Lessons from Mark 5

Recently, I was studying Mark 5:21-43 in preparation for the Ladies Bible Study I attend. It is the account of Jesus healing a bleeding woman and restoring a girl to life. I would encourage you to read it as you have opportunity.

As I was meditating on the passage, two things really jumped out at me and I would like to share them with you.

First, the tremendous faith of both the girl's father (Jairus) and the bleeding woman.

"Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with Him, 'My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.'" (Mark 5:22-23, emphasis mine)

"When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.'" (Mark 5:27-28, emphasis mine)

They both KNEW that just a touch from Jesus, not could, but WOULD bring healing. And their faith prompted them to action. They both sought Him out, even though there was risk involved. As a synagogue ruler, Jairus risked persecution and ridicule for seeking out this man, Jesus, that many were cynical of and hostile toward. As someone with a chronic bleeding condition, the woman risked making Jesus ritually unclean under Jewish law by touching Him. But their steadfast faith caused them to take that risk-and the woman was healed and Jairus' daughter was not just healed, but raised from the dead!

Secondly, they both fell at His feet.

"Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet and pleaded earnestly with Him." (Mark 5:22b-23a, emphasis mine)

"Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth." (Mark 5:33, emphasis mine)

To me, this shows reverence, humility, and desperation. The woman was definitely desperate. As verse 26 says, "She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse." They both realized the power and the greatness of the One they approached, prompting humility and reverence.

The study of this passage caused me to ask myself three questions:
1. Do I truly believe that Jesus is sufficient to heal and to help? (He may use different methods, tools and people in our lives, but ultimately our help is from Him.)
2. How often am I getting down on my knees in total desperation, awed reverence, and complete humility before Him?
3. When things get crazy, do I seek Him first, falling on my knees before Him, or do I exhaust all other options first?

Lord, may we find ourselves often on our knees before You, in reverence, humility, and a knowledge of our desperate need for You in all things, and with a faith that is steadfast, knowing You are sufficient for all of our needs.

God's Word is alive and active. Tomorrow I would like to share with you how the Lord spoke to the woman teaching the Bible Study using the very same passage-and it is a very different perspective from mine.

Stacey Poplawski
WOC Graduate

(All Scripture taken from the NIV)

DIGGING DEEPER
James 2:14-17 (ESV)
14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.