Gospel of mark
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS 21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. 22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, 23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. 24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. Jesus now arrives back on the Capernaum side of the Sea of Galilee. As soon as he arrives many people gather around and while he was still near the sea shore one of the rulers of the synagogue, named Jairus approached him very troubled, as to the illness of his “little daughter” – this lovely touch is remembered by Peter, who is a local and would have known this little girl. Rulers of the synagogue were the chief officials in synagogues, not Rabbis themselves, and were prominent and respected members of their communities. Jairus’ daughter would have been a minor until that year and on account of her age and the gender she would have had virtually no social status, but she is deeply loved by her father. One would fall at the feet of someone with much greater status, like a king, or prostrate one self before God in prayer, so this posture by this leader of his community is a recognition by him of Jesus superior status to his own. For this prominent man to humble himself in this way before Jesus was therefore to recognise Jesus’ power and position in a very serious way. It is clear however that this child is his only daughter and he knows that she is dying. Jairus shows a great deal of faith in Jesus, making himself potentially the scorn of his community by his actions, and Jesus agrees to go with him, so they set off through the town to Jairus’ house, followed by the crowd, and also in company with the disciples of Jesus. Mark’s language indicates that it is a crowd of several hundred people that fill the streets they walk through, and there are many on-lookers and followers after the Lord. Many expect great signs and wonders and are there for entertainment, but others genuinely seek the touch of the Lord of Glory, and one of these is a woman who is not supposed to be in the company of crowds. 25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. The journey to the house was interrupted by a woman who has had a long-term gynaecological sickness that may even have been an endometriosis with cervical cancer. This woman sickness was reckoned as if she had a menstrual cycle all month long. Such an issue of blood made her continually unclean under the Law as seen in Leviticus 15:25-28. This was a social and religious problem on top of a physical one. If this woman touched anyone or anyone’s clothes she rendered that person’s ceremonially unclean for the rest of the day Leviticus 15:26-27. Some uncleanliness was unavoidable in daily life, but it was inconvenient to fulfill the required bathing. As a result the Mishnah added higher penalties for being unclean and causing others to become unclean by contact with you. The Mishnah rules were so strict that many teachers avoiding touching women altogether in case they became accidentally contaminated. Thus she could not touch, or be touched, and as a result was severely marginalised in her community of Jewish society. Having spent a tremendous amount of funds on Physicians with no benefit, indeed the more remedies she takes the poorer she gets and the sicker she becomes. Dear Dr Luke, Luke 8:43, does not allow Mark and Peter’s comment to stand, as it appears that all doctors are useless, and he notes in his account that this was a “serious case” and unable to be treated by the doctors. Then she hears about Jesus. She lost no time in finding him. Easing her way through the crowd (even though it was unlawful for her to be in any place where she touched anyone else), she touched the border of his cloak, and immediately the bleeding stopped and she felt completely well. She has seriously broken the Mosaic Law here, and the later Mishnah rules, which would codify and formalize the rules of the Rabbis of Jesus day stated very serious penalties for any woman touching a man in public, let alone a woman who knew she was unclean and touched a Rabbi, so rendering him unclean! This woman has several reasons to do this secretly, and to feel fearful at being discovered; the first being privacy and shame at her condition, but the second was fear of penalties, that could in some cases include being stoned to death! 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. Her plan was to slip away quietly, but the Lord will not let her miss the blessing of publicly acknowledging her Saviour. He had been aware of the outflow of divine power when she touched him. It cost him something to heal her, so he asked “Who touched my clothes? He knew the answer but asked in order to bring her forward in the crowd. Because of the crowd His disciples thought the question was silly and pointless. Many people would jostling him continually so they wondered, why ask, “Who touched me?” There’s a difference in a touch of physical nearness and the touch of a desperate faith. The Lord was always seeking to touch the lives of those who came to him for healing and salvation; the transaction of faith was not over with the first blessing, there were many more to come. James 4:6. The woman came forward in fear and trembling she fell down before him and made her first public confession of Jesus. The words of the Lord Jesus not only confirmed the physical healing, but also included in the great blessing of reassurance from our Lord for her to have confidence as well. This woman has cause for praise, and the Lord gives her cause to feel comfort in her soul. When ever we bring a person to the Lord they need to feel loved, forgiven, and restored to fellowship and acceptance before the one who knows they are dust! Psalm 30:1-5, 66:16-20, 103:2-5, 10-12. 35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? 36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. 37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. 39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. By this time messengers arrived with the sad news that Jairus’ daughter had died as they were walking towards the house. They said that there was now no need to bring the “master”. Jesus however reassures Jairus. Note his words, “Do not be afraid”. There are multiple causes of fear here; fear of death, fear of his own responses to his daughter’s death, and fear of the opinions of others regarding any faith he may have that Jesus can raise the dead. The Lord keep walking steadily towards the house, and then took Peter, James, and John into the house. They were met by the unrestrained weeping characteristic of Middle Eastern homes in times of sorrow. In the time of Christ several professional mourners were felt to be required to show the families real grief, even at the funeral of the poorest person. More mourners would assemble at the death of a member of a prominent family like this one. These people were paid to lament and lament loudly – they were the emotional “rent a crowd” of the day. Read Jeremiah’s advice to the professional mourners of his day 600 years before this time. Jeremiah 9:17-24. Because bodies decomposed rapidly and in the Middle East mourners had to be assembled immediately on the news of someone’s death, and in this case they had gathered together, ready to earn their wages by sun down, even before word had reached the father that his daughter had died. Messengers were normally dispatched to bring a parent or spouse the sad news. The Lord’s response to these people will offend their professionalism and he will dismiss them as the fakes they are, and deal with them as he does with the religious play actors, the Scribes and Pharisees. 40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. 41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. 42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. 43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. When Jesus assured the professional mourners that the child was not dead but sleeping their tears turned to scorn. As professional mourners it would have been very clear to them that the child was past help. She was dead and they were determined to earn their money. They did not weep for the little girl, they couldn’t care less for her or the parents, but they did care for their money from the parents. Such play actors appear sincere until the second they are challenged about their emotions and commitment – then their professionalism turns to hatred. Jesus pushed past these play actors, and took the immediate family to the motionless child, and taking her by the hand said in Aramaic, “Little girl I say to you arise”. Immediately the little girl got up and walked towards her parents. The relatives were stunned and doubtlessly delirious with joy. Shock would be the emotional response here. This was too good to be true. It was quite common practice for girls to get married young in those days, and the age around twelve was the time such things were organized. Young girls usually looked forward to their wedding day as the most joyous event in their life. Therefore to die unmarried especially just short of it was lamented as an even greater tragedy. This girl will become an instant celebrity and so the Lord takes steps to ensure she is strengthened after her long illness and also that she has the privacy to recover as she needs. He now told the entire extended family not to say anything to anyone about her dying and being brought back from the dead. The Lord wasn’t doing these things for publicity, but to bring joy and demonstrate to his disciples who he truly was. His main immediate concern was to look after the young girl, and he requests for someone to give her something to eat. APPLICATION Both the woman with the issue of blood and Jairus had placed their problems in the Lord’s hands. 1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 55:22. When we place our problems in the Lord’s hands it is logical, as we are his children by faith, that our Lord will solve the problem. It is possible to be ever so near him without trust in him. It is impossible to touch him by faith without His knowing it and without being benefited. The Lord deals with situations in different ways. Firstly, we like the disciples, can see the power of God as we see the miracles occur. Secondly however we see the response to faith, and the Lord’s gentleness and encouragement to those under great stress. Jairus who is under extreme pressure because his only daughter is dying observes what happens to the woman with the issue of blood, and this would have encouraged him as he walked back to his house. We are sometimes encouraged by the way the Lord deals with others who are suffering, and it is one of the reasons why Christians suffer. Only a few were allowed to see the miracle of resuscitation, the miracle was for the believers, not the scornful unbelievers, who were sent away. For the disciples it is to teach them, for the parents it is a lesson of faith, and for the girl a new opportunity for a life of service for the Lord who she knows loves her beyond measure. DOCTRINES CHRISTIAN LIFE: - DESTINY OF BELIEVERS 1. He who believes in Jesus Christ has eternal life now (1 John 5:11-13). He will never die (John 11:25,26, John 8:51) 2. Believers are said to "fall asleep" at their death (1 Thessalonians 4:14). The soul departs to be consciously present with Christ, but the body "sleeps" in the grave until the resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) 3. When Christ comes at the Rapture, the bodies of those in Christ shall be raised from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23) 4. Our physical bodies will be replaced by immortal bodies (2 Corinthians 5:1-4) - conformed to the body of Christ (Philippians 3:20-21) 5. We shall be like him (1 John 3:2) seeing His glory and reflecting it in ourselves (Colossians 3:4, John 17:22). 6. We will be rewarded because of works of faith (Luke 19:12-19) which will vary in proportion to our faithfulness in serving God (Matthew 6:20, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15) 7. In the Millennial Kingdom, we shall reign with Christ as priests of God and Christ (Revelation 20:6). 8. To the overcomer (1 John 5:4-5) Christ will give to eat of the tree of life (Revelation 2:7) and shall not be hurt by the second death - the lake of fire (Revelation 2:11). He will be given authority to rule over nations (Revelation 2.26-27) Jesus will acknowledge the believer before God (Revelation 3:4-5) who will be made a pillar in the temple of God. (Revelation 3:12) and will be seated with Christ in His own throne. (Revelation 3:21) 9. God will wipe away all tears from his eyes; sorrow, crying, pain, and death shall be no more (Revelation 21:4) 10. We shall know all things perfectly (1 Corinthians 13:12) 11. We will receive an incorruptible inheritance. (1 Peter 1:3-5) kept by our all powerful God in heaven. CHRISTIAN LIFE: STABILITY 1. God is able to keep us and bless us (Ephesians 3:20, Hebrews 7:25). 2. Stability comes when we know God; when we have grown up in his Word. Maturity brings with it stability (2Peter 3:18, 2Timothy 1:12). 3. The alternative to a stable life of faith is to be tossed about by every pressure; this occurs when there is no doctrinal application in the life (James 1:6, Ephesians 4:14, Revelation 3:8). 4. Believers need stability to stand fast against the wiles of Satan who is a danger to those with no doctrine: We are told to: a) Stand fast in the word 1Corinthians 16:13. b) Stand fast in our liberty Galatians 5:1 cf. Romans 14:1ff, 8:9-13. c) Stand fast in one spirit (no pettiness) Philippians 1:27. d) Stand fast in the Lord (in fellowship) Philippians 4:1. e) Stand fast in doctrine 2 Thessalonians 2:5, 16,17. 5. Strength and stability comes in a close relationship with the Lord. By faith we stand: 2 Corinthians 1:24, Psalm 59:17, 62:7, 144:1. 6. God has supreme power at His fingertips for us. Isaiah 59:1. 7. Our faith should stand secure in this power, for we are kept by it in all things, therefore we should be confident. 1Corinthians 2:5, 1Peter 1:5, John 16:33. 8. God is able to make us stand through the work of the Holy Spirit upon the word in our lives. Romans 14:4, Jude 24. 9. Strength and stability come from the impact of the Holy Spirit’s work upon the word in our life as we believe and apply it. e.g. Sarah Hebrews 11:11, Paul 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. 10. Profile of the stable believer under pressure 2 Peter 1:3-16. DELIVERANCE 1. We are delivered from spiritual darkness Colossians 1:13 2. We are delivered from sin 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6:7 3. We are delivered from death Hebrews 2:14 4. We are delivered from judgment Romans 8:1 MIRACLES: HEALING AND MIRACLES 1. The healing ministry of Jesus was not primarily to relieve suffering but to show Himself to the Jews as the Messiah. 2. Jesus Christ's major thrust in his ministry was healing from sin rather than physical healing, as healing from sin has eternal results whilst physical healing has temporal results only. 3. Examples of healing by Jesus Christ a) The Leper (Matthew 8:1 -4) The Jew was suffering from an incurable disease - leprosy. It was totally hopeless to expect a cure under normal conditions at that time in history. The cured leper was told to go to the priests, the Levitical priest of those days who had been given by God two chapters in the Old Testament for such cases. Uncleanliness (Leviticus 13), Cleanliness (Leviticus 14). It was unknown to use (Leviticus 14), its use with the cure of the leper should have alerted the Levitical priests that the Messiah was on earth.
The Centurion was a Gentile believer who had great faith, showing he was a mature believer. His servant was suffering from the palsy (paralysis or polio). The Centurion showed great faith by knowing that he did not need Jesus Christ to enter his house to heal his servant. Using the Centurion's faith, Jesus Christ challenges the Jewish onlookers to trust him also. c) Paralytic Healed (Matthew 9:1-8) A Jewish believer who lacked assurance of his sins forgiven. His friends, the stretcher bearers, who brought him to Jesus had great faith in the Lord. Jesus cured him to give the paralytic confidence in his sins being forgiven. d) Peter's Mother-in-Law (Matthew 8:14-17) Jesus cured her so that she could serve the Lord and help sustain Him. 4. There are many examples and means used by God for healing. a) By direct contact. (Matthew 8:3,15; Mark 6:5)- b) In response to the faith of friends. (Mark 2:5) c) In response to prayer. (James 5:15,16) d) Through doctors. (Colossians 4:14) and medicines - Figs for boils (2 Kings 20:7), Wine for ulcers (1 Timothy 5:23)
a) Elisha (2 Kings 13:14) b) Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) c) Epaphroditus (Philippians 2-26,27) d) Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23) e) Principle of the sick saint (2 Corinthians 12:9) 6. Sickness is permitted for a number of reasons. a) To bring us back to God's Word. (Psalm 119:6 7) b) To make God's Word manifest. (John 9:1-3) c) To glorify Jesus Christ. (John 11:4) d) So that we can comfort others. (2 Corinthians 1:4) e) To prepare us for future glory. (2 Corinthians 4:17) f) To return us to fellowship. (Hebrews 12:5-10) g) To make, us more fruitful. (John 15:2; Hebrews 12:1) 7. Miraculous healing does occur from time to time. God is able to heal anyone at any time but the Bible shows that it is not normally His purpose to do so. Satan can counterfeit divine healing through divine healers . POWER 1. Five Greek words for power. a) Dunamis - from which we get dynamite - inherent power. b) Energes - from which we get energy - operational power. c) Kratos - part of our word autocratic - ruling power. d) lscuous - endowed power. e) Exhusios - authoritative power or authority. 2. God's power is available to all believers. a) God the Father's power. (1 Peter 1:5) b) God the Son's power (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10) c) God the Holy Spirit's power. (Acts 1:8) d) The power of the Word. (Hebrews 4:12) e) Kingdom of God power. (1 Corinthians 4:20) WEEPING 1. Weeping is an expression of unbelief. e.g. The weeping of Numbers 14:1 and Hebrews 3:19. 2. Sinful type weeping a) David's tears of failure. (2 Samuel 18:33, 19:1-4) b) Breakdown of the mentality in catastrophe. (1 Samuel 30:4, Psalm 42:3) c) Weeping of the frustration and bitterness of old timers at the dedication of the second temple. (Ezra 3:12, 13) d) The crying of the drunkards in national disaster. (Joel 1:5) e) The weeping of fear because of the giants in the land. (Numbers 14:1) f) The weeping of unbelievers at judgment. (Matthew 8:12, 25:30, Luke 13:28)
a) Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). Weeping is therefore bona-fide at bereavement. b) Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) Weeping of patriotism. c) Jesus wept on the cross (Hebrews 5:7) d) As a mourner (1 Thessalonians 4:13) e) An expression of happiness and faith f) A reaction to pain. 4. There comes a time when all weeping is going to cease. (Isaiah 30:19, Revelation 21:4) after death. CHAPTER 6 SECOND REJECTION AT NAZARETH MARK 6:1-6A [MATTHEW 13:54-58] see HARMONY 74-10 1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. 2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. 4 But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. KEY WORDS
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