Gospel of Mark: Miracle (5:21-35)
This Sunday, in our series on the Gospel of Mark, we landed on chapter 5. Joel Gorveatte led us through this unusual story, with a unique woman, who did a very strange thing. And as a result of the strange thing she did, she received an amazing miracle in her life:
“21 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.22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 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.” 24 So Jesus went with him.
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 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.27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”
Can you IMAGINE this moment? After years of struggle, pain, and disappointment, she finally decides to reach out and touch Jesus. In that very moment, she was freed from her suffering.
One might think this is the end of the story. But then comes an interesting twist. Notice that it’s almost like she was trying to steal a miracle from Jesus. And here’s what happened next:
30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
The disciples think Jesus is being a little silly. They say, “Look at the crowd of people. Hundreds of people are touching you.” But Jesus said, “No, you don’t understand. There’s a difference when somebody touches me in faith.”
32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
WHY wouldn’t Jesus just let this woman stay anonymous? Perhaps there are two reasons:
1) She mistakenly thought she could receive a miracle from Jesus, without a relationship with Jesus.
But he makes it clear that he doesn’t want to just heal you physically, he wants to know you personally. So often we say: “Jesus, come fix my problem.” But he says, “No, first let me come into your life.”
2) Maybe he wanted her story to be an inspiration for others to reach out to Jesus
Was she the only one in the crowd who had pain that day? No, there were probably dozens more just like her. It seems God wanted to use her story to inspire and encourage others to trust Jesus as well.
PRAY:
Lord, is there an area of my life in which I need your help and healing? Help me to reach out to trust Jesus. I surrender to you and invite you to do the miraculous in my life. And as I live in the freedom of your love, help me to share that joy with others. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.