season 2 // episode 9 // Glimpses of Jesus’ Gentleness in Everyday Miracles

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

Hello friends, and welcome back to the Fullness of Joy. I am so glad you’re here! I hope you enjoyed last week’s interview with my sweet friend Alexis. She is incredible, and last week we got to talk about the faithfulness of God, which is so evident in her life. Well today, we are talking about gentleness. As I prayed through what to share with you in this episode, I confess that I felt a little overwhelmed. Gentleness is something that I do not naturally possess. I know that I may come across as gentle and sweet on this podcast, and I am just sitting in my minivan talking to you. No one is bothering me here in this little sweet space. No one is asking me for a snack. No one is screaming because they don’t want to nap. There are no real threats to my happiness and comfort in this van right now. But in the thick of everyday life, gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit that I ask the Lord to birth in me often. I need it desperately. So as we talk about gentleness today, I won’t be sharing a lot of examples about how I have been gentle with others, but rather how we see Jesus display the gentleness of the Heavenly Father.

The Old Testament is full of beautiful prophecies of Jesus, the Savior who would be fully God and fully man. He was to come and save the world. The Israelites waited expectantly for this coming Messiah, the King who would change everything. When Jesus came into the world as a baby boy wrapped in swaddling clothes, the people of Israel were extremely frustrated or missed His arrival altogether. They were once again crying out for freedom, but this time from Rome instead of Egypt. The Roman empire wanted to take over the entire world. Consequently, the Israelites felt as though they were mere pawns in the hands of power-hungry leaders.

Jesus’ arrival was missed by many because they looked to a throne, not a humble cradle. When He later began His ministry after John the Baptist so beautifully prepared the way for His arrival, many in Israel rejoiced. They hoped someone had come to deliver them from Rome and reestablish Israel’s earthly kingdom. The Jews were tired of being the underdogs and wanted some power of their own.

I don’t know about you, but when I read the Bible, I often see myself in the Israelites. I am quick to want a dramatic rescue from my circumstances. It is difficult for me to be uncomfortable or feel as though I have no sense of control. But the Gospel is not about me having it all figured out. Rather it is about my surrender to the One who holds it all. The Gospel transforms me so that He increases and I decrease (John 3:30).

The story that the Lord brought to mind as I prepared for this podcast episode is found in Mark 5. I want to read this passage of scripture to you and then we will unpack it together. I always keep things short and sweet around here, so even though I would love to talk through it for an hour or so, don’t worry, we will just hit the high points. This is Mark 5:21-43.

“Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him. “My little daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.” Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” While he was still 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.” But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James). When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” The crowd laughed at him. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬-‭43‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We have two miracles here in this short passage. First, we meet Jairus, a local synagogue leader whose daughter had been very ill. He has begged Jesus to heal his daughter. Scripture makes it a point to tell us that this man is a synagogue leader, which would mean that he is very distinguished. For him to fall down at Jesus’ feet in a public place shows the depth of his desperation for his daughter’s health to be restored. As Jesus is on his way to heal the little girl, then He is stopped by the woman with the issue of blood. This woman has been bleeding for 12 years and has found no relief from her pain. Can you imagine her pain and shame at this issue? We are led to believe that her bleeding would have most likely meant that she had a perpetual period. When I am on my period, I am most assuredly not at my best. I feel tired, drained, and cranky. And yet this woman had been living with what should have been monthly symptoms for 12 long years.

The subtitle on this passage of Scripture in the NLT (New Living Translation) says “Jesus Heals in Response to Faith.” Both Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood demonstrated great faith. They knew that Jesus alone would be the answer to the issues that they could not fix on their own.

Now, we know that Jesus is all-powerful and all-knowing. So when He asks who touched him, we know that He knows the answer. He didn’t ask this question to shame or embarrass the woman, but rather to put her faith on display. And as she comes forward, He speaks to her with gentleness and kindness. He calls her “daughter,” a term she surely hadn’t heard in a very long time—her illness would have kept her isolated from others and unable to be in community. The tender way in which Jesus spoke to her would have melted away what may have been a hard exterior she had to put on for others. More than likely, she had to wear a brave face as she was an outcast and someone who others looked down upon. But when Jesus calls her daughter, He is telling her that those days are gone. She has a new name.

Next, Scripture tells us that while He was still speaking, messengers from Jairus’ home came and told him that his daughter had died. Again, Jesus’ response is firm and gentle as He tells them not to fear and to have faith.

When Jesus enters the home and heals the little girl, He addresses her in Greek, saying, “Talitha kumi” or “Talitha koum.” This means “Little girl, get up.” This term, “talitha,” is a term of endearment. In my research, I found out that it is etymologically related to another word which means, “lamb.” This resource goes on to say, “Jesus’ use of this term, coupled with His taking the little girl by the hand, provides an image of compassion and gentleness. The Good Shepherd is lovingly gathering the lambs in His arms (see Isaiah 40:11): “My little lamb,” He says to her as He restores her life, “it’s time to get up.”

The way Jesus spoke to both of these women was with a firm, but gentle authority. He called them a special term of endearment, but then He gave them a directive. He spoke in the imperative, meaning that He was telling them what to do. He told the woman with the issue of blood to “go in peace,” and he told the little girl to “get up.”

Now, remember, the Israelites all expected that God was going to send them a Messiah who would come in and be a bold and brave warrior. They wanted Him to vanquish Rome and grant them freedom from oppression, just as He did when He delivered them from the Egyptians and the 400 years of slavery. But He didn’t come to make a dramatic entrance and bring attention to Himself.

The Jews were hoping Jesus would save them from the oppressive power of the Roman empire. We too hope Jesus will sweep in and save the day. We hope revival will come and we will no longer live in a land divided by race, political affiliation, and socioeconomic status. But Jesus came to save us from ourselves, from the death-grip of sin. Apart from Christ, we are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. Only God Himself can take our hearts of stone and make them hearts of flesh–willing and able to obey and love Him alone.

I always like to tie this back to a personal story for y’all, and I thought about a difficult time we went through a couple years ago. When my husband unexpectedly lost his job, there was a feeling of shock and dismay. My expectation was that if God was going to allow something so horrible to happen, He was also going to come through in an incredible way for us by providing for our needs. In my line of thinking, this looked like a friend organizing a GoFundMe that raised a gajillion dollars! Or someone giving us a brand new minivan! Or vindication for my husband’s mistreatment!

Alas, none of these things happened.

There was no GoFundMe, but there was an anonymous gift of $2500 waiting for us at the church office one day.

There was no gift of a brand new minivan, but there was money available after the sale of our home to purchase a sensible, used van that would meet our needs.

There was no vindication for my husband’s mistreatment, but there was the provision of a new job that is a much better fit, and a move to a town that has only brought life to the heartbeat of our family.

So often, when faced with trials, I think of the verse, “God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). And in this line of thinking, I am limited to believing that means that He will prosper me in health and wealth—the epitome of the American Dream.

But instead of a big, dramatic rescue, Jesus granted us the most precious gift of all—the gift of Himself.

The joy of His presence.

The peace of His glory.

The wonder of His provision.

All of these things were gentle reminders of what we know to be true—that He is better than anything.

As I prayerfully walked through a season of loss and grief, I considered my expectations and hopes of abundant provision in light of the wilderness the Israelites found themselves in after being delivered from the hands of the Egyptians.

The yoke of slavery had been broken, and their lives had been made new. Yet they were still complaining about the manna that God poured down from heaven, because it didn’t meet their expectations. It wasn’t quite what they pictured. So they grumbled. They complained. They whined. And they didn’t receive the greatest gift of all—the joy of His presence.

So friend, where are you missing the gentle whispers of God’s kindness to you? Where are you waiting for Him to come in and make some waves and missing the small ripples of change that are being made evident in your life?

Today, spend some time thinking about the beauty of the gentle touch of our Savior, who came not just to make us comfortable and give us our dreams, but to make us brand new.

Scripture

Mark 5:21-43 NLT

Looking for a message of hope in a world that feels weary? Check out my book An Overwhelming Hope: How the Spirit Brings Peace to Our Storms.

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