Jesus and the apostles were in the territory of the Gerasenes near the Sea of Galilee.
They crossed the sea by boat, and a large crowd was waiting for them on the opposite side.
Jairus, an official from the synagogue, came forward and fell at Jesus’ feet.
“My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live,” Jairus pleaded.
Jesus agreed to go with Jairus. The large crowd also followed and pressed in upon the two men.
As they were heading toward Jairus’ house, a woman in the crowd reached for Jesus’ cloak.
For 12 years, she had suffered greatly from hemorrhages. She spent all of her money on doctors, but her affliction only grew worse.
“If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured,” she said to herself.
Immediately after touching Jesus, she could feel that her bleeding had stopped and her affliction had been cured.
Jesus felt that power had gone out from him. He turned around to look at the crowd.
“Who has touched my clothes?” he asked.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her, came forward trembling in fear. She fell down before Jesus and told him everything.
“Daughter,” Jesus said, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
While Jesus was still speaking, people from Jairus’ house arrived.
“Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” they said.
Jesus looked at Jairus.
“Do not be afraid; just have faith,” he said.
When he reached Jairus’ house, Jesus brought Peter, James and John inside with him. All the people in the house were weeping and wailing.
“Why this commotion and weeping?” Jesus asked. “The child is not dead but asleep.”
The people ridiculed Jesus, who sent them all outside.
Jesus brought the girl’s parents and the three apostles into the girl’s room. He took the child’s hand and said, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”
The girl arose immediately and walked around, and all who saw were utterly astounded.
READ MORE ABOUT IT:
Mark 5
Q&A
1. Who asked Jesus to help his daughter?
2. Who in the crowd touched Jesus?
TRIVIA: What did Jesus say the girl should do after he raised her? (Hint: Mark 5:43)
Answer: Get something to eat.
BIBLE ACCENT:
Before Jesus healed Jairus’ daughter and the woman with hemorrhages, he healed a man on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
In Mark 5:1, we read that Jesus and the apostles had crossed the sea by boat and landed in the territory of the Gerasenes.
When they disembarked, a man with an unclean spirit met them. No one in the community could subdue him, even when they used shackles and chains.
He had been living among the tombs, and he had seen Jesus from a distance. He ran up to Jesus and prostrated before him.
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” the man cried in a loud voice.
“What is your name?” Jesus asked.
“Legion is my name. There are many of us,” the man replied.
The man begged that the unclean spirits be allowed to stay in the territory and suggested Jesus allow them to enter into a herd of nearby swine.
Jesus agreed. The unclean spirits came out of the man and entered the swine. The herd of about 2,000 rushed down a steep bank into the sea and drowned.
Afterward, the man who had been possessed by the unclean spirits regained his right mind.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE SAINTS:
St. Josephine Bakhita
St. Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan in the late 1860s. As a child, she was kidnapped by Arab slave traders. A Muslim owner named her Bakhita, which means “lucky.”
Josephine endured years of cruelty and torture before being sold to an Italian consul who planned to free her. He took her to Italy, where she worked as a nanny for another family.
In 1889, she won her freedom in court. She was baptized Josephine, entered the Canossian Sisters in Italy and served her order for more than 50 years.
Josephine died in 1947, and we remember this first Sudanese saint on Feb. 8.
PUZZLE:
Using the hints provided, fill in the blanks about the parables Jesus told before traveling to the territory of the Gerasenes.
1. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a _______. (Mark 4:30-31)
2. The seed that fell on rich soil produced _______. (Mark 4:8)
3. The birds _______ the seed that fell on the path. (Mark 4:4)
4. Should a lamp be placed under a _______? (Mark 4:21)
Answers: 1. mustard seed; 2. fruit; 3. ate; 4. bushel basket or bed