The Gospel of Mark
Two Daughters: Mk 5,21-43
Jesus and Jairus 5,21-24
Verse 21 moves Jesus and his disciples back to the Jewish side of the Lake. The large crowd close by the sea is similar to 4,1-2.
Verse 22-23: Jarius was clearly an important man in the community, though his exact role is not known. Falling at the feet of Jesus shows the depth of his human need.
It is without comment that Jesus goes off with the man. The large crowd following him leads into the inner story
Jesus and the daughter 5,35-43
verse 35: following the inner story, there comes the message that the daughter has died
verse 36: at this point, Jesus takes over and we hear his call for faith. Perhaps faith might be better translated here as "trust", the Greek word means the same. A complete trust in God in Jesus is a fundamental theme of this Gospel
Peter with James and John, sons of Zebedee, are three of the four disciples first called (1,16-17). This is the first time they are seen as an "inner group". They will be present at the Transfiguration (9,2) and in Gethsemane (14,33)
Verses 38-39: the weeping and wailing would be a normal part of mourning ritual
Verse 39: "Asleep" is often used to refer to death in the NT (eg 1 Cor 15,6). There is every reason to think the girl was dead and an important part of the Gospel tradition is that Jesus raised people from the dead.
Verse 41: Jesus took the girl by the hand: Jesus once again is breaking boundaries because a dead body was regarded as unclean. Taking her by the hand is in contrast to Elijah and Elisha in the books of Kings who lay on the dead child. There is also the obvious point that they raised sons from the dead whereas here it is a woman who is being raised. And there are overtones of resurrection here: as with the healing of Simon's mother in law (1,31), the Greek says that Jesus raised her up.
Verse 42: In the society of the time, this daughter would have been a young woman. At twelve she would have been ready to be given in marriage.
Verse 42: This is the only sign of activity in the girl. Her role is largely passive and she is raised in the faith of her father, though that faith is not confirmed (see 9,23-24).
Verse 43: within Jewish circles, Jesus plays down his healings, a contrast to the Gerasene demoniac (verse 20).
Now return to read the middle story.
The woman with a hemorrhage 5,25-34
Verses 25: The woman's bleeding automatically makes her unclean (Lev 15,25). For twelve years she had been unable to take her full part in village life.
verse 26: The emphasis on doctors may raise a wry smile but it means that the woman's ailment is beyond ordinary human help. As she gets worse so she becomes more marginalised.
verse 27: The woman's very presence in the crowd was a huge risk. Yet she had heard about Jesus.
verse 28: The womans is one of a number of unnamed characters in this Gospel who show true faith, trust, in Jesus.
verse 29: And her trust is rewarded. It is Jesus' touch which is important and emphasised - it is mentioned three times.
verses 30 indicates Jesus' awarenss of what has happened
verse 31 shows the disciples' ignorance and lack of sensitivity. This lack of understanding and faith by the disciples (those closest to Jesus) is often used as a foil by this evangelist.
verse 33: The woman is aware that she had crossed boundaries.
verse 34: Jesus calling her "daughter" indicates that once again she is a full member of the community. She has not just been healed but saved and received the gift of peace, shalom.
Now return to the main page the conclusion.
The two daughters: 5,21-34
This is not a usual title for this passage - but it is what they in common. One woman is called "daughter" by Jesus (v.34), the other, obviously, is the daughter of Jairus. Neither are named (v.23,35)
Yet one is active, the other is largely passive. The important contrast is between the unnamed marginalised woman and Jairus, the important leader of the local community
That contrast is their faith. Jairus does not expect Jesus to heal at a distance (see the similar story, John 4,50) and needs encouragement to believe (verse 36). The woman having heard about Jesus (verse 27) seeks only to touch him (verse 28)
The woman's faith it is which is truer, more to be imitated. In her poverty she has fewer obstacles to faith than Jairus.
Return to the main page.
The Sunday Gospel: 13th Sunday OT
The Book of Wisdom is best read against a background of Jews experiencing suffering and oppression. Chapter 1 from which the first part of this Sunday's reading is taken, is an exhortation to choose righteousness as the path to life. Chapter 2 then describes how the wicked choose to enjoy the present life while denying life after death. Death in the reading is therefore not so much physical death as the denial of eternal life, God made us to be imperishable.
Thus this reading as does the shorter version of the Gospel focus on Jesus raising up the little girl, an anticipation of the resurrected life he will open for us by his resurrection from the dead.
The main emphasis of the evangelist as we have seen is the contrast between the faith of the centurion and the woman.
Return to the main page and on to the next chapter.