Jairus and the Bleeding Woman

Text: Mark 5:21-43 (NIV)

“When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

Overhearing what they said, Jesus said to him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.”

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In addition to being the living Word of God, the gospel accounts of the evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are multi-layered narratives offering historical, social, and spiritual commentary on the Jesus movement in the first century. They are intended to not only be read as step-by-step narratives of the life of Jesus, but as stories rich in symbolism, metaphor, and spiritual truth. This is the beauty and power of the gospels.

In the story of Jairus, Mark is offering commentary on the failure of Israel’s religious system to heal the brokenness of its people. Mark is showing that simplicity of faith in Jesus is what heals us, in every possible way. The inability of any religious system to bring true healing, wholeness, and relationship is a pattern that we can see throughout history.

Jairus and his consort (v.35) represent the religious system of Israel. Jairus’ daughter represents the outflow, by-product, and fruit of this religious system. In a word, she represents their theology. Mark makes the point that, without the empowerment of Jesus, their theological system can ultimately only produce death. When Jesus raises the girl to life, Mark is showing that the resurrection power of Jesus was also God intending to re-empower the Jew’s system of theology.

This can apply to any theological system. Without the empowerment that comes from Him alone, our intellectual systems of belief mean nothing and can not lead to life - they can only lead to dead faith. Our theology must be empowered through living relationship.

The bleeding woman represents the nation of Israel. The Jews thought of blood as the very life force of a person. Mark is showing the loss of life force, vitality, and strength through the woman’s issue of health. There is an implication that the “doctors” in the story are actually those who belong to the Jewish religious system. Drunk on their money and religious power, they offered the woman words and instruction that carried no power to truly heal her. They had turned the house of God into a den of thieves (Matthew 21:13; Luke 19:46). The Jewish people were at the hands of this religious system that demanded hard obedience, resources, and loyalty, but could not heal the people spiritually or physically. Legality and empty promises choked the life out of Israel’s people.

Mark links the health of the bleeding woman (Israel) with the offerings of the religious system (Jairus’ daughter) through the number 12. The woman has been bleeding for 12 years, and Jairus’ daughter is 12 years of age. Mark is saying the health of the nation has been subject to the ills of the Jewish religious system.

We are reflected in this story. We are the bleeding woman and the religious leaders are, well, religion. It is simple faith (i.e. trust in Jesus) that that heals us. Contact with Jesus frees us from any and all suffering. Jesus is always willing to heal us, in every possible way. Religion will not, and can not heal us. Religion is inherently marred by unbelief, and scoffs at confidence in the true Word of God (v.40).

Jesus is intent on healing our religious understanding. This happens through the submission (v.22-24) of our intellect. It is abandoning the pride and unbelief of our religious ideas that keep the living God bound in a box of our skepticism and rationalism. Religion scoffs at miracle power (v.35,40).

This is a prophetic account - applicable to any period of history. Jesus is healing our theological systems through encounters with His personal presence. His goal is to bring our intellectual understanding in line with His true character. Religious scholarship must be empowered through personal relationship and submission to His Spirit. Our intellect must grow in tandem with our intuition.

His healing power is free. His truths are free. A relationship with Him is free. He is healer- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He is moving His body away from religion into the total freedom that comes through simple relationship.