Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30)

We all have known days that could be called long and hard. The gospels suggest that Jesus experienced many such days, and the stories in Mark 5 portray a particularly lengthy and difficult day for the increasingly popular teacher.

            Mark 5 relates two stories in two places, and the second account has a story within a story. In each of the three encounters, Jesus meets people in hopeless and helpless situations. They are a man, a woman, and a child. They represent us all, and they are three hard cases.

            The first story has to do with a certifiably insane individual named Legion—sometimes known as “the wild man of Gedara.” Jesus encountered the man after a tumultuous night at sea when the disciples feared for their lives before Jesus calmed the storm, leaving the disciples to ask “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:35-41).

They disembarked the next morning on the eastern shore, a Gentile area known variously as Gerasa or Gedara. There they were confronted by a man believed to have been infested with demons and beyond help. As Mark tells it, Jesus made him whole by casting out the demons—at the expense of a herd of pigs that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Having demonstrated his authority over harmful spirits, but also impacting the local economy in a negative way, Jesus found it expedient to get back in the boat and put some distance between himself and the local swineherds, who were not pleased (vv. 1-20).

A dying daughter

(vv. 21-24, 35-43)

Reversing course from the previous night, Jesus and company sailed back to his adopted home in Capernaum, a fishing town on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. There Jesus met a local synagogue leader named Jairus, whose daughter was dying. Jairus was a respected leader, but willingly risked his standing with the Jews to call on Jesus for help. Jesus agreed to follow Jairus to his home (vv. 21-24).

Their journey was delayed, even though Capernaum was not a large town, because the narrow streets were crowded with people who had come to see the miracle worker. It was due to the crowds, we recall, that he had sailed away the night before. And within the hustle and bustle of the teeming crowd was a woman who needed special attention: we will consider her story below.

 Before Jesus could squeeze through the crowds and arrive at Jairus’ home, Mark says, the young girl had died. The family sent someone to find her father, tell him the news, and suggest that he need not bother Jesus any longer (v. 35). Despite the sad report, Jesus told Jairus that he need not fear, but “only believe” (v. 36).

Jesus allowed only Peter, James, and John to accompany him as they came to the home, where full-scale mourning had begun, with “people weeping and wailing loudly” (vv. 37-38).

Again, Jesus encouraged faith over fear. “Why do you make a commotion and weep?” he asked. “The child is not dead, but sleeping” (v. 39).

Surprisingly, the gathered mourners—some of whom may have been professional keeners rather than grieving family members—stopped mourning and scoffed at the idea: “they laughed at him” (v. 40a). Jesus ignored their response and “put them all outside” before entering the room with only the girl’s parents, Peter, James, and John (v. 40b). [DD]

In this story, Mark is careful to emphasize the role of faith. Jairus had asked Jesus to “lay hands on her” (v. 23), but Jesus had told him he need only believe (v. 36). Rather than engaging in an elaborate ceremony that might have had any magical overtones, Jesus simply took the girl’s hand and spoke to her in Aramaic, “Talitha cum,” which Mark helpfully translates as “Little girl, get up” (v. 40).

The 12-year-old not only sat up, but she stood up and began to walk around despite her weakened condition. Jesus instructed them to bring her some food: ordinary care would now be sufficient (vv. 42-43).

As we might expect, all but Jesus “were overcome with amazement,” the kind of astonishment that would lead to many retellings of the event. Oddly, though, Jesus “strictly ordered them that no one should know this” (v. 43a).

How could they possibly keep it a secret when the house had been crowded with people mourning the girl’s death? It was known that Jesus had come to her side, and it would be known that the girl had regained her health. This would not be the only occasion in which Mark depicted Jesus commanding people to keep miraculous healings quiet, to little avail. [DD]

            We recall now that one reason Jesus had arrived late is that he had met a singular woman on the way, one who interrupted his journey in memorable fashion.

A suffering woman

(vv. 25-34)

As Jesus had pushed through the congested streets on the way to Jairus’ home, he had been brought to a halt by the furtive touch of a woman who had hoped to remain unnoticed.

            The woman had been sick for twelve years, Mark wrote, stricken with a flow of blood that would not stop despite her best efforts. She had seen many doctors, but their primitive brand of first century medicine could not help her. She had spent all her money with no results, leaving her destitute (vv. 25-27).

 As Jairus had risked his position as a Jewish leader, so the woman risked what little standing she had in the community by coming out at all. Her persistent hemorrhage made her ritually “unclean,” and Jewish law insisted that she remain apart lest she contaminate others, too. [DD]

            The woman’s desperation overruled any worries about breaking the law: what worse thing could happen? An undefeated sense of hope pushed her into the crowd when she heard that Jesus was near.

            The woman tried to remain anonymous, believing that if she could just get close enough to touch Jesus—maybe just to touch his tunic –his healing power might flow into her, and stop the blood from flowing out.

            Her wits and her faith were her friends that day. She did manage to get close, to reach out and brush her fingers against the dusty hem of Jesus’ outer robe (vv. 27-28).

            And something happened inside. A tightening. A feeling of strength. A sense of well-being. And a voice that stopped her cold. “Who touched my clothes?” And then there were the blundering disciples, wondering how Jesus could ask such a question with so many people around (vv. 29-31).

            Mark writes as if everything stopped and a hush fell over the crowd. The woman fell to her knees and told him her story (vv. 32-33).

Surely Jesus must have smiled, and perhaps he put out a hand to help the women to her feet. “Daughter,” he called her, though she was probably older, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease” (v. 34).

And she did.

            Hundreds of people crowded against Jesus that dusty day in Capernaum. Hundreds of arms may have reached for him, but only once did Jesus say, “Who touched me?” Only once did he sense that someone had tapped into his healing power, because only this unnamed woman reached out with the touch of faith.

There was nothing magic about seeing Jesus, hearing Jesus, or even touching Jesus. But where there is faith, something happens. A connection is made. Power flows, and souls are made whole. This woman had faith.

            We note that Mark tells us Legion’s name and Jairus’ name, but not the woman’s name. When Jesus called her “Daughter,” perhaps it was to give reassurance that she was once again a true “daughter of Israel.”

            “Go in peace,” he said.

Go in peace

At the end of the day, Jesus had healed a man, a woman, a child. He had proven himself to be Lord over demons, disease, and death. That is the point of these stories. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord.

            Modern readers must remember that these stories come from a different time and special circumstances. They make no promises that we will always be healed of our diseases or relieved of our burdens. Many people cried out in the crowded streets of Capernaum who were not healed, even as many today pray frequently and fervently but they remain ill.

            If Christians had a guarantee that Jesus would always intervene to heal any sickness, prevent any tragedy, or halt death in its tracks, then everyone would want to be a Christian, and all for the wrong reason. If following Jesus in baptism guaranteed prosperity and protection, then only fools would remain dry. But God is not in the business of offering bribes.

            The way of Jesus is a way of unselfish service. The way of the cross is a way of sacrifice. The joy of the Christian is not found in an easy life, but in deeper living. The believer’s trust is not in miracles, but in the One who stands behind the miracles—even when prayers are not answered as we wish.

            Mark brought these stories together to emphasize that Jesus is Lord. He is Lord over every demon we can imagine, every disease we can acquire, every death we can face. Jesus will not always deliver us from illness and trouble, but he will always be with us, guiding us through the depths, leading us into the beyond. When Jesus is our guide, we can truly “go in peace.”