Introduction

Mark 5:21–43 (Outer story 5:21–24; inner story 5:25–34; outer story 5:35–43). This
material is set forth as an intercalation in all three synoptic gospels (cf. Matt 9:18–26
and Luke 8:40–56). Time seems to run as a continuous thread throughout the two
stories and thus becomes the constant that highlights the contrast.36 Other than Jesus,
the only named person in these stories is Jairus,
There are actually two miracles described in our text, which are carefully intertwined.
In reality, the miracle of the healing of Jairus’ daughter is interrupted by the healing
of the woman with the hemorrhage. For a short time, it appears that this healing of the
woman has cost the life of Jairus’ daughter.
Context
Jesus had crossed the lake, the Sea of Galilee, with His disciples. In the midst of this
crossing, there was the great storm, which our Lord stilled with a mere word. When
they landed on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they were met by the raving
demoniac, from whom Jesus cast out the host of demons. When Jesus and His
disciples landed, once again, at Capernaum (Matthew 9:1), on the home side of the
Sea of Galilee, they were met by a large crowd (Luke 8:40; Mark 5:21), which had
gathered to wait for Jesus and to greet Him. It is very likely that some of the other
little boats, which had been on the lake (Mark 4:36), and which had witnessed the
stilling of the storm, had gone back to port, and had reported how Jesus had dealt with
the storm. Some may even have had reports of the deliverance of the demoniac. The
crowds were no doubt expectant and exuberant as Jesus returned. Apparently Jesus
taught by the seashore (cf. Matthew 9:1-17), and it was during His teaching that Jairus
arrived, begging Him to come to his house, so that his daughter could be healed.
In both Mark and Luke, Jesus has just calmed the storm on the sea and cured a
demoniac at Gadara. Now we come to a double miracle in which Jesus deals with
both death and disease. The message is seen in Mark 5 , Mathew 8 and Luke 8The
context from mark and luke is that Jesus has power over the natural world and the
supernatural world and now we see He has power over disease and death. Having
recently performed the astonishing exorcism of the legion of demons, Jesus' renown
was quickly spreading. As He is thronged by a multitude of curious and desperate
people. The point of these chapters is that Jesus is the Messiah, He can deal with any
problem and He can be trusted. The miracles have demonstrated Jesus’ power and
care for those who follow him. Mean while Jesus was also teaching and instilling faith
to his disciples through these miracles and they were building faith and confidence in
Jesus.

The context which follows these miracles in both Mark and Luke is one of the
commissionings of the disciples. Jesus sent them out, giving them authority over the
unclean spirits and told them to take nothing with them for support. The miracles have
demonstrated Jesus’ power and care for those who follow him and now the disciples
must have faith in Jesus to care for them as they go out to minister. So, I think these
miracles are an object lesson for the disciples to give them confidence in Jesus’ power
and build their faith in Jesus.
Q effect (need to add about the effect)
Matthew places the miracle in a different location chronologically and changes a few
details. As a matter of fact, this is one of the toughest passages in the Bible to solve
the harmony problems between the gospel writers. The problem is with timing. When
is Jesus told that Jairus’ daughter is dead? In Matthew Jairus comes to Jesus, falls to
his knees and says that his daughter has died (past tense). But Mark and Luke say that
the daughter is about to die. In the Greek, the three authors used three different words
for death. One means she had died, one says she was dying and the other says she is at
the point of death. When did death take place?
Considering the original source for the gospel of Mathew and Luke which is Mark I
would move on to develop my paper basing myself on Mark; which gives the details
of both the miracles to the minute detail.
Sandwitch pattern of Mark
In story time, the healing of the woman and the death of Jairus’s daughter are
simultaneous and show the impact of one story upon the other in this intercalation:
“This bringing together of death and life is epitomized at the juncture of the two
stories by the simultaneous benediction of peace (5:34) and the report of the child’s
death (5:35). Even as the woman’s healing preceded this benediction, so the child’s
death preceded the report.” Jairus and the woman share only one thing in common:
They both are victims of desperate circumstances, and apart from Jesus they have no
hope.”
The intertwining of these two miracles has a sandwiching effect. Jairus and his
daughter are the bread and the woman is the “meat.” Jairus’ daughter is twelve years
old. The woman was sick for 12 years. It is probably just a literary device to link the
two stories together. Jairus is a synagogue ruler. The woman was unclean because of
the blood problem.. Perhaps there is a correlation between the fear (phobētheisa, Mark
5:33) of the woman and the fear (phobou, Mark 5:36) of Jairus in the two stories. The
woman may have been fearful to proclaim her previous unclean life publically when
she told “all the truth,” and now Jairus was fearful of his life without his daughter. It
is almost as if the fear of the woman has transferred itself to Jairus, even though its
content is distinct, so he must be told to stop being afraid. The faith of each in Jesus
delivers them from their suffering lives. “The ironic character in which Jesus’ remark
in 5:39 [‘Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.’] is
parallel to the ironic question in the inner story ‘Who touched me?’ (5:30) suggests
that Jesus’ central statements in the inner and outer story carry a truth beyond their
surface expression.” The woman, in the present instance, is ritually unclean so long as
her hemorrhage continues; but she is at once, by an exercise of power, dunamis,
relieved of this disability. The girl, dead or supposed dead, is also unclean, or
supposed unclean; Openness goes to silence (Jairus), secrets become public
knowledge (the woman).” “Narrative Function,” 539. Elsewhere, he also states,
“Jairus’ spaces move from openness to ‘closedness,’ the woman’s spaces move from
closedness to openness.”
It is as though Mark were asking his readers, ‘Is there any hope for Jairus now?’ And
his answer—coming from the mouth of Jesus—is a resounding ‘Yes,’ If Jairus does
‘Not fear, but believe’ (v 36). But what kind of belief must Jairus have in a situation
in which all human hopes are exhausted? The answer is given in Jesus’ command to
believe (pisteuein, v 36): Jairus must have the kind of faith (pistis, v 34) the woman
had!” “Markan Sandwiches,” 204. He concludes, “The woman’s faith forms the
center of the sandwich and is the key to its interpretation. Through her Mark shows
how faith in Jesus can transform fear and despair into hope and salvation. It is a
powerful lesson for Jairus, as well as for Mark’s readers.”
The connection between the two:
Jairus is obviously a male, and the woman with the hemorrhage is obviously female.
Jairus is named, but the woman is anonymous. Jairus is a leader of a synagogue, but
the woman may not have gone to synagogue because her constant bleeding would
have made her ritually impure according to Leviticus 15:25–27.40 Jairus is a father
with an ailing daughter, but the woman has no family to speak of.41 Jairus has asked
Jesus publically to heal his daughter, but the woman sought Jesus secretly.42 The
looming question at this nexus is whether Jesus will arrive in time to heal Jairus’s
daughter. This delay for an unknown, unclean woman may cause the death of Jairus’s
daughter. Maybe that is one reason why the disciples were so impatient with his
question.
the linkages between Jairus and the woman, and the woman and Jairus’s daughter,
“force the reader to compare the various characters. Although they do not enter one
another’s story, they themselves serve as links between the accounts. On the whole
Jairus is the contrast to the woman, while the little girl is parallel to the woman.” The
term for Jairus’s daughter is actually a diminutive. All but one of the words used for
Jairus’s daughter are diminutives: “little daughter,” “daughter,” There is faith in
abundance and lacking in faith, a woman and a child, death and disease, a public
miracle and a private miracle. Just as Jairus’s daughter needed to be healed, or saved
(sōzō, Mark 5:23), so too was the woman healed, or saved, from her illness (sōzō,
Mark 5:29, 34). Now that Jairus’s daughter has died, the need for salvation is even
greater, and it will result in a resurrection (anistēmi, Mark 5:42). Furthermore, it is
only at the end of the first story that we learn that Jairus’s daughter was twelve years
old (Mark 5:42).53 Obviously, Jairus knew this all along, but now the reader is
brought under the umbrella, revealing that the length of the woman’s suffering and the
age of the suffering daughter were the same (Mark 5:25, 42). This woman’s faith,
after twelve years of suffering, was directly applicable to Jairus, whose twelve-year-
old daughter had just died. And, just as Jesus made an unclean woman who touched
him instantly clean, he was able to make an unclean daughter who had died54
instantly clean by touching her and telling her to rise.55 The first healing happened in
secret, but was made public by having the woman confess in public, while the second
healing occurred before others—Peter, James, John, and her parents—but was then
sworn to secrecy,56 emphasizing that the point of the miracles may not have been the
healings themselves, but the interaction between the faith of the woman and the
needed faith of Jairus in Jesus.

Content
VIEW OF JAIRUS ABOUT JESUS OR THE MORNING STAR OF JAIRUS
OR THE LAST HOPE OF JAIRUS
Jairus is a prosperous man, and well-regarded in his community. Luke calls him "a
ruler (Greek archos) of the synagogue." . His duties include conducting the synagogue
worship and selecting of those who are to lead the prayer, read the scriptures, and
teach in the service. Jairus the leader of the local synagogue presented the situation of
his daughter to Jesus. Though the leaders did not have a high opinion on Jesus
because of various actions of Jesus which were against the authorities and they did not
responded well. In the case of Jairus the highly respected citizen of Capernaum
comes up to Jesus in the multitude of pushing and shoving individuals.
He is not there to pay his respects to the rabbi. He might not have come to Jesus
reckoning that he is the messiah; but he would have come to Jesus as a healer who
could heal his daughter. It is obvious that Jairus knew all about Jesus' enlightening
teachings, and because of His miraculous ministry, he was convinced of His power.
When he reaches the Master he falls upon his knees before Jesus. The Greek word in
Luke's and Mark's accounts is pipto, " 'fall down, throw oneself to the ground' as a
sign of devotion, before high ranking persons or divine beings, especially when one
approaches with a petition. Although he expresses unhesitating faith in Christ's ability
to heal, his faith is not equal to the centurion's, who believed that distance was no
hindrance to limitless power. The hemorrhaging woman had faith that if she could
touch even the fringe of his cloak, she would be healed
Jairus believes Christ's presence in his home is necessary and so beseeches Him to
come and touch his daughter.
The women which build the faith of Jairus
Jesus was interrupted on his way to Jairus house by a women with Hemorage.
Though she was lowly in comparision with the status of Jairus and in the society as
women as well, she was not neglected for the sake of an influencial leader.
Mark wants you to know that the doctors couldn’t help her. He says, “She suffered
much at the hands of many doctors, had spent all her money and was not helped at
all.” Jesus was aware of the fact that a miracle had taken place. Jesus felt the power
flow from Him. Mark wants to distinguish between the fabric and her faith in
Him.(add the details found in the book) Jesus declares to the woman that it was not
the touch but her faith which healed her.
we need to ask, “When did she demonstrate her faith?” She had faith that He could
heal her when she approached Jesus. She demonstrated her faith further when she
touched him. She was focused on touching His garments as if they had some magical
powers, but God was gracious enough to respond to her faith even though it was not
mature.
It is all done in view of Jairus that he might have faith in Jesus.
The first answer is that His delay was for the good of the woman who had been
healed. The second answer is that His delay was also for the good of Jairus and his
daughter.
The report Encounter 1 messenger of Death
Then some men from Jairus’ house find Jairus and Jesus and report that Jairus’
daughter is dead. As soon as Jesus overhears the news, He intervenes to curb the fear
welling up in the brokenhearted father, countering with encouragement: "Do not be
afraid; only believe, and she will be made well." With a word of hope, He changes the
father's focus, and with gentleness and compassion, comforts him. Jairus by
witnessing the miracle of the women, he should have responded in faith that might
have lead Jesus to pursue his miracle.
At this point, the first story resumes with the hard announcement by those who came
from the house of the “ruler of the synagogue” (erchontaiapotouarchisynagōgou)47
that his daughter is dead.48 But the echo and example of the woman from the inner
story becomes the lesson that Jesus must give to “the ruler of the synagogue”
(tōarchisynagōgō): “Stop being afraid, only believe” (mēphobou, mononpisteue).49
This unknown, unclean woman who suffered for twelve years believed that Jesus
could save her. Jairus is told to emulate her faith as he hears that his twelve-year-old
daughter has died.50 Not only did Jesus show his interest in the unknown woman by
stopping to make public her faith, but her faith is now used to instruct the ruler of the
synagogue. These narrative encounters of Jesus with women are not only stories about
what happened, but of what happens; they are theological pictures that demonstrate
the value of women to teach others, even male leaders in the community.
The narrative chords between Jairus’s daughter and the woman who was healed
sympathetically resonate for the benefit of Jairus and the reader.
Encounter 2 women crying and mourning
In that culture, crowds of relatives and neighbors commonly showed up at the
dwelling of the deceased to mourn. In the midst of this confusion and noise, Jesus
declares, "The child is not dead but sleeping." Being ignorant of His use of "sleep" for
death, the mourners deride Him. Was she dead? Yes. The text says, “Her spirit
returned.” Why does He say she is only asleep? Because He knew it was not
permanent. She wasn’t going to stay dead.
Christ says the same of His dead friend, Lazarus, in John 11:11 the disciples
misunderstand and he corrects them saying, “no, he is really dead.” Sleep is a
euphemism for “temporal” death. Death as sleep is a euphemism common to many
nations. It intimates that, even more sure than morning comes to a sleeper in bed, an
everlasting morning will be provided for the righteous dead waiting in the grave for
the resurrection. Jesus views death as a temporary sleep because His Father has the
power to resurrect anyone from death. God can resurrect whom He wants when He
wants, but He has an organized plan, purpose, and schedule for resurrections
Babes of spiritual Realm
It all depends upon your perspective. It all depends upon what you are trained to see.
To the untrained eye, a painting can be good. But to the trained eye of one who knows
what to look for, it can be declared a masterpiece. The untrained ear listens to a
symphony and declares it great music, but the trained ear of a conductor can pick out
the voice of each instrument.
Our faith must be trained, too. That's what Peter, James, and John were doing in the
room. They were in training. Training to have faith beyond the obvious. Faith to hear
the voice of the Father state what his will is in the situation. Faith to speak the word of
faith that brings God's will into reality. Jesus desires our faith to execute on earth the
will of the Father.
In this verse we see not only faith but laughter -- the laughter of unbelief. The scorn of
the realist and the scientist who know the rules of this realm well, but are only babies
when it comes to spiritual realities. "They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead"
(8:53). But what did they know in the face of God?
Fortunately, Jairus and his wife cling to Jesus' words of faith rather than the mockers'
words of scorn.

Change of Heart
Not wanting to cast His pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6) or to make a spectacle in
front of unbelievers (Matthew 13:58). "And he did not do many miracles there
because of their lack of faith" (Matthew 13:58).
Jesus excluded unbelief from the young woman's death chamber before he healed her.
In addition, these neighbors and curiosity seekers had already seen His mighty works,
and He does not want God's gift to be considered entertainment. He never meant His
miracles to coerce belief or amaze humanity. Nevertheless, He is quick to intervene
when misery and suffering need to be relieved and people need to be exposed to God's
glory.
Jesus resurrects Jairus' daughter in the presence of five appropriate witnesses: the
father, mother, and only three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John. To establish
the miracle's veracity, He uses two unconverted people and three who were being
converted (Deuteronomy 19:15; II Corinthians 13:1).
Sake of the world
His attention to such detail reveals His characteristic kindness and sympathy. That He
orders nourishment suggests that her body was still weak and needed to be
strengthened, showing that she was resurrected to physical existence. Those who saw
her did not see a spirit but a human. Her body, still dependent on natural laws, needed
to be nourished. Was she really dead, or only sleeping as Jesus first said? Of course,
it's possible that the family was mistaken when they pronounced her dead. But
certainly they thought she was dead. The fact that it is recorded in the Gospels is
evidence that the disciples saw it as a miracle. The reason some try to disprove that
she wasn't really raised from the dead is because their own world view doesn't allow
miracles, especially miracles of resurrection.
Christ finishes by requesting that the parents "tell no one what had happened" (Mark
5:43; Luke 8:56), partly to save the little girl from rude gawkers, but most probably so
that fame would not hinder her future spiritual life. The world scorns the reality of
resurrection because sin separates them from God, but the day is not far off when the
"dead in Christ" will respond to His simple but powerful command, "Arise!"
Jesus the God
Matt 11:5 quoting Isa 35 says that it will be a combination of his message backed by
his miracles that prove who he is. He is different from the prophets because none of
them do all the miracles nor make the claims he does. He does all the miracles and
claims deity, Messiahship, that He is the son of man who has authority to forgive sins,
that He is His Father’s son, etc., but He never says “I’m a prophet.” He was more than
a prophet. Even though Elijah and Elisha each raise a widow’s son, they have to go
through a complicated ritual of lying on the child, blowing in their mouth, etc. They
are obviously trying to get God to raise the children. Jesus is God. He simply speaks.

INTERPRETATION
• From the healing of the woman we see that it is faith in Christ, not magical touches
that heal. The power is in a person, not a fabric or formula.
• The removal of her unclean physical condition parallels the process of salvation in
which Jesus removes an unlcean spiritual condition. The miracle is an illustration of
salvation.
• The raising of Jairus’ daughter affirms the deity of Christ and proves that He is the
Messiah. Matt 11:5 quotes Isa 35.
• The delay in following Jairus resulted in more glory to God because Jesus had the
opportunity to raise the girl from death and not just heal her.
• Death is not a serious barrier for Christ to overcome.
Conclusion
The two miracles which we have witnessed through the words of Mark had a great
impact of those who experienced them, even if their meaning and message was not
perceived by the crowds. But these miracles were also meant for the benefit of others.
(2) Divine delays are a blessing because God wishes to bless us in a greater way than
that for which we have asked. The delay which we find in our text is a divine delay, it
is one which resulted from our Lord’s decision and actions. Apart from our Lord’s
stopping and insisting to know who touched Him, the Lord’s arrival to the home of
Jairus would not have been delayed at all. It was not the woman’s actions which
slowed Jesus down, but our Lord’s actions. Thus, she did not create the delay, Jesus
did. It was a divine delay.
This “greater healing” required greater faith from Jairus, and it brought greater glory
to our Lord. It also revealed the lack of faith on the part of those who came to report
the girl’s death, and on the part of the mourners who had begun to weep and wail over
her death. Jesus could easily have prevented the girl from dying, whether present or
absent (cp. Luke 7:2-10), but He chose to overcome death instead. The divine delay
was, then, for the good of all involved.
(3) Divine delays demonstrate that hope is the product of faith, and that faith is not
the product of hope. The divine delay which Luke reports illustrates the fact that
biblical faith is what God requires when all human hope is gone. The woman had faith
that Jesus could heal her, when all human hope was gone.
The same can be said for Jairus. The messengers who came to report the girl’s death
seemed to believe that there was hope of the girl’s healing so long as she was alive.
Once she died, they saw no hope, and thus they counseled Jairus not to “bother the
teacher” any longer. The mourners, gathered inside Jairus’ house felt the same way.
When Jesus spoke of the girl’s condition as “sleep” rather than as “death” they
laughed in unbelief. They saw no hope. The funeral might just as well go on. But
Jairus’ words, as recorded in Matthew, reinforced by our Lord’s encouragement,
indicate that faith has hope when all human hope is gone. “Faith” which still has
human options is a meager faith. Biblical faith has God as its object when all other
options are gone.