A Devotion
By Joe Guagliardo
Mark 5:21-43
“Jesus was consistent.”
October 5, 2023.
There was a time in my life when I would have considered myself a pretty consistent person.
Here are two definitions of the word consistent from the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
“Marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contradiction.”
“Showing steady conformity to character, profession, belief, or custom.”
Merriam/WebsterDictionary.com
After looking at both definitions, I can only say, “Okay, I did my best to be consistent. 😊“
In any workplace, consistency is essential. Looking at the definitions above, words like regularity, steady, and harmony stick out.
As I’ve gotten older, it’s been more and more difficult in my life. I make promises, only to not keep them as well as appointments and not keep them. As I reflect on my life, aging definitely deters us from being consistent. Many more obstacles change our plans with age, especially health.
When we look at Jesus’ life, he was probably the most consistent person that ever lived. I believe the first definition of consistency I wrote above best describes Him.
“Marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contradiction.”
Let’s take a look at one bible story in particular that seems to show an inconsistency in Jesus’ manner. Of course, where we see inconsistency, He provides a teaching moment.
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“When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So, Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better, she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately, her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
At once, Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?'”
But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.
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. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (Which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately, the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this, they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this and told them to give her something to eat.”
Mark 5:21-43
Most of you have read or heard this passage before. Jesus and His disciples once again cross the Sea of Galilee. (This time without incident). It seems Jesus had barely set His feet back on solid ground when He was approached by a synagogue leader named Jairus.
Jairus’ daughter was very ill, and he asked Jesus to heal her as she was near death. So, Jesus told Jairus to lead the way to his home.
Along the way, the crowds were huge. A woman with a bleeding problem for many years touched Jesus’ cloak, praying this would heal her. Jesus called her on it and told her that her faith had healed her.
The delay was probably a long one, and by the time Jesus, His disciples, and Jairus reached Jairus’ home, his daughter had died. Jesus told everyone that she was only sleeping. He took her hand and told her to get up, and she did.
In a short period of time, Jesus had healed a woman who had a bleeding problem and made a young girl rise from the dead.
Jesus was being consistent with the way he had always done His ministry. When Jairus approached Jesus, He said he would come to his home, indicating that He, Jesus, would heal her. Not to be waylaid in His mission to the people, Jesus stopped along the way and took care of the woman’s bleeding problem.
We don’t know for sure, but perhaps Jesus’s prolonged stop with the woman and the massive crowds stopped Him from healing the young girl’s illness before she died. But Jesus was always determined and consistent in His ministry. He had made a promise to Jairus to heal his daughter. And He did just that.
He (albeit temporarily) healed the young girl of death. Jesus once again showed His power that day, both to the people and His disciples. He would not be deterred in His mission to help, heal, and save humankind.
Yes, Jesus was consistent!
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