Our Deepest Needs

In our passage today, we have the beginning part of what scholars call a “Markan sandwich.” The story begins with Jairus and his sick daughter, is interrupted by the woman who is hemorrhaging, and then, in v. 35, returns to Jairus and his daughter to conclude.

Mark has already informed us that the Jewish authorities want to get rid of Jesus (Mark 3:6), so we can imagine just how desperate Jairus was to come to Jesus to ask for his help. This was not a person on the fringe of society but someone whose role placed him at its heart, yet his fear for his daughter drives him to Jesus (22,23). Jesus sets out with him and the large crowd follows, pressing around him. Then, our unnamed woman enters the story. By every standard of Jewish law, she was unclean. Everything she touched became unclean and her illness left her separated from Jewish society. This woman, like the demon-possessed man in yesterday’s story, was beyond human hope and help, yet she knows, like Jairus, that Jesus can meet her need. Her fear compels her to do this unobtrusively, but she believes–and knows instantly–that she has been healed. What follows between Jesus and the disciples has a slightly comic touch (30,31), and we can imagine the fear with which the woman comes back to Jesus to confess what she has done. Jesus’ response is full of reassurance that her faith in him has brought healing and that she is liberated from her suffering and restored to wholeness.

Do you, like this woman, feel separated from others? Do you believe that Jesus can meet your deepest needs? Perhaps we need to learn a lesson from this woman. Faith in Jesus to meet our needs is never misplaced. He meets and he restores.

What hurts and needs do you need to bring to Jesus? As you pray, receive his assurance that he can meet them and can restore you.