Jesus Calms the Fears of a Father with a Dying Daughter
(Luke 8:40-42; 49-56)
In this 5 part series, we are discovering stories about Jesus that show how he calmed people’s fears. Last week in Part 1, we learned how Jesus calmed the fears of the disciples. Here is today’s story.
“One day a man named Jairus saw Jesus and fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.’ So Jesus went with him. Meanwhile, some people came from Jairus’ house and said to Jairus ‘Your daughter is dead. Why bother Jesus anymore?’. But Jesus paid no attention to what the men said. Jesus told Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’
When Jesus came to Jairus’ home, Jesus saw people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why are you crying and making so much noise? The child is not dead but asleep. But the people laughed at Jesus. Jesus took the child’s father and mother and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’. Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around. The little girl’s father Jairus, and his wife were amazed.”
Discussion
In today’s story, a man named Jairus had a very sick daughter and so he asks Jesus to come and make his daughter well. But by the time Jesus and Jairus get to his house, Jairus finds out that his little girl has died. Jairus is devastated because he will never see his little girl alive again.
But what does Jesus do? He turns to Jairus and says, “don’t be afraid.” Why was Jairus afraid? Because he had just found out his daughter was dead and he was afraid to go in and see her lying dead. He did not believe that Jesus could bring her back to life again. But Jesus had God’s power in him and went into the house and brought Jairus’ daughter back to life. And the Bible says that Jairus was amazed by this.
In this story, Jesus calmed the fears of Jairus. Jairus was troubled, anxious and afraid because of a bad thing that happened: his little girl was dead and he did not think Jesus could bring her back to life. But Jesus knew how Jairus was feeling and wanted Jairus to feel comfort from him and not feel afraid. That is what Jesus does for us: he calms our fears whenever we feel troubled, anxious or afraid of bad things happening and he brings us comfort.
Here’s what God says when we feel afraid: “So don’t worry, because I am with you. Don’t be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you.” The next time you feel anxious or troubled or afraid remember that Jesus is with you and he will calm all your fears. He will give you his comfort when bad things happen just like he gave comfort to Jairus.
Prayer
Thank you Jesus for calming our fears whenever we feel troubled, anxious or afraid about things in life. Thank you that this story is in the Bible to remind us of how you bring comfort to us when we are afraid. Amen.