Today’s passage evoked some of my personal feelings about miraculous healing. Give it a listen and a look!

Here is the video link:

Mark 5:21-43… a Sick Woman and a Dead Girl

The audio links are to the right i.e. Spotify and iTunes

Here is the transcript I used for today’s podcast:

A Sick Woman and a Dead Girl

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.

Jairus was a layman at the synagogue, not a rabbi. As such he was probably in charge of the administrative side of running the synagogue, such as organizing the worship, maintaining the building etc. Jesus was becoming well known for His ability to heal, so Jairus sought Him out. This was not without personal risk to Jairus, as the religious leadership in Israel was becoming irritated with Jesus by this time, and some were even plotting Jesus’ murder.

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.

A menstrual problem resulting in continued bleeding for twelve years! She would be considered unclean this entire time, cut off from all of society. Anything she touched herself would be considered unclean.

 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.

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?’ ”

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.”

This story (among others) is why I am almost immediately suspect about “healing ministries”. I can’t think of one such ministry that didn’t center on a specific “formula”. The healer is known for laying his/her hands, or they are known for giving out special oils they have prayed over, or handkerchiefs they have “blessed”, oil from the Holy Land, slivers of wood from the cross of Jesus etc. There was no formula with Jesus when it came to healing. Sometimes He would touch, sometimes He would merely speak, sometimes people (as here) would be healed without His even being conscious of the need!

I have personally witnessed amazing miraculous healings, so this not me poo-pooing miraculous healings. What I AM critical of is man trying to emulate what God does in this area. My personal belief in this area is that God will heal when He wants, how He wants, and through whomever He chooses  as the instrument of His work. And though I do not hold myself as any authority on the matter, my over 50 years as a Believer has given me the perspective that when someone is healed it has almost ALWAYS been a corollary event tied to one of His servants service. A preacher is preaching, someone gets healed. A missionary is serving and someone is healed. I have a problem with someone who sets out to be a healer. As with any of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of miraculous healing is under the authority and the timing of the Holy Spirit. As we pursue Him, the giver of all gifts, things will happen in our journey. Sometimes there will be a prophetic word, sometimes there will be supernatural knowledge and wisdom. Sometimes there will be instances of miraculous healing. None of it under OUR control, all under God’s control.

Miraculous healings are a very real thing, our control of this gift is not.

The situation involving this unfortunate woman with bleeding exemplifies this. Jesus is on His way to do one thing, and then this OTHER thing happened.

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

36 Overhearing[c] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him.

This could mean two things… she was “asleep”  – a term used to describe those who die, or she was in fact, in a coma – REALLY sleeping – and was just assumed to be dead. Either way, she was outside the capabilities of the doctors of the day.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

Healing a physical infirmity is one thing. Restoring life to a dead little girl is TOTALLY another thing. It was not a gradual thing…she IMMEDIATELY stood up and began to walk around.

43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

His command not to let anyone else know what happened accomplished two things. One – had word of this got out, Jesus would be in grave danger as religious leaders were plotting His death. This took place close to Jerusalem, and further ministry would become untenable  – Jesus was not done yet, and as He is in charge of His destiny and timetable, it was not time to be finished.

Secondly – Jairus was a prominent member of the religious community, and as the religious leadership of Jerusalem was seeking the demise of Jesus, any appearance of loyalty to or agreement with this self-proclaimed Messiah (as they would call Him) would put Jairus in danger as well. This command demonstrates Jesus’ understanding of Jairus’ place in the Jewish community and His mercy towards Jairus and his family.

Barker & Kohlenberger (2004) states, “Jesus gave two orders to the witnesses. First, they were not to reveal the facts about the miracle. Jesus revealed his messianic dignity to those who could be entrusted with it, but it was veiled to those (like the raucous mourners) who could not.”

Reference: Barker, K. L., & Kohlenberger, J. R. (2004). The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Abridged Edition. Zondervan.

Blessings!

Paige