After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.
Mark 5:40b
Some people have that rare talent to command attention. They can speak and act in a way that not only gets attention, but let’s them influence a crowd. They can say “go” and people will go.
After listening to the crying crowd questioning him and his authority, Jesus shows them exactly who’s in control. He puts them out, which is a polite way of saying that he threw them all out. He empties the room. He clears out the house.
Here Jesus was, in a strange town. In a stranger’s house. And he’s not afraid. He doesn’t care who’s there. Who’s watching. What they might think. What they might say. What they’re going to post on social media.
Jesus acts. And how does he act? By throwing out the people that not only questioned him but discouraged the grieving mother and father. There’s nothing wrong with coming over to mourn, but their reaction to Jesus was not helpful to the grieving parents or their faith.
We don’t like this part of the Bible because it’s silent about how he did it. We want details. How did he do it? Did he just speak? What words did he use? Did he yell? Did he raise his arms? Did he threaten? Did he touch anyone? Did he push them?
Jesus is so very different from me. I would have said, “OK. You want to be like that? You want a piece of me? I’ll show you. Just watch. Then you’ll see just who you’re dealing with.”
I would have turned into a show-off. But not Jesus. He didn’t have anything to prove. He knew exactly who he was.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
John 13:3
Jesus has this kind of self-awareness. He has full confidence in who he was and his relationship with God. There was no insecurity when it came to Jesus. How did this assurance show itself with his disciples?
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
John 13:4,5
Here he is. The creator and sustainer of the universe. He has every right to expect to be worshipped. But instead, he gets up from the table and then get’s down on his hands and knees to wash the feet of the guys that will all abandon him in a few hours.
This is who Jesus is. He takes over, but not like we would. He humbles himself. He serves us. He’s arrested for us. He’s punished for us. He’s crucified for us. He dies for us. He takes it all for us.
After clearing the house, he takes the father, mother, and his three disciples. He takes them under his care, in his charge, under His authority. Jesus was absolute master of the situation. The grief-stricken parents needed someone to guide them. The disciples must have been wondering what comes next. They needed the reassurance of their Master.
The walk through the house couldn’t have been all that long. They came in through the front gate and met the mourners. After throwing them out, Jesus took the parents and disciples back to the little girl’s room. It wasn’t all that long of a walk. It wasn’t all that far. But it must have felt like forever to the grieving parents.
The distance isn’t all that long, but it must seem like a very long trip to them. Think about the last time you were in the hospital. They wheeled you into another room for a test. In your head, it wasn’t all that long of a trip, but it felt like it took forever.
He takes them to the place they fear most. The place of death. The place where their daughter’s dead body lies.
Jesus can take you to the place you don’t want to go. But it’s the place you need to go. The place to see God’s power. He’s ready to take control, to command us, to walk with us.
But are we willing to walk there with him?
Comments