Two Miracles of Healing
TRANSLATION
(21) When Jesus had crossed over again to the other side in the boat, a great crowd gathered around him while he was beside the sea. (22) Then one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came and, seeing him, fell at his feet (23) and implored him earnestly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. I beg you to come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.” (24) And (Jesus) went with him. And a great crowd followed and thronged about him.
(25) And there was a woman (in the crowd) who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years. (26) She had suffered many things from many doctors, spending everything she had. Yet, instead of getting better, she only grew worse. (27) Having heard the reports about Jesus, she approached in the crowd behind him and touched his garment, (28) saying (to herself), “If I only touch his clothing, I shall be healed.” (29) And immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she had been healed of her disease. (30) Immediately, sensing that power had gone out of him, Jesus turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothing?” (31) And his disciples said to him, “You can see the crowd thronging around you and yet you ask, ‘Who touched my clothing?’” (32) And he looked around to see who had done it. (33) The woman, knowing what he had done for her, came up with fear and trembling and, kneeling before him, told him the whole truth. (34) He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your disease.”
(35) While he was speaking, there came some from the synagogue ruler’s house who said, “Your daughter has died. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” (36) But Jesus, ignoring the message, said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear! Only have faith.” (37) And he allowed no one to follow him apart from Peter, James, and John, James’ brother. (38) And they came to the ruler’s house where they saw a commotion with many people weeping and wailing. (39) And, as he entered, he said to them, “Why are you weeping and wailing? The child is not dead but is only asleep.” (40) And they laughed scornfully at him. But having put them all outside, he took the father of the child and her mother as well as those who were with him and went in to where the child lay. (41) And, taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” (42) And immediately the girl got up and walked about, for she was twelve years old. And everyone was completely astonished. (43) And he strictly charged them not to tell anyone about this and then commanded them to give her something to eat.
OBSERVATIONS
Three unusual events should be noted in this account of these two great miracles. First, Jairus’ coming to Jesus, kneeling before him and begging for his help, shows us just how deeply this prominent man loved his daughter and what he was willing to do to find someone to heal her. Secondly, the woman who touched Jesus’ garment shows us how desperate she was and how that desperation deepened her faith to the point where a casual brush with Jesus’ robe was enough to secure the answer to her yearnings. Finally, the interruption and delay her healing represented, added to the news of the daughter’s death, only heightened the drama when Jesus assured Jairus that all he needed was unwavering faith. What had at first only been the need for healing had turned into the need of her restoration to life, something the Lord of Life was certainly capable of doing. But would Jairus’ faith endure such a test?
Repetitions included “a great crowd” used twice (vss. 21 & 24) along with “crowd” (vs. 27), “daughter” (found three times in vss. 23, 34, & 35), “twelve years” (vss. 25 & 42), “touch garments” (twice in vss. 28 & 39) along with “touched” (vs. 31), “healed of disease” (twice in vss. 29 & 34), “weeping and wailing” (twice in vss. 38 & 39), and one of Mark’s favorite words, “immediately” (three times in vss. 29, 30, & 42). Note that by touching Jesus’ garment, the woman should have rendered him ceremonially unclean. Instead, his healing power cleansed her of twelve years of affliction. What a great display of Jesus’ sovereign power is seen in these two miracles!
OUTLINE
I. Jesus responded to Jairus’ request to come and heal his daughter. (21-24)
II. Jesus stopped to deal with the woman who had touched his garment. (25-34)
III. Jesus restored Jairus’ daughter to life in response to his faith. (35-43)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus’ healing the woman with the issue of blood and then restoring Jairus’ daughter to life powerfully displayed his authority over disease and death.
APPLICATION
There’s a little ditty that goes:
God’s timing is always perfect…never early, never late.
It may take a bit of patience, but it’s always worth the wait.
When we consider the interruption that delayed Jesus’ arrival at Jairus’ house to heal his daughter, we should not lose sight of the fact that the woman with the discharge blood had been waiting for twelve years to be freed of her affliction, the same number of years Jairus’ daughter had been alive. Whose problem was more urgent?
The answer to that question is not at issue. The point of the passage was that Jesus met the needs of both women at just the right time and in just the right way despite the delays which both had had to endure. God’s timing will always be perfect if we will simply obey the words of Jesus to Jairus, “Do not fear, only have faith” (vs. 36). Whatever it is that we may be trusting God to answer, we need that same encouragement to have faith and wait patiently for God’s perfect timing. In many passages we are encouraged to “wait on the Lord.” One of the most familiar is found in Psalm 27: “Wait for Yahweh. Be strong. Let your heart take courage. Wait for Yahweh” (Ps. 27:14).