Jesus Is the Great Physician
Mark 5:21-43
Main Idea: We can come to Jesus with our requests, and He will honor even imperfect faith when the object of that faith is Him.
I. Jesus Hears the Cries of the Distressed (5:21-24).
A. We can come to Jesus with our request (5:21-23).
B. We must come to Jesus in faith (5:23-24).
II. Jesus Responds to the Pain of the Diseased (5:24-34).
A. We can approach Jesus in our suffering (5:24-27).
B. We must approach Jesus in faith (5:28-34).
III. Jesus Has Authority over the Power of Death (5:35-43).
A. We can believe in Jesus in spite of the circumstances (5:35-36).
B. We can believe in Jesus regardless of the skeptics (5:37-40).
C. We can believe in Jesus because He can be trusted (5:41-43).
Excursus: Five Questions We Always Ask of Every Text
Jesus! What a Friend for sinners! Jesus! Lover of my soul!
Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end. (Chapman, “Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners”)
Mark 5 provides what could be called “three cases of incurables.” However, when Jesus shows up, everything changes. Jesus is Lord over demons, disease, and even death! Our Lord is man’s Savior (5:1-20), woman’s Savior (5:24-34), and the child’s Savior (5:35-43). Yes, He is indeed a friend of sinners and the healer of the hurting.
Jesus Hears the Cries of the Distressed
Mark 5:21-24
This text has what we call a “sandwich structure,” beginning with the story of Jairus (5:21-24), interrupted by the story of a suffering woman (5:24-34), and ending with Jairus again (5:35-43). The purpose is to make comparisons.
Themes in these stories are also found in the stories of Jesus calming the sea (4:35-41) and healing the demon possessed (5:1-20). First, Jesus cares for those in trouble. Second, Jesus is the omnipotent God! He has authority over what is impossible for you and me. Nature, demons, diseases, and even death surrender completely and immediately to His sovereign authority.
We Can Come to Jesus with Our Request (Mark 5:21-23)
Great crowds still follow (3:7,8,9,20,32; 4:1 [2x],36). He just can’t be hidden.
A man shows up by the name of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue. He is a man of distinction, respect, and standing; yet he shows great humility. Basically he begs Jesus on his knees with his face to the ground! His little girl is dying, and in spite of the growing opposition of the religious establishment, he bucks the trend and comes to Jesus. She is his only daughter (Luke 8:42).
We Must Come to Jesus in Faith (Mark 5:23-24)
Jairus came to Jesus because he believed Jesus could do for him what no one else could! His humble faith is a model we all should emulate. His request was straight and to the point, delivered in dependency and urgency (v. 23). Our Lord’s response is simple and immediate (v. 24). He went with him. Well, it was almost immediate!
Jesus Responds to the Pain of the Diseased
What occurs in verses 24-43 cannot be fully appreciated apart from the urgency of the situation and the Hebrew laws concerning ceremonial uncleanness (Lev 15:25-30; 22:1-9; Num 5:1-4). Jesus is not too busy in one task to stop and help someone else who is hurting, especially one who is determined, humble, and hopeful (has faith) in Him.
We Can Approach Jesus in Our Suffering (Mark 5:24-27)
The crowd is still there—bedlam reigns. A woman suddenly appears. She has a discharge of blood, making her ceremonially unclean and forbidding her access to the temple. She has been sick for 12 long years, and she is probably unmarried and childless, two additional cultural curses added to her pitiful state. She has suffered much from many physicians—she spent all she had and did not get better.
She heard about this miracle worker named Jesus. Possibly with pagan superstition, she believes that if she could just touch Him or His clothing she could be healed. Her theology may be weak but her faith is strong!
We Must Approach Jesus in Faith (Mark 5:28-34)
Though hundreds thronged about Him, only one woman connected with Him in faith. Spiritually and physically desperate, she did the unthinkable and unacceptable. She reached out and touched Him, and she did so in faith.
She is “instantly” healed and she knows it! She feels it! What extraordinary joy she must have experienced, well and whole for the first time in 12 years! The amazing grace of God through Christ had healed her body just as it heals our soul when we place our faith in Him.
Jesus “at once” perceives a loss of power. He had taken on her uncleanness and sickness and imparted to her His purity and health! The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 strikes again (see especially Isa 53:3-4)! Jesus looks for the one who touched Him in faith. The woman falls down and confesses everything (cf. 5:6,22). He welcomes her into the kingdom, commends her faith, and blesses her with “shalom.” She has experienced salvation, both physically and spiritually.
Jesus Has Authority over the Power of Death
Jairus by now must be beside himself in anxiety and frustration. His daughter is at death’s door. This woman has been sick for 12 years—she could have waited another 30 minutes! Unlike Nicodemus, who came in the dark of night, he came in daylight, humble and begging. He demanded nothing, and look where it got him!
Note the similarities between Jairus and the nameless woman: (1) they knew only Jesus could help them; (2) they knew they were unworthy; (3) they fell down; and (4) they believed Jesus could heal. She got what she wanted. However, things for Jairus appear to go from bad to worse.
We Can Believe in Jesus in Spite of the Circumstances (Mark 5:35-36)
Jesus is interrupted with bad news: Jairus’ daughter is dead. Hope is suddenly gone. Jesus responds to the bad news with a challenge. It is as if He is saying: “Despite all appearances I am neither distracted nor disinterested in your need. I work in My time, not others’ time. I will not be hurried or dictated to. Believe and watch what I do.”
We Can Believe in Jesus Regardless of the Skeptics (Mark 5:37-40)
He takes the inner circle of Peter, James, and John. This is the first time He separates them from the others. Professional mourners had arrived to accompany the family with their “loud wailing.” It would have been quite a scene. Jesus rebukes them with a shocking statement that only invites their ridicule. He kicks them out of the house (!) and goes in with just the three disciples and the little girl’s parents.
Hard-core realists who breathe the air of skepticism will always be with us. They will mock our faith in a crucified Jew and ridicule our trust in a God we cannot see. They will laugh at your love for the Savior who has cleansed you of sin’s defilement and given you spiritual life by His atoning work on the cross. Nevertheless, believe. Have faith—not faith in faith, which is spiritual nonsense, but faith in the omnipotent, sovereign Lord Jesus whose authority and power are absolute and know no rival.
We Can Believe in Jesus Because He Can Be Trusted (Mark 5:41-43)
Jesus again does the unthinkable in that culture, a taboo of enormous magnitude: He touches the dead body of the little girl! With a gentle touch, as Mom and Dad look on through tears, He says, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”
The response, by now, should not surprise us! Immediately she got up, obeying the Master. They were “immediately overcome with amazement,” which is one of the great understatements of Scripture.
He gave a command to keep this quiet (for Messianic reasons). He instructed them to give her something to eat (for practical reasons). This little lady had been completely restored to full health. Like her spiritual sister in verses 24-34, her gender, namelessness, uncleanness, and impossible condition did not stop her from experiencing the healing touch of the great physician. Yes, we can believe in Jesus no matter what. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Excursus: Five Questions We Always Ask of Every Text
What does this text teach me about God? God honors the faith of all who come to Him through Jesus. Social status, gender, or any other distinction does not matter. God cares for the demon possessed, the man of distinction, the outcast woman, and the little girl who is powerless. God truly loves the world of people without distinction (John 3:16).
What does this text teach me about sinful humanity? Disease and death are realities we must face in our fallen and sinful world. Ours is a world that desperately needs the touch and grace of God mediated through Jesus.
What does this text teach me about Jesus Christ? Jesus cares for the hurting. Jesus does His work on His timetable. When Jesus touches the unclean, they become clean as He takes on their uncleanness. Jesus gives healing and life to those who trust Him as He takes on our diseases and dies our death (Isa 53). He willingly gives up power for those who have no power.
What does God want me to know? We can come to Jesus with our request no matter who we are or what we have done. We must come to Jesus in faith, believing and not fearing (cf. Mark 6:5-6). God honors imperfect faith from a sincere heart when the object of that faith is Jesus.
What does God want me to do? God wants you to come to Him with any and every request. God wants you to trust Him regardless of the circumstances or situation. Why? Because He can be trusted to heal our diseases and conquer the great enemy called death. How do we know? We look to the cross and an empty tomb. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Reflect and Discuss