When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake.Mk 5:21-26
Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee from the Eastern side where had just healed a person possessed by demons but in the process the demons went into a herd of pigs who promptly had a severe allergic reaction causing them to stampede off a cliff in to the lake for forgetting two salient features of pigs that to this day we know are true that pigs can neither fly nor swim.
Consequently, he wore out his welcome in the area and the people there suggested to him that he get out of town before the cows or sheep or dogs might be tempted to do the same thing. Back on the western side the reception for Jesus was completely different to the Eastern side. There was a large crowd already gathered there eager to hear from him. Here is the setting for divine healing of two women. One is a woman and the other a 12 year old girl.
The first person to come to Jesus is Jairus. Mark describes him as one of the synagogue leaders. This is a lay leader in charge of the premises and the order of worship in the service and held in high regard within their Jewish community. He comes before Jesus and amazingly he falls at Jesus feet in humility because he has a request, a request that is so audacious because of the nature of the request.
The request is for his daughter not himself she was ill, so ill in fact that she lay literally dying. He might have tried all sorts of expensive medical therapy before this and this is the last ditch attempt to save her she lay at deaths door. Whenever I get a patient like this, gasping and at deaths door the first thing as a doctor we do is to say we will do our best but that in no way to guarantees the survival of the patient. Many who come in at deaths door actually will die. No doctor wants to get a patient at deaths door because the disease process would have been so far advanced along that a recovery would be slim and even so fraught with a lot of complications. At deaths door the problem may have started out in one of her organs, a boil perhaps on the skin but by the time the person is on death's door the heart, the lungs, the kidneys each in turn will pack up.
Jesus response is not like our doctors response, Mark records that he simply went with him. Then look at the woman. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. What’s this bleeding that occurred in this woman? Was she bleeding from her ears or her nose or her mouth?
Hugh in his book "BY HIS STRIPS"- a biblical study on Divine healing, observes that this most probably refers to a menstrual bleeding a common enough condition which today we call as menorrhagia . He further points out that it occurs in women in their 40's and doctors till this day do not understand it much so they cut it out. I am quite sure there would be not a few women in this church who have had to have this surgery called a hysterectomy.
She had seen many doctors and spent all her money and what did she get in the end she got worse instead of better. Now isn't this statement a typically biased statement against doctors by Mark? I guess some things never change I know many people today who go to private hospitals who have the same complaints. Seen a whole bunch of doctors, one for the bowels , one for the urine, one for the heart and one for the head and in the end they are not better if not worse. What about seeing the one and only doctor who has all specialties(JESUS) there are no health issues beyond the power of Jesus.
