(It might be helpful to read Mark 5:21-24,35-43 before or after reading this blog post.)
“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
These aren’t false reassurances spoken to a terrified father with no hope—a deeply distraught man who just learned that his little girl had died.
These are not empty words. They’re not. They can’t be because of the one who spoke them. They were spoken by the Word made flesh, by whom and through whom all things were made. His words have power, and they will not return to him empty.
“Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”
These aren’t insensitive observations spoken by a man unfamiliar with the pain, suffering, and death of loved ones.
Jesus knew.
Jesus knew what sin did. He knew the agonizing hurt it caused—the seemingly irreparable harm it brought about as it ripped through lives like a tornado leaving destruction, devastation, and death in its wake. But we’ve seen Jesus calm physical storms with his words. He stills spiritual storms too. That’s exactly what he came to do.
And so we wait and watch with Peter, James, and John. We wait and watch with the dead girl’s mother and father as God himself stands beside one of his dearly loved children, now fallen asleep, and takes her hand in his own. We see sin’s devastatingly terrible effects in that room.
We see sin’s effects in our lives too.
Dear Christian, listen. Wait, watch, and listen as the Word speaks . . .
“Talitha koum!” Little girl, I say to you, get up!
The world itself turns upside down. Immediately, death loses its icy grip, and the breath of life returns to this little girl, once asleep now awake, once dead now alive again.
Don’t be afraid; just believe. No, these are not empty words. Not to a terrified father, not to you and me.
The very same God—who made the starry host above and the green grass below and breathed life into the universe; who stilled storms with his words, drove out demons, healed the sick, made the blind see and the lame leap for joy, and brought the dead to life again—speaks words of power and promise to you and me too.
Listen.
Don’t be afraid; just believe . . . All your sins are forgiven . . . I have removed your transgressions as far as the east is from the west . . . I have redeemed you . . . You are mine . . . You are my dearly loved child . . . And surely I am with you always . . . Because I live, you also will live . . . There’s a home in heaven waiting for you . . . My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? . . . I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away . . . I am making everything new! . . . These words are trustworthy and true.
Dear Christian, listen. Listen to the words spoken to you in Word and sacrament and know that not one—not one—of God’s words to you will go unfulfilled. Not one of his promises to you will go unkept.
Don’t be afraid; just believe. Believe in your Savior, Jesus, and keep your eyes fixed on him.
These words are not empty.
Looking to dive deeper into the words and works of Jesus? In The Word Speaks: 365 Devotions Based on the Sayings of Jesus, you’ll hear your Savior’s guidance, comfort, encouragement, strength, and truth. Spend each day of the year in the comfort of your Savior’s words to you!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.