Fear leads to Trembling, but Faith leads to Triumphing

In the post I’ve Been Robbed, a juxtaposition of fear and faith were presented in order to help us see the by-product of each. As I transition from focusing on fear to focusing on faith, conclude the posts on Fear and Faith, I wanted to present what Jesus portrays about the results of fear and the results of faith. The one in which we let rule determines our interaction with God. More importantly, it determines how God responds to us. Remember Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” In Fear leads to Trembling, but Faith leads to Triumphing, Jesus demonstrates that concept in Mark 5.

In Mark 5, we see many things going on. There are three characters who receive healing from Jesus. We have the Demon Possessed Man, A Dead Girl and A Sick Woman. Let me digress from where I am going for a moment. Why would a demon pursue Jesus? He didn’t Jesus came to release those held bondage by sin to God which is what that encounter represents. Jesus evidences His power over satan/demons through this interaction. How can a dead girl pursue Jesus? She could not. The dying girl’s father pursued Jesus for her. In this account, Jesus reveals that there are times when others have to have faith for us to bring about His healing whether spiritually or in other ways. As the dying girl’s account is introduced, it is intersected by the Sick Woman. Lastly, the Sick Woman who had suffered for years from bleeding demonstrated how Fear leads to Trembling, but Faith leads to Triumphing.

Actually all do in some way, but I want to focus on the Sick Woman. In Mark 5, we see Jesus responding to the dying girl’s father’s plea to address her illness. While on the way, the Sick Woman seeks Jesus out. Why? The passage tells us “When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, ²⁸ because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Was her faith in Christ rewarded? Yes!!! Once more the Word says, “²⁹ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”

“Who touched my clothes?” Jesus asked when the power had gone out from Him because of the woman’s faith. Many, at first reading including the disciples who were there, ask how could Jesus ask this question. Many ask for different reasons. Rest assured, Jesus knew, but He wanted a public restoration of the woman not one done surreptitiously. Jesus always wants the truth properly presented. We see the woman trembling with fear because she did not know how Jesus would one respond to a woman, two respond to one who had gotten something from Him without asking.

Let’s see the what the Word says, ” ³³ Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Her fear did not paralyze her causing her initially fail to engage Jesus. She pursued Jesus in faith that if she just touched His garment that she would be healed. Now, we see Jesus recognize, confirm and commend her faith. In verse 34 above, Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Calling her daughter already conveys the relationship Jesus has included her. It shows that she has been accepted by Christ. It shows that her faith was rewarded just as we are told in Hebrews 11:6.

Jesus sees our faith just as He saw the Sick Woman’s. Like Jairus and the Sick Woman, we have a choice to make. What will rule our belief system. Let’s do what Jesus told Jairus, the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Jesus clear presents that Fear leads to Trembling, but Faith leads to Triumphing.