We find ourselves in a section of Mark where he reports on four miracles 1) Jesus’ authority over nature – the winds and waves obey Him; 2) Jesus’ authority over demons – a man who has not one demon but a legion of demons is delivered; 3) & 4) are today’s two miracles where is authority extends to even over life and death itself. All four miracles are connected to the travels of the group around the lake, known as the Sea of Galilee.
We find Jesus and the Twelve together in a boat departing from the west side of the lake. The first miracle happens while they are on the lake itself. It was last week that we met this lonely, tormented man. It was here that Mark focuses on Jesus’ authority over the evil, demonic forces. Today’s two miracles are sandwiched together into one story that occurs on the west side of the lake.
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat” (Mark 5:21-43).
Who Is This Jesus?
While several characters are mentioned in Mark’s story, it is Jesus who represents the central figure of his narrative. The question still hangs in the air from Jesus’ miracle on the lake: “And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him’” (Mark 4:41)? Each person in Mark’s account is placed before you in order for your eyes to see more clearly the authority of Jesus Christ.
Mark’s Sandwich Storyboard
Mark sandwiches two stories into one before our eyes. Much like our contemporary sitcoms that switch between multiple storylines, Mark brings the circumstances of two very different people into one theme. To the question about Jesus’ real identity, Mark presents his two stories in layers: the raising of Jairus’ daughter in verses 21-24 is the first layer… the healing of the bleeding woman in verses 24-34 is the middle layer… and then he resumes the story of Jairus’ daughter again in verses 35-43. The stories are placed together purposefully by Mark in order that we see the connections between the two. Both are females who are restored by a touch from Jesus. In both accounts, Jesus touches women who are unclean. It means he was ceremonially unclean for religious purposes. If you had contact with this man, you would have to go through certain ceremonial procedures before having contact with others. Because of her bleeding, the older woman should have never been in the crowd as she contaminated the people with her ritual uncleanness (Leviticus 15:19-33). We are surprised to see Jesus touch the corpse of Jairus’ daughter because she too was unclean. Yet, in both cases, Jesus’ touch makes the unclean clean.
The Contrast Between Two Men
The man in front of Jesus is the opposite of the man Jesus had just left on the other side of the lake. The man on the opposite side of the lake was lonely and an outcast. While this man was influential and sought out. Few cared about the demon-possessed man who lived or died but everyone carefully observed opinions of the behavior of the synagogue ruler. Nevertheless, his needs were just as real as the Gadarene demoniac. This rich religious man’s tears were just as wet as the wealthy synagogue ruler across the Sea of Galilee.
The Contrast Between Him And Her
Jairus is a male in a society where men received all the breaks. This woman is just that, a woman. She would always come out on the short of the stick in first-century Jewish social circles. While Jairus is of high social standing, the woman who has bled for twelve years was just the opposite. Everyone would have known his name yet few knew her identity. Because of the nature of her bleeding, the Old Testament rendered her ceremonially unclean.
She was socially and religiously isolated from the ordinary relationships of life that give us so encouragement. Yet, he ruled over the religious food chain of his day. He was rich. She was poor. His plea for her help was open to all to hear. Her desire for health was every bit as private as he was public. Yet, all three were desperate.
Let’s look at the story.
Three times Mark repeats that great crowds are following Jesus from place to place. If you have traveled overseas and afforded yourself of the opportunity to shop in Eastern markets, you’ll remember the throngs of people are nearly always around you. It’s nothing to be jostled in open-air places. If you were an artist painting the scene, perhaps you have a young mother lifting their children high in the air to catch a glimpse of Jesus. Or perhaps eager men jostling back and forth in order to obtain a better glimpse of the Miracle Man catch your eye. The crowd is so thick Jesus has difficulty navigating His way around. As curious minds are inquiring as to whom the itinerant teacher named Jesus truly is… a ruler of the synagogue, or one of the elders of the assembly of worshipping Jews falls prostrate before Jesus’ feet in the midst of the crowds (verse 22).
A synagogue ruler was a layman who was in charge of keeping the day-to-day routines of the synagogue. He would have been a prominent member of the community. His situation is desperate as we quickly learn that his twelve-year-old daughter (see Mark 5:42) was dying. If you were an emergency room physician, the nature of the little girl’s illness is acute. It’s only the father we meet at the beginning of the story. We meet the mother toward the end, as she is where all mothers are when their children are sick, by the bedside of her child. Any parent knows this man’s anguish. Though his story is removed from us by the passing of time, yet you can still feel his emotional desperation in the words of verse 23: “implored him earnestly.” That a man of such dignity would fall at Jesus’ feet indicates his desperate condition (Mark 5:22). That a man of such dignity would fall at Jesus’ feet indicates Jesus’ rising popularity as a miracle worker. When Jairus asks for Jesus’ presence in his home, his words are colored with emotional intensity: “Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live” (Mark 5:23b). His hope for his child is nearly extinguished as he reports his little girl is near the point of death (verse 23a). We learn from the beginning of verse 24 that Jesus breaks away from His public teaching to go with this father. Jesus demonstrates a remarkable sensitivity to this man’s anguish despite His busy teaching schedule. This man’s hopes sprung forth to life when Jesus agreed to see the little girl. His insides were churning, as he is at once excited at the prospects of Jesus coming to visit his daughter… yet he also hoped they were not too late. No doubt the father is feeling a vortex of emotions.
No sooner have we been introduced to Jairus than the story quickly moves to a woman. Most believe this woman’s problems were probably unique to females only (gynecological). Now an ER physician would diagnose the little girl’s condition as acute, this lady’s problems were chronic. She had been suffering for some twelve years when she touched Jesus.
Mark clues his readers in on four unique aspects of her tragic illness.
1) She suffered for twelve years (Mark 5:25). Her pain had caused her to lose considerable time. Twelve years had gone by and she was no better (Mark 5:26). Had she felt just a little better, she would have felt some encouragement. Had she had just some of her pain mitigated… some of her pain alleviated… you might have detected hope on her face. Yet, after twelve long years of suffering, she was no better than we the bleeding had begun.
2) She had grown worse (Mark 5:26). To some, a physician is a source of hope and friend in time of need. Yet for others, a doctor represents only one more torment to the already pain-racked body.
3) She had spent all she had (Mark 5:26). This lady’s doctor relieved her of nothing but her money. In addition to her physical pain, she can now add financial poverty.
4) She had suffered pain for twelve years… she was no better… she had grown worse… and she had spent all she had. She wasn’t fully aware of the upside of her impoverished condition yet but she soon would be. Hitting bottom was the most optimistic day she had experienced in years. For when she had discovered she had nothing left, she turned to one Person Who could relieve her of far more than her medical condition.
Let’s continue with the story.
She reached out to touch in verse 27. She had heard the reports about this healing traveling prophet: “For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well’” (Mark 5:28). She may have acted out on no more than a superstitious belief in her hopes to be healed. Yet, she had a belief that where other physicians had failed her, Jesus would not. Mark stresses the immediacy of the woman’s healing in verse 29. Where others had failed her, Jesus’ power had cured her problem in an instant.
Pay attention to Jesus’ delay here. No sooner than she touched Jesus than Jesus stops. He stops the entire entourage who is proceeding to visit this little twelve-year girl in her emergency. He wants to know who touched Him. The Disciples are incredulous (verse 31)!
“And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’’” (Mark 5:31) They ask incredulously, “Who touched You?! “Everybody is touching You!” Jesus wasn’t asking the question to gain information (see Genesis 3:9 for similar a question God asked Adam).
Let offer Four takeaways from today’s story.
1) Jesus’ Gets and Gives More Than You Imagined.
Instead, He asked in order for this woman’s private superstition to be made into a public faith. The truth comes spilling out in verse 33: “But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth” (Mark 5:33). The woman’s private superstition caused her to want to do nothing more than a “touch and run.” Jesus insisted that she be made public. His private superstition was made into a public faith. She received a great deal more than she came for. Instead of only receiving a bodily healing… this woman left being made into a lifelong disciple of Jesus. She received a lot more than she bargained for.
When you come to Jesus, He will get from you far more than you originally planned to give… but He will give to you far more than you thought.
2) Jesus’ Grace Reverses the Values
Notice the sensitivity of Jesus in this story. He gives His undivided attention to a ceremonially unclean woman while a man of high social and religious standing waits. He treats this woman as if there is no other person in the world but her. Yet, she has zero social standing. In the time of His greatest need, the “insider” is told to wait while the “outsider” receives an inordinate amount of attention. Jesus inverts the social morays of the day. Jesus’ Grace Reverses the Values of His day. Jesus does not come to people by virtue of their pedigree or status. All throughout the Gospel Jesus does this kind of thing.
Jesus inverts our thinking. He deals with racial outsiders while the Pharisees are aghast. He treats moral outcasts while the moral insiders are stunned. Jesus invariably connects with the outsider. He tells us the way to find your life is to lose your life. The way to power is to give up your power and serve. The way up is down. The way to be clothed in the eternal righteousness of God is to admit you have none. The way to have a fulfilled life is to seek the happiness and fulfillment of others.
Jesus’ Grace Reverses the Values
3) The Meaning of Jesus’ Delay
“While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?’”
(Mark 5:35)
Can you imagine what was going through the father’s mind when he was told he was told of his daughter’s death? As Jesus interacted with the woman, can you imagine how this father’s mind was racing? Surely, this father was asking internally, “What’s wrong with you Man!?” He was nauseated with desperation as Jesus delays. Minutes were ticking away and the opportunity for his daughter. The father is no doubt impatient. He asks himself, “Why doesn’t Jesus hurry? “As He talks, my child dies.” Her touch of Jesus’ clothes delayed him from arriving at Jairus’ home before his daughter died. Her problem had been going on for twelve years. Surely it could continue two more hours.
I made mention of the two people’s condition earlier in the narrative. I said the twelve-year-old girl was acute and the woman was chronic. If Jesus were an ER physician, He would be sued for malpractice in our time. Every ER worker knows you prioritize the acute over the chronic. Every ER worker knows you deal with those with acute problems first… and only then do you deal with those with chronic conditions. If Jesus were an ER physician and had dealt with the chronic condition of the women first, only to allow the twelve-year-old girl to die… He would have been sued for wrongful death.
Jesus’ choice to stop and talk to the woman makes no sense. Have you prayed, “Jesus, I need help now?” Jesus’ patience in contrast to our impatience bewilders us today as it did then. It seems that Jesus is lollygagging around in the courtroom of heaven while our needs go unmet.
4) Jesus’ Grace Never Operates on Our Sense of Time.
Jesus' sense of timing always confounds our sense of time. Everyone has the sense that this is the right time and this isn’t the right time. His blessing never seems to come when you want it. His grace never operates according to our timing. If Jesus looks as if He is doing malpractice in your life, then you are missing a crucial factor in your thinking.
Watch how this happens in today’s story. Jesus has a point in delaying. He delayed for at least two reasons: First, His delay transformed a woman into a longtime, disciple of Christ. Second, Jesus’ delay was to increase the faith of the father. Jesus’ delay would raise Jairus to a new atmosphere of faith. Jairus’ faith was to reach an altitude that few had experienced. For when he first talked to Jesus, the child was but sick. Yet, when Jesus arrived the child was dead: “But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe’” (Mark 5:36). Jesus says to Jairus, “Trust Me…” His Grace & Love are Compatible with what you think is God’s unconscionable delay. Jesus will not be hurried.
When we think Jesus is wrongly delaying in our time of need, Jesus delays to increase our faith in His power. When we think Jesus is wrongly delaying in our time of need, Jesus delays to display His love for us. Because of the malpractice of Jesus, Jairus saw his daughter raised from the dead. Because of the malpractice of Jesus, Jairus’ faith in Christ was increased dramatically.
Are you tired and ready to give up? Is there a crucial factor to God’s delay that you cannot see? Jesus says to you, “Trust Me.” When Jesus delays in coming to your rescue, He has facts you don’t have. When He is doing something that looks as if it doesn’t make sense, trust He has facts you don’t have. We learn something about Jesus’ power. Such is the power of God, that when He gently holds her hand, He lifts her upright through death. Jesus Christ says, “When I have you by the hand, even death itself is nothing but a good night's sleep.”
We also learn something about Jesus’ love. When we are little, we think we are safe when our parents hold our hands. Yet, even the best parents can lose their children. Even the best parents can make bad decisions. There are bad parents. Yet, Jesus is the ultimate Parent. He takes us by the hand. The same hands that created the world itself. The same hand that Mark tells us that were nailed for my sins. He lost His Father’s hand for our sake. He went into the tomb so we could be raised out of it. He was laid outside the camp and became unclean so that our uncleanness could become whole. He lost His Father’s hand so that we could know He will never let go of our hand.
