The Gospel of Mark, Pt. 25

The Great Physician

Joni Eareckson Tada grew up as an accomplished athlete for most of her childhood. Known for her superb athleticism, Joni excelled especially in swimming and tennis. Having been voted as “best athlete” in her high school senior class, Joni was like most excellent athletes in that her athleticism defined her, maybe even more than her Christianity. However, that all changed one fateful summer day, when just one month after her high school graduation, Joni attempted an inward pike dive off of her raft and into the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay, landing head first into the sandy bottom and immediately breaking her neck, rendering her completely paralyzed from the neck down.

Convinced that the story of Jesus healing the paralytic who was lowered from the rooftop in Mark 2 was to be the norm for all faithful followers of Jesus, Joni would spend the next several years of her life convinced that if she prayed enough, confessed her sins enough, was anointed with oil enough, that somehow she would be qualified to receive the healing power of Jesus. She even went to three healing crusades led by Katherine Kuhlman, the American faith-healer of the first half of the 20th century who is considered the Benny Hinn of her day. But after all of that, and even to this day, Joni remains in a wheelchair.

Similar to the disciples who were on the boat with Jesus during the great storm in Mark 4 and who questioned the very nature and intent of our Lord, Joni wrote in an article featured by The Gospel Coalition “But after two visits to Kathryn Kuhlman’s healing crusades..., I plummeted into despair. My arms and legs remained unresponsive. Didn’t God know I was lost without limbs that worked? Didn’t he understand I was a strong athlete on the inside? Surely he knew I was the least likely candidate to enjoy life in a wheelchair.”

In other words....God, don’t your care?

Its only normal for most people in similar situations as Joni had found herself to fall into despair and depression and hopelessness. The reality of physical ailments and illnesses can be overwhelming, both physically and psychologically, especially as we look all around us and it may seem like we’re the only one suffering. As we come to the second hand of Mark 5, we’re going to see the healing power of Jesus front and center through a remarkable story within a story, in which Jesus exemplifies his command over the natural world as the Great Physician. However, more than the miraculous healings, these two stories are two testimonies of great faith in moments of desperation.

Mark 5:21–43 “And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.”

If we remember from a couple of weeks ago, Chapter 4 ended with Jesus and his disciples getting into some fishing boats to head to the gentile region of the Decapolis and the country of the Gerasenes, and then last week, we read about Jesus’ encounter with a man possessed by potentially thousands of demons. At the end of that encounter, the formerly demon-possessed man wanted to continue on with Jesus and his disciples, but Jesus ordered him to go throughout his hometown and tells everyone about what the Lord had done for him, which was likely a subtle way of Jesus’ claim to divinity as the incarnate Yahweh God. And from here, Jesus and his disciples then crossed back over to their side of the Sea of Galilee, and that’s where Jesus is now involved with a couple different people who need miraculous healings.

In verses 21-24, we read about a man by the name of Jairus who’s daughter is near the point of death. And Mark includes a very significant detail about Jairus, namely that he is one of the rulers of the synagogue, possibly the synagogue of Capernaum, which Jesus had been teaching at for some time now. The ruler of the synagogue was an official title for a prominent and typically wealthy congregation member who was responsible for several things around the synagogue. They were lay members, not rabbis or scribes or pharisees, who were elected to oversee worship services, maintain the building, to choose individuals to read the Scriptures, to select people to offer prayer, and they would select people to preach and teach the Scriptures as well. Therefore, it is likely that Jairus knew Jesus personally as Jesus taught quite a bit in the synagogues.

And yet, there is no evidence to suggest that Jairus followed the teachings of Jesus. As the ruler of the synagogue, Jairus was a faithful Jew, but in this moment and under these circumstances, there was something that stirred within Jairus to direct him to Jesus, as he probably recognized that Jesus was the only one who could help his daughter. He likely knew that Jesus healed a man with a withered hand, and He probably knew about how Jesus healed the paralytic, not to mention all the hundreds or even thousands of other personal reports about Jesus’ healing power. However, Jesus was a rebel teacher.....an opponent of the Jewish ruling class, and therefore an outcast in the eyes of many.

But in a moment of utter desperation, Jairus was willing to overlook his possible religious differences with Jesus in order that Jesus would overlook Jairus’ religious standing in the synagogue and grant mercy to his ailing daughter. Even more so, look at how Jairus approaches Jesus. Verses 22-23 say (SLIDE) “...he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly...” This was an act of great humility and faith in Jesus on the part of Jairus. Consider what Jairus says to Jesus as well (SLIDE) “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” There doesn’t seem to a be an ounce of doubt or skepticism on the part of Jairus. He’s seen and heard what Jesus was capable of, and so he humbly asked him to do the same for his daughter, and Jesus obliged to go with him.

Now at this point in the story, Mark breaks to include the story of another woman, and its here where see the development of another one of those unique literary techniques in Mark’s gospel called a “Markan sandwich” where one story is told in the beginning and the end of a passage, with another story inserted into the middle which helps to explain and elaborate on the lesson of the surrounding story. The first one we saw was back in Mark 3 when Jesus’ own family thought he was crazy and doubted his ministry, and then later on, Jesus clarified who his real mother and brothers and sisters were, in other words, who are the real family members of God. And the answer to that question was revealed through the inserted teaching about the unforgiveable sin, which we learned is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which includes attributing Jesus to Satan and rejecting him altogether.

So here now in what is probably the most famous of the Markan sandwiches, Jesus’ interaction with Jairus in verses 21-24 and his eventual interaction with Jairus’ daughter in verses 35-43 are interrupted with this story about the woman with the issue of blood. And like Jairus, the woman, who remains nameless, was in a similar set of desperate circumstances. Verse 25 says that this woman had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and usage of the Greek word that is translated as discharge implies that this was a female, gynecologic problem. It was such a significant problem that verse 26 tells us that she had suffered much under many physicians. This woman has spent 12 years seeking the help of local doctors to no avail, and the only thing she had to show for that was an empty bank account. In fact, the text tells us that she got worse over time, not better. So to add insult to injury, her growing physical ailments were only met with social and mental hardships as well.

The fact that she had an ongoing issue of blood meant that she was perpetually ceremonially unclean. Having been ceremonially unclean for that long, she was surely treated like a leper. No family or friends could be around her, so she we constantly ostracized. She couldn’t enter the synagogue or the temple, and so she was spiritually neglected as well. But like Jairus, this woman was familiar with Jesus. Verse 27 says (SLIDE) “She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’” So as we make our way through this Markan sandwich, there are three aspects of this story that I’d like to draw out for today in order to teach us more about Jesus and give us some encouragement in our own lives.

Both Jairus and this woman knew that Jesus was different....that he could solve their greatest problems, and they responded in action. Which leads us to our first point (SLIDE) An inactive faith is a meaningless faith. Both Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood had every reason not to approach Jesus. Jairus and Jesus could have been considered religious and social opponents. As for the woman, she was willing to forsake all social and religious norms that regulated how unclean people are to act and push her way through a crowd to touch the garments of Jesus. She was well aware of the consequences of her actions, most notably that her physical contact with others would cause them to become unclean as well, which could incur greater punishment on the woman. And so in both cases, faith was significantly challenged by many external and internal factors.

Often times in our own lives, various factors can affect the expression of our faith in God, which should legitimately call into question the genuineness of our faith in Jesus. In other words, we can say we believe in Jesus all we want, but if we don’t put our faith into action, what good is that faith at all? This is exactly what James addresses in his letter with the famous words - “Faith without works is dead.” This doesn’t mean that we earn our salvation through good works, but rather that we give evidence of our saving faith in Jesus through our good works and acts of courage. Therefore, if we don’t ever put our faith into action, then what good at all is that kind of faith?

The disciple’s lack of faith during the storm on the sea of Galilee was exemplified in their great fear and their distrust in Jesus. But both Jairus and this woman were willing to overcome their fear by simply going after Jesus and trusting that he was the only one who could actually provide the healing for which they were so desperate. When Jesus was done interacting with the woman and we break back into the story of Jairus and his daughter, we’re told that some people who were at Jairus’ house came running to Jairus saying, (SLIDE) “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further.” But Jesus responded.… “Do not fear, only believe.”

I can relate to allowing what we see with our eyes dictate how we deal with life circumstances. We can see with our eyes that the girl is dead. We can see with our eyes and read the diagnosis report. We can with our eyes how we’re being mistreated in the moment. We can see with our eyes how impossible this difficult circumstance looks. And when we only focus on what we see, its far too common and easy to be overcome by fear and doubt and despair. Isn’t this what happened with many of the people who were at Jairus’ home? Look at what we read in verses Mark 5:38–40 (SLIDE) “They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.”

An interesting detail about this story is that these people who were weeping and wailing outside the home of Jairus were likely not concerned family and friends but were hired for that very purpose. In that culture, it was customary to higher professional wailers, who were typically women, to come to your home to perform ritualistic lamentations, particularly during funeral processions. The funeral processions would begin at the home and then make their way to the tomb, and all this would typically occur on the day that the person died and before it got dark. So in the context of this story, it may be that the family had already started planning and maybe even executing the funeral procession of Jairus’ daughter.

The apostle Paul reflects in 2 Corinthians 5 on the difficulties of life that we often have to endure, commenting on how much nicer it would be sometimes to simply go be with the Lord which is going to be far better than what we experience here on this earth. But rather that encouraging the reader to escape life and escape suffering, he rather teaches us to embrace suffering through faith. He says in verses 6 and 7....(SLIDE) “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.” Let this be an encouragement to us all to never allow what outside circumstances look like or how internal feelings may influence us to cause us to become inactive in our faith in Jesus. May we always put our faith into action through good works and great feats of boldness and courage, even when it seems silly and non-sensical to the outside world.

Now consider how Jesus responds in both healing instances with the woman and with Jairus’s daughter, and this leads us to our second point to observe in this passage (SLIDE) God’s healing is relational more than it is relieving. You see, God is far more interested in cultivating your relationship with Him through faith than He is in improving your current circumstances. Joni Earekson Tada has learned this throughout her adult life. And although the woman and Jairus’ daughter were in fact healed of their infirmities, consider the intimate relationship through which Jesus healed them both. Look at the great care and gentleness that Jesus shows Jairus’ daughter in verse 41 (SLIDE) “Taking her by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’”

It was well within Jesus’ prerogative and power to simply speak to the girl and tell her to rise up. That’s what he did with Lazarus in John 11. However, Jesus made it a point to hold the hand of the little girl....to touch her.....to show his desire to be gentle and personally invested with this little girl. And then consider how Jesus interacted with the woman with the issue of blood. Now when she pushed through the crowd to touch Jesus’ garments, we’re told in verses Mark 5:29–30 “And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?””

Now interestingly, this is not the first time that we read in the gospel accounts of how healing power left Jesus upon touching others. In Luke 5:17, which coincides with Jesus healing the paralytic in Mark 2, we read (SLIDE) “On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.” In Luke 6:19, which follows Jesus’ calling of the 12 apostles which parallels Mark 3, we read this (SLIDE) “And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.” whereas in Mark 3:10 we read “...for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.” So we see through many instances in the gospels that the healing power of Jesus was highly connected to physical touch, a point that we’ll build upon in just a bit.

But I love the question that Jesus asked.… “Who touched me?” And then the reaction of the disciples is predictable as always.… “What do you mean ‘who touched you?’ Don’t you realize we’re talking through a crown of people? We’re touching dozens and dozens of people!” But the disciples lacked the awareness of just happened between Jesus and the woman. Now some commentators attribute this question to Jesus’ humanity. He perceived healing power had gone out from him, and knew it was because someone had touched him, but he was genuinely unaware of who did it, and so he simply inquired “Who touched me?”

On the other hand, other commentators see this as an aspect of Jesus’ divinity and like this account to the story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve hid from God after having eaten the forbidden fruit. Look at what we read in Genesis 3:8–9 (SLIDE) “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”” Did God really not know where Adam was, or did he call out to Adam to illicit a response and to get Adam to be transparent with him?

So in the case here in Mark 5, did Jesus genuinely not know who touched him, or was he strategically asking the question to get the responsible party to speak up and be honest and transparent with him? Maybe both, right? It does say in verse 32 “And he looked around to see who had done it.” It may be that he genuinely didn’t know who touched him, but at the same time he knew that this was a divine appointment that could not be overlooked......because look at how the woman responded to Jesus’ question (SLIDE) Mark 5:33 “But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.”

This woman knew what had just happened to her. It was unavoidable and unexplainable all at the same time. She had suffered in every imaginable way for 12 years, and with one instance of one touch of Jesus’ garment, she was completely and entirely healed. And so she responded as any sane person would respond....with fear and trembling. This is the same type of fear and trembling that the disciples showed in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm. And look at what the woman does....she falls down at the feet of Jesus, just like Jairus did as he was imploring Jesus to heal his daughter.

Now look at Jesus’ response to the woman in verse 34 (SLIDE) “And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” I think the relief and cure of the disease is overshadowed by the deep intimacy and compassion with which Jesus speaks to this woman. He specifically uses this term of relational endearment.....daughter......Isn’t it interesting how he’ll refer to his own mom as “Woman” at the wedding in Cana in John 4, but to this stranger who acts in faith, he makes it a point to relate to her personally by calling her daughter.

God heals us and empowers us and strengthens us and gives us his grace and mercy, not simply to relieve our circumstances, but to remind us that we are his children. And greater than any causal effect in our circumstances is knowing that we are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. The woman in Mark 5 had spent 12 years of absolute isolation from any meaningful human interaction, and through one act of faith, she was restored to relationship with God and with others, which would have brought great peace to her unsettled life.

Now the question remains.....was the healing of Jairus’ daughter or the healing of the woman simply for their own enjoyment and edification, or was there a greater purpose for their faith-filled healing? I want to point out an interesting detail about the woman that will lead to our last point to consider for today. The word translated “disease” here in Mark 5 concerning the woman is the Greek word (SLIDE) mastigos = suffering, torment, affliction, whip, scourge. And this disease is specifically associated with blood. And the specific mention of blood and its connection with suffering or affliction or scourging are only associated with two people in Mark’s gospel - the woman here in chapter 5....and Jesus.

And this brings us to an important concept in your outline, (SLIDE) Disciples of Jesus share in his suffering so we can share his mercy with others. The greater point of this Markan sandwich is the focus on the relationship between power and faith. Genuine faith gives us access to Jesus’ life-giving power, and in turn that power enables us to live out our faith through good works. So the point of this is not to simply identify with the suffering of the woman in order to earn pity points with others. Rather, the point is to be encouraged by the story of the woman and Jairus’ daughter that when we share in the sufferings of Christ, we are subsequently empowered to share the mercy and grace we receive with others.

The woman was healed, and she went forth in peace. Jairus’ daughter was healed, and although they were ordered not to tell anyone in that immediate context in order to allow the fullness of God’s timing of Jesus’ earthly ministry to unfold, we who are on the other side of the crucifixion and resurrection are now called to go forth and take the lessons we’ve learned through our suffering to encourage and embolden others and invite them to partake in the life-giving power of Jesus.

Christianity’s solution to suffering sets it apart from every other worldview, because its only through a Christian worldview that suffering is the treated as the means to greater breakthrough and ultimate victory. Romans 5:3-4 tells us that we are to rejoice in our times of suffering because suffering produces endurances....endurance produces character.....and character produces hope. James 1:2-4 tells us that suffering and trials of various kinds produces steadfastness so that we can be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. In other words, we’ll be more prepared to handle what might come our way while being better equipped to serve others who face similar circumstances. Suffering draws us closer to God by teaching us not to trust in ourselves, but in Him, which we’re then called to teach to others.

Paul goes so far as to say in Philippians 3 that he seeks to share in the sufferings of Christ, to become like him in his death, so that he’ll be able to share in his resurrection. That’s the lesson that I hope we all take away from these two stories in Mark 5 - that faith through suffering gives us access to Christ’s live-giving power, which we are then called to share with others and call them into the same life-giving faith in Jesus Christ.

This is exactly how Joni Earekson Tada has been living her life now for over 50 years as a quadriplegic. She has learned the lesson of embracing her physical suffering as a means to growing in Christ’s power. She says that is a daily task of dying to herself and rising with Jesus.....dying to self and rising with Jesus.....dying to self and rising with Jesus. In an article for The Gospel Coalition in 2019, Tada wrote (SLIDE) “Does God miraculously heal? Sure, he does. But in this broken world, it’s still the exception, not the rule. A “no” answer to my request for a miraculous physical healing has meant purged sin, a love for the lost, increased compassion, stretched hope, an appetite for grace, an increase of faith, a happy longing for heaven, a desire to serve, a delight in prayer, and a hunger for his Word. Oh, bless the stern schoolmaster that is my wheelchair! It’s all to the praise of deeper healing in Christ.”

Physical healing sure is nice! But let’s be like Joni and look past that for deeper healing in Christ, our Great Physician.