Step 14

Mark 5:21-34 Faith Gets His Attention

About Mark: The importance of women in the ministry of Jesus might go unnoticed to us, but certainly not to Mark's first readers. Mark gives high and unusual prominence to women throughout his story; perhaps reflecting the honour given to his mother by the early Christians. This occurs again and again, and especially in events surrounding Christ's death and resurrection.  

Christianity's equal honour to women was radical. Jewish society relegated women to inferior status. A traditional prayer of Jewish men was, "God I thank you that you did not make me a woman." The Jewish synagogue was the guardian of such prejudice and discrimination, where men and women were segregated. 

By contrast, Christianity was centred in people's homes, the place where men and women are most natural and most equal. So for a Synagogue Leader like Jairus to be kept waiting in such urgent circumstances, while Jesus had an extended conversation with an anonymous woman in the street, taught him much more about Jesus and Christianity than a hundred sermons.

Bible: Mark 5:21-34, A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet 23 and begged him repeatedly, "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 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 29 Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."  

Comment: FAITH GETS HIS ATTENTION
JESUS was on an urgent mission. Jairus had begged him repeatedly to come, for his daughter was at the point of death (23). What a contrast to the woman with the haemorrhage, whose longstanding condition could hardly be urgent. Surely Jesus would not delay for her.

Furthermore, while Jairus as a leader of the synagogue might command Jesus' attention with his compelling urgency, this woman's condition made her ritually unclean, a contaminator of others, whose only chance was a surreptitious, hopefully unnoticed, approach from behind to touch the hem of his cloak. But she believed he could help her, and she pressed on in, and touched. And she felt in her body that she was healed. And he felt in his body that power had gone forth. Despite everything, faith gets his attention, and he stopped to meet with her.

It seems she thought that virtue was transmitted through the clothes of Jesus (28). If this is so, it is all the more important that Jesus correct her, and us also who have no such opportunity to touch them.  Not only that, the woman had been hiding for long enough. Part of her becoming well, of having shalom-peace (34), would be a restoration of her dignity. For her, this would lie in becoming a person who could hold up her head in public with a Rabbi like Jesus, just as readily as could Jairus as Leader of the Synagogue. Mark's group of miracles at this point of his Gospel feature a man, a woman, and a child. They all are important to Jesus. Whoever we are we need to recognise we are important to Jesus, but so are others. And so they talked, perhaps at length for she told him "the whole truth" (33).  

And she learnt that it was her faith that saved her, and not any superstitious ideas about a particular place, a particular practice, or a particular person. It is faith that gets Jesus' attention; it always gets his attention.  

Discipleship today: Putting this in today's setting, it is very easy to think that some people have more opportunity or claim to receive God's attention more than others. Not so! Reach out and touch! Your faith will always get his attention.