Mark 5:24 – Part 1: Direction Changing Faith

So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude
followed Him and thronged Him.

Did you see it? Have you seen what happened?

When Jesus got off the boat and began to walk, where was He going? The Bible doesn’t give an exact location, but I am sure that He had a destination in mind. Maybe, He was on His way home to rest from the ministry of the previous few days. Maybe he wanted to see His mother. He could have been off to the temple. I don’t know. All I know is Jesus was going somewhere, well, that is until a man named Jairus stopped Him.

Read the start of that verse very carefully so you don’t miss it – so Jesus went with him. Who did He go with?

Jairus!

Who?

Jairus! Jesus went with Jairus.

Have you got it yet?

Jesus, heading one direction was stopped by a man, and then turned to go to another direction, with Jairus! Jairus turned the ministry of Jesus! Can you see it?

Smith Wigglesworth said that there is something about God that will cause Him to go over 1 million people to get to a man of faith.

The Spirit of God, at the beginning of this passage drew our attention to Jairus, we learn about his tragedy, we see his faith, and now we see the results of that faith. Jesus changed His direction because of the faith of this one man! Will He not also afford us the same courtesy when we release our faith?

So Jesus went with him. There were no questions, no sermons, no hesitation, just action. Jesus responded to the faith of this one man.

Jesus is following Jairus (read Matthew’s account), and everyone else is following Jesus. Jairus has singled himself out from everyone else in that crowd. Imagine, though, what is going on in the crowd, I like to think of what they were saying when this happened.

“Typical, goes with the ruler of the synagogue! Forgets about us at the bottom of the social ladder!”

“Why didn’t you come with me? I have a sick daughter too.”

“Where are we going? Anyone know?”

“Who does Jairus think he is, pushing in front of me like that! I was at the front until he came!”

“Wonder what is going to happen now?”

“Do you think we will see a miracle?”

I imagine all sorts of questions being asked. Some blaming Jesus. Some blaming Jairus. Some not having the smallest idea of what is going on, but following along anyway just to see what will happen. Some still hoping to get their miracle. The more I study this, and the more I think about what happened this day, the more I can see that this crowd of people following Jesus is a spitting image of the church. I know people who would have asked the questions above and made lots of silly statements. What would you have done or said?

The crowd still followed and they still thronged him [were so tightly packed around Jesus that they could have suffocated Him]. Jesus and Jairus still keep walking, heading back to Jairus’ house.