Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Grace in Focus Articles
→
Salvation by Faith Alone: A Look at Mark 5:21-43

Salvation by Faith Alone: A Look at Mark 5:21-43

July 1, 2002 by GES Webmaster in Grace in Focus Articles

By Doros Zachariades

In his book The Miracles of our Lord, Dr. Charles Ryrie makes this important observation about the healings and miracles that Jesus performed:

The main purpose of the miracles was to teach, to reveal…[but] the miracles also remind us of the consequences of sin—sickness, blindness, death—and of the power of the Lord to do something about those consequences. That is why many of His physical cures illustrate so well the spiritual salvation He secured when He died and rose from the dead (emphasis added).1

The miracles of our Lord are indeed representative of the spiritual deliverance we receive when we place our faith in Him for our eternal salvation. In addition, Jesus’ commendation of the faith of the individuals who were healed, also clearly demonstrates the means of that deliverance. In many instances, Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well [literally, has saved you]” (Mark 5:34).

A Touch of Faith

In Mark 5:21-43, two miraculous accounts are found together: the healing of the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years and the raising of Jairus’s twelve-year-old daughter.2 A dynamic tension-filled incident unfolds with the flow of the accounts. It begins with Jairus seeking Jesus and falling at His feet (v 22). He pleads for the Lord to go with him to heal his little girl.

Suddenly Jesus’ attention is drawn in another direction as the crowds are pressing in around Him (v 24, 30). As the ailing woman reached out her hand and touched the hem of His garment, Jesus sensed power leaving Him. He turned to ask who had touched Him.

At this point it must have been difficult for Jairus to see a seemingly insignificant matter thwart his hopes for his daughter’s well being. The woman—who had been miraculously healed—identifed herself. Jesus’ next words to her confirm that it was her faith that had made the healing a reality—words that would ring true to Jairus in the not so distant future.

William Lane’s comment is noteworthy, “It was the grasp of her faith rather than her hand that had secured the healing she sought. Her touch brought together two elements—faith and Jesus—and that had made it effective.”3

Faith Alone

As the scene shifts from this miraculous event, tragic news reaches Jairus that his daughter has died (v 35). Here is a masterful example of pastoral care from the Good Shepherd Himself. I imagine Jesus putting His hand on Jairus’s shoulder and looking into the eyes of Jairus to express love and hope. Our Lord’s words encourage Jairus in his despair and underscore clearly the sole condition for the upcoming miracle—and by explicit illustration—how one is justified before God and eternally saved.

Jesus says to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; only believe” (v 36). That’s right, “only believe.” In other words, Jairus was to have faith alone! Nothing else is needed, as nothing else can help. Jesus meant what He said—just believe.

In the face of Jairus’s specific problem—his daughter’s death—ritual, ceremony, prayers, and works of any kind were out of place, especially since Jesus called for faith alone and nothing more. Faith alone is the way since it is only the Lord that saves.

What makes this case all the more exciting is the close parallel to our spiritual salvation from eternal condemnation. Just as the twelve-year old girl is raised from the dead, so in our spiritual salvation we are raised from spiritual death (Eph 2:1, 5, 8). Both are accomplished through the grace of Christ by faith alone.4

Conclusion

As faith was the instrumental means of physical deliverance in several of the healing miracles that Jesus performed, so faith is the vehicle through which our eternal deliverance or justification before God is obtained.5 The cherished doctrine that we defend in the evangelical tradition—justification by faith alone—has its roots firmly planted in the teaching and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ryrie, after all, was absolutely right. The miracles clearly depict the power of the Lord while reminding our hearts of the grace of the Savior.

 


1Charles C. Ryrie, The Miracles of our Lord (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1988), 10,11.

2The fact that this young girl was born when this woman’s illness began is significant. The Lord fittingly chose to heal both on the same day. He is the Lord over disease and death. He saves the young and the old. And He saves all by faith.

3William L. Lane, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 193.

4The illustration should not be pressed too far, but it is a parallelism nonetheless. The daughter was saved from death (illustrating regeneration); Jairus exercised faith (illustrating means). A connection cannot be made which argues that one can believe for another to be saved. The point is that faith and faith alone was the condition of the girl’s salvation from death.

5See Matthew 15:28; Mark 9:23;10:52; Luke 7:9; 8:25; 9:41; 17:19; John 11:40; Acts 3:16; 4:9-10.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Cart

Recently Added

January 27, 2023

Who Are the Elect in 1 Peter 1:1-2 and in Romans 8:28-30? Are We to Understand the “Elect” in 1 Peter the Same as the “Predestined” in Romans 8?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates take up a question about election and predestination. What does the Bible say...
January 27, 2023

A Novel Argument Against Inerrancy 

Kathryn Wright shared with me an interesting argument against inerrancy: I heard something today and thought it might make a good blog topic for you....
January 26, 2023

Will There Be Poor People in Heaven?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates and Bob Wilkin answer an interesting question about our status in Heaven or the quality of...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Confident in Christ, 2nd Edition $22.00 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • Inerrancy for Dummies $7.95 $5.00
  • The Journey of Faith $15.00 $9.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube