Lessons 72-73

LESSON 72 - Mark 5:21-34

21And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. 22And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, 23And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. 24And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. 25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

1. Read Luke 8:40. What contrast do you see between the Gadarenes and the people waiting for Jesus on the other side of the lake?

b. Which comes closer to your attitude toward Jesus?

2. List the things you know about Jairus from this passage.

3. How old was his daughter? How many children did he have? Read Luke 8:41-42

b. How much faith did Jairus have in Jesus?

4. As Jesus goes with Jairus, a woman moves through the crowd to get to Jesus. What are we told about her? Refer also to Luke 8:40-56 and Matthew 9:18-26

5. How much faith did the woman have in Jesus?

6. What happens to her?

7. How does Jesus react?

8. How do the disciples react to what Jesus says?

b. What is the difference between the reactions?

9. What do you think the woman felt as she told Jesus and the crowd what had happened?

10. While Jesus is still talking to the woman, Jairus gets news. What is it?

11. Jesus immediately tells Jairus what?

b. Why was it important for Jairus not to fear?

c. Why did he need to believe too? Wasn't Jesus' faith enough?

Part B-Lesson 72

Answers to the previous questions:

1. Rejection and acceptance. When you speak to others about the Lord, the Bible, or spiritual things, you can expect either reception/acceptance or rejection, just like it was in Jesus' day. Religions are manmade; Christianity in its purest form is God-made. This is why in the religions of today we see bits of the truth, but mostly that which man has made up.

2. Jairus was a leader of the Jews of this town. He was a father. His daughter was critically ill. He was desperate for help. He humbled himself by bowing at the feet of Jesus, even though there was a crowd there. He was willing to plead for his child's life. He jeopardized his standing in the community and in the synagogue by this move.

3. 12 years old; none other children

b. Enough to believe Jesus could touch her and heal her; not enough to ask Him to speak for healing, without actually going to Jairus' house and physically touching the child.

4. She was diseased; a bleeding condition which had continued for 12 years (Mt 9); had sought help from many physicians; spent her savings on trying to find a cure; was getting worse;

5. Faith to believe touching the edge of His garment (scholars think it was the corner fringe of His prayer shawl, which on a high priest, was thought to have healing power) would heal her. (Mk 5:28)

6. Immediately she is healed.

7. Jesus knows power has been drawn from Him. He felt the change.

8. The disciples, looking only on the outward circumstances of having the crowd around them, show no understanding that something momentous has just happened. Jesus was attuned to the Holy Spirit; the disciples were attuned to the environment.

9. Instead of running away, the woman acknowledges that she was the one who touched Him, and explains why. It must have been embarrassing to reveal the nature of her disease, yet she stayed to give Him credit for her healing. More important than the embarrassment was the joy she felt in knowing she was healthy.

10. Jairus' daughter has died.

11. "Fear not; only believe."

b. Fear opens the door to demons; blocks what the power of faith can accomplish. (James 1:5-8)

c. Jesus' faith didn't need strengthening, but Jairus' did. Jairus needed to believe in Jesus as a Healer, so he could come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. If he rejected the first, he would miss salvation.

LESSON 73 - Mark 5:35-43

While Jesus is going to where Jairus' daughter is, the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years touches the garment of Jesus and is healed. Why do you think that this happened in the middle of their trip? Jairus needed the encouragement that the woman's miracle gave him, so he could continue to believe for the healing of his daughter. This is an evidence of God's perfect timing. He had the woman show up at the perfect time to help her and to help Jairus. God knew Jairus, upon hearing of his daughter's death, would not have enough faith to withstand such a blow. So God sent him the woman to intersect his and Jesus' path. Her miracle built Jairus' faith enough to withstand the message of his daughter's death. The woman's testimony was the word that he needed to firm his faith for a greater miracle than he expected. God will always send us the encouragement we need at the perfect time to help us believe for bigger things that God wants to do in our lives. Like Jairus, we must choose to remain firm and believe in the power of God.

God uses the testimony of one to bolster and build the faith of others. That is why sharing what the Lord has done for you is so important. Declaring the wonderful works of God may help others believe more.

Jesus goes to Jairus' house, dismisses those that have no faith for a miracle (v 40) and then touches the daughter, speaks to her to arise, and she does. Jairus gets his miracle, a greater one than he originally expected.

Jairus didn't have as much faith for healing as the woman had, but God blessed both. He likes to respond to faith, be it great or small. Matt 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Matt 17:20 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour. 19Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? 20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

In comparing the woman who was healed and Jairus, whose daughter was raised from the dead ((She was not resurrected. Resurrection, receiving a new supernatural, flesh and bone, not flesh and blood, body happened first to Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:22-23) after the cross.)), we can see the following:

1. Both had suffered torment.

2. No doubt, both had consulted physicians.

3. Both knew ordinary man could not help them.

4. Both turned to Jesus as a last resort.

5. Both had faith.

6. They helped each other. Jairus unknowingly brought Jesus near her; her faith brought Jairus additional strength.

7. The faith of each helped someone else.

The contrast between them:

1. Jairus was rich; the woman was poor.

2. Jairus was highly respected; the woman was considered unclean.

3. The woman had been sick 12 years; Jairus' daughter much less.

4. The woman had no one to intercede for her; the daughter had her father.

5. The woman had nothing to lose; Jairus might lose his standing with his friends.

What did you learn from this lesson? What do you want Jesus to do in your life? How much faith do you have? Faith doesn't let go until the answer is "No."