This Sunday we will explore an incredibly exciting passage in God’s Word, Mark 5:21-43. Mark, as we have seen, is the gospel of action. It is super fast-paced. Mark peppers his gospel with the words “immediately” and “at once.”

It is difficult to imagine any chapter in the Bible that is more fast-paced than the fifth chapter of Mark. The action leaves the reader breathless. Last week, we studied verses 1-20. Jesus has journeyed to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, a place where most Jews did not go. There, he encountered a man possessed by a legion of demons. Jesus, who the night before had calmed the raging storm with a command, calmed the raging storm within this man with just a word, thus demonstrating his authority over demons.

In verses 21-43 Jesus is back on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, where he will demonstrate his authority over disease and death. As we go there with him this Sunday, we’ll consider the following:

• How does Jairus demonstrate faith?
• How does the story of the woman with the flow of blood show the futility of human solutions that leave God out of the equation?
• Jairus is an “insider.” The woman is an “outsider.” Jesus meets the need of both with compassion. What does this tell us about him?
• How does the raising of the little girl prefigure the resurrection of Jesus?
• Touching a dead body or being touched by a woman with a flow of blood was thought to make one “unclean.” Does it make Jesus unclean? Or does he make what is unclean clean?
• How is the raising of the little girl similar to incidents in the Old Testament in which Elijah and Elisha saw children raised from the dead? How is it different? See 1 Kings 17:17-24 and 2 Kings 4:18-37.

Listen, the Bible is amazing! Are you digging in? There are treasures waiting for you at every turn! Let’s mine some this Sunday.

See you this Sunday!

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.