The Raising of Jairus' Daughter

Mark 5:21-43

Jairus was an official of the synagogue, and as such, he was a man of influence and prestige, but when he came to Jesus, he did so as a desperate father seeking the healing of his critically ill child. Mark tells us (verse 22) that Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus, beseeching Him to come to the aid of his daughter who was on the verge of death. Mark graphically describes the pleading of the father and we can almost feel the intensity of the situation. Jesus went with Jairus and a large crowd was following them. The presence of the crowd must have been an irritation to Jairus, who would have looked upon these people only as a hindrance. The gospel writers single out one woman in the crowd. She was a woman who had suffered from some kind of hemorrhage for twelve years. Her suffering was much more than physical, though that would have been enough. She suffered as much from her cures as she did from her case of bleeding. In addition, this woman was subjected to tremendous social pressures. The nature of this woman’s illness fell under the stipulations of Leviticus 15, whereby she would have to be pronounced unclean. As such, she had been an outcast for twelve years. She could not take part in any religious observances, nor could she have any public contact without defiling those whom she touched. Last of all, this pathetic woman has lost all of her financial resources. Mark tells us that she had spent all of her money on doctor bills.

This unnamed woman, like Jairus, had heard that Jesus was back in their region and set out to find relief through His power. Conditioned, no doubt, by her long-term rejection and isolation she dared not approach Jesus to ask for a miracle. Her physical contact would defile all that she touched. The best she could hope for was a kind of secret healing. “I need not bother the Master,” she may have rationalized. “I but need to touch the hem of His garment.” The moment she touched Jesus, she was healed. To the great dismay of Jairus, Jesus stopped. It would seem that for an instant the crowd was perfectly silent. They expectantly waited to hear what Jesus would say, but they could not believe it when He questioned, “Who touched My garments?” (Mark 5:30).

The disciples considered such a question incredible, worse yet stupid. The rudeness of their thoughts was expressed by none other than the spokesman, Peter: “You see the multitude pressing in on You and You say, ‘Who touched me?’” (Mark 5:31; Luke 3:45). Everybody was touching, pushing, shoving, and grabbing, how He could ask such an insipid question, they thought. Jesus was not ignorant of what had happened, nor that He needed to be told who had touched Him, in His omniscience, He knew the need of the woman before she ever put forth her hand to His garment. Knowing her faith, His power was granted for her healing.

Why, then, did Jesus ask this question? More than this, why did Jesus stop at such a critical time to ask the question? Surely, Jesus knew the importance of time. Jesus delayed in going to Jairus’ house to give this woman the opportunity to give testimony of her healing. Had Jesus not stopped and asked who touched His garments, no one would have known of the miracle save Jesus and the woman. When she saw the eyes of Jesus fixed upon her, she knew that He knew everything. She had taken nothing from Him, but He had given healing to her. She now poured out her sad and miserable life story, and told Jesus and those around her and Jesus how Jesus had done what no physician could do.

Jesus delayed His going to Jairus’ house to correct any misconceptions on the part of the woman. If there were any elements of magic in the thinking of this woman, Jesus swept them away by making it completely clear that it was her faith that had saved her, not her grasp on His clothing. Jesus touched many as He went about, but few of these found in physical contact with Him a wonder such as this. This woman’s relationship with Jesus by faith made her whole.

It has also been suggested that this was a gracious act on the part of Jesus to make it publicly known that this woman had been made whole, so that she was no longer to be considered ceremonially unclean.

This delay resulted in a greater miracle, and greater faith on the part of Jairus, for now the young girl was not sick, but dead.

Upon this woman’s confession of faith, Jesus sent her off with the words, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” Mark (5:34).

If the disciples were frustrated by Jesus’ seemingly unnecessary delay, you can well imagine that Jairus was extremely angry. He knows that at any moment his daughter would be dead, and here was Jesus making a big deal about the faith of this woman. Why could He not have simply ignored the woman in view of the present crisis?

Jairus’ world came crashing down with the report of his servants that his daughter had died (verse 35). The common belief in his day, as ours, is that where there’s life, there’s hope; now all hope was gone Knowing that every ray of hope had been swept away by this announcement, Jesus ignored these words, and spoke encouragingly to Jairus, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe” (Mark 5:36). His faith was faltering, and it was through faith that the child would be raised. Where there is life, there is hope. However, with God, we must also believe that where there is death, there is hope as well.

Leaving the crowd with all of His disciples but the inner three, Jesus continued on to the home of the deceased daughter. Outside the home, the commotion of a typical near-eastern funeral had already begun (verse 38). All of this carrying-on was unnecessary Jesus informed the mourners, for this girl was asleep. By the expression “asleep,” Jesus did not mean that this girl had not died, but was indirectly stating that for those who have entered the kingdom of God, death is not a permanent state, but a temporary one. Death could not claim this girl, for the Prince of Life was present.

Thinking Jesus to be either naive or completely self-deceived, the professional mourners mocked and ridiculed Him by their laughter. They knew death when they saw it. Such unbelief will never witness the power of God and so these people were put outside, with only Jesus, Peter, James, John, and the parents going to where the girl’s body had been laid.

The actual event was both simple and to the point. With a couple of softly spoken words, Jesus took the young girl by the hand and lifted her up so that she began to walk about. The result was that those who witnessed this great miracle were completely astonished (verse 42).

The Lord of life and death gave these overjoyed parents two instructions. First, no one was to be told the details of this miracle. Now by this we understand that it was impossible for those outside not to know that this girl had been raised from death. However, what Jesus commands is that the details of that healing be withheld, until Jesus was well on His way.

The second instruction was that this girl be given something to eat. This spectacular miracle did not nullify the natural physical needs of the child. This is evidence that our Lord Jesus is deeply concerned with His creatures, even with such an insignificant thing as a needed meal.

In the four miracles, stilling the storm, deliverance of the Gadarene demonic, healing the woman with blood issue, and the rising of Jairus’ daughter, the primary reason was to authenticate the claims of Jesus to the Messiah of Israel. When viewed as a whole, the four miracles prove Jesus to be not only the Messiah, but Lord of all. He is Lord of creation as shown in the stilling of the storm. He is Lord over Satan and his demons as shown by the exorcism of the Gadarene demoniac. He is Lord over sickness and even death, as revealed in the healing of the hemorrhaging woman and the raising of the dead daughter of Jairus.

In each of these miracles, the individuals were completely helpless and hopeless, and others were incapable of helping them. The storm on the lake terrified experienced sailors. The demoniac could not be subdued by anyone. The hemorrhaging woman had been seeing doctors for twelve years with only a worsening condition. The young girl was no longer ailing, but dead. In the most hopeless situations that men could present to Jesus, there was healing, deliverance, and salvation.

These miracles not only demonstrate the power of our Lord Jesus, but also reveal His person. What we see in these passages is not just that God is a God of infinite power, but that He is a God of infinite compassion and tenderness. He is deeply touched by human needs. He is sensitive to our sufferings and trials in life. He cares not only for the raising up and putting down of kingdoms, but also for the missed meal at a time of illness.

In these last days, we must proclaim to men the bad news of sin, of the righteous indignation of God, and of the eternal punishment, men face apart from faith in Christ. However, as Paul reminds us, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22). In emphasizing the severity of God, let us not represent God as harsh and aloof, for He is a God of infinite kindness. Nowhere is that more clear than in these miracles recorded by Mark in the fourth and fifth chapters of his gospel.

There is much instruction in the interrupted miracle for those who have never yet come to a personal faith in Jesus Christ. Perhaps you are like those in the crowd who brushed against Jesus, but never reached out in faith. What made the difference for this woman was that she recognized her complete and total inability to help herself. She looked to Jesus as her only hope of healing. When you come to a genuine conversion experience with Christ, you must reach the point of realizing your total inability to do anything that will ever contribute to your eternal salvation. You, like this woman, must look to Jesus to provide what you cannot. When Jesus came to the earth, He lived a perfect and sinless life. This qualified Him to die on the cross, not for His sins, but for yours (2 Corinthians 5:21). In place of our wretchedness, He offers His righteousness. Relying fully on Him alone is what will save you, just as this woman’s faith saved her.

There is a lesson here for the Christian as well. It is a lesson in divine delays. Perhaps we might call them unanswered prayers. There are times in our lives when we think everything around us is collapsing and God seems to be puttering around heaven, unconcerned about our trials and tragedies in life. These miracles inform us that delays are not due to our Lord’s lack of concern for us, for He is sensitive to the most insignificant needs, such as a meal. It is the purpose of God that these delays will result in greater glory for Himself, and greater faith for us. How beautifully this interrupted miracle illustrates the truth of Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”