Healing Power

 

Our church is currently studying the Gospel of Mark, and we recently reviewed one of my favorite stories. Jesus was traveling on foot while a large crowd followed and pressed in on him.  A woman who was "unclean" due to 12 years of bleeding knew about the healing miracles Jesus had been performing and believed that touching the hem of his robe would heal her.  She made her way to him, touched his robe, and was immediately healed.  Jesus felt the power go out of him and asked who had touched him.  Trembling with fear, the woman admitted it was she.  Jesus told her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."  Beautiful.  But the story is bookended by another story of healing.  Jairus was a synagogue leader.  He had a daughter who was dying and asked Jesus to heal her.  Jesus was on the way to Jairus' home when the "unclean" woman touched his robe.   After healing the woman, they were told that Jairus's daughter had died.   Jesus told Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe."  They made their way to Jairus' house, and Jesus reached for the girl's hand and said, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"  And she did.  

I wonder what Jairus was thinking while Jesus stopped to heal the "unclean" woman on the way to his house to heal his daughter.   Mark isn't clear about that, but it would be natural for Jairus to be angry, or at least frustrated, thinking, "Why is Jesus stopping to help this woman when my daughter is dying? The woman has had the bleeding condition for 12 years.  Can't this wait?"  But the producers of The Chosen television series chose something different, and I hope they got it right.

I want to give a shout out to my good friends, Ed and Linda, who lead our small group at church and encourage us to know Jesus better.