Mark 5.21-end
(NRSV)
A Girl Restored to
Life and a Woman Healed
21 When
Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd
gathered round him; and he was by the lake. 22Then one of the leaders
of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23and begged him
repeatedly, ‘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.’ 24So he went with him. And
a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25Now there was a woman who
had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years.26She had endured much
under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better,
but rather grew worse. 27She
had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his
cloak, 28for
she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’29Immediately her
haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her
disease. 30Immediately
aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and
said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ 31And
his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you
say, “Who touched me?” ’ 32He
looked all round to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing
what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and
told him the whole truth. 34He
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, some people came from the leader’s house to
say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ 36But overhearing what
they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only
believe.’ 37He
allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of
James. 38When
they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he
said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but
sleeping.’ 40And
they laughed at him. Then 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. 41He took her by the hand
and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ 42And immediately the girl
got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were
overcome with amazement. 43He
strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her
something to eat.
I
mention a variety of commentators from different Christian traditions as
expound on this lovely passage.
When Jesus returned from his time in Gerasa
where he had healed the man possessed by demons, there was a large crowd
waiting for him. One of these people was a synagogue leader named Jairus.
Because so much opposition had arisen from within organised Judaism, it must
have required both courage and humility on his part to make the approach.
Jairus had known the joy of having his
daughter with him for 12 years. But now she was close to death. He came to
Jesus - desperate - because he knew that there was nothing anyone could do to
save her. In Jairus therefore, we see a beautiful image of faith and humility.
This great spiritual leader and highly respected member of the community
kneeled down before Jesus and begged him to come to his home.
Another person who was waiting for Jesus was a
woman - we are not given her name. In contrast to the 12 years of joy that
prefaced Jairus' encounter with Jesus, this woman had known 12 years of misery
- for she had experienced constant menstrual bleeding in this time. This had
dire consequences for her. In addition to the physical discomfort, this ailment
made her ceremonially unclean. This meant that she became an outcast in
society, because according to Levitical law (Leviticus 15:19-22) a woman with her problem was considered ritually unclean. She was
therefore denied access to worship or fellowship. In essence this meant that
she was denied access to God. She was financially destitute because she had
spent everything on doctors, but to no avail. She too, was desperate.
The woman had heard about Jesus and how, when
he touched people, or when people touched him, they were healed. She was
nevertheless a bit concerned. She was so embarrassed about her ailment that she
did not want to go public with it. So, she decided to touch Jesus secretly. She
thought that it would be sufficient if she just touched one of the tassels of
his robe. The minute she touched the tassel, she was healed and she knew it.
She now wanted to slink away secretly. The woman's reasons for not openly
coming to Jesus seemed valid. According to the Levitical law, if she touched
Jesus, she would also make him ritually unclean. But Jesus forced her to come
into the open because he had important lessons to teach both the woman and the
crowd. Wiersbe comments:
To begin with, this public confession
was for her sake. It was an opportunity for her to confess Christ and glorify
God. Had she stolen away in the crowd, she would have not met Jesus personally
or heard His words of assurance and comfort.
Miller adds:
She seems to have had a rather magical
idea that a touch of his garment was all that was needed to restore her to
health. And this it did! But Jesus wanted to lead her to a faith which rested
on a personal acquaintance and open confession of him. Then she could go with a
deeper "peace" than that which mere recovery of health could bring.
It is amazing how many people receive great
blessing from God. Some receive miraculous healings like this woman, but they
never really accept Jesus personally and therefore never receive his gift of
enduring faith. Like the people in the parable of the sower, who are like the
seed that falls on rocky ground, when the going gets tough - they give up. All
of us have received great blessing from God. If we look at what we have, we see
that we are blessed with far more than we really need. But so many of us are
willing to throw in the towel when things get hard?
Jesus wanted the woman to be able to stand
firm no matter what happened to her in the future. Jesus therefore insisted
that she have a personal encounter with him and so receive a deep and
significant faith.
The crowd also needed to learn a lesson.
Wiersbe continues:
You can be part of the crowd and never
get any blessing from being near Jesus! It is one thing to "press
Him" and another thing to "touch Him" by faith.
How many of us crowd around Jesus as we gather
Sunday after Sunday to worship, but never really take the step forward in
humility and faith? How many of us see wonderful things happening to others and
resign ourselves that it will never happen to us, simply because we do not
reach out, by faith, and touch our Lord? Faith only comes when one has a
personal encounter with Jesus by faith. And faith grows when it is tested.
Jairus knew that Jesus could save his child.
He had faith. But his faith was tested. While Jesus was still speaking to the
woman, a messenger came from Jairus' home with the news that his daughter had
died. Jesus overheard and spoke words of comfort to him. We read in verse 36:
When Jesus heard this, he told Jairus,
"Don't worry! Have faith, and your daughter will get well."
Morris suggests that this verse could be
translated 'make an act of faith' or 'put your trust in Me'. Jesus meant that
he should never give up, but keep believing.
The scene when they arrived at Jairus' home
must have been depressing. One can assume that the professional mourners would
have arrived, and the friends and neighbours would also have gathered around.
Jesus stilled the people and said, "The child is not dead. She is just
asleep." They laughed at him,
because they knew that the child was dead.
Jesus emptied the house of all save a chosen
few. He took the girl by the hand and said, "Child, get up!" Mark
records Jesus as using the Aramaic words: "Talitha cumi! Little girl,
arise!" These are the words her mother would have used each morning to
waken her daughter. The tenderness of this moment cannot be captured using
words. 'She came back to life and got right up'.
The incident ends with Jesus exhorting the
parents not to spread the news of what had happened. Jesus did not want to
attract a large following of curious onlookers who were only seeking to get
what they wanted out of him. This is why he taught in parables - so that only
those who were really committed would follow him.
And so, the lesson on faith that began with
the parable of the sower is now complete with the practical demonstrations of
the storm, the healings and finally the raising of Jairus' daughter to life.
The secret behind a full and wonderful life is to have faith in Jesus Christ.
Unless our faith grows to maturity even the small traumas that come our way
will often get us down. We all need to pray - "Lord, make our faith
stronger!”
There are many painful things that can happen
to us, because we live in an imperfect world where the majority of people
choose to reject Christ and His law of love. Satan is also active. The result -
suffering is a fact of life. Without faith, we will become easily discouraged.
The only thing that can lift us up and give us hope is an abiding sense of
Christ's love, His wisdom and His care for us. So, when the tests come and with
God's help our faith endures, we feel lifted up and encouraged. As Ryle
comments:
Faith can sit still and wait for
better times. Faith can see light even in the darkest hour, and a needs-be for
the heaviest trial. Faith ... can sing songs in the night in any condition.
The prophet Isaiah writes:
You, Lord, give perfect peace to those
who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you. Trust in the Lord for
ever; and he will always protect you.
Have we all received the free gift of faith
offered by Christ to all - or are we just members of the crowd? We have all
heard the message. Are the seeds of faith falling on the road, on rocky ground
or amongst thorn bushes? Let us rather be those who are like the good ground,
who hear God's word and are willing to obey it and so see our faith grow,
flourish and mature - especially when it is tested - so that we might be mature
and complete never lacking anything.[1]
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