What Jesus Did

Holding [the dead girl's] hand, [Jesus] said to her, "Talitha koum," which means "Little girl, get up!" And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! [The girl's parents and the three disciples] were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat.

—Mark 5:41-43 NLT

Key Thought


There was an immediate change in the "state" of this...

 

The crowd laughed at [Jesus when he said the girl was just sleeping]. But he made them all leave, and he took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her, "Talitha koum," which means "Little girl, get up!"

—Mark 5:40-41 NLT

Key Thought


Yes, people laugh at the thought of anyone being raised from the dead. The thought is ridiculous. The possibility is beyond the realm of our...

 

When [Jesus and the others] came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw much commotion and weeping and wailing. He went inside and asked, "Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn't dead; she's only asleep."

—Mark 5:38-39 NLT

Key Thought


One of the ways early Christians spoke of the death of believers was to say that they had "fallen asleep." While I am not sure the disciples quite yet believed that death was only sleep for one who follows Jesus, we...

 

Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn't let anyone go with him [to Jairus' house] except Peter, James, and John (the brother of James).

—Mark 5:37 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus worked to grow people at all different levels of relationship and maturity. He invested especially in three apostles who would take special leadership in the early church — Peter, James, and John. His work with them is a reminder that as important as it is for leaders to help solve problems, to...

 

While [Jesus] was still speaking to [the woman who touched his robe to be healed], messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. They told him, "Your daughter is dead. There's no use troubling the Teacher now."
But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid. Just have faith."


—Mark 5:35-36 NLT

Key Thought


When all seems lost, Jesus says, "Just trust me." In the darkest night, Jesus says, "Just trust me." While most of us know...

 

[When the woman who had suffered bleeding for twelve years touched his robe,] Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my robe?"
His disciples said to him, "Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, 'Who touched me?'"

But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of...

 

[The woman who had constant bleeding for twelve years] had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed." Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

—Mark 5:27-29 NLT

Key Thought


Faith is an amazing thing! Jesus said that faith the size of a mustard seed could move a mountain. This...

 

A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe.

—Mark 5:25-27 NLT

Key Thought


Jairus (whom we met in the preceding verses) was a man, and a woman was involved in the events in...

 

Jesus got into the boat again and went back to the other side of the lake, where a large crowd gathered around him on the shore. Then a leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet, pleading fervently with him. "My little daughter is dying," he said. "Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live."

—Mark 5:21-23 NLT

Key Thought


Desperation leads us to do dramatic things! While the people flocked...

 

"My little daughter is dying," [Jairus] said. "Please come and lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live."
Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him.


—Mark 5:23-24 NLT

Key Thought


We can easily make Jesus into a two-dimensional caricature of himself. He loved the poor, the weak, the downtrodden, the forgotten, and the marginalized and spoke harshly of those who abused their power and those who were hypocritical in their religion. Reality...