SHARING BREAD
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 rulers, named Jairus, came
there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and 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.
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.
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."
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."
Mark 5:21-34 (NIV)
This dramatic scene opens with a
large crowd gathering around the Master.
A synagogue ruler – Jairus – humbly approaches the Lord falling
prostrate at His feet. He earnestly
pleads for the Healer to place His hands upon his dying darling daughter – the apple
of his eye - so that she would be made whole – healed – and live. In desperation, Jairus openly begs a cure for
his sick child believing Christ possessed the achieving power to make her well
and our Lord sweetly consents. What
parent would not do likewise when their wee one is physically sick but how
about spiritually? Are we as earnest
then? The spiritual health of our
offspring is of far greater value and importance than even their physical well-being. Paul’s prayer in Philippians is a great
prayer to humbly and boldly pray over our children as well as ourselves:
9 And
this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and
depth of insight, 10 so
that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless
until the day of Christ, 11 filled
with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory
and praise of God. Phil 1:9-11 (NIV)
On their way to heal Jairus’
daughter the scene quickly changes. A
woman in dire straits - desperate for relief - clandestinely approaches the
Healer in hopes of merely touching His cloak for her healing. In faith she reasoned if she could simply get
close enough to touch the hem of His garment she would be freed from her
misery. She held a strong faith in the achieving
power of Christ to heal her. For twelve long
years she had sought help from many – spent all that she had – yet grew
worse. An outcast from society – much like
a leper – she was considered ritually “unclean” because of her condition – excluding
her from normal social relations and interactions. Not allowing the crowds to hinder her pursuit
she presses closer behind the Healer with a stretching reach for a touch of His
cloak. Immediately, Scripture tells us,
her body was freed from her suffering.
“There
is nothing, indeed, which God will not do for a man who dares to step out upon
what seems to be the mist; though as he puts down his foot he finds a rock
beneath him.” F. B. Meyer
"It is God to whom and with
whom we travel and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping
place." Elizabeth Elliot
7 "Ask
and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you. 8 For
everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door
will be opened." Matt 7:7-8
(NIV)
At once, we are told, Jesus realized
achieving power had gone from Him and He turns towards the pressing crowd
asking in tenderness "Who touched my clothes?" Jesus’ question seemed ridiculous
to His disciples considering the great throngs around Him all seeking closer
proximity yet this did not hinder the Lord’s searching eye that He might commend
and encourage the faith. Falling at His
feet and trembling with fear, the poor woman presents herself to the One who
made her whole. Our Lord tells her it
was her faith – not His garment – that healed her. Go forth, He tells her, in an untroubled and an
undisturbed well-being – perfect peace.
3 You
will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in
you. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
What I glean from this:
· I am not
only to pray for my children’s physical well-being but also for their spiritual
well-being.
· I am to
seek Jesus with all my heart.
· I am kept
in perfect peace as I steadfastly trust in Him.
