It's Not Over until Jesus Says It's Over

When the Lightning Strikes

Some games are over before they start. The opponents are so mismatched that the outcome is stone cold, lead pipe lock. Then there are contests where the combo of time and score is so overwhelming so late in the game that it’s in the bag.

But as many sports fans know, these are exactly the times when the magic can happen. When lightning strikes. When history is made. We end up with crazy stories like the Cardiac Pack, the Miracle on Ice, and the Immaculate Reception.

Dismissing the Miraculous

As hard as it is to believe them when we see them in the world of sports, we tend to dismiss the miraculous in our daily lives. Mountains are way too tall. Oceans are way too deep. Enemies are way too mean.

I mean, we’ve ALL been there. Your spouse tells you the marriage is too far gone. Your creditors tell you the payment is too late. Your doctor tells you the disease is too far along. It’s over. Forget it. Time to throw in the towel. Time to cut bait. Time to put on your big boy pants and deal with it.

The Difference Maker

But too many times we fail to check with the one Person who can all the difference. The one Person who has the final say. The one Person who can change it all.

It’s not over until Jesus says it’s over.

A Doubleheader of Desperation

That’s exactly what’s about to go down as we read the fifth chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Picking up the story in verse 21, we actually see a doubleheader of desperation. Jesus and His boys have just returned by boat from wild encounter with a demon-possessed dude in a cemetery on the other side of Lake Galilee (Mk 5:1-20).

As soon as their feet hit the beach near Capernaum, a desperate dad runs up to them (Mk 5:21-24). A local religious big wig named Jairus needs Jesus’ help right here, right now. His baby girl is at death’s door. Jairus believes the radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth is his only hope.

The Pariah and the Messiah

A huge crowd follows Jesus, Jairus, and the rest of Christ’s crew for this holy house call. If you look closely in the craziness, you’ll see a woman crawling toward our Savior, stretching out her hand in one drastic attempt at a drive-by miracle (Mk 5:25-34).

The Messiah heals the pariah after twelve years of messy bleeding. He not only wants to look her in the eye, He wants her to tell her story for all to hear.

We Don’t Have Time for This!

Meanwhile, put yourself in Jairus’ sandals at this moment. The good news is you’ve been able to convince Jesus to come to your house and heal your daughter. The bad news is He’s stopped to do a meet-and-greet with some woman you won’t allow anywhere near your synagogue.

Jesus, we don’t have time for this! Let’s not waste a second chatting it up with anybody. The clock is ticking! We gotta go and we gotta go NOW!!

An Update from Home

Mark picks up the story with an update on the little girl’s condition. “While He was speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, ‘Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now’” (v35).

Imagine Jairus’ reaction. One second, everyone’s celebrating Jesus’ sudden healing of a desperate woman. The next second, you hear your daughter is dead. All the air leaves your lungs. All the hope drains from your heart.

“Your daughter is dead” (v35). Those words echo in your ears. A parent is not supposed to bury their child. Especially their twelve-year-old child (Mk 5:42). She’s gone. You’re too late. Even if the woman hadn’t distracted Jesus, He probably wouldn’t have made it to your house in time.

No Skin off Jesus’ Back

“There’s no use troubling the Teacher now” (v35). Talk about the understatement of the century. Interesting choice of words. “Troubling” (Gr. σκυλλω/skullo) means to annoy, harass, or pester someone. It’s original meaning describes pulling the skin off a living being.

But this incredibly sad dad soon finds out that it’s no skin off Jesus’ back! “But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just have faith’” (v36). One more time, put yourself in Jairus’ position. The Lord looks you right in your tear-filled eye and speaks right to your broken heart.

You see, it’s not over until Jesus says it’s over.

Stop Freaking out

“Don’t be afraid” (v36). Flip through the 66 ancient documents that we call the Bible and you’ll see God reassuring His people to stop freaking out. Hundreds times in all sorts of forms. In the Old Testament. In the New Testament.

We have nothing to fear because He’s always with us. King David wrote a hit song with a lyric that goes a little something like this: “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid for You are close beside me” (Ps 23:4).

When Your Life Is in the Pits

Jesus wants Jairus and the rest of us to know there’s no reason to fear when He’s at our side. As a matter of fact, David has another tune containing an important truth about that. “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (Ps 38:18).

When life blindsides you and crushes your soul, you’re not alone. You can be sure that Jesus is closer than ever. He climbs right down in the mud, the blood, and the beer with you in order to pull you out of the pit.

Just Trust Me

Notice how our Savior doesn’t just stop with the command to stop being afraid. “Just have faith” (v36). This is the Greek verb πιστευω/pisteuo. It paints a picture of complete reliance, absolute confidence, or total trusting. Jesus asks Jairus, “Just trust Me.”

We may not understand how. We may not understand when. But we can understand Whom. The Lord wants us all to take a deep breath and be absolutely sure of one thing. He’s got this. Take the Word at His word. “Just trust Me.”

It’s not over until Jesus says it’s over.

The Big Three

That’s when the Son of Man acts like the doorman at the hottest club in town. He suddenly limits His entourage. “Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with Him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James)” (v37). Meet the Big Three.

For the first time in Mark’s Gospel, Christ introduces us to His inner circle. He gives these three former commercial fishermen a front row seat for some of the most amazing moments in history.

The Big Three is on the mountain when Jesus suddenly shines like the sun and talks with a pair of Old Testament heavyweights (Mk 9:2-13). He invites them to Gethsemane that fateful night as He pleads with His Dad to find another way to defeat sin and death (Mk 14:32-42).

Jesus’ Inner Circle

John MacArthur points out that biblical authors never say why Jesus allowed the Big Three to see things that the other disciples didn’t. But what if this smaller subset of Christ’s crew is example for us when it comes to accountable relationships?

There’s nothing wrong with having lots of so-called “friends” on Facebook (you do realize they’re not REALLY friends, don’t you?). You have relationships with family, neighbors, coworkers, and other believers at church and in your small group.

Relational Capacity

But how many of them do I know, I mean REALLY know? After a truckload of research, a Brit named Robin Dunbar thinks we have a relational capacity of around 150 people. Folks at MIT break that number down even further to say we really only have emotional room for four close close friends.

Do you have three or four close friends you can count on? Who will always be there? Who will tell you the truth? Who will listen patiently and love unconditionally? I love how Tim Keller puts it. A true friend always lets you in and never lets you down.

A Riot at Jairus’ House

It’s quite a scene at Jairus’ house. “When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing” (v38). The word the NLT translates as “commotion” (Gr. θορυβος/thorubos) describes the confusion and uproar of a large crowd that’s on the verge of a riot.

Mark uses same word when religious leaders try to figure out a way to get Jesus out of the picture quietly “or the people may riot (Gr. θορυβος/thorubos)” (Mk 14:2). It’s how Luke describes the violent uproar in some cities when Paul tells people about Christ (Acts 20:1; 21:34; 24:18).

How loud is it? The verbs Mark chooses for “weeping and wailing” (v38) put a heavy emphasis on volume. We’re not talking about soft gentle sniffling. This is howling, blubbering, it-goes-to-11 wailing. Yeah, THAT loud.

Professional Mourners

While we don’t know what the situation was a Jairus’ joint when he left to get Jesus, things sure seem to have escalated quickly. No doubt there’s a lot of raw emotion with the news of the little girl’s death. But chances are the crowd also includes professional mourners.

Just like hiring a caterer or photographer for your wedding, folks in the First Century could actually employ mourning mercenaries. I gotta wonder how you end up with that career path. Whatever the case, they were there and it was loud.

She’s only Asleep

Jesus walks inside the house and wonders why everybody is freaking out. “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep” (v39). Asleep? Are you kidding me?!?

The folks in Jairus’ house cackle at Christ’s comment. “The crowd laughed at Him” (v40). They’ve made the mistake of thinking He’s misdiagnosed her problem as just another lazy middle schooler with an overuse of the snooze button. The little girl is most certainly dead. Well, at least for the time being.

It’s not over until Jesus says it’s over.

The 800-Pound Gorilla

At this point, the Lord lets them know they don’t have to go home but they can’t stay here. “He made them all leave, and He took the girl’s father and mother and His three disciples in the room where the girl was lying” (v40).

We’ve reached the moment of truth. Mom. Dad. Peter. James. John. Jesus. And the lifeless body of a twelve-year-old girl. But there’s also an 800-pound gorilla in the room as well. Is the Lord too late?

Time to Get up

Our Savior reaches down to Jairus’ dead daughter. “Holding her hand, He said to her, ‘Talitha koum,’ which means ‘Little girl, get up!’” (v41). Those two weird words aren’t some sort of mystical abracadabra. It’s actually Aramaic, the language of First Century Israel.

While both Luke also records Jesus’ visit to Jairus’ home (Lk 8:49-56), Mark is the only one who tips us off as to the Son of God’s actually words to his little girl. Why’s that such a big deal? Because early followers of Christ believe the author got his info straight from the apostle named Pete.

Amazed with Amazement!

What happens next is one for the record books. “And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed” (v42).

A dead girl opens her eyes, hops up off her death bed, and struts around the room. “Overwhelmed and totally amazed” seems like a massive understatement. So much so that the original language here actually doubles down on just how dumbfounded they were.

Mark actually uses two different forms of the same word to get across the marvel of the moment. You could just as easily translate this as they were “amazed with amazement” or “astonished with astonishment.” When a dead girl sits up and walk around the room, it’s hard to come up with the words to describe what just happened!

Keeping It on the Down Low

Instead of telling Mr. and Mrs. Jairus and their freshly resurrected daughter to start spreading the news of God’s kingdom, Christ does just the opposite. “Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then He told them to give her something to eat” (v43).

Believe it or not, this is a consistent them in Mark’s Gospel. Instead of wanting the world to know, Jesus makes a point of telling people to keep things on the down low (Mk 1:34; 7:36; 8:26).

Jesus Has a Job to Do

What’s the dealio? Isn’t Jesus all about telling as many people as possible about God’s amazing grace? But He’s early in His ministry. Remember, the Lord has just three and a half short years to accomplish His mission.

If the word gets back to the Hebrew home office in Jerusalem or Roman officials too soon, Christ will have to cut things short. But there’s much to get done before He heads for Calvary. People to meet. Sermons to preach. Demons to exorcise. Diseases to heal.

The Ultimate Game Changer

But before His earthly mission is over, our Savior will repeatedly snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. He’s the ultimate Game Changer. No matter how much time is left on the clock, Christ makes all the difference. Just ask the Jairus family.

And we should tattoo the Lord's words on our forehead.

Don't be afraid.

Just trust me.

Because it’s not over until Jesus says it’s over.