Mark 5:21-43 | “The Touch of Faith and the Touch of Love”

Why Do Miracles Happen?

Christianity is a supernatural religion.  Christians have long confessed belief in the supernatural, that there’s a God who created nature and sometimes operates within it in ways not explained by nature.  Without miracles, there is no Christianity.

Why do miracles happen?  First, as Wayne Grudem says, miracles happen “to arouse people’s awe and wonder of God.”  After the Exodus, Moses led Israel to sing, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?  Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” (Ex. 15:11)  Miracles reveal God’s power and bring him glory.  Jesus said that the man born blind was blind in order “that the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn. 9:3).    

Second, miracles reveal what life in God’s kingdom is like, especially the ones done through Jesus.  Jesus’ first sermon was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15).  Jesus’ miracles prove that God’s kingdom has indeed come with Jesus and they reveal what life looks like in his kingdom.  In God’s kingdom, there’s no evil, no demons, no sickness, no disease, and no death.       

Third, miracles happen to authenticate and advance the message of the gospel.  When Philip preached in Samaria, “the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.  For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed” (Acts 8:6-7).  When Tabitha was raised from the dead by Peter, “it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord” (Acts 9:42). 

A pastor we worked with in India a couple years ago told us that he was converted to Christ after seeing a close relative of his healed.  He said that 90% of his congregation came to Christ because of a miracle of some kind.  Another man named Primod told us that the Lord saved him by saving his life, literally.  Miracles authenticate and advance the gospel.

But fourthly, miracles also reveal different aspects of the gospel.  Each miracle account teaches or illustrates the gospel in some way.  For example, Jesus’ calming of the storm teaches us that Jesus is God and that we should tremble before his sovereign power.  Jesus casting out the Legion of demons into the herd of pigs teaches us that Jesus has power over the evil one and foreshadows his decisive victory over the powers of darkness through his death on the cross (Col. 2:13-15).  Jesus’ miracles point us to the greatest miracle: his death and resurrection for sinners like us. 

Jesus’ Power and Our Faith

This pattern holds true as we come to the next section of Mark’s Gospel (5:21-43).  This is the third story in a row where Jesus’ sovereign power is revealed.  Mark has showed us his power over nature and power over evil.  Now he’s going to show us Jesus’ power over disease and death.  In so doing, we’ll see a couple more glimpses of the gospel.  See if you can spot them as we read this passage.

Mark is again using the sandwich technique here, squeezing one story in between another story.  The main point is found in the middle story, and it has to do with the nature of true faith.  Mark is revealing the power of Jesus, but he’s also asking us to consider whether we have the kind of faith that unleashes Jesus’ power in our lives.  Let’s look at each encounter then close by looking at how these miracles point us to the gospel.

Power over Disease

Verses 24b-34 show us Jesus’ power over disease.  Jesus is on his way to Jairus’ house when he suddenly stops and asks, “Who touched my garments?” (v. 30)  His disciples respond by basically calling Jesus an idiot (v. 31).  They should’ve known that Jesus never wasted words. 

As Jairus’ blood pressure began to rise, Jesus stopped and looked into the faces of those around him (v. 32).  Then all of a sudden a woman came forward and fell at his feet, telling him “the whole truth” (v. 33).  She told him her story and what had just happened to her.  She told him about her disease that caused her to bleed for twelve years (v. 25).  She told him that she’d spent all her money on doctors but her condition actually got worse, not better (v. 26).  She told him that she’d heard about him and thought that she could be healed if she only touched his garments (vv. 27-28).  She told him how her flow of blood dried up as soon as she touched his garments and how she felt immediately healed (v. 29).    

This woman was out of money and out of options.  This Jesus she’d heard of was her last hope.  Based on what she’d heard, she reasoned that if she could just touch this man’s garments, she could be made well (v. 28).  So she fought through the crowd and laid her hand on Jesus’ clothes.  And immediately the bleeding ceased.  And immediately Jesus stopped (v. 30). 

    

Why Did Jesus Stop?

Why did Jesus stop?  He could’ve kept going and the woman would’ve still been healed.  He was on an urgent errand after all.  Why did he test Jairus’ patience and call this woman out publicly?  We’ll see in a moment that he stopped in order to teach Jairus a lesson.  But he also wanted to teach this woman something.  His response to her in verse 34 is the lesson.

This woman needed to know exactly why she’d been healed.  She was healed because of her faith, not because of Jesus’ garments.  She believed that the garments could heal her.  Jesus wanted her to know that her faith in him is what healed her.  It was her faith that unlocked his power, not just her touching his cloak.  Her faith is why Jesus knew that power went out of him when she touched him.  Her touch of faith was noticeably different from the touch of the crowd that was pushing and shoving around Jesus.  They wanted something from him.  The woman had faith in him. 

Wanting something from Jesus and trusting in Jesus are not the same.  Only those who’re keenly aware of their weakness and their need and have come to the end of themselves are in a position to truly trust in Jesus.  Those who want Jesus to make their lives more comfortable or give them a fresh start haven’t yet come to the end of themselves and therefore don’t have true faith.  As long as we think that Jesus is simply a means to the end of making our life better, we don’t have true faith.  True faith is believing that Jesus is our only and best option.  True faith sees Jesus as our only hope.  Jesus wanted this woman to be healed, but he also wanted to highlight the genuineness of her faith in a crowd of unbelievers.

It’s likely that Jesus also called her out publicly to teach her something about discipleship.  He challenged her to take a public stand with him, to know that there was no reason for her to be ashamed of what he’d done for her.  Others needed to see it too.  She came for healing and found grace and Jesus calls her to openly acknowledge and rejoice in God’s grace.

Has Jesus called you out of the crowd yet?  Are you still following Jesus at a distance, curious to see what he’s up to, unsure if he’s the real deal, or maybe just wanting to see him do something cool or wanting to get something from him?  Have you approached him in faith and received his grace?  If so, he’s calling you to stand with him publicly.  This means publicly professing your faith in him through baptism and joining a local church.  Jesus wants us to tell the world what he’s done for us and he wants us to stand with his people, his body, until he returns.  If you’d like to know more about baptism or joining our church, I’d love to talk more with you after the service.

Power over Death

Sandwiched around the healing of this woman is the story of Jesus and Jairus’ daughter (vv. 21-24a, 35-43).  In the middle of the greatest crisis of his life, Jairus went to Jesus.  Where we run to in the middle of a crisis says a lot about our faith.  He may’ve heard Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum and may’ve seen him do other miracles.  In any case, his twelve-year old daughter was dying and his instinct was to run and fall at the feet of Jesus (v. 22).

When Jesus stopped to engage the woman who touched his garment, his heart must’ve started racing.  He must’ve been thinking, “There’s no time for delay, my daughter needs attention now!”  Deep down he probably wanted Jesus to ignore the woman and go on to see his daughter.  Jesus takes time to minister to others even while in a crisis situation.

It’s probably no accident that Mark mentions the length of the woman’s illness and the age of Jairus’ daughter (vv. 25, 42).  Both were twelve years.  Maybe Jesus is encouraging Jairus to show some compassion to others who’re suffering?  The woman with the flow of blood had been sick as long as his daughter had been alive.  Jairus needed to consider someone else’s pain for a moment.  It’s tempting to assume that our pain is deeper and harder than someone else’s.  But Jesus knows that all suffering is painful and worthy of his compassion and care.

Verse 35 says that Jesus was interrupted by the news that Jairus’ daughter had died.  Any parent who’s lost a child knows what Jairus felt.  In that moment, his body went numb and his heart was shattered into a thousand pieces. 

Jairus has already believed the difficult, would he now believe the impossible?  He believed Jesus could heal his daughter, would he believe that Jesus could raise her from the dead?  This was a real test for Jairus’ faith.  What did he really think about Jesus?  Was he just another “Teacher” as his servants indicated?  Would he be able to do anything in the face of life’s ultimate reality: death?  What would Jesus do when brought face-to-face with death, humanity’s greatest enemy?

“Do Not Fear, Only Believe”

Jesus heard the news and without hesitation said to Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe” (v. 36).  How should Jairus understand this command to believe?  What kind of faith is Jesus telling him to have?  The middle of the “sandwich” is the key to interpreting the whole passage.  The answer is that he should have the same kind of faith that the woman had.  The woman trusted Jesus when she had nowhere else to go.  Her faith knew no limits.  Jairus needed faith like that, faith that Jesus could raise his child from the dead. 

The woman and Jairus were the same in that they were both victims of desperate circumstances and had no hope apart from Jesus.  But their stories are very different too.  Jairus is named and has a position of power and leadership in the community.  The woman is not named and has no position of influence.  She’s only identified by what brings her shame, her flow of blood.  She approaches Jesus from behind while Jairus comes to him face to face. 

Jairus is a person of privilege and status, but Mark makes it clear that he has no advantage over the woman in the one thing that matters.  The woman exemplified great faith by pushing through the crowd to get to Jesus despite her embarrassing circumstances.  Her gender, uncleanness, and shame didn’t keep her from getting to Jesus.  She’s undaunted in her pursuit of Jesus, and her pursuit is rewarded with the soul-satisfying and body-healing words of Jesus, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (v. 34). 

Jesus is telling Jairus to have the kind of faith that the woman had.  He needed Jairus to understand that his position didn’t privilege him.  He needed to come to the end of himself and throw himself completely on the mercy and power of Jesus.

Jesus Raises the Girl from the Dead

Verse 37 says that Jesus leads Jairus and Peter, James, and John to the house.  The funeral had already started and hired-mourners already filled the house (v. 38).  Jesus tells them that her condition is only temporary, “The child is not dead but sleeping” (v. 39).  The mourners start laughing at Jesus (v. 40), confirming that the girl was indeed dead, not just unconscious.  What a sad scene.  Jesus is being laughed at by people he created and people he loved.  This wouldn’t be the last time Jesus was laughed at while carrying out his saving work.

Jesus asked them to step outside because only those who trusted him would have the privilege of seeing his glory.  Those who don’t trust Jesus’ words won’t trust his works.  In the Gospels, intimate knowledge of Jesus’ love and power is never given to those who despise Jesus’ word.  Those who don’t have faith will find that what they do have, an opportunity to trust Jesus, will be taken from them (4:25).

What a moment it must’ve been for those in the room that day (vv. 41-42).  Jesus tenderly takes her hand and, using a term of endearment, says, “Little girl, arise,” and she does.  A dead person came back to life in response to the word and command of Jesus.  To prove that she was totally restored, Mark says that she started walking around and even ate something (v. 43).      

Jesus Made Unclean by the Woman

As great as these two miracles are, one of their purposes is to illustrate the greater miracle of the gospel.  How do these two miracles point us to the gospel?  They both show us Jesus’ willingness to come into contact with uncleanness in order to deliver people from it. 

The woman with the flow of blood was ritually unclean because Old Testament law declared that menstruation made women ceremonially unclean and cut them off from fellowship with God’s people for a part of every month (Lev. 15:25-33).  This woman’s constant flow of blood meant that she’d been excluded from the people of God for twelve long years.  She was as unclean as a leper.  She was unable to participate in public worship.  No one was allowed to touch her or her clothes or they’d become unclean too.  Her physical pain was accompanied with social and emotional pain as she was forced to live separately from everyone she knew and loved.  Just by being in the crowd that day she was actively disobeying Old Testament law.  She knew that by touching Jesus she would ceremonially defile him and every other person in the crowd that she touched.  This was the touch of faith.

But, amazingly, Jesus wasn’t upset that she touched him.  For the first time, the woman met someone who was willing to be defiled for her sake, so that she might become clean.  Jesus met this woman where she was, took what she had, and gave her what was his.  This is exactly what he’s done for everyone who “touches” his cross with this same kind of faith.

Jesus Made Unclean by the Little Girl

In the raising of Jairus’ daughter, Jesus comes into contact with an uncleanness of a different kind.  The moment he took the little girl’s hand, he became ritually unclean.  Why?  Because touching a dead body made a person unclean according to Old Testament law.  So while we might just see the tenderness of that moment, Jesus is doing far more than meets the eye.  He willingly makes himself unclean in order to make her live.  He meets her in her death in order to deliver her from it.  This was the touch of love.

Later, when Jesus hung on the cross, he would share again in death.  But this time it would be our death.  Paul says, “Our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing” (Rom. 6:6).  Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).  On the cross, Jesus became unclean for our sake, taking the filth of our sin and God’s judgment against it on himself and offering to us his cleanness, or righteousness.    

What he did in that little girl’s room that day was a preview of what he would do on the cross.  But it was also a preview of what he’d do at the end of time, when he’ll take us by the hand and command us to “Rise” from our graves and enter his kingdom.  That raising will not be done in secret, but in public for all to see.  “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his,” and “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him” (Rom. 6:5, 8).