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A Day in the Life of Jesus | The Day Jesus Raised the Dead

March 15, 2026
Mark 5:21-43

²¹And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. ²²Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet ²³and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” ²⁴And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. ²⁵And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, ²⁶and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. ²⁷She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. ²⁸For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” ²⁹And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. ³⁰And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” ³¹And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” ³²And he looked around to see who had done it. ³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. ³⁴And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

³⁵While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” ³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” ³⁷And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. ³⁸They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” ⁴⁰And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. ⁴¹Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. ⁴³And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

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Purpose

To discover and experience Jesus Christ in our midst

To cultivate mutually encouraging relationships

To participate in God’s mission to the world

Opening Prayer

Responsive Prayer — Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    My God, in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
    And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions,
    And under his wings you will find refuge;
You will not fear the terror of the night,
    Nor the arrow that flies by day,
Nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    Nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Summary

This week we continue our Lenten series entitled A Day in the Life of Jesus during which we are exploring brief vignettes from the Gospels seeking a realistic glimpse into a typical day in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Our passage this week picks up where we left off, at the end of a Christological triad. Having already shown Jesus as Lord over the natural (Mark 4:35-41) and spiritual (Mark 5:1-20) realms, Mark now displays him as Lord over illness and the final enemy of death itself. Mark employs one of his signature literary constructions in this passage — what some scholars have referred to as a “Markan sandwich” — in which one account is embedded into another in order to better explain it. The story of Jairus’ daughter is interrupted by the healing of a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. Both stories contain women in helpless situations (verses 25-26 and 23, 35, 38-40); an explicit mention of the number “twelve” (verses 25 and 42); a reference to faith (verses 33 and 36); the presence of fear (verses 33 and 36); an original situation of ritual impunity (a bleeding woman and a dead body); a reference to touching (verses 28, 30, and 41); a desire for “salvation” or healing (verses 28 and 23, 34); falling at Jesus’ feet (verses 33 and 22); and the person healed being called a daughter (verses 34 and 23).

The first miracle centers on a woman whose life has been defined by suffering and social exclusion. According to the law (Leviticus 15:25-33), her condition rendered her perpetually unclean, meaning that she would have been avoided by others and barred from ordinary participation in communal and religious life. Despite her uncleanness, in desperate faith she presses through the crowd and reaches out to touch Jesus’ garment, convinced that even this contact would be sufficient to heal her. Mark’s statement that Jesus perceived “power” going out from him is unusual, appearing only here in Mark’s Gospel, but it reflects the broader biblical understanding that the saving power of God operates through his appointed servant (cf. Luke 5:17; Acts 10:38). The healing occurs because God sovereignly honors the woman’s faith, bringing together the two realities of her trust and the divine power present in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; cf. Westminster Confession of Faith 14.2). When she finally reveals herself, she does so “with fear and trembling” (verse 33). This should not be read as a fear that arises out of shame but rather out of awe before the holy power she has encountered. Jesus responds with affirmation, addressing her tenderly as “daughter” and declaring that her faith has made her well. She has been restored physically, but also socially and spiritually to the covenant community (Psalm 103:2-4).

The delay caused by this encounter proves devastating for Jairus, for during it messengers arrive announcing that his daughter has died. Jesus immediately counters their despair with a command: “Do not fear, only believe” (verse 36). Jairus had already shown faith by seeking Jesus in the first place, and he had just witnessed the healing of the woman, which clearly illustrated the relationship between faith and divine help. Now he is called to trust even in the face of death itself. When Jesus arrives at the house and takes the girl by the hand, he speaks the simple command, “arise.” At once she rises and walks. The scene recalls the consistent biblical testimony that God alone has authority over life and death (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:6) and anticipates the broader promise that the Son will one day summon the dead from their graves (John 5:28-26; 1 Corinthians 15; Westminster Larger Catechism 52). This action clearly demonstrates that the power of the living God is present and active in Jesus, not just in his touch, but also in his words. Death, which entered the world through sin and stands as humanity’s final enemy (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:26) proves no obstacle to the authority of Christ who has come to destroy the power of death and deliver those enslaved by its fear (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Mark concludes this section with Jesus instructing that the girl be given something to eat, emphasizing not only that the girl is truly alive and not some sort of phantom spirit, but also that the mighty Son of God is both Lord over nature, demons, illness, and death, and also cares for the physical needs of his people. Throughout these episodes we have been looking at in Mark 4-5, the evangelist has displayed the comprehensive authority of Christ over nature, the demonic realm, disease, and death itself. At the same time, he has repeatedly been building a case for the necessity of faith. The disciples were rebuked for their fear and lack of faith (Mark 4:40); the demoniac shows faith by coming to Jesus (Mark 5:6); the woman was commended for her faith (verse 34); and Jairus was exhorted not to abandon it (verse 36). Such faith rests in the greatness of the one in whom it is placed, for the salvation Christ accomplishes is received through faith alone and results in new obedience (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). If this Jesus is Lord over nature, demons, illness, and death, then those who belong to him have no ultimate cause for fear, but every reason to trust in the power and mercy of the Son of God.

Discussion Questions

1. Looking at the Bible

• Share with the group some key phrases or ideas that stood out to you from the passage.

2. Looking at Jesus

• What can we learn about Jesus’ character given that he stops for the bleeding woman even while a little girl is dying?
• Jesus heals the woman through touch and the girl through a spoken word. Why do you think Mark emphasizes how Jesus heals, not just that he heals?

3. Looking at Our Hearts

• Both the woman and Jairus had to keep trusting when circumstances got worse before they got better. Where in your own life do you find it hardest to trust Jesus when things aren’t resolving the way you hoped?

4. Looking at Our World

• The bleeding woman was socially excluded and written off by everyone who had tried to help her. Who are the people in our culture who might get treated as “too far gone,” and how does Jesus’ response to this woman challenge that?
• Jesus doesn’t just heal these two women; he calls the bleeding woman “daughter” and makes sure the girl is fed. What does it say about the gospel that Jesus is concerned not just with rescue but with belonging and ongoing care?

Prayer

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