Jesus was going to a dying 12-year-old girl. Actually, the girl was not dying, she was already dead. The musicians and professional mourners were already on the scene and showing sorrow.
Matthew 9 records that event, “When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, ‘Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.’ And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up” – (Matthew 9:23-25)
“They began to laugh.” How do you feel when you are trying to do good, and people laugh at you?
Even Jesus had negative people in life, but there is a difference between minor and major negative people. The people who laughed at Jesus were just minor. When you have a major threat by a major negative person you have to take it seriously. You cannot ignore it, but I hope you know which is major and which is minor and treat them accordingly. I confess that I sometimes struggle with telling the difference. From this event we should remember 3 important truths:
- There are negative people. Even Jesus had them in his life. They weren’t sneaky about it, but openly laughed at him. If you go through life hoping not to encounter people who will try to put you down, you are setting yourself up for pain.
- If you find yourself surrounded by the naysayers, do what Jesus did. Tell them to leave. Do not be rude. Jesus simply said, “Leave.” You cannot do your work surrounded by negative folks.
- Do not let anyone stop you from doing good. Once you figure out what God wants you to do, the rest is just details.
Lonnie Davis