Whether it was just some playful teasing (often that even hurts) or perhaps something more abusive, everyone has been laughed at. It is always unpleasant and often very hurtful.
In Luke 8, we have the account of when Jairus came to Jesus and begged him to come and heal his dying daughter. While on the way to the house, Jesus became involved in the healing of a woman with a discharge of blood. As this was occurring, someone from Jairus’ house arrived and reported that his daughter had died. This news did not deter Jesus.
Upon arrival at Jairus’ house, He found everyone mourning and weeping but went on to say: “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” The response to these words of hope are not what we might expect. “And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.” Evidently some had thought that Jesus could heal the girl and keep her from dying, but no one believed that He could raise her from the dead. Some translations here render the Greed as ridicule which means to make one the object of scornful laughter. Others say “laughed Him to scorn.” Scorn means extreme contempt or disdain.
Let’s understand that these people were not just chuckling to themselves about what Jesus said. They were making fun of Him and laughing at Him as if He were an idiot! But Jesus pays them no mind and goes on to raise the young girl from the dead. Amazing!
Here, Jesus shows us how to handle sharp and hurtful speech which comes because of our faith. Just ignore it and continue to live according to your faith. What is the key to this? Jesus absolutely knew what was true. He knew that His Father had given Him the power to raise the dead. Do we sometimes not speak up for our faith to avoid ridicule? Maybe it’s because we aren’t fully convinced that what we believe is absolutely true. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that His words are truth, what does it matter that anybody makes fun of you? Truly, what does it matter?
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