Mark 5:38 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Mark 5:38

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Christ arrives with the three disciples and Jairus at the house, and already the mourners are gathered in full strength. There is much grief for this dead twelve-year-old, loved by all, and in the manner in which these things were expressed in that part of the world, grief is being poured out in a very open and uninhibited way. On the part of the parents and family members it is genuine heartfelt grief; on the part of the professional mourners it is more of a show of grief, but all would have been affected in that small local community. Matthew adds that there were flute players who would have been playing mournful music in sympathy with the sorrow of the situation. According to custom, they would have beaten their chests. There was not the slightest doubt in any of them that the little girl was truly dead. They knew of the father’s mission to go to Jesus and ask for his help, but they may have regarded that as a vain prospect, even while she was alive. Now that she was dead, all hope was abandoned, and they were not prepared to take anyone seriously who thought that anything more could be done for her.

Application

For those who do not know God, death is the ultimate tragedy, the last enemy. It makes a nonsense out of life because it reverses all of life’s labour and striving. Nothing has been gained by it, and death has reduced it all to nothing. Men may try to convince themselves that that there is something to hope for after life, but there is no real evidence for this. ‘Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?’ (Ecclesiastes 3:21). Only Christ gives any real hope of resurrection and life to come

What the seeker hopes for, the world considers hopeless. It does not believe that Christ can do for the soul what he promises to do. He claims to be able to raise us from our state of deadness before God and to give us eternal life, but the world says that is impossible. The world does not sorrow at present, but rejoices in its pleasures, but when it comes to the possibility of salvation, it pours contempt on the gospel. ‘Don’t bother yourself with religion; it has nothing to offer. Don’t let your hopes be raised that Christ can do anything real for you. The sort of changes you are looking for are out of the question.

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Mark 5:38 Commentary and Bible Study