The Adventures of Jesus Christ
Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
by Vincent Cheung
[ Contents ]
Chapter 18. Jesus Restored Life to a Girl
FEAR NOT, ONLY BELIEVE!
A large crowd had gathered around Jesus. The people were expecting him, and they welcomed him.
Then a man named Jairus came forward and fell at the feet of Jesus. He was a leader of the synagogue. He begged Jesus to come with him to his house, because his daughter was dying. She was about 12.
Jesus agreed to go with him, and the crowd followed. There were so many people. Jairus probably hoped the crowd would not slow them down too much. Her daughter could die at any moment now.
But Jesus suddenly stopped. He swung around and said something that did not make sense. Jairus must have heard wrong. It sounded like Jesus said, “Who was it? Who touched me?” But everybody was touching him. Wait, Jesus was talking about that woman with the bleeding disease!
What I did not tell you was that when the woman touched Jesus, he was on his way to heal a girl who was about to die. The touch of faith arrested his attention even in this urgent situation. Faith and healing were that important to Jesus. He had to find out what happened.
The woman took her time explaining what she experienced with the doctors, how she spent all her money, and how they could not find a cure. Then she continued to talk about how she heard of Jesus, and how she became determined to find Jesus and take her healing by faith.
Finally, she finished telling her story, and they continued. As they walked, Jairus recognized someone from his household approaching them. And Jairus could probably guess that it was bad news. The man said, “Your daughter is dead. There is no need to bother Jesus anymore.”
Was it too late? But Jesus said to Jairus, “Fear not, only believe.” This would be an excellent motto for all of us. Fear not, only believe.
Some people suggest that Jairus was in a panic, because Jesus told him not to fear. We cannot be sure of this, especially because one disciple remembered that Jairus appeared confident. He even said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.”
When reading the Bible, keep in mind that just because one person says something to another person, it does not always mean that this other person is doing something opposite. When Jesus said, “Fear not,” it does not mean that Jairus was in fear.
When you tell someone, “I love you,” it does not mean that this person thinks that you hate him. Many things are good to say in every situation. Whether someone is in fear or not, it is always good to tell him, “Fear not.” And it is always good to tell someone, “Only believe.”
Many people make mistakes in reading the Bible, because they keep wanting to guess what the characters in the Bible were feeling or what they were doing when something was said to them. So when Jesus said to someone, “Fear not,” they would think, “Aha! That person was afraid.” It is possible, but the Bible does not tell us that, and it is always right to say, “Fear not.”
When you tell someone, “Happy birthday!” it does not mean that he is having an unhappy birthday. You would say it whether or not his day has been going well. It is a very silly mistake, but religious scholars do this a lot. This is a simple thing, but if you will remember it, it will help you avoid many mistakes.
There is little wrong with imagining how someone might feel, or wonder about some of the untold details in the Bible. Just remember you cannot insist that something you imagined must be true, and you cannot build a teaching on a guess.
We might not know how Jairus felt, but we know what Jesus said, and that is enough. Even when the situation appeared to have gotten worse, Jesus insisted that there was no need to panic. All you need is faith in God. And with that said, they continued to the home of Jairus.
When they arrived, there was a commotion. People were crying and wailing, because the girl was dead. Jesus entered the room. He took the girl’s hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Her spirit returned and she stood up. She was alive again. Everyone was amazed.
For Jesus, raising the girl from the dead was just as easy as waking her up from sleep. Even when things look worse and worse, there is always hope with Jesus, if you will fear not, but only believe.