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Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him, and He was by the sea. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."
While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid, only believe." And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.
- Mark 5:21-43
Yesterday, we read that Jesus and the disciples came to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him, and He was by the sea. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. Back across the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples are once again in Jewish territory. My study bible points out here in this passage that not all Jewish leaders were opposed to Jesus, and from this we learn something very important. As we read through the Gospels, there really isn't even one group of people about whom we can generalize: there are always exceptions. Joseph of Arimathea, an important member of the Sanhedrin, donated Jesus' tomb and claimed His body after crucifixion, while Judas, one of Jesus' personally-chosen Twelve, would betray Him. Here in this scene, we've returned to a place where Jesus is so well-known that the crowds throng Him.
Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" Here my study bible points out two things. First of all, Jesus always has time for everything that is going on in His ministry. He stops to attend to what has just happened among the crowds, even as He's going to Jairus' house to help his daughter. It tells us, "Jesus never seems to be in a hurry, or ever interrupted from His mission. Here, He attends to both needs." It also notes, "Healing takes energy. Jesus is aware that divine energy had gone out of Him when He was touched. This power (Greek dynamis) is a manifestation of the one, uncreated power of God, 'the power of God to salvation' (Romans 1:16)."
But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction." My study bible says, "God's power or energy is available to people as grace from Him. Jesus says, Daughter, your faith has made you well, showing that while divine power healed her, the woman's faith participated in the healing."
While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid, only believe." A note reads: "No situation is hopeless when Christ is present. As the woman needed faith to be healed, so these parents need to persist in faith, even now that their daughter's condition seems past hope."
And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. These three form Jesus' inner circle. They will be the ones present also at the Transfiguration. My study bible says that Peter, James and John are those "on whose faith and understanding Jesus could rely."
Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Again, there's a very particular emphasis here: we see the drama of the weeping and wailing and mourning the child, a great tumult, a calamity. But Jesus' careful selection of only those in whom He can trust (and trust is the root of faith in the Greek), and His deliberate exclusion of those in panic and fear and wailing tell us also an important part of this story and His ministry. These are those in whom He can't put His trust because they don't put their trust in Him. They even stoop to ridicule.
Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." A note tells us, "Jesus speaks Aramaic here, the spoken language of Jews in His time. Jesus commands demons and they obey, the stormy seas and they obey, and here, the dead and she 'obeys.'"
Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat. My study bible tells us, "The daughter of Jairus returns to life to the great amazement of those present. But like all of us, she will die again to await the resurrection of the dead and Christ's return." Jesus' instructions to give her something to eat tell us of the normalcy of her life returned to her. Like Peter's mother-in-law earlier, and the paralytic He healed, this girl is told to "arise" (and it's notable that this is done in Mark's Gospel with specific words in Aramaic). Each one is restored to his or her proper place.
Today's Gospel reading is another illustration of what it is to have faith, to live in faith. Faith is a relationship. It's to trust in somebody. The woman with the blood flow had so much deliberate trust in Christ that she felt if she only touched the hem of His clothing, she would be healed. This, in turn, created relationship to Christ. A sort of automatic release of power came from Him to the woman with this act. It's intriguing and mysterious that Jesus perceives this happening even as He did not seem to consciously command it! It tells us something about our faith and it elaborates on the stunning story in yesterday's reading, about the Gadarene demoniac who fell at Jesus' feet in recognition of One who could help him, even though possessed of a legion of demons. It's this link of faith that activates Jesus' power. Then He deliberately excludes those who ridicule Him, who lament and wail and cause chaos and tumult over the death of Jairus' daughter. He allows only Peter, James and John to come with Him to Jairus' house, and only the parents are allowed in with them to the girl's room. It's a very deliberate way to exclude that which will distract from this important bond of faith and the working of Jesus' grace, the divine power that works through Him. And we can take a great lesson from that. In our own lives, we may have problems that we have to deal with, that require a great deal of faith on our part, and a lot of prayer. If we surround ourselves with those who can't be supportive of such an endeavor, of a great effort on our part to cope and heal with our own problems, with God's help, then we endanger our own well-being. A popular affliction we see around us in our modern lives is addiction. This can come in many forms. We may all be familiar with Twelve Step programs, with programs such as the Betty Ford Center which help individuals and families with such problems. But one thing we can be certain of: the environment must be deliberately chosen by those seeking to remain in sobriety. A "higher power" such as our faith in Christ, becomes a necessary part of that struggle. But long before such programs came into existence, the Gospel taught us the importance of maintaining faith, and choosing very carefully those around us who will support positive endeavor, a journey of faith and trust, a relationship to Christ that will help lead us to our own wholeness and healing. It's important that we understand that this relationship must be cemented with deliberate support, and that it's no sin to exclude those who will do harm to what is truly in the interest of healing. Ridicule is an important clue here. It can often be used as a type of abuse, a way to sabotage sincere efforts at healing, when what we need instead is help for our efforts and our weaknesses. Positive support emphasizes our faith and our hope through difficult circumstances. Remember that trust is important. Whom do you trust? When all else may fail you, and there may be no support (such as the conditions of the demoniac in yesterday's reading), we remember that we put our trust in Christ, and He puts His faith and trust in us. The power released in such a relationship is grace. Maintain that bond, call on it, and support it. When we make this deliberate effort, we are following the footsteps of Christ for our healing, and our peace.
