the messenger suggested his seemingly good or reasonable advice to Jairus by saying, “Don’t bother the teacher anymore,” Satan behind the scene planted fear in him.

Hebrew 2:14-15 read, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Thus “Don’t be afraid” might means, “Don’t listen to your inner enemy but listen to me.”

2. “Just believe”

To "just believe" means to keep on trusting Jesus. Jesus wants us to keep our hope and faith in him. Hebrews 11:1 includes hope in the definition of faith. It reads, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."

Just believe faith means to not place the focus of our attention and thought on our worst fear, but on Jesus Christ himself. For Jairus and for people in general the worst fear is the death of someone we love. Other people’s fears maybe have to do with failing a class to get a degree that they want to. Being laid off from our job. Becoming sick and failing to carry out our responsibilities.

As for a bible teacher, the worst fear would be that his or her bible students give up their commitment to study the Bible. Some parents had their own fears when their children may lose their faith. There are countless fears that can cause us to be afraid. To all these fears Jesus says to each of us personally, “Just believe.”

Jesus Christ will surely work out events for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:28) When it comes to our fears, we must be like a good soldier of Jesus Christ and obey Jesus who says: “Just believe.”

3. “She will be healed”

Jesus also said to Jairus, "and she will be healed." This is Jesus' specific promise to Jairus. Jesus promised Jairus, "she will be healed." It meant, "Don't worry. I'm in control." Two Bible translations paraphrase Jesus' words to Jairus like this; "Just trust in me, and everything will be all right." (NLT, Message)

*** Here let us think about what Jairus would do after Jesus had said. He had a couple of choices; he may ignore what Jesus had said and prepare funeral service for his deceased daughter, or he may listen to Jesus and trust in Him.

Although there is no direct mentioning about him in the passage, we would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he chose to not be fearful, but to believe in Jesus and listen to His words. The reality and the bad news could have gravitated his heart. But he chose to listen to Jesus by faith. Jesus could not do his further work when we chose to not believe in Him. So it is of paramount importance to correspond with what Jesus says and immediately and willfully turn around from negative thoughts so that we may be in well tuned with Jesus.

*** We each exercise choices every day. For instance, we choose who or what we decide to listen to. Take the internet: we choose the news articles we want to read and we look at the photos we want to look at.

Jairus must have decided to listen to Jesus and to continue trusting him. The one who trusts in Jesus will never be put to shame and will never be disappointed.

Are you believing any promise or word of Jesus? Always there is a promise from Jesus in the Bible that are personally applied for you whenever you pay attention to.

Faith is not merely wishful thinking or general idea. Rather faith is believing God's promises that he has given us in the context of the Holy Bible.

There are so many examples in the Bible of those who kept their hope and faith in a seemingly hopeless situation: Joseph in prison, Daniel in a lion's den, Daniel's friends in a fiery furnace, Paul in a shipwreck, on trial and later in prison. These people overcame with faith in God very real fears.

We all face fears of all kinds, even daily: fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of getting a job or losing a job, fear of our health or our children's health or spiritual destiny, fear of keeping up with daily obligations, fear of unfruitful ministry, fear of unchanging hearts, even our own, etc.

Then what are we going to do? We can a choice: either give in to fear or believe God's word. For example, Matthew 6:33 is a great promise in the Bible that deals with daily provision. There is a promise from God to overcome any fear that threatens us.

2. Read verses 51 and 52. Who entered the house of Jairus with Jesus only and why? (51) What were the people doing? (52a) What did Jesus tell them to do? (52b) What can we learn from what Jesus said about her death?

2-1, Read verses 51 and 52.

51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said.“She is not dead but asleep.”

2-2, Who entered the house of Jairus with Jesus only and why? (51)

he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother.

Jairus must have holded Jesus’ words and led Jesus to his house. Jesus did not let anyone go in with him except his three disciples and Jairus and his wife. It seems that Jesus wanted to secure the believing environment first. His three disciples were blessed to take part in Jesus’ work. Also her parents were blessed as the direct beneficiaries of God’s work and Jesus had them observe God’s work so that Jairus may know Jesus personally. So five people were inside the room where Jesus would raise up her.

2-3, What were the people doing? (52a)

Wailing and mourning

In that day, it was customary to hire professional mourners to add to the atmosphere of grief and pain at a death. But the professional mourners could only grieve superficially. They quickly turned from weeping to laughters.

2-4, What did Jesus tell them to do? (52b)

“Stop wailing,” Jesus said.“She is not dead but asleep.”

Jesus will have nothing to do with these people who don’t believe His promises and He drives them out so that they won’t discourage the faith of Jarius.

2-5, What can we learn from what Jesus said about her death?

This is not the only time in the Bible that death is called sleep. Death is not the end as unbelievers think.

Jesus says in John 11:11, “After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

Also Jesus says in 5:28-29, "a time is coming when all who in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned."

3. Read verses 53 - 56. How did they respond to Jesus? (53) What did Jesus do? (54) What happened to Jairus’ daughter? (55a) What did Jesus order them? (55b-56) What does this event reveal about Jesus? What might Jairus have learned from this event? (Heb 11:6a)

3-1, Read verses 53 - 56.

53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

3-2, How did they respond to Jesus? (53)

They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.

3-3, What did Jesus do? (54)

But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”

3-4, What happened to Jairus’ daughter? (55a)

Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.

3-5, What did Jesus order them? (55b-56)

Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

Jesus was mindful of her hunger and personally took care of her by asking them to give her something to eat.

3-6, What does this event reveal about Jesus?

Jesus is the Lord of life and the God of hope. Jesus is the Great Physician, our Healer and Savior.

3-7, What might Jairus have learned from this event? (Heb 11:6a)

Without faith it is impossible to please God. He might have mixed feelings when he heard of the bad news that his daughter died. Thanks to Jesus’ shepherding, he ended up holding Jesus’ words, “Just believe and she will be healed.”

Instead of uttering unbelieving words or wailing, he had to fight the good fight against the power of death. Although it was not easy for him at all, he chose to listen to Jesus. As a result he became a beneficiary of Jesus’ healing work. He would never forget this event throughout his life and must have become a man of blessing for others by testifying what Jesus had done for him and his daughter.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 read, ““Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is our sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

In Conclusion

In today's passage we are encouraged to make a right choice to listen to Jesus’ words and continue to believe in His promise instead of falling into statistics. May the Lord help us to experience the great love and power just as Jairus might have experienced. Also help us to overcome all attacks of fear with His living words of promises daily. In any situations, we are not going to walk away from our faith. Rather we are determined to be faithful to Him who would lead us the right way.

One word: "Don't be afraid; just believe."

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