In The Word
Read: Mark 5:21-43, 6:1-6
Miracles and Healing
21 When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and He stayed by the seashore. 22 And one of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, *came, and upon seeing Him, *fell at His feet23 and *pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.
25 A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, 26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse— 27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. 28 For she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” 29 And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”31 And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be cured of your disease.”
35 While He was still speaking, people *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher further?” 36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, *said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, only believe.” 37 And He allowed no one to accompany Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 They *came to the house of the synagogue official, and He *saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. 39 And after entering, He *said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child has not died, but is asleep.” 40 And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all outside, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was in bed. 41 And taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha, kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astonished. 43 And He gave them strict orders that no one was to know about this, and He told them to have something given her to eat.
Teaching at Nazareth
6 Jesus went out from there and *came into His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are His sisters not here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his ownhousehold.” 5 And He could not do any miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages, teaching.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
In today’s passage, we read about three stories. Though these stories may seem very different, they all have one common factor: faith. In all three accounts, we learn that if we don’t have faith, God can’t work in our lives the way He desires to. Oftentimes it is difficult for us to have faith in something that we can’t comprehend as possible. Take the man with the dying daughter: he had strong faith until he found out his daughter was dead. Or take Jesus’ home town: because they grew up with Jesus, they couldn’t accept that He was The Messiah that everyone said He was.
How often do we do the same thing? Do we believe in God until the situations in our lives get to a point where we can’t see the outcome? Or do we become too comfortable with God that we forget how powerful He is? As Christians, we should strive to be more like the sick woman in today’s passage; no matter what got in her way, she refused to lose hope.
I challenge you to consider your own life. Are there areas in which you do not have the faith that God is able to move or that He will work on your behalf? If so, I encourage you to build your faith, both by reading all of the amazing faith–based stories in the Bible, and by relating with the strong men and women that God has placed around you.