Key Verse: Mark 5:34 “…your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed…”

Here we have the stories of a dead girl and a sick woman. The woman had an affliction which had disabled her for twelve years. What’s more, it brought with it a ceremonial uncleanness– which meant she was a bit of an outcast. Because of this, she lived with a deep sense of shame, affecting her self-esteem and self-confidence to the point where she would shrink from coming to Jesus openly and of easily confessing afterwards that she’d touched Him. The dead girl, on the other hand, had been alive as long as the woman had been sick. Her father, Jarius, had come boldly to Jesus, and it was while on His way to Jarius’ house that the timid woman had reached out to touch Him. And so the two stories converge.

Jairus had encountered a sudden sorrow after twelve years of joy. The woman had been living with twelve years of deferred hope, longing for the day her affliction would cease, but finding every new day was just as bad as the last. It could very well be that she had spent most of her money on doctors and medicine, even while the young girl had been merrily skipping through a carefree childhood. Enter Jesus, the compassionate and versatile healer.

To the woman who had been sick for twelve years, He says, “Your faith has healed you, take heart.” As for the girl, He goes to her house where a noisy crowd has already begun singing death dirges. He tells them to stop because the girl “is not dead but asleep”. Here is an instance where Jesus faced open mockery. Nevertheless, He went inside the house, took the girl by the hand, ordered her to get up, and she got up. Jesus had done it again. In one case, twelve years of hope, suddenly dashed, had been give new life. In the other case, twelve years of sorrow with no hope of release, had suddenly ended and a whole new life begun. On the other hand, a timid touch by the sick one, on the other, a commanding touch by the Healer, both resulted in the kingdom of heaven coming amongst mankind once again. All because of faith in Jesus.