Mark 5:21-43
Grace and peace from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Our reading from Mark is part of a grouping of four miracles sometimes referred to as the four deeds. Prior to this account Mark records Jesus calming the sea and the healing of a demon-possessed man. Today we read that he brought a dead girl back to life and healed a sick woman. Matthew and Luke also record the four miracles.
The reading today intertwines the two events of a prominent Jewish leader trying to save his daughter and a common woman seeking the return of her health. It could be that this is just a retelling of the events in the exact order they occurred. Or it could be that the events occurred in this order to teach a valuable lesson. If you were to check in on the accounts in the other two gospels you would find the same sequence of events.
Let's start in the middle with a woman desperately looking for relief from her ailment of twelve years. This poor woman suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors, the Lord only knows what these men put her through in their efforts to heal her. Despite these efforts she grew worse over the years and had spent all of her savings.
As bad as the ailment may seem her social status was even worse. Because of this constant discharge the woman was considered unclean. She couldn't go to the synagogue and she may have been forced to live outside the village like a leper. She was not only ill but a social outcast.
We read that she thought if she could just touch even His cloak she would be healed. This belief was so strong she broke all of the social taboos and pushed through the crowd mingling with the clean people in hopes of getting close enough to touch even the fringe of His garments. She may very well have been risking her life, in those days death was a strong possibility for breaking the social laws. Regardless she does the unthinkable.
The woman touches the edge or fringe of Jesus' garment. Touch the fringe of His garment has some importance, the fringe or tassel on a garment was prescribed by the Law; it was to serve as a reminder of obedience to the Law, a reminder that Jesus is under the Law as well.
She is immediately healed by touching Jesus' garment just had she believed she would. But then we have this strange interaction where Jesus asks who touched Him and this poor fearful woman who has broken the law falls to the ground admitting her transgression.
If Jesus is God and man why does He need to ask who touched Him?
He doesn't. However Jesus uses this moment to demonstrate that the woman's unwavering faith in Him healed her. Following the laws and trusting men has done nothing to improve her situation.
What can glean from Jairus' predicament? Jairus is one of the rulers of the synagogue, most likely a Pharisee. He had a 12 year old daughter who was deathly ill. Jairus is wise enough to recognize that his daughter will not recover and is desperate to save her. He also knows that Jesus has the power to heal the girl. The problem is Jairus must choose between his loyalties to the Pharisees or ask Jesus to heal her.
As a ruler Jairus has status he is considered righteous, neither of which can save his daughter. The law is not helping to heal his daughter. He decides to rely on his belief that Jesus does indeed have some divine power. Jairus makes his decision based on faith in Jesus Christ. We never learn of the consequences of this decision on Jairus' status; however it could have been severe.
Jairus and the woman had faith that Jesus can overcome all things. They didn't really know how He would overcome their predicaments or what exactly would happen or even how long it would take. They just knew in their heart something good would come of their faith in Jesus.
This account really sums up Christianity in a nice little package. We are all oppressed by the law because of sin. It doesn't matter what our status is in this world we are all under the crushing weight of the Law. We feel it everyday. Whether we lead a nation, a church, or a community or are the lowest most desperate person living on the street the Law carries the same curse.
Then there is the beautiful gospel message of healing and forgiveness by our faith in Jesus. He removes the burden of the Law. He removes the curse of death just like he raises the young girl from death.
The faith demonstrated by Jairus and the woman are transforming. They boldly went against the social customs willingly sacrificing because they had faith that Jesus would heal all. Their conversion was complete, not just a facade or lip service, their actions demonstrated the completeness of their transformation to true believers.
In our lives we are often challenged by decisions and our choices can either support the belief we confess or deny it. Usually our challenge is the laughter or condescendence because of our belief. When Jesus said the child was not dead they laughed at Him. Sometimes the challenge is more difficult maybe we are instructed to do something deceptive in the course of our job; the consequence of our decision could threaten our livelihood. Or we could be laying our life on the line as many Christians in India, China, and Africa do.
Whether we think about the characters in our reading or the believers of today we can say there is a definite knowledge in their hearts that Jesus Christ can and will care for them regardless of the circumstances. The joy of their faith determines their choices and carries them through their trials.
As we reflect on ourselves and our mission can we say confidently confess the faith we profess in actions?
In the name of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
