Mark 5:21–43
21 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. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 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.” 24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 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. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 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?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 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. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Remember in the context Jesus is returning from his trip to the region of the Geresenes (Mark 5:1) where he delivered a man from a legion of demons and was asked to leave. Now he returns to Jewish territory—Galilee.
Again here we see Mark's A-B-A sandwich technique. He interrupts his overarching story about Jairus and his daughter with the story of the suffering woman. Remember, the B story provides us with the main theological context he is communicating with the A story. So let's focus first on the B story.
The woman who comes to Jesus for healing is suffering from a "discharge of blood". Most likely this is a menstrual hemorrhaging of some sort. If she were Jewish this condition would have left her in a permanent state of uncleanness (Lev. 15:19-27). Also anyone who touched her would then be unclean. However, Eusebius, a 4th century church father, wrote that there was a statue set up for her at Caesarea Philippi, indicating that she was a Gentile. If this is a reliable witness, then the clean/unclean factor is off the table, but this woman's faith then becomes all the more remarkable.
Mark describes her condition as terrible suffering. The word he used for "disease" in v. 29 and 34 implies great distress, suffering, and shame. It literally refers to a whip or an object meant to inflict pain. His description of her condition is one of complete hopelessness—"...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." Yet, simply touching Jesus' garment makes her well. Instead of Jesus becoming unclean, he heals her and makes her clean.
The "looking around" in v. 32 is in a different tense than the other verbs in this story suggesting that Jesus didn't just take a quick look then move on; he looked continuously. He likely asked who touched him and she, afraid that he would respond with anger and chastisement, hides in fear of him and the public shame. If she was unclean she was not supposed to touch him. But Jesus wouldn't let it go—He kept looking. Jesus, with such love and compassion, doesn't settle for an ambiguous healing, which is all she was pursuing. Instead, he looks for a personal encounter with her.
The main emphasis here is on the woman's faith even in a completely hopeless and desperate situation. The doctors have done all they can; she has spent all her money; she has been bleeding for 12 years. There is no hope apart from Jesus for this woman. Against all hope, all she need do is touch his garment and she is healed! Mark puts this story here in the middle of the story of Jairus to indicate that her faith (perhaps a Gentile) is the faith that Jairus (a synagogue leader) is to model in the situation with his daughter. Even though it is seemingly hopeless as well, he must yet believe.
This, of course, brings up questions of what's known as faith healing, a part of the prosperity gospel. Jesus says, "Your faith has made you well." There are certain false teachings that say if you are ill and you're praying and you're not getting better, the problem must be a lack of faith on your part. It's easy to see how this teaching can really hurt people. The bottom line is that faith is obviously an important component to healing, but attempting to find a formula for how it happens or putting the blame on someone for not being healed is taking it too far. As in the case of sin and its relationship to suffering, sometimes God chooses to heal and sometimes he doesn't. This is a huge topic and this devotional is already getting long so if you're interested in more details check out the resources below.