Mark 5:21-43
21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 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.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 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.”
35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Summary:
- Jesus brings the authority; we bring the faith. This is part three of a trilogy of stories that demonstrate Jesus’ authority over all things: nature (4:35-41); the spiritual realm (5:1-20); and over health, life and death (5:21-43). In the two former stories Jesus acts sovereignly in taming His creation and driving out the unclean spirits. In this story, there is an interaction between Jesus’ authority and the faith of those who would receive His miraculous help (vv. 34, 36).
- Jesus is accessible. In both stories, Jesus touched and subsequently cleansed and saved two people that were unclean, a bleeding woman and a dead girl. We have seen Jesus’ willingness and ability to touch the unclean without becoming defiled (1:40-45). It is remarkable that the Son of God would leave heaven’s glory to touch the least and lowly!
- He’s not too busy. God has infinite “bandwidth” to give every Christian the same care and attention. You are not behind the queue behind someone else “more important.” Reach out and touch Him! He won’t resent you, but He will reward your faith!
- You’re not forgotten. If, like the woman with chronic bleeding, you have battled for years, having drained your resources and exhausted all your options to no avail, Jesus sees your troubles and remembers your tears. You keep track of all my sorrows. “You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (Psalm 56:8). “God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them” (Exodus 2:24-25).
- It’s not too late. Even if, like Jairus’ daughter, your dreams are dead (metaphorically or literally) we serve a great who “gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not” (Romans 4:17). It’s never too late for a miracle!